Installing Python on Windows 10 and 11: Full Guide

Step-by-step guide to installing Python on Windows, setting up PATH, verifying your installation, and fixing the most common Windows-specific issues.

Installing Python on Windows is straightforward, but there is one critical checkbox during setup that trips up a large number of beginners. Follow the steps below carefully and you will have a working Python installation in under five minutes. This guide covers Windows 10 and Windows 11 — the steps are identical for both.

1. Download the installer

   Go to python.org/downloads. The website automatically detects that you are on Windows and presents a button for the latest stable release. Click it to download the .exe installer to your Downloads folder.

   Always download Python from the official website. Avoid third-party mirrors or the Microsoft Store version, which has limitations for development use.

2. Run the installer and check 'Add to PATH'

   Open the downloaded .exe file. Before you click anything else, look at the bottom of the first installer screen — you will see a checkbox labelled “Add python.exe to PATH”.

   Check that box. It is unchecked by default.

   If you skip “Add python.exe to PATH”, the python command will not be recognised in any terminal window. This is the single most common Windows installation mistake. If you forget, the Troubleshooting section below shows you how to fix it.

   Once the box is checked, click “Install Now” (not “Customize installation” unless you have a specific reason to change defaults).

3. Approve the UAC prompt

   Windows will ask: “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?” Click Yes. This grants the installer the permissions it needs to write to Program Files and update your system PATH.

4. Wait for installation to complete

   The installer typically finishes in one to two minutes. When you see the “Setup was successful” screen, click Close.

5. Open Windows Terminal

   Press Windows + R, type wt, and press Enter. Alternatively, search for Terminal in the Start menu and open it.

   Windows Terminal is the modern shell host for Windows. It can run PowerShell, Command Prompt, or other shells. If you don’t have it, search for Command Prompt or PowerShell instead — the Python commands below work in all three.

6. Verify your installation

   In the terminal, run:

   python --version
   

   You should see the version number you just installed, for example:

   Python 3.13.5
   

   Also verify that pip (the package manager) is available:

   pip --version
   
7. Test the Python interpreter

   Launch the Python REPL (interactive interpreter) by typing:

   python
   

   You will see the >>> prompt:

   Python 3.13.5 (tags/v3.13.5, Jul 29 2025) [MSC v.1935 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
   Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
   >>>
   

   Run your first Python command:

   print("Hello from Python on Windows!")
   

   To exit the interpreter:

   exit()
   

   Or press Ctrl + Z then Enter.

PATH setup explained

When you check “Add python.exe to PATH”, the installer adds two directories to your system’s Path environment variable:

C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\
C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Scripts\

The first directory contains python.exe itself. The second contains pip.exe and other command-line tools installed with packages. Without both entries, the python and pip commands won’t be found in your terminal.

Troubleshooting

'python' is not recognized as a command

This means Python was not added to PATH. You have two options:

Quick fix — try the py launcher, which Windows installs separately:

py --version

Permanent fix — reinstall with PATH checked:

1. Open Settings → Apps and uninstall Python.
2. Download the installer again from python.org.
3. This time, check “Add python.exe to PATH” before installing.
4. Close and reopen your terminal after installation.

Manual PATH fix (if you don’t want to reinstall):

1. Search for “Edit the system environment variables” in the Start menu.
2. Click Environment Variables.
3. Under User variables, double-click Path.
4. Click New and add:
   C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313
   C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Scripts
   
   Replace <YourName> with your Windows username and Python313 with your actual version folder.
5. Click OK on all dialogs, then close and reopen your terminal.

Typing 'python' opens the Microsoft Store

Windows 10/11 includes a stub that redirects python to the Microsoft Store when the real Python isn’t on your PATH. Disable it:

1. Open Settings → Apps → Advanced app settings → App execution aliases.
2. Turn off both Python-related aliases.
3. Install Python from python.org and ensure PATH is set.

The Microsoft Store version of Python has limitations (restricted file system access, no pip by default) that will cause problems later in the course.

Permission denied during installation

Right-click the installer .exe file and select “Run as administrator”. This resolves most permission errors during installation.

If you see permission errors when running Python commands later, open Windows Terminal as administrator: right-click the Terminal icon in the taskbar → Run as administrator.

Windows Defender or SmartScreen blocks the installer

The Python installer is signed by the Python Software Foundation, so this warning is a false positive. When SmartScreen shows a warning:

1. Click “More info”.
2. Click “Run anyway”.

If you prefer, you can verify the installer’s integrity by checking the SHA256 hash published on python.org against the downloaded file.

Managing multiple Python versions

Windows installs a tool called the Python Launcher (py) that lets you run specific versions side by side.

List all installed versions:

py -0

Run a specific version:

py -3.13 --version
py -3.12 script.py

Set a default version by creating a py.ini file in your home folder (C:\Users\<YourName>\):

[defaults]
python=3.13

Next steps

Continue to VS Code Introduction

Install and configure Visual Studio Code as your Python editor.