To follow along, you should be on a Windows computer and have Python installed. The examples in the article were tested on Windows 11.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Before we upgrade to the latest stable version of Python, version 3.12, you should check the version running on your machine. An upgrade may not be necessary.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Open a command prompt and run python<\/em> as below to see the version<\/em> you have installed<\/p>\n <\/pre>\n Checking Python’s version<\/p>\n In this section, you will learn how to upgrade Python using the official installer. Open the Python official website<\/a> and download the latest stable version.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Run the installer by double-clicking the downloaded file in Explorer to start the installation process.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Python installer setup file<\/p>\n<\/p>\n A setup window should open up as below.<\/p>\n Configuring the installer<\/a> <\/p>\n At the setup window, you can fine-tune the installation parameters. The key things to note are:<\/p>\n The setup window should now look like the shot below. You will notice a User Account Control (UAC) shield by Install Now,<\/strong> indicating that the installation will request admin privileges as it progresses.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Select options in the Python installer<\/a> <\/p>\n Select options in the Python installer<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Select Install Now<\/strong> to start.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n At the UAC prompt, select Yes<\/strong> to elevate privileges and continue.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Elevating privileges for installation<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The installation will end, as shown in the shot below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Select Disable path length limit<\/strong> to ensure Python programs that deal with long paths can run error-free<\/a>. This is Windows-specific. By default, Windows only allows you to use paths that are 260 characters or less.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Congratulations, you have just upgraded to Python 3.12. Confirm its presence by running py –version<\/em> in PowerShell. The launcher defaults to the highest Python version available.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The older version, version 3.10, is still around. You can see that by running py<\/em> with the list<\/em> switch.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n You can maintain various versions of Python on your system without causing any conflict. This approach lets you transition scripts slowly, after verifying them with the updated version.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n As discussed earlier, initiating the new Python interpreter is as easy as running the py<\/em> command. By default, the launcher chooses the topmost Python version it can locate on your system.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/pre>\n<\/p>\n Running the new Python with Py<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You can also specify a version with the launcher. For example, you can execute py<\/em> as follows to launch version 3.10,<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/pre>\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Running the old version with python<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You can also start Python by executing the python<\/em> command. However, when you start Python this way, you do not necessarily launch the latest Python. You launch the first available Python executable.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The system searches the folders listed in the Path variable and runs the first Python executable it can find. Path is a variable that contains a list of folders that should be searched when the shell is looking for an executable.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Two primary considerations influence the version that the python<\/em> command initiates;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Automatically, these two variables change the Path variable and determine which version is discovered first.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n For instance, on a system with Python 2.7, running python<\/em> usually starts Python 2.7 <\/strong>instead of the freshly installed update.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n python<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Running the old version with python<\/a><\/p>\n You can confirm which python interpreter will be found first by using the where.exe<\/em> command<\/p>\n<\/p>\n where.exe python<\/p>\n<\/p>\n For my machine, Python 2 is the first on the list. Yours may be different.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Because of this behavior, I prefer the launcher(py) to Python when launching Python. Py gives you more control and flexibility over which version will run.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n When you cannot use the Py launcher, edit Path<\/a> to ensure your preferred version of Python is found first. An example of such a situation is with third-party applications that are hard-coded to use python<\/em> instead of py<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n As a last resort, you can specify the full location of the Python executable to start a particular version. For example, instead of just typing python<\/em>, type;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Running Python with the full location<\/p>\n<\/p>\n You can find out the full path for your Python installation with the where<\/em> command as below;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Finding the location of your Python interpreter<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Winget is a built-in command-line tool that streamlines and automates the installation of frequently used Windows programs. It functions as Microsoft\u2019s package manager and is already pre-installed in several Windows versions. It is akin to an apt package manager in Ubuntu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Launch PowerShell<\/em> and execute the winget<\/em> command as specified below, to update Python:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/pre>\n<\/p>\n A progress bar should appear, indicating the search and download progress of the setup files.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n After the download, a graphical Setup<\/strong> progress window should automatically pop up as Python is being installed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n You will be automatically redirected to PowerShell with a success notice upon completion.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Completing the installation successfully<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You can also install the python<\/em> launcher via winget<\/em> as follows<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Installing the launcher via Winget<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Another way to upgrade Python is by installing it from the Microsoft Store app on your desktop. The store hosts multiple versions of Python\u2019s interpreter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Select the Microsoft Store app from the taskbar to open up the store.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Launching the Microsoft Store<\/a><\/p>\n Search for python<\/em> to bring up a list of all versions available in the store. Select Get<\/strong> on the version you require (3.12) to kick off the installation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Searching for Python<\/a><\/p>\n Installing Python from the Microsoft Store<\/a><\/p>\n After the installation, you can use Python 3.12 by typing in python3.12<\/em> in a terminal.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “`html<\/p>\n Starting Python with appended version number<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Python from the store does not come with a Py launcher. Instead, it enables you to launch Python with the version number as above. This is unique to installations from the Microsoft Store.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n You can launch Python with the python<\/em> command as well. This depends on the value of your Path variable.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “`<\/p>\n Starting Python with the python command<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Note: If typing python at the command line opens up Microsoft Store instead,<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Enabling app execution aliases<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Chocolatey is a third-party package manager that makes installing many applications from the command line easy. If you already have Chocolatey installed, installing Python is as simple as executing the one-liner below in an elevated terminal window.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/pre>\n<\/p>\n The -y<\/em> switch completes the execution without further user interaction. Chocolatey\u2019s Python installation installs the launcher alongside. It also edits the Path variable to help the system first find the newly installed Python.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n To use Python immediately, just restart PowerShell.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Next, type python<\/em> or py<\/em> to start up the most recently installed version.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “`<\/p>\nCheck the current Python version<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
python --version<\/p>
Upgrade Python with the installer<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n
py --version<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
py --list<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
Run the new Python version<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
py<\/p>
py -3.10<\/p>
Running the new Python alongside Python 2<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
\n
c:python27python.exe<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
where.exe python<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
Upgrade Python with Winget<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
winget install python.python.3.12<\/p>
winget install python.launcher<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
Upgrade Python with Microsoft Store<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n
Upgrade Python with Chocolatey<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
choco install python -y<\/p>