How to Install Scrubadub in Python

Scrubadub is a Python library for cleaning personally identifiable information (PII) from text. It helps protect privacy by removing sensitive data. This guide will walk you through installing and using it.

Prerequisites

Before installing Scrubadub, ensure you have Python 3.6 or later. You can check your Python version using python --version in your terminal.

python --version

If you don't have Python installed, download it from the official website first.

Install Scrubadub Using pip

The easiest way to install Scrubadub is via pip, Python's package manager. Open your terminal or command prompt and run:

pip install scrubadub

This will download and install Scrubadub and its dependencies. Wait for the installation to complete.

Verify the Installation

After installation, verify it works by importing it in Python. Open a Python shell and try:

 
import scrubadub
print(scrubadub.__version__)

If you see a version number, the installation was successful. If you get an error, check our guide on How To Solve ModuleNotFoundError.

Basic Usage Example

Here's a simple example of how to use Scrubadub to clean text:

 
from scrubadub import Scrubber

text = "Contact me at john.doe@example.com or call 555-123-4567."
scrubber = Scrubber()
clean_text = scrubber.scrub(text)

print(clean_text)

This will output:

Contact me at {{EMAIL}} or call {{PHONE}}.

Scrubadub automatically detected and replaced the email and phone number.

Customizing Scrubadub

You can customize what Scrubadub detects. For example, to add a custom detector:

 
from scrubadub.detectors import RegexDetector
from scrubadub.filth import Filth

class ZipCodeDetector(RegexDetector):
    filth_type = 'zip'
    regex = r'\b\d{5}(?:[-\s]\d{4})?\b'

scrubber = Scrubber()
scrubber.add_detector(ZipCodeDetector())

text = "My zip code is 90210."
print(scrubber.scrub(text))

This will output:

My zip code is {{ZIP}}.

Common Installation Issues

If you encounter errors during installation, try these solutions:

1. Permission errors: Use pip install --user scrubadub to install for your user only.

2. Outdated pip: Update pip first with python -m pip install --upgrade pip.

3. Virtual environments: Consider using a virtual environment to avoid conflicts.

Conclusion

Installing Scrubadub in Python is straightforward with pip. This powerful library helps protect privacy by cleaning sensitive information from text. Remember to verify the installation and explore its customization options.

For more advanced usage, check the official Scrubadub documentation. If you face any issues, our guide on ModuleNotFoundError might help.