python location on mac osx

Question

I'm a little confused with the python on osx. I do not know if the previous owner of the laptop has installed macpython using macport. And I remembered that osx has an builtin version of python. I tried using type -a python and the result returned

python is /usr/bin/python
python is /usr/local/bin/python

However running both python at these locations give me [GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5646)] on darwin. Do they both refer to the same builtin python mac provided?

I also read that installing macpython one would

     A MacPython 2.5 folder in your Applications folder. In here you
 find IDLE, the development environment that is a standard part of
 official Python distributions...

I looked at Applications, and theres a MacPort folder with python2.6 and the mentioned stuff in it. But running IDLE, i find the same message as above.

Hmm I'm a little confused. Which is which?

Trivia: Previous owner? If you purchase a computer second hand, just reinstall the OS to clean all previous user files and apps. — klys, May 19 '23 at 00:55

Kohn1001 · Answer 1 · 2023-03-08T12:27:14.990

This one will solve all your problems not only on Mac but to find it on Linux also ( & every basic shell).

TL;DR (you don't have to go through all the answer - just the 1st half).
LET'S GO

Run in terminal:

which python3

On Mac you should get:

/usr/local/bin/python3

WAIT!!! It's prob a symbolic link, how do you know? Run:

ls -al /usr/local/bin/python3

and you'll get (if you've installed Python w/ Brew):

/usr/local/bin/python3 -> /usr/local/Cellar/python/3.6.4_4/bin/python3

which means that your

/usr/local/bin/python3

is actually pointing to (the real location)

/usr/local/Cellar/python/3.6.4_4/bin/python3

That's it!

Longer version (optional): If for some reason, your

/usr/local/bin/python3

is not pointing to the place you want, which is in our case:

/usr/local/Cellar/python/3.6.4_4/bin/python3

just back it up (+cool trick to add .orig suffix to file):

cp /usr/local/bin/python3{,.orig}

and run:

rm -rf /usr/local/bin/python3

now create a new symbolic link:

ln -s /usr/local/Cellar/python/3.6.4_4/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/python3

and now your

/usr/local/bin/python3

is pointing to

/usr/local/Cellar/python/3.6.4_4/bin/python3

Check it out by running:

ls -al /usr/local/bin/python3

finally.... thank you!!!!! i was running into this issue in a virtual environment. Solutions also works. just need to use the correct python location — Paul Jurczyk, Feb 22 '20 at 21:22
This is also a useful reference for me for basic shell itself - lots of incremental steps, and very well explained :) — cellepo, Nov 09 '20 at 20:16

score 89 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 27 '16 at 03:15

89

I found the easiest way to locate it, you can use

which python

it will show something like this:

/usr/bin/python

answered Oct 27 '16 at 03:15

Gavin

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7
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5

This does not answer which distribution of Python (who made it). – Scott Prive Jan 04 '19 at 16:11

score 78 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 25 '11 at 19:02

[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5646)] is the version of GCC that the Python(s) were built with, not the version of Python itself. That information should be on the previous line. For example:

# Apple-supplied Python 2.6 in OS X 10.6
$ /usr/bin/python
Python 2.6.1 (r261:67515, Jun 24 2010, 21:47:49) 
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5646)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> 

# python.org Python 2.7.2 (also built with newer gcc)
$ /usr/local/bin/python
Python 2.7.2 (v2.7.2:8527427914a2, Jun 11 2011, 15:22:34) 
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

Items in /usr/bin should always be or link to files supplied by Apple in OS X, unless someone has been ill-advisedly changing things there. To see exactly where the /usr/local/bin/python is linked to:

$ ls -l /usr/local/bin/python
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  68 Jul  5 10:05 /usr/local/bin/python@ -> ../../../Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin/python

In this case, that is typical for a python.org installed Python instance or it could be one built from source.

cutsoy · Answer 4 · 2016-04-26T20:11:36.770

63

On Mac OS X, it's in the Python framework in /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Resources.

Full path is:

/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/Resources/Python.app/Contents/MacOS/Python

Btw it's easy to find out where you can find a specific binary: which Python will show you the path of your Python binary (which is probably the same as I posted above).

edited Apr 26 '16 at 20:11

answered Jul 25 '11 at 17:00

cutsoy

10,127
4
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yea i knew that. Its just that I'm confused - I ran the interpreter on /usr/local/bin/ and printed sys.executable. It says /usr/bin/python. but I read the docs and it says that the apple-provided was in /usr/bin/ and the macpython's "A symlink to the Python executable is placed in /usr/local/bin/". – goh Jul 25 '11 at 17:13
Well, it makes sense: when you compile the python-executable yourself and move it to, say /Users/John/Downloads/, it'll show you it's placed at /Users/John/Downloads/python. You can run multiple executable next to each other on the same system. AFAIK the one in Python.framework is the primary one though, so you should rely on that one. – cutsoy Jul 25 '11 at 17:17
31

Actually, the Apple-supplied Pythons in Mac OS X are in `/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework`. Anything in `/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework` comes from a third-party install, usually a python.org (or other distributor) installer or if you did a default framework build of Python from source. – Ned Deily Jul 25 '11 at 19:06
1

When I run `/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin/python2.7` the `ps aux` output shows me `/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/Resources/Python.app/Contents/MacOS/Python`, why is that - I don't see that it's a symlink ? ( Asked this question at [AskDifferent](http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/126257/full-path-to-python-as-reported-by-ps) ) – Zitrax Apr 02 '14 at 11:49
@Tim Thanks. When I go to /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/, I see not 2.7 (which is what I have installed), but an alias file called 'Current', which, when clicked, gives me the error *"The operation can't be competed because the original item for 'Current' can't be found."* – Pyderman Jul 22 '15 at 14:00
Surprisingly `which python` shows `/usr/bin/pythin` which is not a symlink. It's a dead-end finding the location. – Shamal Karunarathne Nov 10 '17 at 09:01

score 9 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 29 '18 at 23:58

9

I checked a few similar discussions and found out the best way to locate all python2/python3 builds is:

which -a python python3

answered Mar 29 '18 at 23:58

Yongzhi.C

141
1
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9

score 8 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 21 '18 at 02:57

8

On High Sierra

which python

shows the default python but if you downloaded and installed the latest version from python.org you can find it by:

which python3.6

which on my machine shows

/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/bin/python3.6

answered Mar 21 '18 at 02:57

Daniel Nuriyev

635
6
10

This does not answer which distribution of Python (who made it). – Scott Prive Jan 04 '19 at 16:11

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 09 '17 at 22:55

4

installed with 'brew install python3', found it here

answered Nov 09 '17 at 22:55

Georgy Gobozov

13,633
8
72
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score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 03 '18 at 17:00

2

Run this in your interactive terminal

import os
os.path

It will give you the folder where python is installed

answered Apr 03 '18 at 17:00

MaPY

321
2
13

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Jun 19 '19 at 14:32

1

which python3 simply result in a path in which the interpreter settles down.

answered Jun 19 '19 at 14:32

Soner from The Ottoman Empire

18,731
3
79
101

score 1 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 15 '20 at 22:15

1

run the following code in a .py file:

import sys

print(sys.version)
print(sys.executable)

answered Jan 15 '20 at 22:15

hanumanDev

6,592
11
82
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score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 17 '17 at 17:39

0

i found it here: /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/bin

answered Aug 17 '17 at 17:39

Lucky

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This is not Apple-native Python installation. – ARAT Feb 11 '21 at 09:36

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Jul 25 '11 at 17:18

I have a cook recipe for finding things in linux/macos

First update the locate db then do a

locate WHATiWANTtoSEARCH | less

do a /find to find what you are looking for.

to update your locate db in macos do this:

sudo /usr/libexec/locate.updatedb

it sometimes takes a while. Hope this helps :)

score -4 · Answer 13 · answered Mar 30 '23 at 19:19

-4

Just simply run this. It would fix the error

pip install -U pyopenssl

answered Mar 30 '23 at 19:19

Sammybams

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What does this have to do with the question? – bfontaine Apr 04 '23 at 12:12

python location on mac osx

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