How to Check the Python Version on Linux and Windows: A Complete Guide

Python is one of the most popular programming languages, used in web development, data science, automation, and much more. To ensure compatibility with your project requirements or troubleshoot issues, it's crucial to know which version of Python is installed on your system. Whether you’re running a Linux or Windows operating system, checking your Python version is a simple but essential task.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to check your Python version on both Linux and Windows. Additionally, we’ll also cover some common issues related to Python versions and how to resolve them.

Checking Python Version on Linux

Linux, with its wide variety of distributions, has built-in tools to help you quickly find the installed Python version. Let’s take a look at how to check the Python version using the command line.

1. Open the Terminal

The first step is to open a terminal window. Depending on your Linux distribution, this might be called "Terminal," "Console," "Shell," or something similar. You can typically open the terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or searching for "Terminal" in your application menu.

2. Check the Python Version

To check the version of Python 2.x (if it's installed), use the following command:

python --version

This will output the version of Python 2.x that is installed. For example:

Python 2.7.18

If you want to check the version of Python 3.x, use:

python3 --version

You’ll see an output like:

Python 3.8.5

3. Alternate Methods to Verify Python Version

In some distributions, python may point to Python 3.x instead of Python 2.x. If that’s the case, running python --version may show Python 3.x. To double-check, you can use the following commands:

• For Python 2.x: python2 --version
• For Python 3.x: python3 --version

Additionally, you can check for Python version details by inspecting the python binary path:

which python

or

which python3

4. How to Install/Upgrade Python on Linux

If Python is not installed or you need to upgrade to a newer version, you can install or upgrade Python using your package manager. For instance, on Ubuntu or Debian-based systems, you can use:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3

On Red Hat or Fedora-based systems, you can use:

sudo dnf install python3

Checking Python Version on Windows

The process to check the Python version on Windows is similar, but with a few Windows-specific steps.

1. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell

On Windows, you can use Command Prompt or PowerShell to check your Python version. To open Command Prompt, press Windows + R, type cmd, and hit Enter. Alternatively, you can search for "PowerShell" in the Start menu.

2. Check the Python Version

Once the terminal is open, you can check the Python version by typing the following command:

python --version

or

python -V

This will display the version of Python currently installed on your system. For example:

Python 3.9.6

If you have both Python 2.x and Python 3.x installed, running python --version might give you the Python 2.x version. To check for Python 3.x specifically, use:

python3 --version

3. Verify Python Installation Path

If the command doesn't work or Python isn't recognized, it could be because the Python executable is not added to the system’s PATH. You can verify the path where Python is installed by using:

where python

This will return the location of the python.exe executable if it’s installed.

4. Installing or Upgrading Python on Windows

If Python is not installed, or if you need a different version, you can easily install Python from the official website:

1. Visit python.org.
2. Download the installer for your version of Windows (either 32-bit or 64-bit).
3. Run the installer, making sure to check the box that says Add Python to PATH during installation.
4. After installation, reopen the Command Prompt and run python --version again to confirm the installation.

If you need to upgrade to a newer version of Python, you can simply download the latest installer from the website and run it over the existing installation.

Common Python Version Issues and Solutions

Sometimes, you may encounter issues with conflicting versions of Python, especially if you have both Python 2.x and Python 3.x installed. Here are some common issues and their solutions:

1. Command Not Found Error

If you see an error like command not found: python when running python --version, it could mean that Python is either not installed or not added to your system’s PATH. To resolve this, follow the installation steps mentioned above for your operating system.

2. Version Conflicts Between Python 2.x and 3.x

On many systems, both Python 2.x and Python 3.x can be installed simultaneously. If the command python refers to Python 2.x and you need Python 3.x, you can use the command python3 to specifically reference Python 3.x.

If you want to make Python 3.x the default version when running python, you can create an alias (on Linux/Mac) or modify environment variables on Windows.

3. Using Virtual Environments

If you are working on a project that requires a specific version of Python, it’s best practice to use a Python virtual environment. This allows you to isolate your project dependencies from the system-wide Python installation.

To create a virtual environment:

1. Install virtualenv (if it's not installed): pip install virtualenv
2. Create a virtual environment: virtualenv venv
3. Activate the virtual environment:
   • On Linux/Mac: source venv/bin/activate
   • On Windows: .\venv\Scripts\activate

Once activated, the virtual environment will use its own version of Python.

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