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Install python 2.7 or 3 under Debian 6

Published: 15-01-2013 | Author: Remy van Elst | Text only version of this article


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Debian 6 by default ships with python 2.6.6. If for some reason need a newer version of python you can either mess with repo's, compile from source or use pythonbrew. This tutorial will show you how to install python 2.7 or 3 under debian 6 using pythonbrew.

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What is pythonbrew

pythonbrew is a program to automate the building and installation of Python in the users $HOME. pythonbrew is inspired by perlbrew and rvm.
More info about pythonbrew

Install pip

We first need to install pip, which we will use to install pythonbrew:

sudo apt-get install python-pip

Install pythonbrew

We now use pip to install pythonbrew

sudo pip install pythonbrew

Now we finish the install of pythonbrew as it instructs us:

pythonbrew_install

Then we make sure the pythonbrew files are loaded in our shell:

source "$HOME/.pythonbrew/etc/bashrc"

Install python 2.7

We can now instruct pythonbrew to install and compile python 2.7 for us:

pythonbrew install 2.7.3

This takes a while, it will go and compile python for you. When it it finished, we can tell our shell to use the freshly installed python:

pythonbrew use 2.7.3

Install python 3

To install python 3, we execute the following command. Note that this may take a while, because it compiles python:

pythonbrew install 3.2

To use this python, execute the following command:

pythonbrew use 3.2

Pythonbrew extra's

List all installed pythons:

pythonbrew list

List the available installation pythons:

pythonbrew list -k

Uninstall a python version (2.7.3 for this example):

pythonbrew uninstall 2.7.3

Clean up stale source folders and archives:

pythonbrew cleanup
Tags: debian , python , pythonbrew , tutorials