How to install Python in Raspberry PI

The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a device that enables people of all ages to explore computing and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python.

The steps to install Python on Raspberry Pi are as follows:

1. Update the Raspbian

Update the Raspbian before installing python.

sudo apt-get update

2. Prerequisites

Before installing Python 3.8 there are some dependencies that we need to install. Use the following command to install the required dependencies.

sudo apt-get install -y build-essential tk-dev libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev libreadline6-dev libdb5.3-dev libgdbm-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev libbz2-dev libexpat1-dev liblzma-dev zlib1g-dev libffi-dev tar wget vim

3. Download Python

You can download Python from the official website or use the following command.

wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.8.0/Python-3.8.0.tgz

4. Install Python 3.8

Now we will extract and install Python from the source.

sudo tar zxf Python-3.8.0.tgz 
cd Python-3.8.0 
sudo ./configure --enable-optimizations 
sudo make -j 4 
sudo make altinstall

5. Check Python version

Now Python is installed you can check the version using the following command.

python3.8 -V

6. Make Python 3.8 as the default version

If you want to use python 3.8 as a default version you can create an alias.

echo "alias python=/usr/local/bin/python3.8" >> ~/.bashrc

Then source the .bashrc file.

source ~/.bashrc

7. Check Python Version

After creating an alias check the python version again.

python -V
Python 3.8.0

Now you have successfully installed Python 3.8 on Raspberry Pi.

8. Clean up

Now you can clean up using the archive

sudo rm -rf Python-3.8.0.tgz
sudo rm -rf Python-3.8.0