opencv / opencv/opencv-python

OpenCV 5.0.0.93 - `cv2.data.haarcascades` xml files missing

Open
#1,244 6 comments 0 reactions 1 assignee View on GitHub

@asmorkalov is already working on this.

Since Jul 10, 2026.

bug
Dominant language
Python
Stars
5.4k
Forks
1k
Avg merge
22h 17m
Merged PRs (30d)
3

Description

The OpenCV 5.0.0.93 wheels and sdists ship with an empty cv2/data directory. Take this 5.0.0.93 wheel for macOS for example: https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/50/b9/2a3a9e23d7894f816792f93f2e73c017765a29e854ba343cb260da400a7e/opencv_contrib_python_headless-5.0.0.93-cp37-abi3-macosx_13_0_arm64.whl

It contains only an __init__.py file.

opencv_contrib_python_headless-5.0.0.93-cp37-abi3-macosx_13_0_arm64/cv2/data
└── __init__.py

1 directory, 1 file

The previous 4.13.0.92 wheels (example) do ship with a bunch of haarcascade_* files.

opencv_contrib_python_headless-4.13.0.92-cp37-abi3-macosx_13_0_arm64/cv2/data
├── __init__.py
├── haarcascade_eye_tree_eyeglasses.xml
├── haarcascade_eye.xml
├── haarcascade_frontalcatface_extended.xml
├── haarcascade_frontalcatface.xml
├── haarcascade_frontalface_alt_tree.xml
├── haarcascade_frontalface_alt.xml
├── haarcascade_frontalface_alt2.xml
├── haarcascade_frontalface_default.xml
├── haarcascade_fullbody.xml
├── haarcascade_lefteye_2splits.xml
├── haarcascade_license_plate_rus_16stages.xml
├── haarcascade_lowerbody.xml
├── haarcascade_profileface.xml
├── haarcascade_righteye_2splits.xml
├── haarcascade_russian_plate_number.xml
├── haarcascade_smile.xml
└── haarcascade_upperbody.xml

1 directory, 18 files

I would expect the haarcascade files to be present in 5.0+ wheels too, since I can't find an explicit mention that these files were removed. Was this intentional or is there a packaging bug?


PS: thanks for the major 5.0 release! Lots of exciting things to look forward to!

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Assessment

This issue has not been assessed yet.

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.