How to Check Python Version on Linux, Mac & Windows

How to Check Python Version

Here are check the Python version using a script

Commands	Where	What	Output
python –version python -v python -vv	Command line or Terminal	Windows/Mac/Linux	Python 3.10.7
Import sys sys. version	Script	Use as string	‘3.10.7 (tags/v3.10.7:6cc6b13, Sep 5 2022, 14:08:36) [MSC v.1933 64 bit (AMD64)]’
Import platform Platform.python_version()	Script	String of short format	‘3.10.7’
Platform.python_version_tuple()	Script	Tuple of short format	(‘3’,’10’,’7’)

How to check the Python version using a script?

Python scripts can identify the version of Python installed on the computer. It enables you to validate if multiple versions are installed in the system. The script developed to check the Python version remains the same for windows OS, Mac OS, and Linux distributions. You can create a script by importing either the platform module or sys module of python.

The following code can be used for the sys module as shown below:

Command line Code:

import sys
sys. version

Output:

'3.10.7 (tags/v3.10.7:6cc6b13, Sep 5 2022, 14:08:36) [MSC v.1933 64 bit (AMD64)]'

Refer to the following command line screenshot:

To execute the above script, invoke python first in the command line to get the above results.

The following code can be used for the sys module as shown below:

Command line Code:

import platform
print(platform.python_version())

Output:

3.10.7

Refer to the following command line screenshot:

Use the following code in the web-based interpreter as shown below: –

Python code:

from platform import python_version

print("Current Python Version-", python_version())

Output:

Current Python Version- 3.8.10

Refer to the following web-based interpreter screenshot:

To get the information on the version of python, use the following script as shown below:

Python command:

print(sys.version_info)

Output

Sys.version_info(major=3, minor=10,micro=7,releaselevel=’final’,serial=0)

Screenshot

To get the tuple information on the version of python, use the following script as shown below: –

Python command

print(type(sys.version_info))

Output

<class ‘sys.version_info’>

Screenshot

To get the major information on the version of python, use the following script as shown below: –

Python command

print(sys.version_info[0])

Output

Screenshot

Python command

print(sys.version_info.major)

Output

Screenshot

To get the information on the platform python, use the following script as shown below: –

Python command

Import platform
print(platform.python_version())

Output

3.10.7

Screenshot

To get the type information on the platform version of python, use the following script as shown below: –

Python command

print(type(platform.python_version()))

Output

<class ‘str’>

Screenshot

To get the tuple information on the version of python, use the following script as shown below: –

Python command

print(platform.python_version_tuple())

Output

(‘3’,’7’,’0’)

Screenshot

Python command

print(type(platform.python_version_tuple())

Output

<class ‘tuple’>

Screenshot

How to check the Python version using Windows Command Line?

Here are steps to check the Python version using Windows Command Line:

Step 1) Open the command prompt by typing cmd

Step 2) When the command prompt opens, type the following command in the CLI to get the version name of Python.

Command code:

python3 --version

Output:

Python 3.10.7

Note: Before running the command, ensure that Python is pre-installed on the computer.

Alternatively, open a command line and type the below command:

Command code:

python --version

Output:

Python 3.10.7

Refer to the below screenshot for the results executed in the command prompt:

Screenshot:

How to check the python version using windows PowerShell?

To check the Python version in Windows PowerShell:

Open the power shell prompt by typing PowerShell in the start menu and clicking on Windows PowerShell.
The user must type the following command in PowerShell to obtain the Python version name.

However, before running this command, ensure that Python is pre-installed on the computer.

Following is the command typed in the command line:

PowerShell code:

python3 --version

Output:

Python 3.10.7

Alternatively, open a command line and type the below command:

PowerShell code:

python --version

Output:

Python 3.10.7

See this screenshot for the results executed in the command prompt:

How to check the Python Version in Linux?

Here are steps to check the Python Version in Linux:

Step 1) To check the Python version in Linux, open the Terminal

Step 2) This opens the below window as shown below:

Step 3) Type the below command in the Terminal of Linux to get the version name of Python.

Following is the command typed in the Terminal:

Linux Terminal code:

python3 --version

Output:

Python 3.5.2

Alternatively, open the Terminal and type the below command:

Linux terminal code:

python --version

Output:

Python 2.7.12

The above command helps the user check whether python 2 is installed in the system. Refer to the below screenshot for the results executed in the Linux terminal:

Screenshot:

Ensure that Python is pre-installed on the operating system of the computer. Most advanced versions of Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu and Fedora, have Python pre-installed in it.

Alternatively, the following commands can be used in the Linux terminal to get the version name of the Python installed in the distribution as listed below: –

Linux terminal code:

python -VV

Output

Python 2.7.12

Screenshot: –

Linux terminal code:

Python3 -c “import sys; print(sys. version).”

Output

3.5.2(default, Nov 12 2018, 13:43:14)

[GCC 5.4.0 20160609]

Screenshot:

Linux terminal code:

Python3 -c “import sys; print(sys.version_info)”

Output

sys.version_info(major=3,minor=2,releaselevel=’final’,serial=0)

Screenshot:

Linux terminal code:

Python3 -c “import platform; print(platform.python_version())”

Output

3.5.2

Screenshot:

The only difference in the above commands is the use of python modules. This module provides names for variables and functions that are used to manipulate different parts of the Python environment. The module gets underlying platform data such as operating system, hardware, and interpreter.

How to check the Python version on Mac?

Here are steps to check the Python version:

Step 1) To check the Python version in Mac OS

Open the Terminal by typing the terminal command in the search box in the top right corner of the Mac OS desktop menu and click on it.

Step 2) This opens the below window as shown below:

Step 3) To obtain the Python version name, you need to use the following command in the Terminal window.

Note: However, before running the command, ensure that Python is pre-installed on the computer. Most advanced versions of Mac OS distributions have Python pre-installed in it.

Following is the command typed in the Terminal:

Mac OS Terminal code:

python3 --version

Output:

Python 3.3.1

Alternatively, open the Terminal and type the below command:

Mac OS terminal code:

python --version

Output:

Python 2.7.4

The above command helps the user check whether python 2 is installed in the system.

Refer to the below screenshot for the results executed in the Mac OS terminal:

Screenshot:

How to check Multiple python versions installed in the same system?

There can be multiple Python versions installed on the computer system. Therefore, a computer can have both versions 2 and 3 installed.

To validate both versions, the user can open the command line and type in the following commands:

Scenario 1: To check Python version 2

Command Line \ Terminal code:

python --version

Scenario 2: To check Python version 3

OS Command:

python3 --version

Python 2 or Python 3

Here are comparisons of both versions:

Python version 3, compared to Python version 2 is different in terms of syntax. Here is a complete comparison between the 2 versions.
Python 3 contains a couple of utilities that help translate code written in Python 2 to Python 3.
Python version 3 has a different syntax from Python version 2 because Python versions 2 and 3 have different syntaxes.
Python 2 is not releasing any new updates, which makes this version incompatible with version 3.
Some features of Python 3 were backported to Python 2, and this was done to support easy migration.
Python 3 stores strings in Unicode format by default. However, to convert a string to Unicode format in version 2, it must be defined with the keyword “u”.

Conclusion

Python version 2 and python version 3 have different syntax
The Python version can be checked in several ways as
Using Windows PowerShell
In the Windows command line.
Terminal of Mac OS and Linux
Using Python scripts.
The version of Python can be checked by typing Python –version command.
To validate the installation of the Python 3 version, type the command python 3 –version in the respective OS command lines.

FAQ:

The coder can execute a single command to identify which version is installed in your computer’s operating system. You can do this by opening the command line of the operating system and typing below command as shown below:

Linux: Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Alt + F2
Windows: Win + R
Mac OS: Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal

Here are important Perquisites for the system before checking the version:

The user should access the command line.
They should install the latest version of Python beforehand.
It is also advisable to install any latest minor version of version 3 of Python. 1
In order to validate the installed version, the user can open a command line after the installation. It is also called the Terminal in some operating systems, such as Linux and Mac OS.

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