Environment:TA Lib Ta lib python TA Lib C Library

Knowledge Sources	ta-lib TA-Lib Official ta-lib-python
Domains	Infrastructure, Financial_Analysis
Last Updated	2026-02-09 22:00 GMT

Overview

TA-Lib C library version 0.6.4, the underlying native shared library that provides 150+ technical analysis indicator functions.

Description

The TA-Lib C library is the mandatory native dependency for the TA-Lib Python wrapper. It provides the core implementation of all technical analysis indicators (SMA, RSI, BBANDS, MACD, candlestick patterns, etc.) as C functions. The Python wrapper links against this library at compile time and calls into it at runtime through a Cython-generated extension module. The library must be built and installed before the Python package can be compiled from source. On Windows, the static library variant (`ta-lib-static`) is used instead of the shared library.

Usage

This environment is required before building or installing the TA-Lib Python wrapper from source. If using pre-built binary wheels (available since v0.6.5), this library is bundled inside the wheel and does not need separate installation. This is the foundational dependency for all indicator computation, streaming, and pattern recognition implementations.

System Requirements

Category	Requirement	Notes
OS	Linux, macOS, Windows	BSD and SunOS also supported
Build Tools	CMake, Make (Unix) or MSVC (Windows)	Required for building from source
Network	Internet access for download	Source archive from GitHub releases
Disk	~10 MB source, ~5 MB installed	Lightweight native library

Dependencies

System Packages (Linux)

`cmake`
`make`
`gcc` or `g++`
`curl`
`unzip`

System Packages (macOS)

`cmake`
`make`
Xcode Command Line Tools (provides `clang`)
Or simply: `brew install ta-lib`

System Packages (Windows)

MSVC (Visual Studio Build Tools)
Or download pre-built MSI installer

Credentials

No credentials required. The TA-Lib C library source is publicly available on GitHub.

Quick Install

# === macOS (Homebrew) ===
brew install ta-lib

# === macOS (Apple Silicon, explicit arch) ===
arch -arm64 brew install ta-lib
export TA_INCLUDE_PATH="$(brew --prefix ta-lib)/include"
export TA_LIBRARY_PATH="$(brew --prefix ta-lib)/lib"

# === Linux (from source using CMake) ===
TALIB_C_VER=0.6.4
curl -L -o talib-${TALIB_C_VER}.zip \
  https://github.com/TA-Lib/ta-lib/archive/refs/tags/v${TALIB_C_VER}.zip
unzip -q talib-${TALIB_C_VER}.zip
cd ta-lib-${TALIB_C_VER}
mkdir -p include/ta-lib/ && cp include/*.h include/ta-lib/
mkdir -p _build && cd _build
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local ..
make && sudo make install

# === Linux (from source using configure/make) ===
tar -xzf ta-lib-0.6.4-src.tar.gz
cd ta-lib-0.6.4/
./configure --prefix=/usr
make
sudo make install

# === Windows ===
# Download and run: ta-lib-0.6.4-windows-x86_64.msi
# Or download ZIP and extract to c:\ta-lib

# === Conda ===
conda install -c conda-forge libta-lib

Code Evidence

Library search and warning from `setup.py:60-68`:

for path in library_dirs:
    try:
        files = os.listdir(path)
        if any(lib_talib_name in f for f in files):
            break
    except OSError:
        pass
else:
    warnings.warn('Cannot find ta-lib library, installation may fail.')

Library name differs on Windows from `setup.py:14,39`:

lib_talib_name = 'ta-lib'               # the name as of TA-Lib 0.6.1

# ... inside win32 block:
lib_talib_name = 'ta-lib-static'

C library version used in build scripts from `tools/build_talib_linux.sh:3`:

TALIB_C_VER="${TALIB_C_VER:=0.6.4}"

TA-Lib initialization at import from `talib/__init__.py:144-145`:

_ta_initialize()
atexit.register(_ta_shutdown)

Environment variable path overrides from `setup.py:51-55`:

if 'TA_INCLUDE_PATH' in os.environ:
    include_dirs = os.environ['TA_INCLUDE_PATH'].split(os.pathsep)
if 'TA_LIBRARY_PATH' in os.environ:
    library_dirs = os.environ['TA_LIBRARY_PATH'].split(os.pathsep)

Common Errors

Error Message	Cause	Solution
`Cannot find ta-lib library, installation may fail.`	Library not found in default search paths	Install TA-Lib C or set `TA_LIBRARY_PATH`
`fatal error: ta-lib/ta_defs.h: No such file or directory`	C headers not installed	Install TA-Lib C or set `TA_INCLUDE_PATH`
`unresolved external symbol TA_Initialize`	Linker cannot find the library	On Windows, ensure 32/64-bit architecture matches Python
`make` fails with `No such file or directory`	Path contains spaces	Use a path without spaces
`make -jX` fails on first run	Parallel make race condition	Re-run `make -jX` followed by `make install`
ARM64 `configure` fails	Outdated `config.guess` file	Use `./configure --build=aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu` or copy newer `config.guess`
`Permission denied` on headers	Insufficient permissions to `/usr/include`	Install to user-accessible location or use `sudo`

Compatibility Notes

Version branches: TA-Lib C 0.6.1+ changed library name from `ta_lib` to `ta-lib`. This affects which Python wrapper version to use:
- `ta-lib-python` 0.4.x supports `ta-lib` C 0.4.x + NumPy 1
- `ta-lib-python` 0.5.x supports `ta-lib` C 0.4.x + NumPy 2
- `ta-lib-python` 0.6.x supports `ta-lib` C 0.6.x + NumPy 2
Windows: Uses static linking (`ta-lib-static`) and does not use `runtime_library_dirs`.
macOS: `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH` must be set for wheel repair; `delocate-wheel` bundles the library into wheels.
Linux: `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` must include the library path at runtime when not installed to standard locations. `auditwheel repair` bundles the library into manylinux/musllinux wheels.
Conda: The `libta-lib` package from conda-forge provides the C library as an alternative to manual installation.

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