LinuxCommandLibrary

python

Interpreted general-purpose programming language

TLDR

Run Python script

$ python [script.py]
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Start interactive REPL
$ python
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Execute code
$ python -c "[print('Hello')]"
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Run module
$ python -m [module]
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Start HTTP server
$ python -m http.server [8080]
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Check syntax
$ python -m py_compile [script.py]
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SYNOPSIS

python [options] [script] [args]

DESCRIPTION

python is the interpreter for the Python programming language, executing scripts or starting an interactive REPL session. It supports procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming styles, and is widely used for scripting, web development, data analysis, automation, and scientific computing.
When invoked without arguments, it starts an interactive read-eval-print loop for experimentation. With a script file as argument, it compiles and executes the code. The -m flag runs installed modules as scripts, enabling built-in utilities like HTTP servers, JSON formatters, and package management through pip. On many systems, python may refer to Python 2; use python3 explicitly for Python 3.

PARAMETERS

SCRIPT

Python script to run.
ARGS
Script arguments.
-c CODE
Execute code string.
-m MODULE
Run library module.
-i
Interactive after script.
-O
Optimize bytecode.
-V
Show version.
-u
Unbuffered output.

CAVEATS

Python 2 vs 3 differences. Use python3 for Python 3.

HISTORY

Python was created by Guido van Rossum in 1991.

SEE ALSO

python3(1), pip(1), pydoc(1)

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