Combine --user with --prefix error with setup.py install

Question

I was trying to install Python packages a system I recently gained access to. I was trying to take advantage of Python\'s relatively new per user site-packages directory, an

Answer 1

As has been noted in the comments, the accepted answer (by @gotgenes, who, presumably, has genes) can lead to unexpected consequences.

@rogeleaderr says, "Note that keeping this file like this will make Python think that / is your root python library directory, leading to confusing issues if you try to install other new packages."

Rather than write a new config file, as @gotgenes recommends, a better option is to add --prefix= (with no text to the right of the equals sign) as an option on the command line, as in

$ python setup.py install --user --prefix=