The more easy way its by executing the next command:

ls -ls /usr/bin/python*

Output look like this:

/usr/bin/python           /usr/bin/python2.7        /usr/bin/pythonw
/usr/bin/python-config    /usr/bin/python2.7-config /usr/bin/pythonw2.7
Answer from Gabriel Caceres on Stack Overflow
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Medium
medium.com › @akhshyganesh › find-all-python-versions-on-your-system-like-a-pro-2c4d10650035
Find All Python Versions on Your System Like a Pro | by Akhshy Ganesh | Medium
June 12, 2025 - In this quick guide, I’ll walk ... Python version hiding on your machine. Whether you’re on Windows, macOS, or Linux — we’ve got you covered. Over time, you’ve probably installed Python for different projects. One for data science, one for that Flask API you built last year, and maybe another one by accident when installing VS Code. It’s normal. It’s Pythonic. But you need to know what’s where to avoid chaos. ... This lists all the python.exe ...
Discussions

checking the python version on the machine
More likely python3 on a linux distribution. What do you get for, python --version and python3 --version? More on reddit.com
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3
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March 13, 2023
How can I check all the installed Python versions on Windows? - Stack Overflow
C:\Python310\python.exe ...ocal\Programs\Python\Python38\python.exe ... Just to add, this only works in the command prompt, not in the PowerShell terminal. 2023-10-17T14:36:26.863Z+00:00 ... For me, this doesn't list all of the versions installed compared to using py ... More on stackoverflow.com
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Managing multiple python versions on Windows
Use the py launcher, if you run ‘py -0’ you should get a list of the pythons installed, you can select the one you want to use by doing ‘py -3.10 main.py’ , ‘py -3.13 -m pip install …’ and so on More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
7
6
March 18, 2025
How do I better manage my python versions and packages?
Usually, on macOS and Windows, simply installing Python using the Python Software Foundation installation package from python.org will make the latest version the default Python 3 installation. There are a number of tools you can use to manage multiple versions such as pyenv (especially on *nix systems). In most cases you simply need to check and edit your PATH settings and remove any shims you don't want. Another approach is to use docker containers so you only have the version you require in any particular container. You can do this with virtual machines as well but they of course have a much greater overhead. Also, it is good practice to use a Python Virtual Environment for each project with only the libraries installed needed by the project in each environment to avoid polluting the base environment. On most operating systems you can also use a package manager to take care of things. On operating systems that don't have a standard package manager you would need to use a third party one such as Chocolatey for Windows, Homebrew for macOS. More on reddit.com
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April 30, 2022
People also ask

What is a Python version file?
A Python version file is a simple text file that specifies which Python version should be used for a particular project or directory. The file contains a single line with a Python version specification like 3.13.1. It is usually used by Python version managers like pyenv, uv, and others to automatically select and activate the specified Python version whenever you work in that directory.
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superops.com
superops.com › superops blog › blog › how to check the python version?
How to check the Python version in quick and easy steps
How to download a Python version?
To download a specific Python version, follow these general steps:\n1.\n \nGo to the official Python download page.\n2. Select the latest or desired Python version for your operating system.\n3. For Windows or MacOS, download the official installer (e.g., .exe for Windows, .pkg for macOS).\n4. Run the installer and follow the setup prompts. On Windows, ensure that you click "Add Python to PATH" during installation.\nMany Linux distributions have Python pre-installed. If it’s not installed, you can either download source files from Python.org or install through your package manager. To install
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superops.com
superops.com › superops blog › blog › how to check the python version?
How to check the Python version in quick and easy steps
How do I check all my Python versions?
If you have multiple Python versions installed on your computer, and you want to check them all, follow these steps:\n1\n.\n For Windows users\n-Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run the command “where python.”\n-This command will list all the python.exe paths found in directories listed in your system’s PATH environment variable.\n-After finding all Python executables or paths, you can check the version of each separately.\n-If you have Python Launcher installed on your system, run the command “py -0”\n-This prints all Python versions the launcher can detect.\n2. For Linux and MacOS users
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superops.com
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How to check the Python version in quick and easy steps
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Note.nkmk.me
note.nkmk.me › home › python
Check Python Version on Command Line and in Scripts | note.nkmk.me
April 23, 2025 - Run the python or python3 command with the --version or -V option in the Command Prompt (cmd) on Windows or the Terminal on macOS and Linux.
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Real Python
realpython.com › intro-to-pyenv
Managing Multiple Python Versions With pyenv – Real Python
September 1, 2025 - It includes other Python flavors, such as ActivePython, IronPython, and Jython, as well as distributions like Anaconda. Note: If you’ve been using pyenv for a while and don’t see the version you’re looking for, then you may need to run pyenv update to update the tool and ensure you have access to the latest versions. To see only the available CPython versions starting from 3.10, run the following command: ... $ pyenv install --list | grep -E ' 3\.([1-9][0-9]+)' 3.10.0 3.10-dev 3.10.1 ...
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Alma Better
almabetter.com › bytes › articles › how-to-check-python-version
How to Check Python Version? (Linux, Windows and Mac)
January 12, 2024 - The search results will show the installed version, such as "Python 3.7 (32-bit)" or "Python 2.7 (32-bit)". Check Python Version macOS - If you are using macOS, you can check Python version by opening the terminal and entering the following command:
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SuperOps
superops.com › superops blog › blog › how to check the python version?
How to check the Python version in quick and easy steps
1 week ago - In Linux OS, simply press the Ctrl+Alt+T keys to launch the terminal window. Type the following commands and press Enter: “python --version” or “python -V”
Top answer
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116

You can use python -V (et al.) to show you the version of Python that the python command resolves to. If that's all you need, you're done. But to see every version of python in your system takes a bit more.

In Ubuntu we can check the resolution with readlink -f $(which python). In default cases in 14.04 this will simply point to /usr/bin/python2.7.

We can chain this in to show the version of that version of Python:

$ readlink -f $(which python) | xargs -I % sh -c 'echo -n "%: "; % -V'
/usr/bin/python2.7: Python 2.7.6

But this is still only telling us what our current python resolution is. If we were in a Virtualenv (a common Python stack management system) python might resolve to a different version:

$ readlink -f $(which python) | xargs -I % sh -c 'echo -n "%: "; % -V'
/home/oli/venv/bin/python: Python 2.7.4

This is real output.

The fact is there could be hundreds of different versions of Python secreted around your system, either on paths that are contextually added, or living under different binary names (like python3).

If we assume that a Python binary is always going to be called python<something> and be a binary file, we can just search the entire system for files that match those criteria:

$ sudo find / -type f -executable -iname 'python*' -exec file -i '{}' \; | awk -F: '/x-executable; charset=binary/ {print $1}' | xargs readlink -f | sort -u | xargs -I % sh -c 'echo -n "%: "; % -V'
/home/oli/venv/bin/python: Python 2.7.4
/media/ned/websites/venvold/bin/python: Python 2.7.4
/srv/chroot/precise_i386/usr/bin/python2.7: Python 2.7.3
/srv/chroot/trusty_i386/usr/bin/python2.7: Python 2.7.6
/srv/chroot/trusty_i386/usr/bin/python3.4: Python 3.4.0
/srv/chroot/trusty_i386/usr/bin/python3.4m: Python 3.4.0
/usr/bin/python2.7: Python 2.7.6
/usr/bin/python2.7-dbg: Python 2.7.6
/usr/bin/python3.4: Python 3.4.0
/usr/bin/python3.4dm: Python 3.4.0
/usr/bin/python3.4m: Python 3.4.0
/web/venvold/bin/python: Python 2.7.4

It's obviously a pretty hideous command but this is again real output and it seems to have done a fairly thorough job.

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Type following in the terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

python -V

or

python --version

You can find a list of options/parameters for many commands in the terminal by typing the command followed by --help

Example:

python --help

Manual/manpages also available for most of such CLI which can be displayed by man <command> (Ex: man python)

From man python:

COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
        -V ,  --version
              Prints the Python version number of the executable and exits.

There is also python3 installed on many machines, so you can do:

python3 --version

to find out what python 3.x you are running.

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CyberPanel
cyberpanel.net › blog › how-to-check-python-version
Quick Ways to Check Python Version on Mac, Windows & Linux
September 23, 2025 - When Terminal opens, you’ll see a command prompt where you can enter commands. Type the following command, and then press Enter: python –version This command will display the installed Python version on your Mac.
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Syncro
syncrosecure.com › home › blog › how to check python version
How to Check Python Version | Syncro
April 25, 2025 - For Windows: Use the “winget” command or check Python via the Apps & Features settings. For Linux: apt list –installed | grep python (for detailed version management, use “dpkg-query -l | grep python”)
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › checking the python version on the machine
r/learnpython on Reddit: checking the python version on the machine
March 13, 2023 -

while installing pyton and vscode on my linuxbox i run a test

well i allway thought that the test of python

[martin@martinsendeavour ~]$ which python /usr/bin/python [martin@martinsendeavour ~]$

well i get back this

[martin@martinsendeavour ~]$ which python 

/usr/bin/python [martin@martinsendeavour ~]$

i guess that this is not normal - i have no python on the machine!?

do i

Top answer
1 of 7
207

I just got the answer. By typing "py -h" or "py --help" I got the help message:

C:\Users\admin>py -h
Python Launcher for Windows Version 3.7.1150.1013

usage:
py [launcher-args] [python-args] script [script-args]

Launcher arguments:

-2     : Launch the latest Python 2.x version
-3     : Launch the latest Python 3.x version
-X.Y   : Launch the specified Python version
     The above all default to 64 bit if a matching 64 bit python is present.
-X.Y-32: Launch the specified 32bit Python version
-X-32  : Launch the latest 32bit Python X version
-X.Y-64: Launch the specified 64bit Python version
-X-64  : Launch the latest 64bit Python X version
-0  --list       : List the available pythons
-0p --list-paths : List with paths

Which tells me that "-0" (zero, not letter "O") lists the available pythons:

C:\Users\admin>py -0
Installed Pythons found by py Launcher for Windows
 -3.7-64 *
 -3.7-32
 -2.7-64
 -2.7-32

While "-0p" lists not only the versions, but also the paths:

C:\Users\admin>py -0p
Installed Pythons found by py Launcher for Windows
 -3.7-64        C:\Users\admin\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\python.exe *
 -3.7-32        C:\Users\admin\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37-32\python.exe
 -2.7-64        C:\Python27_64\python.exe
 -2.7-32        C:\Python27_32\python.exe

To install a Python version that is not listed there run py install followed by the version number, e.g. py install 3.14

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28

In cmd run:

py --list

My result (all versions of python intalled):

 -V:3.11 *        Python 3.11 (64-bit)
 -V:3.9
 -V:3.8           Python 3.8 (64-bit)
 -V:3.6           Python 3.6 (64-bit)
 -V:3.5
 -V:ContinuumAnalytics/Anaconda39-64 Anaconda py39_4.12.0
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Finxter
blog.finxter.com › how-to-check-your-python-version
Check Python Version: A Simple Illustrated Guide – Be on the Right Side of Change
March 9, 2024 - The shorter command conda list lists the name, version, and build details of your installed packages. To learn about your environment details, run conda info with the optional flag ‐‐envs to see all your environments. To check your Python version, run python -V or python ‐‐version in your ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › managing multiple python versions on windows
r/learnpython on Reddit: Managing multiple python versions on Windows
March 18, 2025 -

I've coded a bit in Python for years, and had an existing installation of 3.10.7 which I installed using Chocolatey some time ago.

Then I thought I would play with WhisperX. The tutorial I found walked me through installing Anaconda, which I did not realize would install a second copy of Python, this time 3.12. It broke a couple of existing projects, and so I gave up on WhisperX and swapped the PATH variable back to the 3.10 installation.

Then, last week, I read about Gemma3 and thought I might experiment with that. I found a blog post -- can you see where this is going? -- that pointed me to Ollama. Which I installed, once again not realizing it would install yet another copy of Python, this time 3.13. It didn't break my projects this time, but I think that's because the user-level PATH variable is still pointing at 3.10 while the system-level PATH variable is pointing at 3.13. Oh, and I never got Gemma3 up and running, possibly because it doesn't like 3.10.

So now I have three copies of Python installed, they're fighting with one another over the PATH variable, and I still haven't gotten to experiment with local AI stuff. There's got to be a better way to manage these things.

My googling so far has pointed me at pyenv, which as far as I can tell is a Linux-only utility. I think. I love me some Linux, but the machine in question is a Windows box. Is there some obvious utility I should be using for swapping back and forth between versions that I'm just not finding?

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Wikihow
wikihow.com › computers and electronics › software › programming › python › how to check python version on mac, pc, linux: guide + fixes
How to Check Python Version on Mac, PC, Linux: Guide + Fixes
March 2, 2025 - To do so, just open the Launchpad, type terminal, and click Terminal in the search results.[2] X Research source ... Type python --version and press ⏎ Return.
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › check-the-version-of-the-python-interpreter
How to check Python Version : Windows, Linux and Mac - GeeksforGeeks
December 17, 2025 - To check the Python version on Windows or a Mac system, we can follow these methods: ... Open the Command Prompt for Windows by searching for "cmd" in the Windows Start menu, or open Terminal for Mac by searching "terminal" in the macOS spotlight search.
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Linux Mint Forums
forums.linuxmint.com › board index › main edition support › beginner questions
Multiple versions of python installed? - Linux Mint Forums
May 8, 2021 - inxi -Fxpmrz Click </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply and then place your cursor between the code markers and paste the results of the command between the code markers like this: [code]Results[/code]. Do the same for ... python --version python2 --version python3 --version python3.8 --version python3.9 --version How did you install numpy (with pip or pip3) and how are you trying to run your code?
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bodHOST
bodhost.com › tutorial › how to check python version in linux & windows
How to Check Python Version in Linux & Windows | bodHOST
November 7, 2024 - This method gives you more detailed information, including build numbers and compilation details. ... py --version # Shows default Python version py -0 # Lists ALL installed Python versions py -3 # Runs latest Python 3 version
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Quora
quora.com › How-do-I-find-and-uninstall-all-versions-of-Python-on-a-Mac-OS-X
How to find and uninstall all versions of Python on a Mac OS X - Quora
I am not at my mac to confirm, but I think “mdfind python” is one way (though quick, it can be too liberal in the results). Anothe way is to search the file system “find / -type f -name ‘python*’ “ which will report all files beginning with python. Both of these are terminal commands.