There are two recommended ways to install Python: one is to use the official installation package, which is suitable for novices; the other is to use Homebrew, which is suitable for developers. The first method is to go to the Python official website to download the macOS installation package (.pkg file), double-click to install, enter python3 --version to verify the version in the terminal. This method has clear graphical interface guidance, and it is recommended to choose a stable version. The second method requires that Homebrew is installed first, and then run brew install python installation. The installation path is /usr/local/bin or /opt/homebrew/bin to avoid conflicts with the system's own version. You can check the path through which python and which python3. If you need to set the new version as default, you can temporarily run alias python=python3 or write it to the .bash_profile or .zshrc file for long-term effectiveness, and you can also use pyenv to manage multiple versions. Both methods should pay attention to version and path consistency to ensure normal use.

Python is a very commonly used programming language on Mac. Although the system comes with Python 2, most developers will install newer versions (such as Python 3.x). Let’s talk about the key points directly: The recommended way to install Python is through the official installation package or Homebrew, which is simple but not easy to make mistakes.

Download and install the official Python package

This is the most intuitive method and is suitable for new users who are just starting out.

• Go to the Python official website and click to download the latest version of macOS installation package (.pkg file).
• Double-click the downloaded installation package and follow the prompts to install it step by step.
• After the installation is completed, open the terminal and enter python3 --version to see if the installation is successful.

The advantage of this method is that the graphical interface is clear and there is no need to type a command. However, it should be noted that there may be differences between different versions, and it is recommended to choose a stable version instead of a preview version.

Install Python using Homebrew (for developers)

This method is faster if you have used Homebrew, a common package management tool on Mac.

1. Make sure Homebrew is installed: run /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
2. Install Python: Run brew install python
3. Check version: python3 --version

Homebrew will place newly installed Python in /usr/local/bin or /opt/homebrew/bin by default, so that it will not conflict with the system's own Python.

Note: Sometimes when you enter python in the terminal or call the old version, you can use which python and which python3 to see if the path is correct.

Set the default Python version (optional)

If you want to directly enter python , you can use the new version of Python, you can set aliases or modify environment variables.

• Temporary setting of aliases: Run alias python=python3 in the terminal
• Long-term effect: add the above sentence to your shell configuration file (such as .bash_profile or .zshrc )

If you frequently switch multiple projects, you may want to consider using pyenv to manage multiple Python versions.

Basically that's it. Not complicated, but paying attention to path and version issues are easy to ignore. As long as you make sure that the version of the installation source and terminal call is consistent, there will generally be no problem.

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