chroma-core/chroma · error · ValueError

The sentence_transformers python package is not installed. P

Error message

The sentence_transformers python package is not installed. Please install it with `pip install sentence_transformers`

What it means

Error "The sentence_transformers python package is not installed. Please install it with `pip install sentence_transformers`" thrown in chroma-core/chroma.

Source

Thrown at chromadb/utils/embedding_functions/huggingface_sparse_embedding_function.py:45

        self,
        model_name: str,
        device: str,
        task: Optional[TaskType] = "document",
        query_config: Optional[HuggingFaceSparseEmbeddingFunctionQueryConfig] = None,
        **kwargs: Any,
    ):
        """Initialize SparseEncoderEmbeddingFunction.

        Args:
            model_name (str, optional): Identifier of the Huggingface SparseEncoder model
            Some common models: prithivida/Splade_PP_en_v1, naver/splade-cocondenser-ensembledistil, naver/splade-v3
            device (str, optional): Device used for computation
            **kwargs: Additional arguments to pass to the Splade model.
        """
        try:
            from sentence_transformers import SparseEncoder
        except ImportError:
            raise ValueError(
                "The sentence_transformers python package is not installed. Please install it with `pip install sentence_transformers`"
            )

        self.model_name = model_name
        self.device = device
        self.task = task
        self.query_config = query_config
        validate_embedding_function_kwargs_are_safe(kwargs)
        for key, value in kwargs.items():
            if not isinstance(value, (str, int, float, bool, list, dict, tuple)):
                raise ValueError(f"Keyword argument {key} is not a primitive type")
        self.kwargs = kwargs

        if model_name not in self.models:
            self.models[model_name] = SparseEncoder(
                model_name_or_path=model_name, device=device, **kwargs
            )
        self._model = self.models[model_name]

View on GitHub (pinned to aecdd12c8a)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at chromadb/utils/embedding_functions/huggingface_sparse_embedding_function.py:45 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of chroma-core/chroma@aecdd12c8a (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/936b4d6e45542d4a. Report an issue: GitHub.