DeepLabCut YAML install works on macOS, but on Windows the GUI fails with Qt/PySide6 import errors #3252

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1. RaphJP

   closed this as completedon Mar 22, 2026
2. RaphJP

   reopened this on Mar 22, 2026
3. deruyter92 commented on Mar 23, 2026

   

   deruyter92

   on Mar 23, 2026

   Last edited by deruyter92

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   @RaphJP

   (Edited response)
   This issue seems to be caused by a dll shadowing problem, as a result of mixed conda and pip installations. In this case, adjusting the conda file can likely resolve the problem. I opened PR #3253 to address this.

   Can you try adding pyside6 to the list of conda dependencies in the DEEPLABCUT.yaml file? Like so:

   name: DEEPLABCUT-3
   channels:
     - conda-forge
     - defaults
   dependencies:
     - python=3.10
     - pip
     - ipython
     - jupyter
     - ffmpeg
     - pyside6
     - pip:
       - torch
       - torchvision
       - --pre
       - deeplabcut[gui,modelzoo,wandb]
   
   

   This likely should resolve your problem. Let me know if this helps.

   Note:
   While we currently still support installation via conda yaml for historical reasons, this is not the recommended installation procedure. Since all dependencies are now available independently of conda, we do not need to use mixed conda and pip installations. Below I posted two alternative installation routes that we fully recommend:

   1. Via pip

   create a conda environment (note: this is only the environment, we do not install any packages using conda)

   conda create -n dlc-new python=3.10
   conda activate dlc-new
   

   install pytorch and DeepLabCut

   pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu126
   pip install --pre deeplabcut[gui,modelzoo,wandb]
   

   run DeepLabCut

   python -m deeplabcut
   

   2. Via uv (faster!)

   Clone the DeepLabCut GitHub repository and move into the created directory

   git clone https://github.com/DeepLabCut/DeepLabCut.git
   cd DeepLabCut
   

   install uv once if you don't have it installed allready.

   pipx install uv
   

   if you are using a GPU with CUDA, on Windows, install pytorch first

   uv pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu126
   

   install all dependencies using uv

   uv sync --all-extras
   

   run deeplabcut:

   uv run deeplabcut
   

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4. deruyter92

   self-assigned this

   on Mar 23, 2026
5. deruyter92

   added

   Installation

   another package code issueBug/issue that relates to a dlc dependencyBug/issue that relates to a dlc dependency

   on Mar 23, 2026
6. C-Achard

   linked a pull request that will close this issueupdate conda yaml: add pyside6 as conda dependency #3253on Mar 24, 2026
7. C-Achard

   added the

   Bug

   issue type on Mar 24, 2026
8. RaphJP commented on Mar 25, 2026

   

   RaphJP

   on Mar 25, 2026

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   Thanks for the suggestions 👍 :)

   I tried all three methods you suggested, and all of them were successful in launching the GUI on Windows.

   In particular, explicitly adding pyside6 to the YAML dependencies seems to fix the original installation problem, and the environment now installs without the previous Qt/PySide-related error.

   That said, I found one secondary issue that was common across all three methods:
   the GUI only opened successfully when I ran it as Administrator privileges, and in that case the "Choose" button in the "Browse video file" dialog is disabled, so I cannot actually select a video file.

   Running DeepLabCut directly from Jupyter Notebook worked normally, so this seems specific to the GUI file browser.

   So the original installation / GUI startup issue appears to be resolved, but there is still this follow-up issue with file selection under Administrator mode.

   Please let me know if this is a known Windows-specific behavior or if there is a recommended workaround.
9. C-Achard commented on Mar 25, 2026

   

   C-Achard

   on Mar 25, 2026

   Last edited by C-Achard

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   Hello @RaphJP,

   I think the main issue here may be the current default behavior of the “Browse for videos” dialog rather than something inherently Windows-specific, as by default it expects the user to pick a folder of videos, rather than a single video.
   To be allowed to pick a single video, one currently has to check the "Select individual files" checkbox, as shown below.

   

   If that checkbox is not enabled, the disabled “Choose” button would be expected behavior when picking a single video file.

   That said, if you still see the same issue even after enabling “Select individual files”, especially only when running as Administrator, that would be useful to know, since Administrator mode itself should not be affecting the UI at all unless something is wrong (it may help with Windows symlinks however).

   Best,
   Cyril

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10. RaphJP

    closed this as completedon Apr 4, 2026