How to install Python on macOS

Installing Python on macOS provides a user-managed interpreter for scripts, virtual environments, local automation, and package-driven tooling. Using Homebrew keeps that runtime under the package manager's control instead of depending on Apple-managed components or whatever interpreter another app bundled privately.

Current Homebrew installs the newest maintained Python 3 formula into its default prefix and exposes the runtime as python3 plus pip3. The unversioned python, pip, and related helper shims are kept in $(brew --prefix python)/libexec/bin so the main shell path stays centered on the explicit Python 3 commands.

The Homebrew workflow assumes brew already works in the current shell. Recent macOS releases may also expose Apple's own /usr/bin/python3 for developer tools, and current Homebrew Python 3.12 and newer builds follow PEP 668, so third-party packages should normally go into a virtual environment rather than the base interpreter.

1. Refresh Homebrew metadata before resolving the current Python formula.

   $ brew update
   ==> Updating Homebrew...
   Already up-to-date.

2. Install the maintained Python 3 formula from Homebrew.

   $ brew install python
   ==> Fetching downloads for: python
   ##### snipped #####
   ==> Installing python@3.14
   ==> Caveats
   Python is installed as
     /opt/homebrew/bin/python3

   Current Homebrew maps brew install python to its newest maintained Python 3 formula, so the internal python@3.y target can change as supported minor releases move forward.

3. Verify that the installed interpreter and bundled pip module answer from the Homebrew runtime.

   $ python3 --version
   Python 3.14.3
   
   $ python3 -m pip --version
   pip 26.0 from /opt/homebrew/lib/python3.14/site-packages/pip (python 3.14)

   Use python3 -m pip when installing packages so the package operation always targets the same interpreter that answered python3 --version.

   Starting with Python 3.12, Homebrew follows PEP 668 for the base environment. Install third-party packages into a virtual environment instead of modifying the base interpreter directly.

   Related: How to create a virtual environment in Python
   Related: How to install third-party packages in Python using pip

4. List the python3 commands visible in the current shell so the Homebrew runtime appears ahead of Apple's copy.

   $ type -a python3
   python3 is /usr/local/bin/python3
   python3 is /usr/bin/python3
   python3 is /opt/homebrew/bin/python3

   Apple Silicon Macs usually expose Homebrew from /opt/homebrew/bin, while Intel Macs commonly use /usr/local/bin. Some Apple Silicon shells may still surface a Homebrew-managed /usr/local/bin/python3 symlink first, so the important check is that a Homebrew path appears before Apple's /usr/bin/python3.

   Related: How to check Python version

5. Inspect the optional unversioned command shims that Homebrew installs outside the main PATH.

   $ ls -1 "$(brew --prefix python)/libexec/bin"
   idle
   pip
   pydoc
   python
   python-config
   wheel

   Homebrew keeps python3 and pip3 in the main prefix, while plain python, pip, and related helpers stay under $(brew --prefix python)/libexec/bin unless the shell path is adjusted deliberately.

   Related: How to set the default Python interpreter