Cannot install a different version of numpy (can't use gensim and other dependent packages)

[mcjkurz]

Describe the current behavior
Gensim and other packages that are dependent on the earlier versions of numpy cannot be used, since for some reason it has become impossible to install a different version of numpy (as shown in the attached images). I have tried using importlib and --ignore-installed as well.

Even if the installation of an earlier version is successful, the real version of the package is still 2.0.2.

Since gensim requires numpy < 2.0, it cannot be loaded properly.

These are the logs (frozen modules mentioned):

Timestamp	Level	Message
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:13 PM	WARNING	0.00s - Note: Debugging will proceed. Set PYDEVD_DISABLE_FILE_VALIDATION=1 to disable this validation.
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:13 PM	WARNING	0.00s - to python to disable frozen modules.
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:13 PM	WARNING	0.00s - make the debugger miss breakpoints. Please pass -Xfrozen_modules=off
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:13 PM	WARNING	0.00s - Debugger warning: It seems that frozen modules are being used, which may
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:12 PM	INFO	Kernel started: b4a80754-8609-4ccc-8919-ad241fe9a0fb, name: python3
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:11 PM	WARNING	0.00s - Note: Debugging will proceed. Set PYDEVD_DISABLE_FILE_VALIDATION=1 to disable this validation.
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:11 PM	WARNING	0.00s - to python to disable frozen modules.
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:11 PM	WARNING	0.00s - make the debugger miss breakpoints. Please pass -Xfrozen_modules=off
Mar 21, 2025, 3:40:11 PM	WARNING	0.00s - Debugger warning: It seems that frozen modules are being used, which may

Describe the expected behavior
I would like to be able to install any version of numpy in the current Python session.

What web browser you are using
Google Chrome

[metrizable]

@mcjkurz Thanks for filing the issue and thanks for using Colab.

I see that you're trying to use gensim. As you've noted, it appears gensim does not support Numpy 2. There is an old pull request (#3535) that seems stuck. I would have recommended reaching out to the package maintainers, but it I see that the Gensim maintainers have announced that Gensim is in stable maintenance mode and is no longer accepting new features.

In your case here, downgrading a core package like numpy may have unforeseen consequences for other packages and leaves the runtime in an unsupported state. However, although YMMV, I was able to downgrade numpy and use gensim in Colab.

What I think is missing from your code is that you needed to restart your runtime (either through the UI via "Runtime > Restart session" menu or through code as the example) to pick up the different package version. Longer term, I would recommend seeking a supported library replacement to Gensim, if possible.

[Velnbur]

I still have a problem with this as faiss doesn't support numpy 2.0.2 as well. In my case collab just crashes and nothing works from what you suggested. So I used:

!pip install -q condacolab

#---

import condacolab
condacolab.install()

#---

!conda install -c pytorch -c nvidia -c conda-forge faiss-gpu=1.11.0 pytorch-metric-learning pytorch=2.5 torchvision=0.20 timm kagglehub einops=0.7.0 sympy=1.13.1
!pip install -qq numpy==1.26
get_ipython().kernel.do_shutdown(restart=True)
# this code returns some collab logs and:
# {'status': 'ok', 'restart': True}

#---

# Crashes at this point, restarts and numpy version is still 2.0.2

import numpy
numpy.__version__
# '2.0.2'