Macos path to python

5. Using Python on a Mac¶

Python on a Mac running macOS is in principle very similar to Python on any other Unix platform, but there are a number of additional features such as the IDE and the Package Manager that are worth pointing out.

5.1. Getting and Installing MacPython¶

macOS used to come with Python 2.7 pre-installed between versions 10.8 and 12.3. You are invited to install the most recent version of Python 3 from the Python website (https://www.python.org). A current “universal binary” build of Python, which runs natively on the Mac’s new Intel and legacy PPC CPU’s, is available there.

What you get after installing is a number of things:

• A Python 3.12 folder in your Applications folder. In here you find IDLE, the development environment that is a standard part of official Python distributions; and PythonLauncher, which handles double-clicking Python scripts from the Finder.
• A framework /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework , which includes the Python executable and libraries. The installer adds this location to your shell path. To uninstall MacPython, you can simply remove these three things. A symlink to the Python executable is placed in /usr/local/bin/.

The Apple-provided build of Python is installed in /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework and /usr/bin/python , respectively. You should never modify or delete these, as they are Apple-controlled and are used by Apple- or third-party software. Remember that if you choose to install a newer Python version from python.org, you will have two different but functional Python installations on your computer, so it will be important that your paths and usages are consistent with what you want to do.

IDLE includes a help menu that allows you to access Python documentation. If you are completely new to Python you should start reading the tutorial introduction in that document.

If you are familiar with Python on other Unix platforms you should read the section on running Python scripts from the Unix shell.

5.1.1. How to run a Python script¶

Your best way to get started with Python on macOS is through the IDLE integrated development environment, see section The IDE and use the Help menu when the IDE is running.

If you want to run Python scripts from the Terminal window command line or from the Finder you first need an editor to create your script. macOS comes with a number of standard Unix command line editors, vim and emacs among them. If you want a more Mac-like editor, BBEdit or TextWrangler from Bare Bones Software (see http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/index.html) are good choices, as is TextMate (see https://macromates.com/). Other editors include Gvim (https://macvim.org/macvim/) and Aquamacs (http://aquamacs.org/).

To run your script from the Terminal window you must make sure that /usr/local/bin is in your shell search path.

To run your script from the Finder you have two options:

• Drag it to PythonLauncher
• Select PythonLauncher as the default application to open your script (or any .py script) through the finder Info window and double-click it. PythonLauncher has various preferences to control how your script is launched. Option-dragging allows you to change these for one invocation, or use its Preferences menu to change things globally.

5.1.2. Running scripts with a GUI¶

With older versions of Python, there is one macOS quirk that you need to be aware of: programs that talk to the Aqua window manager (in other words, anything that has a GUI) need to be run in a special way. Use pythonw instead of python to start such scripts.

With Python 3.9, you can use either python or pythonw.

5.1.3. Configuration¶

Python on macOS honors all standard Unix environment variables such as PYTHONPATH , but setting these variables for programs started from the Finder is non-standard as the Finder does not read your .profile or .cshrc at startup. You need to create a file ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist . See Apple’s Technical Document QA1067 for details.

For more information on installation Python packages in MacPython, see section Installing Additional Python Packages .

5.2. The IDE¶

MacPython ships with the standard IDLE development environment. A good introduction to using IDLE can be found at http://www.hashcollision.org/hkn/python/idle_intro/index.html.

5.3. Installing Additional Python Packages¶

There are several methods to install additional Python packages:

• Packages can be installed via the standard Python distutils mode ( python setup.py install ).
• Many packages can also be installed via the setuptools extension or pip wrapper, see https://pip.pypa.io/.

5.4. GUI Programming on the Mac¶

There are several options for building GUI applications on the Mac with Python.

PyObjC is a Python binding to Apple’s Objective-C/Cocoa framework, which is the foundation of most modern Mac development. Information on PyObjC is available from https://pypi.org/project/pyobjc/.

The standard Python GUI toolkit is tkinter , based on the cross-platform Tk toolkit (https://www.tcl.tk). An Aqua-native version of Tk is bundled with OS X by Apple, and the latest version can be downloaded and installed from https://www.activestate.com; it can also be built from source.

wxPython is another popular cross-platform GUI toolkit that runs natively on macOS. Packages and documentation are available from https://www.wxpython.org.

PyQt is another popular cross-platform GUI toolkit that runs natively on macOS. More information can be found at https://riverbankcomputing.com/software/pyqt/intro.

5.5. Distributing Python Applications on the Mac¶

The standard tool for deploying standalone Python applications on the Mac is py2app. More information on installing and using py2app can be found at https://pypi.org/project/py2app/.

5.6. Other Resources¶

The MacPython mailing list is an excellent support resource for Python users and developers on the Mac:

Another useful resource is the MacPython wiki:

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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.

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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.

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