How to check the Python version
In the shell: python --version. In code: import sys; print(sys.version_info).
import sys
print(sys.version) # '3.13.0 (main, Oct 7 2024, ...)'
print(sys.version_info) # sys.version_info(major=3, minor=13, micro=0, ...)
# Programmatic check for a minimum version:
if sys.version_info < (3, 10):
raise RuntimeError("Python 3.10 or newer required")sys.version is the human-readable string; sys.version_info is a named tuple you can compare with tuple math (< 3.10 works). Use version_info for programmatic checks — parsing sys.version with regex is fragile.
In a shell, `python --version` prints the version. On systems with both Python 2 and 3 installed, use `python3 --version` to force Python 3. Modern macOS ships without a `python` command at all — only `python3`.
Inside a venv, `python --version` reports the venv's Python (which is what you almost always care about). Outside the venv, it reports the system default.
Variations
Check on the command line
# python --version
# python -V
# python3 --version # if 'python' is ambiguous-V is the short form.
Compare specific components
if sys.version_info.major == 3 and sys.version_info.minor >= 12:
from datetime import UTC # 3.11+For feature-gating imports.
Full version + build info
print(sys.version)
print(sys.platform) # 'linux' / 'darwin' / 'win32'
print(sys.executable) # full path to the interpreterFull diagnostic when troubleshooting environment issues.
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