Install and Verify Your Project’s Python Version

One of the first things I do when starting a Python project is to check the Python version.

Photo by Brecht Corbeel on Unsplash

It sounds like a small step. After all, Python is Python, right?

Not quite.

A project developed with Python 3.12 might behave differently when someone runs it with Python 3.9. Some libraries require newer Python versions, certain features are unavailable in older releases, and dependency installations can fail because of version incompatibilities.

I’ve learned that it’s much easier to choose the correct Python version at the beginning than to troubleshoot compatibility problems halfway through a project.

The good news is that checking and managing Python versions isn’t complicated.

You just need to know which commands to run and where to look.

Let’s walk through the process.

1. Check Whether Python Is Already Installed

Before installing anything, check whether Python is available on your computer.

Open your terminal or command prompt and run:

python --version

You might see:

Python 3.12.4