First off, why you even need to configure your Python environment in the first place. Well, bro, it’s because sometimes life just doesn’t give us what we want on a silver platter. Sometimes we have to put in some effort to get things done. And by “some effort,” I mean clicking around in our terminal or command prompt for hours trying to figure out why the dang thing won’t work.

But don’t freak out, my dear Python enthusiast! Here are some steps you can follow:

1. Install Python This is a no-brainer, but just in case you missed the memo, go ahead and download Python from their website or your favorite package manager. If you’re using Linux, chances are it’s already installed for you (yay!).

2. Configure your environment variables Now that we have Python installed, let’s make sure our computer knows where to find it. This is done by setting up some environment variables. Don’t worry if this sounds like a foreign language to you; just follow along and I’ll explain everything in simple terms (or as simple as possible).

On Windows:
– Open your Start menu, type “System Properties,” and hit Enter. Click on the Advanced system settings link at the bottom of the window that pops up. Click on the Environment Variables button. Under System variables, click New to add a new variable. In the Variable name field, enter PATH (or whatever you want to call it). In the Variable value field, enter C:\Python37\Scripts;C:\Python37 (assuming that’s where your Python installation is located) or wherever else you installed it. Click OK and then click Apply/OK again to save everything.

On macOS:
– Open Terminal (you can find this in the Utilities folder inside Applications). Type “echo $PATH” and hit Enter. This will show you what directories your computer is currently looking for executable files in. If Python isn’t listed, we need to add it. Type “export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/your/Python/installation” (replacing “/path/to/your/Python/installation” with the actual path where you installed Python) and hit Enter. This will update your environment variables for this terminal session only. To make it permanent, open ~/.bash_profile or ~/.zshrc (depending on which shell you’re using), add that same line to the end of the file, save it, and then run “source ~/.bash_profile” or “source ~/.zshrc.”

On Linux:
– Open a terminal window. Type “echo $PATH” and hit Enter. This will show you what directories your computer is currently looking for executable files in. If Python isn’t listed, we need to add it. Type “export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/your/Python/installation” (replacing “/path/to/your/Python/installation” with the actual path where you installed Python) and hit Enter. This will update your environment variables for this terminal session only. To make it permanent, open ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc (depending on which shell you’re using), add that same line to the end of the file, save it, and then run “source ~/.bashrc” or “source ~/.zshrc.”

3. Install packages Now that we have Python installed and our environment variables set up, how to install packages (also known as libraries). This is where things can get a little tricky, but don’t worry; I’ve got your back.

On Windows:
– Open Terminal or Command Prompt (you can find this in the Start menu). Type “pip install package_name” and hit Enter. Replace “package_name” with whatever package you want to install. For example, if you wanted to install a package called “requests,” you would type “pip install requests.”

On macOS:
– Open Terminal (you can find this in the Utilities folder inside Applications). Type “pip3 install package_name” and hit Enter. Replace “package_name” with whatever package you want to install. For example, if you wanted to install a package called “requests,” you would type “pip3 install requests.”

On Linux:
– Open Terminal window. Type “sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade” and hit Enter (this will update your system’s packages). Type “sudo apt-get install package_name” and hit Enter. Replace “package_name” with whatever package you want to install. For example, if you wanted to install a package called “requests,” you would type “sudo apt-get install python3-requests.”

This guide is helpful but can we add some more examples of popular Python packages that are commonly used?