When a package's exact name is not known (python3, python38, something scl) file name searches can do a more complete search: yum provides '*bin/python3*'

Correct, there is no python3.8 in EPEL 7. There is a python3.6 in EL 7, and EPEL policy is not to replace EL packages. Plus the distro's policy to avoid major upgrades, would seem like it is stuck on older Python.

Your yum repo list hints that CentOS software collections are enabled, which could be an alternative.

yum install centos-release-scl-rh
yum install rh-python38-python

Note both the package name and the files are prefixed, which allows coexistence with other pythons. While perhaps SCL is not the most popular packaging convention, it is already built and public, an advantage over your own source builds.

Currently CentOS 7 is 87 weeks from end of life, which is not a lot by EL time scales. Most of the maintainer attention is on EL 8 and 9, 7 is critical fixes only.

Budget some of that time to figure out what you are are going to do post CentOS 7. Which may be non-trivial, as CentOS 8 is dead, and if Stream is not what you need, may be switching distros.

Answer from John Mahowald on serverfault.com
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TecAdmin
tecadmin.net › install-python-3-7-on-centos-8
How to Install Python 3.7 on CentOS/RHEL 8 – TecAdmin
April 26, 2025 - Login to your CentOS 8 system with root or sudo privileged account. Desktop users open a terminal on your system. Then use the following command to install required development libraries for Python before installing it. sudo dnf install gcc ...
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Victordomingos
no-title.victordomingos.com › articles › 2020 › install_python_centos_linux › index.html
How to install the current Python version on CentOS Linux 7 | The No Title® Tech Blog
April 26, 2020 - The first disappointment with CentOS 7 was that it didn’t include Python 3. Even after updating the system software, all I got was Python 2.7.5 (which was released 7 years ago!), and in the default yum repositories all I could find was an older Python 3.6.8 version. I wanted to use the current stable version (Python 3.8.2), so I had to find out how to get it and install ...
Discussions

Trying to install python3.9 on CentOS 7
Just curious, why are you sticking with CentOS 7 instead of upgrading to CentOS Stream 9, Rocky Linux 9, RedHat EL 9 or Alma 9? More on reddit.com
🌐 r/CentOS
7
10
October 19, 2022
Installing Python on a CentOS7 base image. Failing when I try to run configure --enable-optimizations. I'm guessing that I haven't specified the path to configure correctly.
don't really need to decipher the code, it tells you the problem right there - opt/Python-3.8.6/configure: No such file or directory try adding / before opt RUN /opt/Python-3.8.6/configure --enable-optimizations and remove WORKDIR /Python-3.8.6/ as a side note, I don't think you'll have pip to execute pip install -r /app/requirements.txt instead try pip3.8 More on reddit.com
🌐 r/docker
4
2
December 12, 2020
Installing python3.8 alongside python3.6 Centos
As far as i recall, centos has installs that install with specific version names. rh-python3.8 https://centos.pkgs.org/7/centos-sclo-rh-x86_64/rh-python38-python-3.8.6-1.el7.x86_64.rpm.html If that's what you'll be installing (or something similar) you should be fine. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
7
2
October 5, 2021
Cleanest way to install Python 3.7 on CentOS 7 image
Have you considered usinh the official Python 3.7 Docker image ? More on reddit.com
🌐 r/docker
7
1
July 10, 2019
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DigitalOcean
digitalocean.com › community › tutorials › how-to-install-python-3-and-set-up-a-programming-environment-on-centos-8
How To Install Python 3 and Set Up a Programming Environment on CentOS 8 | DigitalOcean
April 11, 2020 - This tutorial will guide you through installing Python 3 on a CentOS 8 cloud server and setting up a programming environment via the command line.
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PhoenixNAP
phoenixnap.com › home › kb › sysadmin › install python on centos 8
How to Install and Configure Python on CentOS 8
January 27, 2025 - This step-by-step tutorial shows you how simple it is to install Python 3 and Python 2 on CentOS 8. It also includes instructions for setting the default Python version, as well as steps for removing Python from the system.
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TecAdmin
tecadmin.net › install-python-3-8-centos
How To Install Python 3.8 on RHEL/CentOS 7 & Fedora 34 ...
April 26, 2025 - How to Install Python 3.8 on CentOS/RHEL & Fedora. Python 3 installation instructions on CentOS, Red Hat and Fedora Systems
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Medium
medium.com › @mrx04programmer › installing-any-updated-version-of-python-on-centos-7-8-or-arch-linux-563cabc8bb3c
Install any updated version python on centOS 7/8 | by mrx04programmer | Medium
August 16, 2023 - sudo yum -y update sudo yum -y install wget sudo yum install -y gcc openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel · wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.8.0/Python-3.8.0.tgz
Find elsewhere
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Linuxize
linuxize.com › home › python › how to install python on centos 8
How to Install Python on CentOS 8 | Linuxize
November 2, 2019 - Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. This guide will walk you through installing Python 3 and Python 2 on CentOS 8.
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Serverspace
serverspace.io › support › help › install-python-centos
How to Install or Upgrade Python on CentOS 7/8 Stream: Build the Latest Python from Source
February 16, 2026 - Learn how to install or upgrade Python on CentOS 7 and CentOS 8 Stream. Step-by-step guide to building the latest Python version from source, installing dependencies, and safely updating Python on a server.
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Liquid Web
liquidweb.com › home › how to install python 3 on centos 7
Install Python 3 on CentOS 7: Easy Steps for Linux Users | Liquid Web
April 7, 2025 - In this tutorial, we are going to take a look at how to get up and running with Python 3 on a CentOS 7 server. Specifically, we will take a look at how to install Python 3 via the CentOS 7 package manager Yum as well as from source.
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DevOpsSchool.com
devopsschool.com › blog › installing-python-3-on-linux-centos-ubuntu-windows
Python Tutorials: Installing Python 3 on Linux, Centos, Ubuntu & Windows
Python isn’t installed by default. Python 3.9.6 is the latest version available in the CentOS 8 repos. The EOL of Python 3.9.6 is Oct 2026, so you can use that version. To install it, just run yum install python39 and that’s it.
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Google Groups
groups.google.com › g › vfx-platform-discuss › c › D-rdtZJV4nI
Python 3.7 on CentOS 7 (and 8)
I'm currently working on adding support for Python 3.7 on Isotropix Clarisse.On Windows and macOS, the official Python installer is easy to download and use. But on CentOS 7, official Python binaries in repositories go up to 3.6, not 3.7.
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GitHub
gist.github.com › arcanosam › 9eafe0ad5047e71a3b5ccfe7f23699ea
my Python 3.8.1 build script on CentOS 7 · GitHub
my Python 3.8.1 build script on CentOS 7 · Raw · install_Python381.sh · This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
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ComputingForGeeks
computingforgeeks.com › home › install python 3.13 on rhel 10 / rocky linux 10 / almalinux 10
Install Python 3.13 on Rocky Linux / AlmaLinux [2 Methods]
March 24, 2026 - AlmaLinux Customize KDE Plasma Desktop with Themes|Modules|Extensions CentOS How To Extract .xz files on a Linux System KVM Extend Root Filesystem Using LVM on Linux CentOS How to Install VLC on Fedora 44 / 43 / 42 CentOS Install Google Chrome on Fedora 44 / 43 / 42 Monitoring Monitoring Ceph Cluster with Prometheus and Grafana ... sudo yum install -y xz-devel cd Python-3.8*/ ./configure –enable-optimizations sudo make altinstall Reply
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PhoenixNAP
phoenixnap.com › home › kb › devops and development › how to install latest version of python 3 on centos 7
How to Install Latest Version Of Python 3 on CentOS 7
November 10, 2022 - This guide provided two different ways on how to install Python 3 on CentOS 7. For the newer version of CentOS, check out our article on how to install Python on CentOS 8.
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Linode
linode.com › docs › guides › how-to-install-python-on-centos-8
How to Install Python 3 on CentOS 8 | Linode Docs
February 12, 2021 - CentOS 8 does not come with Python installed. This guide shows how to install Python 3.9 from source, or Python 3.6 from the CentOS package repository.
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Eldernode
blog.eldernode.com › tutorial install python 3.8 on centos/rhel 8 linux
Tutorial Install Python 3.8 on Centos/RHEL 8 Linux
September 4, 2024 - sudo dnf install gcc openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel · Before you do anything, you need to update Centos, do this with the following command: ... You can download Python from its official site using the following command. cd /opt wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.8.3/Python-3.8.3.tgz
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Centmin Mod
community.centminmod.com › threads › custom-python-3-7-3-8-3-9-3-10-rpm-builds-for-centos-7.22456
CentOS 7.x - Custom Python 3.7, 3.8, 3.9 & 3.10 RPM Builds For CentOS 7 | Centmin Mod Community Support Forums
February 5, 2022 - CentOS 7 by default uses Python 2.7 and has side by side install support up to Python 3.6 via YUM repository RPM packages. For Python 3.7 and higher,...
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Bits and Dragons
bitsanddragons.wordpress.com › 2019 › 11 › 07 › installing-python-3-8-0-as-a-module-on-centos-7
Installing python 3.8.0 as a module on CentOS 7 | Bits and Dragons
November 8, 2019 - After make install, I still don’t have the new python by default, but I’m able to run it: root@test ~ ## > /net/python-3.8.0/python Python 3.8.0 (default, Nov 7 2019, 16:17:32) [GCC 4.9.2] on linux Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
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Linuxize
linuxize.com › home › python › how to install python 3.8 on centos 8
How to Install Python 3.8 on CentOS 8 | Linuxize
February 11, 2020 - We have shown you how to install Python 3.8 on your CentOS 8 machine and how to create a virtual environment.