How to add python to path mac os

How to Add Python to Path on Mac, Linux, and Windows

Adding Python to the PATH environment variable makes running Python from any location in the command prompt or terminal easier.

Here’s how to add Python to the PATH in Windows and macOS/Linux.

Adding Python to Path on Windows

Find the Python installation path

Locate the folder where Python is installed. This is usually in the C:\PythonXY folder or C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\PythonXY folder, where X and Y represent the version of Python you have installed (e.g., Python38 for Python 3.8).

Open the “Environment Variables” window

Right-click on the “Computer” or “This PC” icon on the Desktop or in File Explorer, then click “Properties”. In the “System” window, click “Advanced system settings” on the left side. In the “System Properties” window, go to the “Advanced” tab and click the “Environment Variables” button.

Edit the PATH variable

In the “Environment Variables” window, under “System variables”, find the “Path” variable, select it, and click “Edit”. Then, in the “Edit environment variable” window, click “New” and paste the path to your Python installation folder (from Step 1).

Also, add the path to the “Scripts” folder, which is usually in the same folder as the Python installation (e.g., C:\PythonXY\Scripts). Finally, click “OK” to save the changes.

Test the new PATH setting.

Close any open command prompt windows and open a new one. For example, type python and press Enter. If Python is added to the PATH correctly, you should see the Python interpreter running with the version number displayed.

Adding Python to Path on macOS/Linux

In macOS and Linux, Python is usually already added to the PATH. If it’s not, you can add it by editing the shell configuration file:

Find the Python installation path

Open the terminal and run which python3 or which Python. This command will return the path to the Python executable (e.g., /usr/local/bin/python3).

Edit the shell configuration file

Open the shell configuration file in a text editor. For Bash, this is usually the ~/.bash_profile, ~/.bashrc, or ~/.profile file. For Zsh, this is the ~/.zshrc file.

Add the Python path to the configuration file

Add the following line to the file, replacing /path/to/python with the path from Step 1:

export PATH="/path/to/python:$PATH"

For example, if the path is /usr/local/bin/python3 , add the following line:

export PATH="/usr/local/bin/python3:$PATH"

Save and reload the configuration file

Save the changes and close the text editor. In the terminal, run source ~/.bash_profile, source ~/.bashrc, source ~/.profile, or source ~/.zshrc, depending on the file you edited in Step 2.

Test the new PATH setting

Close the terminal and open a new one. Type python or python3 and press Enter.

If Python is added to the PATH correctly, you should see the Python interpreter running with the version number displayed.

Источник

How to add Python to the PATH variable in Mac

The PATH variable is a list of directories where each directory​ contains a UNIX executable file (or its alias) for a command/program.

When a command is entered in the terminal, it searches for an executable file with the same name as the entered command in the PATH variable. In the event that the required file is not found, the terminal will respond​ with an error message saying that the command was not found.

One way to overcome this error is to write the complete directory of the executable file (or its alias) instead of just entering the command name. This, however, is not a very user-friendly approach.

An easier way to avoid this error is to add the executable files’ directory to the PATH variable. This often needs to be done after installing Python.

The complete path of the Python (or Python3) UNIX executable can be added (for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and up) by:

1. Opening the Terminal and entering the command: sudo nano /etc/paths . Enter your password when prompted to do so.
2. A list of directories that are currently a part of the PATH variable will appear. Enter the path of the Python install directory at the end of this list.
3. Press control + X to quit and then Y to save the changes.

Python can now be used directly from the Terminal without having to write its location every time. Try executing the command python —version to output the default version of Python installed on your system.

Use python3 —version to find out the version of Python3.x.

Источник

Python command not found on Mac OS

If you get the «python command not found» error on macOS, it means that Python is not installed on your computer or is not in your PATH environment variable. To fix this error, you can try one of the following solutions:

1. Install Python using the official installer from the Python website (https://www.python.org/downloads/). This will automatically add Python to your PATH, so you should be able to use the python command in a terminal window after installation.
2. If you already have Python installed, you can manually add it to your PATH. To do this, open a terminal window and run the following commands:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin/python3 

1. Replace /usr/local/bin/python3 with the path to your Python installation, if it is different.
2. Alternatively, you can use the full path to the Python executable when running a Python script, instead of using the python command. For example, if Python is installed at /usr/local/bin/python3 , you can run a Python script like this:

/usr/local/bin/python3 my_script.py 

¶How to install Python

To install Python on Windows, macOS, and Linux, you can follow these general steps:

1. Download the latest version of Python from the official Python website (https://www.python.org/downloads/). Make sure to download the version for your operating system.
2. Once the download is complete, run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
3. After the installation is finished, open a new terminal window and type python to run the Python interpreter. You should see the Python version and the prompt >>> , which indicates that Python is ready to accept commands.
4. To verify that Python was installed correctly, you can try running a simple program, such as the «Hello, World!» program. In the Python interpreter, type the following:

This should print the message «Hello, World!» on the screen, indicating that Python is working properly.

To exit the Python interpreter, type exit() or press CTRL + D .

Related video

Источник