Want to know how to run Python? It sounds simple, but it can actually be tricky to figure this out. In this post, we’ll discuss how to test your Python code, as well as how to run Python in other contexts: online for example, or as a packaged app.

As many other posters here have suggested, it is possible but not desirable. The main reason you shouldn’t od it, is that it is not a common thing to do and hence you not get a lot of support, tutorials, StackOverflow advice etc. Although the algorithm is simple, the implementation of each step can make this app very useful. For example, in steps 1 and 2, I can communicate through different channels: keyboard, voice, or messaging apps.

Sometimes, the thing holding you back from learning to code can be extremely simple. I remember wanting to learn to program when I was younger – or learning to take what I’d learned from BASIC on the ZX Spectrum and apply that to a modern environment. My problem? I didn’t know “where” to program. Once I understood C# or Java, where would I enter the code and how would I run it?

And whenever I asked someone, they would look at me blankly. What kind of a question is that?

Download Python For Mac

Thing is, I had never needed an IDE or an interpreter before. Machines like the ZX Spectrum and Tatung Einstein (any other Einstein users out there?) simply booted up with a prompt to code into!

Many people have a similar issue with Python. They understand the code, but they don’t know how to run Python. Or how to turn their creation into an app that someone can download and buy. In fact, with Python it can occasionally be confusing even just to run a bunch of code.

Read on then, and learn how to run Python in any situation!

How to run Python apps

Before we dive into how to run Python, you first need to install the Python interpreter on your machine. You can find that from the below links:

• Windows: https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/
• Mac: https://www.python.org/downloads/mac-osx/
• Linux:https://www.python.org/downloads/source/

You can also find instructions on how to set this up and get it running here:

But this is only going to show you how to install the interpreter. This teaches your computer to understand Python, but it doesn’t give you anywhere to type and run apps.

Except that isn’t strictly true. Once you’ve installed this package, look for the program called Python Shell. This gives you a shell where you can type Python commands directly and have them run instantly. As soon as you press return, whatever statement you used will run.

But go to File > New File and you will be able to create a new .py file! Enter some code here, then go to: Run > Run Module. You’ll be prompted to save your file as a module (a compact piece of Python code that can be run from other scripts) and from there your app will run!

That is how to run Python files.

Conversely, you can also run Python files using a number of different IDEs or editors. An IDE is an integrated development environment, which gives you an interface you can use to enter your code, test your apps, and see any errors you may have made while typing it out.

How to create executable Python files

Now you know how to run Python files, but what if you want to help other people to run your programs? Most people who don’t program won’t have Python installed on their machine, let alone access to an IDE or editor! If you ever plan on sharing or selling your creations, then this is a hurdle you will need to overcome.

Unfortunately, there is no built-in way to make Python files runnable on any machine. That’s because Python is a dynamic language unlike, say, like C#. Some creators get around this by including Python as part of the download, but that is hardly an elegant solution.

Fortunately, third-party solutions do exist. Two popular options are PyInstaller and Py2exe. Both of these will allow you to build new apps as .exe files. To download and use them, you will need to use PiP.

To install PyInstaller from PyPI on Linux or Mac, just type:

To do the same via Windows, run the command prompt (making sure to run as administrator) and then use:

If you don’t have pip installed, you can usually do this by modifying your Python installation (search uninstall in your search bar, then choose your Python version and choose “modify”).

You’ll need to follow some additional steps to use either of these tools and actually build your .exe but you will find all the relevant instructions on the respective websites.

How to run Python web apps

One thing you’ll notice when trying to build a .exe from your Python code, is that it is not an intuitive or smooth process. That’s because this isn’t really what Python is for.

Python is typically more often used to create useful tools for IT professionals, such as information security specialists. However, it is also extremely useful for building web apps. In other words, Python is great if you want to build the next Google, Twitter, or Spotify. In this scenario, Python will run on a server and then display information to the visitor through the browser. Because the code is executed on the server, that means there is no requirement for the user to have Python installed. It also means there will be no slow down for the user.

However, what this also means is that you need to take the time to install Python on your browser. You’ll also probably need to install a web framework. A web framework provides packages and modules that let you easily build web apps with Python code. These frameworks do the heavy lifting for you by simplifying a wide range of common functions necessary for web design. This may include things like database lookups, handling cookies, displaying images, and more.

There are plenty of options out there if you’re interested in Python web frameworks. A great choice for beginners is Flask. This is a very light “microframework,” but it is also relatively simple compared with many other options.

Here’s a great tutorial I found online that can help you to get started:

Here is where you can get Flask and some documentation on how to use it.

Other good options include Django and Web2py. As always, these each have their own strengths and weaknesses, so you’ll need to find the right option for your intended purposes.

How to run Python on mobile

If you want to run Python on mobile, one of the easiest options is simply to download an IDE on your chosen platform. There is no need to download a separate interpreter, you can simply download the app and start typing and running your Python code. Two great options are:

• iOS: Python3IDE
• Android: QPython 3L

If you want to make apps that you can distribute on mobile using Python though, you’ll probably want to use Kivy. Kivy is an open source library for rapid cross-platform development. It supports multi-touch, an OpenGL ES 2 graphics engine, and other useful features for mobile development and is completely free to use.

So there you go! That’s how to run Python on a variety of platforms. Of course, you’ll need to do some tinkering to get some of these options to work (like web or mobile apps), but this post should have given you a good idea of where to start.

And now you know how to use your Python code, perhaps you’re ready to start building some apps? In that case, you should check out our guide to the best online Python courses.

Bob Savage <bobsavage@mac.com>

Python on a Macintosh running Mac OS X is in principle very similar to Python onany other Unix platform, but there are a number of additional features such asthe IDE and the Package Manager that are worth pointing out.

4.1. Getting and Installing MacPython¶

Mac OS X 10.8 comes with Python 2.7 pre-installed by Apple. If you wish, youare invited to install the most recent version of Python 3 from the Pythonwebsite (https://www.python.org). A current “universal binary” build of Python,which runs natively on the Mac’s new Intel and legacy PPC CPU’s, is availablethere.

What you get after installing is a number of things:

• A Python3.9 folder in your Applications folder. In hereyou find IDLE, the development environment that is a standard part of officialPython distributions; and PythonLauncher, which handles double-clicking Pythonscripts from the Finder.

• A framework /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework, which includes thePython executable and libraries. The installer adds this location to your shellpath. To uninstall MacPython, you can simply remove these three things. Asymlink to the Python executable is placed in /usr/local/bin/.

The Apple-provided build of Python is installed in/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework and /usr/bin/python,respectively. You should never modify or delete these, as they areApple-controlled and are used by Apple- or third-party software. Remember thatif you choose to install a newer Python version from python.org, you will havetwo different but functional Python installations on your computer, so it willbe important that your paths and usages are consistent with what you want to do.

IDLE includes a help menu that allows you to access Python documentation. If youare completely new to Python you should start reading the tutorial introductionin that document.

If you are familiar with Python on other Unix platforms you should read thesection on running Python scripts from the Unix shell.

4.1.1. How to run a Python script¶

Your best way to get started with Python on Mac OS X is through the IDLEintegrated development environment, see section The IDE and use the Help menuwhen the IDE is running.

If you want to run Python scripts from the Terminal window command line or fromthe Finder you first need an editor to create your script. Mac OS X comes with anumber of standard Unix command line editors, vim andemacs among them. If you want a more Mac-like editor,BBEdit or TextWrangler from Bare Bones Software (seehttp://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/index.html) are good choices, as isTextMate (see https://macromates.com/). Other editors includeGvim (http://macvim-dev.github.io/macvim/) and Aquamacs(http://aquamacs.org/).

To run your script from the Terminal window you must make sure that/usr/local/bin is in your shell search path.

To run your script from the Finder you have two options:

• Drag it to PythonLauncher

• Select PythonLauncher as the default application to open yourscript (or any .py script) through the finder Info window and double-click it.PythonLauncher has various preferences to control how your script islaunched. Option-dragging allows you to change these for one invocation, or useits Preferences menu to change things globally.

4.1.2. Running scripts with a GUI¶

With older versions of Python, there is one Mac OS X quirk that you need to beaware of: programs that talk to the Aqua window manager (in other words,anything that has a GUI) need to be run in a special way. Use pythonwinstead of python to start such scripts.

With Python 3.9, you can use either python or pythonw.

4.1.3. Configuration¶

Python on OS X honors all standard Unix environment variables such asPYTHONPATH, but setting these variables for programs started from theFinder is non-standard as the Finder does not read your .profile or.cshrc at startup. You need to create a file~/.MacOSX/environment.plist. See Apple’s Technical Document QA1067 fordetails.

For more information on installation Python packages in MacPython, see sectionInstalling Additional Python Packages.

4.2. The IDE¶

MacPython ships with the standard IDLE development environment. A goodintroduction to using IDLE can be found athttp://www.hashcollision.org/hkn/python/idle_intro/index.html.

4.3. Installing Additional Python Packages¶

There are several methods to install additional Python packages:

• Packages can be installed via the standard Python distutils mode (pythonsetup.pyinstall).

• Many packages can also be installed via the setuptools extensionor pip wrapper, see https://pip.pypa.io/.

4.4. GUI Programming on the Mac¶

There are several options for building GUI applications on the Mac with Python.

PyObjC is a Python binding to Apple’s Objective-C/Cocoa framework, which isthe foundation of most modern Mac development. Information on PyObjC isavailable from https://pypi.org/project/pyobjc/.

The standard Python GUI toolkit is tkinter, based on the cross-platformTk toolkit (https://www.tcl.tk). An Aqua-native version of Tk is bundled with OSX by Apple, and the latest version can be downloaded and installed fromhttps://www.activestate.com; it can also be built from source.

wxPython is another popular cross-platform GUI toolkit that runs natively onMac OS X. Packages and documentation are available from https://www.wxpython.org.

PyQt is another popular cross-platform GUI toolkit that runs natively on MacOS X. More information can be found athttps://riverbankcomputing.com/software/pyqt/intro.

4.5. Distributing Python Applications on the Mac¶

The standard tool for deploying standalone Python applications on the Mac ispy2app. More information on installing and using py2app can be foundat http://undefined.org/python/#py2app.

4.6. Other Resources¶

The MacPython mailing list is an excellent support resource for Python users anddevelopers on the Mac:

How To Create A Mac App With Python

Another useful resource is the MacPython wiki: