How to Install `coverage` in Python

v7.13.5 Testing & QA Python >=3.10 Apache-2.0

Code coverage measurement for Python

Install pip install coverage

What is coverage?

Code coverage measurement for Python

Coverage.py measures code coverage, typically during test execution. It uses the code analysis tools and tracing hooks provided in the Python standard library to determine which lines are executable, and which have been executed.

Coverage.py runs on these versions of Python:

Python 3.10 through 3.15 alpha, including free-threading. PyPy3 versions 3.10 and 3.11.

Documentation → PyPI page → Author: Ned Batchelder and 253 others

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with coverage:

import coverage

print(coverage.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install coverage

Virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install coverage

pip3

pip3 install coverage

conda

conda install -c conda-forge coverage

Poetry

poetry add coverage

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import coverage; print(coverage.__version__)"

If this prints a version number, installation succeeded. If you see a ModuleNotFoundError, see the errors section below.

Installation Errors

Common errors when installing coverage with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'coverage'

Cause: The package is not installed in the current Python environment.

Fix: Run pip install coverage. If using a virtual environment, ensure it is activated first.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'coverage' (installed but still failing)

Cause: pip installed the package into a different Python than the one running your script.

Fix: Use python -m pip install coverage to install into the interpreter you are running.

ImportError: cannot import name 'X' from 'coverage'

Cause: The function or class does not exist in the installed version.

Fix: Check the version with pip show coverage and upgrade with pip install --upgrade coverage.

pip: command not found

Cause: pip is not in PATH or Python was not added to PATH during installation.

Fix: Try python -m pip install coverage. On macOS/Linux try pip3.

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied

Cause: No write access to the system Python package directory.

Fix: Use a virtual environment, or add --user: pip install --user coverage

SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED

Cause: pip cannot verify PyPI's SSL certificate — common behind corporate proxies.

Fix: Try: pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org coverage

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`7.13.5` latest	2026-03-17
`7.13.4`	2026-02-09
`7.13.3`	2026-02-03
`7.13.2`	2026-01-25
`7.13.1`	2025-12-28

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage coverage

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade coverage

Install a specific version

pip install coverage==7.13.5

Uninstall

pip uninstall coverage

Check what is installed

pip show coverage

Last updated: 2026-04-11 • Data from PyPI

How to Install coverage in Python