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Installing Python 3

Welcome soon-to-be Python user! Python is one of the easiest programming languages to learn and grow with. But there can be a bump right at the beginning: making sure you have Python installed with a sufficiently new version (3.12+ is recommended these days).

Good news! In 2025, installing Python has become incredibly simple thanks to uv -- a blazing-fast Python package and project manager that also handles Python installation. With uv, you get one tool that works the same way on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Hear all about it on Talk Python.

The Modern Approach: Install uv, Then Python

The process is just two steps:

  1. Install uv (one command)
  2. Install Python with uv (one command)

That's it! Jump to your operating system to get started:

Windows

Step 1. Install uv

Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

After installation completes, close and reopen your terminal for the changes to take effect.

Step 2. Install Python

Now install Python 3.14 with a single command:

uv python install 3.14

You'll see output like:

Searching for Python 3.14
Installed Python 3.14.2 in 2.34s
 + cpython-3.14.2-windows-x86_64-none

Step 3. Verify It Works

uv run python -V

You should see:

Python 3.14.2

You're all set! 🎉

macOS

Step 1. Install uv

Open the Terminal and run:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

After installation completes, close and reopen your terminal for the changes to take effect.

Step 2. Install Python

Now install Python 3.14 with a single command:

uv python install 3.14

You'll see output like:

Searching for Python 3.14
Installed Python 3.14.2 in 1.89s
 + cpython-3.14.2-macos-aarch64-none

Step 3. Verify It Works

python -V

# or

uv run python -V

You should see:

Python 3.14.2

You're all set! 🎉

Linux

Step 1. Install uv

Open a terminal and run:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

After installation completes, close and reopen your terminal (or run source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc) for the changes to take effect.

Step 2. Install Python

Now install Python 3.14 with a single command:

uv python install 3.14

You'll see output like:

Searching for Python 3.14
Installed Python 3.14.2 in 1.52s
 + cpython-3.14.2-linux-x86_64-gnu

Step 3. Verify It Works

python -V

# or 

uv run python -V

You should see:

Python 3.14.2

You're all set! 🎉

Working with Python Projects

Once you have uv installed, you'll typically work within virtual environments for your projects. uv makes this simple:

Creating a Virtual Environment

Navigate to your project folder and run:

uv venv --python 3.14

This creates a .venv folder in your project. If Python 3.14 isn't already installed, uv will automatically download and install it for you.

Activating the Virtual Environment

Windows (PowerShell):

.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

macOS / Linux:

source .venv/bin/activate

Once activated, you can use python directly:

python -V

Installing Packages

With uv, installing packages is lightning fast:

uv pip install requests

Or add dependencies to a project:

uv add requests

Managing Multiple Python Versions

Need multiple Python versions? uv handles that too:

uv python install 3.12 3.13 3.14

List installed versions:

uv python list

Create a virtual environment with a specific version:

uv venv --python 3.12

Why uv?

uv is developed by Astral, the creators of Ruff (the popular Python linter). It's designed to be:

  • ⚡️ Blazing fast -- 10-100x faster than pip
  • 🐍 Python version manager -- installs and manages Python itself
  • 📦 Package manager -- replaces pip, pip-tools, and virtualenv
  • 🔒 Lockfile support -- reproducible environments
  • 🖥️ Cross-platform -- works identically on Windows, macOS, and Linux

One tool. No complexity. Just Python.

Corrections and Improvements

If you find a problem or have a suggestion to make this page better, please visit the GitHub repository here. Note that this is not intended for tech support but rather for genuine, broadly applicable improvements to the instructions:

http://github.com/talkpython/installing-python