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Python Installation — Linux

Install Python 3 on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora/RHEL, and Arch Linux. Covers package managers, pyenv, and building from source for unsupported distros.

python install linux debian ubuntu fedora arch pyenv Apr 25, 2026
3 min read 14 snippets yesterday intermediate

Python Installation — Linux#

Debian / Ubuntu#

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev -y

Output:

Reading package lists... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  python3 python3-dev python3-pip python3-venv
0 upgraded, 4 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

For a newer version than the distro default, add the deadsnakes PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3.12 python3.12-venv python3.12-dev -y

Fedora / RHEL / Rocky / AlmaLinux#

# Fedora
sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip -y

# RHEL / Rocky / AlmaLinux — enable EPEL first
sudo dnf install epel-release -y
sudo dnf install python3.12 -y

Output:

Installed:
  python3.12-3.12.3-1.fc40.x86_64
  python3.12-libs-3.12.3-1.fc40.x86_64
Complete!

Arch Linux / Manjaro#

sudo pacman -Syu python python-pip

Output:

resolving dependencies...
Packages (2) python-3.12.3-1  python-pip-24.0-1
Total Installed Size: 74.32 MiB
:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] Y

[!NOTE] Arch’s python package always tracks the latest stable Python, so it updates frequently. This is excellent for getting new versions but can occasionally break packages that haven’t updated yet.

pyenv — version-independent approach#

Works on any Linux distro. Installs Python in your home directory, no root required.

# Install build dependencies (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install -y make build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev \
  libbz2-dev libreadline-dev libsqlite3-dev wget curl llvm \
  libncursesw5-dev xz-utils tk-dev libxml2-dev libxmlsec1-dev \
  libffi-dev liblzma-dev

# Install pyenv
curl https://pyenv.run | bash

# Append to ~/.bashrc / ~/.zshrc
export PYENV_ROOT="$HOME/.pyenv"
command -v pyenv >/dev/null || export PATH="$PYENV_ROOT/bin:$PATH"
eval "$(pyenv init -)"

source ~/.bashrc

# Install and set default
pyenv install 3.12.3
pyenv global 3.12.3

Output:

Downloading Python-3.12.3.tar.xz...
-> https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.12.3/Python-3.12.3.tar.xz
Installing Python-3.12.3...
Installed Python-3.12.3 to /home/user/.pyenv/versions/3.12.3

Building from source (unsupported distros)#

Use this when no package manager provides your target version:

# Install build dependencies first (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install -y build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev libffi-dev libsqlite3-dev

# Download and build
wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.12.3/Python-3.12.3.tgz
tar xf Python-3.12.3.tgz
cd Python-3.12.3
./configure --enable-optimizations --with-ensurepip=install
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make altinstall   # altinstall avoids overwriting the system python3

Output:

Collecting setuptools
Collecting pip
Installing collected packages: setuptools, pip
Successfully installed pip-24.0 setuptools-69.5.1

[!TIP] Use make altinstall (not make install) to avoid replacing the system python3 symlink, which could break OS tools.

Verify#

python3 --version
python3 -m pip --version
python3 -c "import venv; print('venv OK')"

Output:

Python 3.12.3
pip 24.0 from /home/user/.pyenv/versions/3.12.3/lib/python3.12/site-packages/pip (python 3.12)
venv OK

Common pitfalls#

[!WARNING] Externally managed environments — Debian 12+ and Ubuntu 23.04+ enforce PEP 668, blocking pip install outside a venv with the error error: externally-managed-environment. Always activate a virtual environment first. See venv.

[!WARNING] Missing python3-venv — On Ubuntu, python3 -m venv fails until you install python3-venv (or python3.12-venv for a specific version): sudo apt install python3-venv.

Next steps#

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

See Virtual Environments.