Fixing "ValueError: unknown locale: UTF-8" Error in Pelican 3.3

The "ValueError: unknown locale: UTF-8" error in Pelican 3.3 arises when the system's locale settings are not recognized by Python. Here's how to resolve this issue:

Check System Locale:

Verify the system's locale settings by running the following commands:

locale
locale -a

Set Environment Variables:

Explicitly set the environment variables LC_ALL and LANG to your preferred locale. For example:

export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

Edit Bash Profile:

If you want to make these changes persistent, add the above lines to your ~/.bash_profile file. This will ensure the settings are applied every time you open a terminal window.

Note:

As mentioned in the reported issue, the error arises due to assumptions made by Python about locale names. Explicitly setting these environment variables is a workaround for this bug.

Alternate Fix:

Edit the ~/.bash_profile file and update it with the following line:

export LANG=$(locale)

This command dynamically sets the LANG variable based on the current system locale.

Re-run Pelican:

After making these changes, re-run the pelican-quickstart command to see if the error is resolved.

Additional Tips:

• Ensure you have a valid locale installed on your system. Run sudo locale-gen to install any missing locales.
• Choose your preferred locale from the list provided by locale -a.
• If the error persists, consult the Pelican documentation or community support forums for further troubleshooting.