Appendix A — Installing Python 3.14

When this book says Python, it means Python 3.14 unless a chapter explicitly says otherwise. You don’t need to install one very specific patch release to understand the course, but using the current stable Python 3 release will keep your experience closest to the examples.

In the original workshop this section came with a cheerful “here be dragons” warning because installing language runtimes can feel more dramatic than writing the code. The good news is that Python’s installers are much friendlier now, and the even better news is that setup isn’t the point of this book; it’s just the bit of trail we walk before the interesting tools appear.

The most reliable starting point is the official Python downloads page. It’ll offer the right installer for your operating system and link to platform-specific instructions.

Check your Python version

Open a terminal and run one of these commands:

$ python3 --version

On Windows, the Python launcher might be available as py:

> py --version

You’re looking for Python 3.14.x. If you see Python 2.x, an older Python 3 version, or a command-not-found error, install or update Python before continuing.

If your system still has a python command that points at something older, don’t panic and don’t go deleting system Python installations with a dramatic flourish. Many operating systems use their bundled Python for their own chores. Prefer python3, py, or the full path to the interpreter you installed.

Check pip

pip is Python’s standard package installer. Call it through the Python interpreter you’re planning to use:

$ python3 -m pip --version

On Windows:

> py -m pip --version

Using python -m pip avoids a classic beginner trap: accidentally installing a package into one Python environment while running your code with another. This is one of those tiny habits that saves you from a large amount of “but I definitely installed that” later.

Keep setup boring

There are heaps of good Python environment tools: Python’s standard-library venv, uv, conda, Hatch, virtualenv, Pipenv, pyenv, and IDE-managed interpreters. For this course, you only need three ideas:

  • Know which Python interpreter is running your code.
  • Put project dependencies in an isolated environment.
  • Install packages into that environment, not into a random global Python.

The next chapter shows the standard-library path using venv. If you already have a workflow you like, keep it. The course doesn’t require you to use a particular editor or package manager. Keep setup boring so your curiosity has somewhere better to go.

Checkpoint

Run the Python and pip version commands for your operating system, then write down the command that works on your machine and the Python version it reports. This tiny breadcrumb pays off when setup gets murky later.

Extension Activity

Read the official Python installation guide for your operating system and compare it with the installer path you used. Note one platform-specific detail that might matter when helping someone else set up the course.

References