what does pip do to not suck?

If you're getting gcc errors it sounds like the package you're trying to install contains some c/c++ stuff that needs compiling.

A lot of python packages that rely on things written in c/c++ ship those precompiled, which might account for why it feels easier for you.

I'm surprised to hear you say this because in all honesty, pip really sucks as far as package managers go. uv is a worthy replacement.

pip cannot install some system dependencies your library might need. Windows is extra difficult sometimes, as the library might require some paths during installation, Linux is way easier for this kind of stuff. Either you use WSL, or you follow these instructions for Windows I found by googling https://github.com/luarocks/luarocks/blob/main/docs/installation_instructions_for_windows.md

I use Mint btw

I'd love to hear a technical answer, but one thing that's probably part of it is the fact that pip is written in Python and Python runs everywhere without much problem (though uv also seems to work pretty flawlessly too lol)

@irelephant do anyone care a thing about windoze? :O