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Troubleshooting

pip refuses to install (externally-managed-environment)

Homebrew Python and the system Python on Debian and Ubuntu refuse a bare pip install with error: externally-managed-environment. Install the command with pipx, which gives it its own environment:

pipx install wayback-archive

Or create a virtual environment and install into it:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install wayback-archive

pip stops with ResolutionImpossible (Python 3.9)

Wayback-Archive needs Python 3.10 or newer. On Python 3.9, pip skips 1.5.0, tries 1.4.2 to 1.4.6, finds that the requests version they need does not install on 3.9, and stops with ERROR: ResolutionImpossible. The python3 that ships with macOS is 3.9. Install Python 3.10 or newer (for example brew install python) and install again with pipx or in a new virtual environment.

Port already in use

python3 -m http.server 8080  # Use a different port

Font loading issues

  • Google Fonts: Downloaded automatically to avoid CORS issues
  • Corrupted fonts: Detected and removed from CSS automatically
  • Missing fonts: Some fonts may not exist in the Wayback Machine archive

See Font Loading Research Notes for details.

  • Icon groups (social media, contacts) are preserved automatically
  • Button links with sppb-btn or btn classes are preserved
  • Set REMOVE_CLICKABLE_CONTACTS=false to keep tel: and mailto: links

jQuery or libraries not loading

If the Wayback Machine does not have a site's jquery.min.js, the tool replaces it from code.jquery.com with the version the URL names (for example jquery-1.7.2/jquery.min.js or jquery.min.js?ver=3.6.0), or with jQuery 3.7.1 when the URL names no version or code.jquery.com does not have that version. Other missing libraries are only fetched live when they are hosted on Google Fonts, code.jquery.com or the Squarespace CDN; anything else is reported as failed (see How it works).