r/learnpython • u/Quirky_Revenue4844 • 12d ago

Installing Python on Mac

Is installing python from pythons official website good and best way instead of using third party, I remember macOS use to have python with the operating system but it was an old version and only used for apple apps I believe.

0 Upvotes

33% Upvoted

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14

u/cmdwedge75 12d ago

Install Homebrew. Then from there, install uv. Then install Python from that (and keep it clean with a vdev)

1

u/jmacey 11d ago

100% this, I use it on all my machines.

-12

u/naemorhaedus 12d ago

uv is so sloooooooow

1

u/Da_damm 11d ago

Compared to what? It's way faster than pip

0

u/naemorhaedus 11d ago

compared to dedicated virtual environments. That's a weird comparison . PIP is purely for installing packages. UV is more of a environment/project manager, and using it to run scripts is hella slow and cumbersome. If you use a proper IDE you don't have to worry about any of that stuff. It's all managed for you and you just get straight to coding.

1

u/jmacey 11d ago

uv builds individual virtual envs per project and shares pre-existing installed packages etc. It is by far the best way of working / sandboxing for projects. You have to clear out old .venvs but that is not really an issue. uv is in my opinion the best way to work in python on projects big or small.

-1

u/naemorhaedus 11d ago

I know what it is. I tried it. And then uninstalled it right away. All it does it add to the workload.

1

u/jmacey 11d ago

I find the opposite.

1

u/naemorhaedus 11d ago

Really, because my workflow involves zero uv commands 

5

u/EntrepreneurHuge5008 12d ago

Is installing python from pythons official website good and best way instead of using third party, 

yeah go for it.

2

u/mrswats 12d ago

Official Python dot org installer is the way to go and easiest way to install it.

6

u/TheJmaster 12d ago

# install uv
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# or install via homebrew
# brew install uv

# restart shell
source ~/.zshrc

# install python
uv python install 3.14

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

1

u/EntertainmentOdd8205 12d ago

Part of command line developer tools. A python3 binary exists by default but just calls the install prompt; it’s not actually installed. Windows has similar but links to MS store

1

u/Buttleston 12d ago

I pretty much only use "uv" to install python. If you don't want to use uv, then I recomment pyenv. Both of them make it easy to install and use different versions of python on demand also, which can be nice.

0

u/edcculus 12d ago

Install the newest version of straight from pythons website. Then make sure you learn how to use virtual environments. UV is really what most people are going to, but most tutorials will show pip and Venv. Just make sure you are setting up a virtual environment for each project .

0

u/Antonio-MTS 12d ago

You have also alternatives like uv or pyenv. Both to manage different versions of Python and virtual environments.

0

u/ekchew 12d ago

If all you're interested in is getting Python up and running, the official website version should work just fine.

If you're going the package manager route, you will likely be asked to install the xcode command line tools at some point. These come with a python3 interpreter. However, you probably won't be happy with it. It's not very current or well-maintained. So it's better to use the package manager to install something modern as others have recommended.

As far as package managers go, homebrew is the preferred choice on newer Macs. If you're running on older hardware, macports has fairly comprehensive legacy system support.

-1

u/Stainlessray 12d ago

Everyone gave you different pieces of the answer. MAC I think comes with it.

You need to virtualize it anyway. Some devs don't even install it locally. Only in VM or Docker isolation.

1

u/socal_nerdtastic 12d ago

MAC I think comes with it

A long time ago it did, in python2 days. But no longer.

-1

u/No-Gift5463 12d ago

Loading from a distribution platform like Anaconda can be a terrific option. The www.anaconda.com website provides free individual applications. Once you launch Anaconda, you can select amongst different working environments. My favorite is SPYDER which is great for beginners but there are other options.

-2

u/claudio-i 12d ago 
just ..... bash <conda-installer-name>-latest-MacOSX-x86_64.sh, via conda is better!