You know what has worked for me really well on windows.
My Computer > Properties > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables >
Just add the path as C:\Python27 (or wherever you installed python)
OR
Then under system variables I create a new Variable called PythonPath. In this variable I have C:\Python27\Lib;C:\Python27\DLLs;C:\Python27\Lib\lib-tk;C:\other-folders-on-the-path
This is the best way that has worked for me which I hadn't found in any of the docs offered.
EDIT: For those who are not able to get it, Please add
C:\Python27;
along with it. Else it will never work.
Answer from darren on Stack OverflowYou know what has worked for me really well on windows.
My Computer > Properties > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables >
Just add the path as C:\Python27 (or wherever you installed python)
OR
Then under system variables I create a new Variable called PythonPath. In this variable I have C:\Python27\Lib;C:\Python27\DLLs;C:\Python27\Lib\lib-tk;C:\other-folders-on-the-path
This is the best way that has worked for me which I hadn't found in any of the docs offered.
EDIT: For those who are not able to get it, Please add
C:\Python27;
along with it. Else it will never work.
Windows 7 Professional I Modified @mongoose_za's answer to make it easier to change the python version:
- [Right Click]Computer > Properties >Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables
- Click [New] under "System Variable"
- Variable Name: PY_HOME, Variable Value:C:\path\to\python\version
- Click [OK]
- Locate the "Path" System variable and click [Edit]
Add the following to the existing variable:
%PY_HOME%;%PY_HOME%\Lib;%PY_HOME%\DLLs;%PY_HOME%\Lib\lib-tk;
Click [OK] to close all of the windows.
As a final sanity check open a command prompt and enter python. You should see
>python [whatever version you are using]
If you need to switch between versions, you only need to modify the PY_HOME variable to point to the proper directory. This is bit easier to manage if you need multiple python versions installed.
Echoing the windows path in python - Stack Overflow
Python and the PATH variable in Windows 10
Adding Python to PATH on Windows - Stack Overflow
python - How to get the PYTHONPATH in shell? - Stack Overflow
Is SYS path the same as Pythonpath?
How do I create a Pythonpath variable?
How do I add an environment variable in Pythonpath?
I don't have a windows computer, but you could probably use os.environ to get it without relying on an external utility -- On *NIX it looks something like:
import os
print (os.environ['PATH'])
mgilson has the better advice, but anyway, FYI, echo is a builtin command of cmd.exe:
subprocess.call("CMD /C ECHO %PATH%")
Do you remember checking the box in the image shown below to add your Python installation to PATH in Windows 10?
Adding Python to PATHWell, I was curious! What if someone accidentally forgot to check that little radio button? What would be the possible recovery steps?
So I spent my evening yesterday uninstalling Python and re-installing to figure out a way to add Python to the PATH post-installation.
If you forget to add Python to the PATH variable, you won't be able to run Python in your command line.
You will get a message saying,
‘python' is not recognized as an internal or external command.
Here are the steps I used to add Python to the PATH variable in Windows 10.
-
Copy the directory to which Python is being installed.
-
Search for System Properties in the Search Bar.
-
Click on the "Environment Variables" button in System Properties.
-
Click on the "Path" variable and then click on "Edit".
-
Now here's the deal. Paste the directory path from Step 1 at the top of the list. You can use the "Move up" button to get it to the top. Now click on "Ok".
I found out that if you paste the path at the end, it still doesn't work. Can someone tell me why?
Anyways, if the steps are not clear to anyone, here is a visual guide containing images of every step, on my blog for achieving the above objective. If you are interested, do take a look.
- Hold Win and press Pause.
- Click Advanced System Settings.
- Click Environment Variables.
- Append
;C:\python27to thePathvariable. - Restart Command Prompt.
When setting Environmental Variables in Windows, I have gone wrong on many, many occasions. I thought I should share a few of my past mistakes here hoping that it might help someone. (These apply to all Environmental Variables, not just when setting Python Path)
Watch out for these possible mistakes:
- Kill and reopen your shell window: Once you make a change to the ENVIRONMENTAL Variables, you have to restart the window you are testing it on.
- NO SPACES when setting the Variables. Make sure that you are adding the
;C:\Python27WITHOUT any spaces. (It is common to tryC:\SomeOther; C:\Python27That space (␣) after the semicolon is not okay.) - USE A BACKWARD SLASH when spelling out your full path. You will see forward slashes when you try
echo $PATHbut only backward slashes have worked for me. - DO NOT ADD a final backslash. Only
C:\Python27NOTC:\Python27\
The environment variable PYTHONPATH is actually only added to the list of locations Python searches for modules. You can print out the full list in the terminal like this:
python -c "import sys; print(sys.path)"
Or if want the output in the UNIX directory list style (separated by :) you can do this:
python -c "import sys; print(':'.join(x for x in sys.path if x))"
Which will output something like this:
/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/feedparser-5.1.3-py2.7.egg:/usr/local/lib/ python2.7/dist-packages/stripogram-1.5-py2.7.egg:/home/qiime/lib:/home/debian:/us r/lib/python2.7:/usr/lib/python2.7/plat-linux2:/usr/lib/python2.7/lib-tk:/usr/lib /python2.7/lib-old:/usr/lib/python2.7/lib- dynload:/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist- packages:/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages:/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/PIL:/u sr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/gst-0.10:/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/gtk-2.0: /usr/lib/pymodules/python2.7
Just write:
just write which python in your terminal and you will see the python path you are using.
I would like to know where I can access the contents of the Windows 10 PATH variable. For Example, the path to Python should already have been added to PATH. I know this because when I open cmd on Windows 10 and enter python the terminal shows the Python command prompt as expected. So I assume that the path to Python.exe has already been added to the PATH variable during installation. To confirm that the python path has actually been added to PATH, I simply went to
This PC -> Advanced System Settings -> Environment Variables
to inspect the PATH variable. The resulting view shows me a list with all the paths already added to PATH (and other variables). However, within this list, I can't find the installation path of Python. I double-checked my python installation-path via the command
python -c "import os, sys; print(os.path.dirname(sys.executable))"
However, I can't find the resulting path in the before mentioned list. How can I inspect the contents of my PATH variable such that I can see my Python path? Have I misunderstood something basic?