How to Install Python on Your System: A Guide

To learn how to install Python on your system, you can follow a few straightforward steps. First, check if Python is already installed by opening a command-line interface and typing python --version or python3 --version.

You can install Python on Windows using the official installer from Python.org or through the Microsoft Store. On macOS, you can use the official installer or Homebrew. For Linux, use your package manager or build Python from source.

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll understand how to:

• Check if Python is installed by running python --version or python3 --version in a command-line interface.
• Upgrade Python by downloading and installing the latest version from Python.org.
• Install and manage multiple Python versions with pyenv to keep them separate.

This tutorial covers installing the latest Python on the most important platforms or operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. However, it doesn’t cover all the existing Linux distributions, as that would be a massive task. Nevertheless, you’ll find instructions for the most popular distributions available today.

To get the most out of this tutorial, you should be comfortable using your operating system’s terminal or command line.

Windows: How to Check or Get Python

In this section, you’ll learn to check whether Python is installed on your Windows operating system (OS) and which version you have. You’ll also explore three installation options that you can use on Windows.

For a more comprehensive guide on setting up a Windows machine for Python programming, check out Your Python Coding Environment on Windows: Setup Guide.

Checking the Python Version on Windows

To check whether you already have Python on your Windows machine, open a command-line application like PowerShell or the Windows Terminal.

Follow the steps below to open PowerShell on Windows:

1. Press the Win key.
2. Type PowerShell.
3. Press Enter.

Alternatively, you can right-click the Start button and select Windows PowerShell or Windows PowerShell (Admin). In some versions of Windows, you’ll find Terminal or Terminal (admin).

With the command line open, type in the following command and press the Enter key:

PS> python --version
Python 3.x.z

Using the --version switch will show you the installed version. Note that the 3.x.z part is a placeholder here. In your machine, x and z will be numbers corresponding to the specific version you have installed.

Alternatively, you can use the -V switch:

PS> python -V
Python 3.x.z

You can also use the py launcher, which is the Python launcher for Windows and is especially helpful if you plan to work with multiple Python versions:

PS> py --version
Python 3.x.z