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Runbook

Install Python on Arch

General-purpose programming language and runtime, batteries included.

Runtimelanguageruntimescriptinginterpreter

Installation

Python + pip · pacman
sudo pacman -S python python-pip

Verify the installation

Verify
python --version

Important files

TypePathDescription
binary/usr/bin/pythonPython 3 interpreter (on Arch, python is Python 3).

Command-line tools

  • pythonThe Python 3 interpreter (Arch has no python2).
  • pipPackage installer for Python.

Uninstall

Uninstall pip
sudo pacman -Rs python-pip

Good to know

  • On Arch Linux, python IS Python 3 (no python2); the command is python, not python3.
  • Arch tracks the latest Python closely; after a major upgrade, recreate your virtual environments.
  • venv is part of the standard library (python -m venv).

Installation on Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S python python-pip installs the interpreter and pip. On Arch, the python command is Python 3 — there is no python2 and no python3 symlink to worry about.

Virtual environments and rolling releases

Create environments with python -m venv .venv. Because Arch upgrades Python aggressively, a minor-version bump can invalidate existing venvs (they reference the old interpreter path); simply delete and recreate them.

System packages vs pip

Prefer pacman packages (often prefixed python-) for system-wide libraries, and pip only inside a virtual environment. Installing pip packages system-wide can conflict with pacman-managed files.