pip install chromadb fails building the hnswlib wheel on macOS

TL;DR

Disable hnswlib's native-architecture flags before installing: ` export HNSWLIB\_NO\_NATIVE=1 pip install chromadb ` This was confirmed working by multiple reporters in the thread.

Steps

1. On macOS 13.x, pip install chromadb fails while building the hnswlib wheel

with clang errors like "unknown type name 'nullptr_t'" and "command '/usr/bin/clang' failed with exit code 1". Multiple users hit this across Python 3.9 through 3.11.

2. Disable hnswlib's native-architecture flags before installing:

export HNSWLIB_NO_NATIVE=1
pip install chromadb

3. This was confirmed working by multiple reporters in the thread.
4. If that still fails, switching to Python 3.10.10 (which had prebuilt wheels at

the time) was another confirmed workaround. Prefer the env var first; it is the less disruptive fix.

When to use

You are seeing this: Multiple users hit this across Python 3.9 through 3.11. Use this skill when you run into "pip install chromadb fails building the hnswlib wheel on macOS".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

Versions mentioned in the source: Python 3.10.10. If you are on something much newer or older, the details may have shifted.

Why this happens

hnswlib compiles with native CPU-architecture flags that the toolchain cannot handle, so the build blows up on Apple hardware regardless of Python version.

A user asked why pip install chromadb failed on macOS with clang errors building the hnswlib wheel, hit across Python 3.9 through 3.11. The verified resolution: hnswlib compiles with native CPU-architecture flags the toolchain cannot handle, so run export HNSWLIBNONATIVE=1 before installing; confirmed working by multiple reporters, with Python 3.10.10 (which had prebuilt wheels) as a fallback workaround. Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thr_BzkK5BQzzShMJiuQaRrwbw