Unable to install tables (Python, OS X) - could not find a local HDF5 installation

Question

I keep having an error

ERROR:: Could not find a local HDF5 installation

when I'm installing tables in Python:

pip install tables

I've downloaded and installed http://continuum.io/downloads but it didn't help. What else can I try to solve it?

Answer 1

If you are using the anaconda distribution you can just do:

$ conda install pytables

If you need to install from pip and already have the HDF5 libraries installed you can do:

$ HDF5_DIR=/path/to/hdf5 pip install tables

E.g. you could install HDF5 with conda and still install pytables using the method above but it's a lot easier just using conda.