How do I use brew installed Python as the default Python

Question

I try to switch to Homebrew  after using fink and macport  on Mac OS X 10 6 2  I have installed python 2 7 with   brew install python    The problem is that  contrary to Macport  it seems that there is no python select utility  and my default mac python is always default  which python   give me    usr bin python   and  usr bin python is not a symlink  How can I do to make python brew flavour to be my default python

User · Answer

Use pyenv instead to install and switch between versions of Python. I've been using rbenv for years which does the same thing, but for Ruby. Before that it was hell managing versions.

Consult pyenv's github page for installation instructions. Basically it goes like this: - Install pyenv using homebrew. brew install pyenv - Add a function to the end of your shell startup script so pyenv can do it's magic. echo -e 'if command -v pyenv 1>/dev/null 2>&1; then\n eval "$(pyenv init -)"\nfi' >> ~/.bash_profile

Use pyenv to install however many different versions of Python you need. pyenv install 3.7.7.
Set the default (global) version to a modern version you just installed. pyenv global 3.7.7.
If you work on a project that needs to use a different version of python, look into pyevn local. This creates a file in your project's folder that specifies the python version. Pyenv will look override the global python version with the version in that file.

User · Answer

I did brew install python  my  PATH was good  but still  which python gave me the system installed one  Restarting the terminal fixed it

User · Answer

Just do   brew install python brew link python   After doing that  add this to your bashrc or bash profile   alias python   usr local bin python2    Enjoy

User · Answer

See  How to symlink python in Homebrew     brew link --overwrite python Linking  usr local Cellar python 2 7 3    28 symlinks created   which python  usr local bin python

User · Answer

You can edit  etc paths  Here is mine    usr local bin  usr bin  bin  usr sbin  sbin   Then add a symlink for the python version  In my case    cd  usr local bin   ln -s python3 python   Voila

User · Answer

As suggested by the homebrew installer itself  be sure to add this to your  bashrc or  zshrc   export PATH   usr local opt python libexec bin  PATH

User · Answer

python now points to python3  if you need python 2 then do  brew install python 2 and then in your  zshrc or  bashrc file export PATH   usr local opt python 2 libexec bin  PATH  Now  pyhon --version   Python 2 7 14 and python3 --version   Python 3 6 4   That s the behavior I m used to seeing in my terminal

User · Answer

If you are fish shell  echo  set -g fish user paths   usr local opt python libexec bin   fish user paths   gt  gt     config fish config fish

User · Answer

As you are using Homebrew the following command gives a better picture   brew doctor   Output           usr bin occurs before  usr local bin This means that system-provided programs will be used instead of those provided by   Homebrew  This is an issue if you eg  brew installed Python       Consider editing your  bash profile to put     usr local bin ahead of    usr bin in your  PATH

User · Answer

Homebrew does NOT replace stuff in   usr bin   You ll just want to put   usr local bin  ahead of   usr bin  in your path  then  which python  will give you   usr local bin python    Replacing  usr bin python  or  usr bin ruby  is highly unrecommended

User · Answer

Since High Sierra  you need to use   sudo chown -R   whoami    brew --prefix      This is because  usr local can no longer be chowned

User · Answer

Quick fix    Open  etc paths Change the order of the lines  highest priority on top    In my case  etc paths looks like    usr local bin  usr local sbin  usr bin  bin  usr sbin  sbin   If you want to know more about paths in OSX I found this article quite useful   http   muttsnutts github com blog 2011 09 12 manage-path-on-mac-os-x-lion

User · Answer

python formula now uses python3 v3 6 5 for now   brew will link the directory    usr local opt python - gt     Cellar python 3 6 5   it will also link the binary    usr local bin python3 - gt     Cellar python 3 6 5 bin python3   If you still need to use python2 x  use   brew install python 2   To use homebrew s python  just put its directory in PATH  for bash   export PATH   usr local opt python libexec bin  PATH    for fish   set -x PATH  usr local opt python libexec bin  PATH   Note    doing this will shadow the system default version of python homebrew used to link python to  usr local share python in older versions

User · Answer

No idea what you mean with default Python  I consider it bad practice to replace the system Python interpreter with a different version  System functionality may depend in some way on the system Python and specific modules or a specific Python version  Instead install your custom Python installations in a safe different place and adjust your  PATH as needed in order to call you Python through a path lookup instead of looking for the default Python

User · Answer

I did  brew install python  for OSX High Sierra  The  PATH had  usr local bin before any other path but still which python was pointing to the system s python    When I looked deeper I found that there is no python executable at  usr local bin  The executable is named python2  To fix this problem create a symbolic link python pointing to python2    usr local bin    ln -s python2 python

User · Answer

You need to edit your PATH environmental variable to make sure wherever the homebrew python is located is searched before  usr bin  You could also set things up in your shell config to have a variable like PYTHON be set to your desired version of python and call  PYTHON rather than python from the command line    Also  as another poster stated  and especially on mac  DO NOT mess with the python in  usr bin to point it to another python install  You re just asking for trouble if you do

User · Answer

Modify your  PATH  Add this in your bashrc or bash profile   export PATH  usr local bin  usr local sbin   bin  PATH   more click here  Issue  89791

User · Answer

Add the  usr local opt python libexec bin explicitly to your  bash profile   export PATH   usr local opt python libexec bin  PATH    After that  it should work correctly

User · Answer

I believe there are means to make homebrew python default  but in my opinion the proper way to solve a problem is not to mess with system python paths  it is better to create a virtualenv in which homebrew python would be default  by using virtualenv --python option   Using tools like python select is almost always a bad idea

[python] How do I use brew installed Python as the default Python?

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