macOS SSL cert error in WorldRecords.ipynb (Python 3.12)

[AAdewunmi]

Hi macOS users,

If you hit

SSLCertVerificationError: certificate verify failed

when running the gazpacho.get(URL) cell on macOS, it usually means your Python build can’t find the system CA bundle. This is common with the python.org installer.

Quick fix in the notebook:

%pip install certifi --upgrade

import os, certifi
os.environ["SSL_CERT_FILE"] = certifi.where()

Then rerun the gazpacho.get(URL) cell.

Alternate system fix:

Run Install Certificates.command

Hope this saves someone time!

[headfirstpython]

A few alternatives to the python.org installer are:

1. On the Mac, use Homebrew to install software (with Python well supported): https://brew.sh/
2. On any platform, use Astral's uv tool to manage your Python installs: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/

Option 2 is my tool of choice when it comes to installing and managing my Python projects (and, to date, I've yet to see the SSL cert error when using uv). Regrettably, uv became most Python programmer's tool of choice about a year after the 3rd Edition of Head First Python hit bookshelves... sigh. ;-)

[AAdewunmi]

Thanks for the alternatives and the links, that’s really helpful context. I’ve been using the python.org installer so far, but I’ll give uv a try; avoiding the SSL cert hiccup alone makes it worth it. 😎