---
title: Configuring Python
eleventyNavigation:
  key: Configuring Python
  parent: Python
---

`[package]` and `[version]` have to be replaced by the name of the package and version to be installed.

## Supported versions

||
|---|
|3.14 \|3.13 \| 3.12 \| 3.11 \| 3.10 \| 3.9 \| 3.8 \| 3.7 \| 3.6 \| 3.5 \| 3.4 \| 3.3|
|2.7 \| 2.6 \| 2.5 \| 2.4|

The default version can be changed from the alwaysdata administration, under **Environment > Python**. This is the version that is especially used when you start `python`.

Versions are not necessarily [already installed](/en/docs/web-hosting/languages/#versions).

## Error logs

You can view the error logs in the `/home/[account]/admin/logs/uwsgi/[id].log` file where `[id]` is the identifier for your site, shown in the **Web > Sites section**.

An extract of these logs is presented in the administration’s interface (Logs - 📄).

## Binary to use

You need to always use `python` (or `/usr/bin/python`). Never use `python3`, `python2`, `python2.7` or any other command.

To force the use of a different version of Python other than the default one, define the environment variable `PYTHON_VERSION`:

```sh
$ PYTHON_VERSION=2.7 python
```

In your scripts, use `/usr/bin/python` as *shebang*:

```
#!/usr/bin/python
```

To force the use of a specific version of Python:

```
#!/usr/bin/eval PYTHON_VERSION=2.7 python
```

The other binaries included in Python (`2to3`, `pep8`, `pip`, `pydoc`, etc.) work the same way.

## Environment

Your Python environment starts off empty, with no ready installed libraries other than the standard library. You can use `pip` to install packages, this is the standard Python tool:

```sh
$ python -m pip install [package]
```

Packages are installed in the standard `/home/[account]/.local` directory and they are automatically added to `sys.path` by Python.

Note that you will need to re-install the packages if you change the major Python version (versions 3.5 and 3.6 are two different major versions, whereas 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 use the same major version).

We recommend using virtual environments if you use a number of different Python applications so that each one has its own separate environment.

With Python 3, use `venv`:

```sh
$ python -m venv myenv
```

With Python 2, use `virtualenv`:

```sh
$ virtualenv myenv
```

Once your virtual environment is installed, you can activate it with:

```sh
$ source myenv/bin/activate
```

### Installing a package

Install the latest version of a package:

```sh
$ python -m pip install [package]
```

You can specify a specific version:

```sh
$ python -m pip install [package]==[version]
```

To install a set of packages defined in a `requirements.txt` file:

```sh
$ python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
```

### Uninstalling a package

```sh
$ python -m pip uninstall Django
```

### Installing a package with Distutils

You can install a package using Distutils without using pip:

```sh
$ python setup.py install --user
```

If you use a virtual environment, there is no need to specify `--user`.

## WSGI deployment

For a [WSGI](https://wsgi.readthedocs.io) application to be accessible by the web, you need to add a site in the administration **Web > Sites** section:

![](images/python-wsgi.png)

- type: choose *Python WSGI*,
- application path: the path to your WSGI application.

You can also fill-in a number of optional fields:

- your application's working directory,
- environment variables to define,
- a specific version of Python to use,
- the virtualenv directory to use.

## ASGI deployment

Applications based on the [ASGI](https://asgi.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) standard as asynchronouse Python frameworks can use the *[User program](/en/docs/web-hosting/sites/http-servers/user-program)* site type in the section **Web > Sites**. The most popular HTTP server is [Uvicorn](https://uvicorn.dev/).

![](images/user-program.png)

You will have to use the and make the HTTP server listen in IPv6 and on the given port. For example:

- Command: `uvicorn example:app --reload --port $PORT --host $IP`

---

- [Deploy a Fastapi (asyncio) application](https://vincent.jousse.org/blog/fr/tech/comment-deployer-fastapi-chez-alwaysdata/) (guide in French written by a user of the platform)