# Using the Python SDK

The Roboflow Python SDK is a wrapper around the Roboflow REST API, providing abstract methods for interacting with Roboflow in Python code.

The Python SDK offers methods for managing projects and workspaces, uploading and downloading datasets, running inference on models, uploading model weights, and more.

Examples and references for using methods in the Python SDK are documented in the API Reference documentation.

## Resources

* [Installation](https://github.com/roboflow/roboflow-python#-installation) (GitHub)
* [Quickstart](https://github.com/roboflow/roboflow-python#quickstart) (GitHub)
* [Roboflow Python GitHub](https://github.com/roboflow/roboflow-python)
* [Roboflow Python Reference](https://roboflow.github.io/roboflow-python/)

## Installation

To install this package, you must use `Python >=3.9, <3.13`.

To install the Roboflow Python package, run the following command:

```python
pip install roboflow
```

### Lite Package

If you only need the [Vision Events SDK](/developer/python-sdk/vision-events.md) and CLI without heavy image processing dependencies (OpenCV, NumPy, Pillow), you can install the lightweight package instead. The lite package requires `Python >=3.10`.

```python
pip install roboflow-slim
```

The `roboflow-slim` package is significantly smaller than the full `roboflow` package because it omits NumPy, OpenCV, Matplotlib, and Pillow. It is well-suited for edge devices, serverless environments, CI/CD pipelines, and microservices that only need vision event logging.

Both packages share the same codebase and API. Code written with `roboflow-slim` works identically with the full `roboflow` package.

### Microsoft Visual C++ Instructions

Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable, is needed for some Python packages. You can download it from the official Microsoft website:

For x64 systems: <https://aka.ms/vs/16/release/vc_redist.x64.exe>

For x86 systems: <https://aka.ms/vs/16/release/vc_redist.x86.exe>

After downloading the appropriate file, run the installer and follow the prompts to install the redistributable.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

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Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.roboflow.com/developer/python-sdk/using-the-python-sdk.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.