Installing Python on Your Computer: Complete Guide

A platform-aware guide to installing Python on Windows, macOS, or Linux, with verification steps to confirm your installation is working correctly.

Installing Python is the first concrete step toward building with it. The process differs slightly depending on your operating system, but the end result is the same: a python3 (or python) executable on your PATH, a package manager called pip, and a working interactive interpreter you can launch from your terminal. This page gives you an overview of each platform and the verification commands you will run after installing. If you want the full step-by-step walkthrough, jump to your platform guide directly from the cards below.

Choose your operating system

Windows

Windows 10 or 11 — installer from python.org with PATH setup instructions.

macOS

Mac computers — official .pkg installer or Homebrew.

Linux

Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, and more — via your system package manager.

Quick installation overview

Windows

1. Download the latest Python installer from python.org/downloads.
2. Run the installer — check “Add python.exe to PATH” before clicking Install Now.
3. Open Windows Terminal and verify:

python --version

If you skip the “Add to PATH” checkbox, the python command won’t be recognised in any terminal. See the Windows guide for the fix.

macOS

1. Download the latest .pkg installer from python.org/downloads.
2. Open and run the installer, accepting the licence agreement.
3. Open a new Terminal window and verify:

python3 --version

Alternatively, install via Homebrew:

brew install python@3

macOS ships with a system Python that you should leave untouched. Always use python3 to call the version you installed.

Linux

Most Linux distributions include Python 3 by default. Check first:

python3 --version

If it’s missing or outdated, install it via your package manager:

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt update && sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv

# Fedora / RHEL
sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip

# Arch / Manjaro
sudo pacman -S python python-pip

Verifying your installation

Once you have installed Python, open a terminal and run the appropriate command for your platform:

Windows

python --version

You should see output like:

Python 3.13.5

If python3 is not found on Windows, try python — they often refer to the same installation. On macOS and Linux, always prefer python3 to avoid accidentally invoking a legacy Python 2 binary.

Also confirm that pip (the Python package manager) is available — you will need it throughout this course:

Windows

pip --version

Expected output (version numbers will vary):

pip 24.0 from /usr/local/lib/python3.13/site-packages/pip (python 3.13)

Test the interactive interpreter

Python ships with an interactive interpreter called the REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop). You can use it to run Python expressions one line at a time — great for quick experiments:

Windows

python

You will see the >>> prompt, which means Python is ready:

Python 3.13.5 (main, Jul 29 2025) on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

Try a quick command:

print("Python is installed and working!")

To exit the interpreter, type exit() or press Ctrl + D (macOS/Linux) / Ctrl + Z then Enter (Windows).

If anything doesn’t work as expected, head to the detailed guide for your platform — each one includes a thorough troubleshooting section.

Platform-specific guides

Windows — Full Guide

Covers PATH setup, the Microsoft Store conflict, and multiple Python versions.

macOS — Full Guide

Covers Homebrew vs. direct download, certificate errors, and shell configuration.

Linux — Full Guide

Covers apt, dnf, pacman, the deadsnakes PPA, and virtual environment best practices.