FAQ Steam

🎮 Blender (Steam) – Installing Python Dependencies

A quick guide for installing Pillow, NumPy, and other Python packages for the Steam version of Blender on macOS and Windows.

How to run these commands

Use your system’s terminal to run the commands below. Replace USERNAME and the Blender version numbers (4.3, 4.5, etc.) with the ones you have installed.

macOS

1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal).
2. Copy–paste the command blocks exactly as shown (paths with spaces are already quoted).
3. If you have multiple Blender versions, adjust the 4.x part of the path accordingly.

Windows

1. Open PowerShell (press Win, type “PowerShell”).
2. Copy–paste the command blocks. Keep the double quotes around paths that contain spaces.
3. If your Steam library is on another drive, change the path to your actual steamapps/common/Blender location.

macOS (Steam)

Steam ships Blender with its own embedded Python inside the app bundle:

~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Blender/Blender.app/Contents/Resources/4.x/python/bin/python3.x

Install Pillow

Where to run: in the Terminal. Replace USERNAME and version numbers to match your system.

"/Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Blender/Blender.app/Contents/Resources/4.5/python/bin/python3.11" \
 -m pip install --upgrade Pillow \
 --target "/Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Blender/4.5/scripts/modules"

Upgrade pip

"/Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Blender/Blender.app/Contents/Resources/4.5/python/bin/python3.11" \
 -m pip install --upgrade pip

Packages installed with --target will be placed in scripts/modules, which Blender automatically loads for add-ons.

Windows (Steam)

The embedded Python lives here:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Blender\4.x\python\bin\python.exe

Install Pillow

Where to run: in PowerShell. If Blender is installed to a non-default Steam library, update the path accordingly.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Blender\4.3\python\bin\python.exe" `
 -m pip install --upgrade Pillow `
 --target "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\4.3\scripts\modules"

Upgrade pip

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Blender\4.3\python\bin\python.exe" `
 -m pip install --upgrade pip

Alternative (Universal)

If needed, you can add your user site-packages folder manually to sys.path inside your add-on (__init__.py):

macOS / Linux

import sys, os
site_local = os.path.expanduser("~/.local/lib/python3.11/site-packages")
if site_local not in sys.path:
    sys.path.append(site_local)

Windows

import sys
sys.path.append(r"C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python311\site-packages")

Verify inside Blender

1. Open Blender → Scripting workspace → Python Console.
2. Run:

   import sys
   import PIL
   print("Pillow:", PIL.__version__)
   print("In path:", any("scripts/modules" in p for p in sys.path))
   

3. If import succeeds and the path contains scripts/modules, your add-ons will be able to use the package.

Troubleshooting

• macOS Gatekeeper blocks Blender/installs: System Settings → Privacy & Security → allow Blender if prompted. If needed, remove the quarantine flag:

  xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Blender/Blender.app"

• pip says “Requirement already satisfied” but add-on still can’t import: pip likely installed to your user site (e.g., ~/.local/lib/python3.11/site-packages). Reinstall with --target to .../Blender/4.x/scripts/modules.
• Version mismatch: Make sure the path uses the exact Blender version you run (e.g., 4.3 vs 4.5), and that Python minor version (e.g., python3.11) matches what your Blender ships.
• Custom Steam library: If Blender isn’t under Program Files (x86) or ~/Library/Application Support/Steam, point the path to your actual steamapps/common/Blender folder.

Summary

• Best practice: use --target scripts/modules so Blender always finds your packages.
• On macOS (Steam), Python is inside the .app bundle under .../Blender.app/Contents/Resources/.../python/bin.
• On Windows (Steam), Python is under steamapps\common\Blender\4.x\python\bin.
• If Blender still cannot import a package, add your user site-packages path to sys.path in the add-on.