Module 1 · Downloading and Installing Python · Lesson 1 of 4
Downloading, installing & configuring Python
Getting Python onto your computer is three quick steps: download it, run the installer, and check it worked. The official home for it is python.org/downloads — the site even guesses your operating system and offers the right version.
$ python --version Python 3.14.0
One concept is worth pausing on: the PATH. It's the list of folders your computer searches when you type a command, so putting Python on it is what lets you simply type python in any terminal instead of spelling out where it was installed. How you do that depends on your operating system:
Just tick “Add Python to PATH” in the installer — done. Missed it? Re-run the installer and choose Modify, or add the install folder under Settings → Environment Variables → Path.
The python.org installer sets it up for you, and brew install python does too. To do it by hand, add the folder to your PATH in ~/.zshrc.
Usually already done — your package manager (apt, dnf…) puts python3 on the PATH. Installed it manually? Add the folder in ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile.
A heads-up for Linux and macOS users: you may already have Python. Most Linux distributions ship with it pre-installed — run python3 --version to check — though it can be an older release, so installing the latest from python.org keeps you current. On these systems the command is often python3 rather than python.
Whichever route you took, the final check is the same: open a terminal, run python --version (or python3 --version), and if a version number prints back, Python is installed and on your PATH — you're ready to write code.