Fix PIL Imaging Backend Error | Generated by AI

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This error means your PIL installation is either missing its binary backend (_imaging) or you’re accidentally using the old “PIL” package instead of the modern “Pillow.” Here’s how to fix it:

  1. Make sure you’re on Python 3 If python is pointing at Python 2, switch to Python 3:

    python3 --version
python3 scripts/content/avatar.py

  2. Uninstall any stale PIL package

    # this removes the old PIL if it’s installed via pip
python3 -m pip uninstall -y PIL

  3. (Re)install Pillow

    python3 -m pip install --upgrade --force-reinstall pillow

  4. Install required system libraries On Ubuntu you’ll need the imaging headers so Pillow can build its _imaging extension:

    sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y libjpeg-dev zlib1g-dev
# then reinstall Pillow so it recompiles against those libs
python3 -m pip install --upgrade --force-reinstall pillow

  5. Use a virtual-environment (optional but recommended)

    python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install pillow
python scripts/content/avatar.py

After that, from PIL import Image should work without the _imaging import error.

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