Install & Compatibility
Where this runs
tested against v0.34.0 · pip install
no network on importno background threads
Install × environment matrix
Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux
muslpy 3.10–3.95 runs
build_error
glibcpy 3.10–3.95 runs
installs and imports cleanly · install 7.7s · import 0.266s · 267MB
270MB installed
● package 270MB
Code
Verified usage
Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.
point_cloud_utils
✓ import point_cloud_utils as pcu
✗ import point_cloud_utils
Most examples use 'pcu' alias.
chamfer_distance
✓ from point_cloud_utils import chamfer_distance
✗ from pcu import chamfer_distance
Should import from point_cloud_utils directly, not from the alias.
Basic usage: load mesh, compute chamfer distance, and downsample.
import point_cloud_utils as pcu
import numpy as np
# Load a point cloud from a PLY file
verts, faces = pcu.load_mesh_vf("bunny.ply")
# Compute chamfer distance between two point clouds
pcd1 = np.random.randn(100, 3).astype(np.float32)
pcd2 = np.random.randn(200, 3).astype(np.float32)
chamfer_dist, _ = pcu.chamfer_distance(pcd1, pcd2)
print("Chamfer distance:", chamfer_dist)
# Downsample point cloud
sampled_indices = pcu.downsample_point_cloud_uniform(pcd1, 50)
sampled_pcd = pcd1[sampled_indices]
Errors
Common errors & fixes
ImportError: DLL load failed while importing point_cloud_utils: The specified module could not be found.
Missing or incompatible C++ runtime libraries (e.g., Visual C++ Redistributable on Windows).
fixInstall Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (2015-2022) from https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe.
RuntimeError: CUDA error: no kernel image is available for execution on the device
The library was compiled for a specific CUDA architecture, but the GPU does not support it.
fixInstall a version of point-cloud-utils built for your GPU architecture, or use pip install --no-binary point-cloud-utils to build from source with your CUDA setup.
AttributeError: module 'point_cloud_utils' has no attribute 'chamfer_distance'
Using an outdated version that did not have that function, or typo.
fixUpdate to latest version: pip install --upgrade point-cloud-utils. Double-check the spelling: it's 'chamfer_distance'.
Upgrade
Version history
0.34.0latest on PyPI · released Apr 14, 2025
Audit
Dependencies
numpyrequiredCore operations on point clouds use numpy arrays.
scipyrequiredK-d tree, spatial queries, and interpolation.