HardCoded

Why this matters: Python's reputation for being beginner-friendly stops at the install. "Add Python to PATH" is the single most common point where new students give up. Spend 15 to 20 careful minutes here and you are set for years.

Pick the right tool for your situation

Python itself is just the language. To write Python you need a place to type the code. There are three sensible options.

If this sounds like you...	Use this	Why
You want a popular, general-purpose editor that works for many languages	VS Code + Python extension	The most-used editor in the industry. Free. Excellent Python support via Microsoft's official extension.
You want an editor laser-focused on Python	PyCharm Community Edition	Powerful debugger and refactoring built in. Some students prefer how much it "knows" about Python out of the box.
You just want to type a few lines and see what happens	The Python shell (REPL)	Built into Python. No setup required. Great for the first few lessons of this course. We use it in Lesson 3.

You only need an internet connection during installation. Once Python and your editor are installed, you can write, run and debug locally with no connection.

Install Python

Windows

Visit https://python.org/downloads
Download the latest Python 3 release (3.11 or later)
Run the installer
Critical: check the box that says "Add python.exe to PATH" at the bottom of the first installer screen. This is the single most common mistake new students make.
Click "Install Now"
When it finishes, click "Close"

macOS

The easiest path on Mac is Homebrew:

brew install python

If you do not have Homebrew, install it first from https://brew.sh.

Linux

Most Linux distributions ship Python already. Verify with:

python3 --version

If it is missing or too old, install via your package manager. On Ubuntu or Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip

Verify your install

Open a terminal and run:

python --version

On macOS or Linux you may need:

python3 --version

Either way you should see something like Python 3.11.5. If you do, the install worked.

Install VS Code (recommended editor)

Visit https://code.visualstudio.com
Download for your operating system and run the installer
Open VS Code
Click the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (it looks like four little squares)
Search for "Python"
Install the official Python extension by Microsoft (it has a blue verified tick)

Your first Python file

Create a folder called PythonProjects somewhere you can find it again
Open VS Code, choose File > Open Folder, and pick that folder
Create a new file called hello.py
Type one line into it:

print("Hello, World!")

Save the file (Ctrl+S on Windows, Cmd+S on Mac)
Open a terminal inside VS Code: Terminal > New Terminal from the menu bar
Run:

python hello.py

You should see Hello, World! print in the terminal.

If something goes wrong

Setup is where new programmers get most stuck. The three problems we see most often:

Problem	Try this
`'python' is not recognized as an internal or external command`	Python was not added to PATH. Uninstall it from Control Panel, then reinstall and check the "Add python.exe to PATH" box.
`python --version` shows Python 2.x	You have an old Python. Install Python 3 from python.org and use `python3` instead.
VS Code does not recognise Python	Reload VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+P then "Reload Window"). If the Python extension still does not pick up your install, check View > Output > Python for hints.

If you get stuck for more than 20 minutes on the same setup issue, ask in the community forum. Setup problems are usually environment-specific and someone else has hit yours before.

What's next

You have Python installed, an editor that understands it and a working "Hello, World!" file. The next lesson opens the Python interactive shell, the fastest way to experiment with the language and see how it thinks.

Installing Python