Python Installation Guide

This guide is for those who are new to the Python programming language and want to install it on their system. It will help you set up the Python environment needed to run EvoX.

Tip: EvoX is written in Python, so you will need to have Python installed on your system. EvoX support Python 3.10 and above, and we recommend using the latest version of Python.

Install Python interpreter

Windows Version

Go to Download Python and download the latest version of Python.

Note: Make sure to check the box that says “Add Python to PATH” during the installation process.

Linux Version

Different Linux distributions have different ways to install Python. It depends on the package manager of your distribution. Here are some examples:

• Debian/Ubuntu: apt
• Archlinux: pacman
• Fedora: dnf

Install through uv

uv is an extremely fast Python package and project manager, is working on Windows, Linux and MacOS. We recommend using uv to install Python interpreter as well as managing Python environments. The detailed installation guide can be found in the uv installation guide.

Windows

Use irm to download the script and execute it with iex:

$ powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Changing the execution policy allows running a script from the internet.

Request a specific version by including it in the URL:

$ powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/0.6.16/install.ps1 | iex"

Linux and MacOS

Use curl to download the script and execute it with sh:

$ curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

If your system doesn’t have curl, you can use wget:

$ wget -qO- https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Request a specific version by including it in the URL:

$ curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/0.6.16/install.sh | sh

Managing Python Environments

Pip and Venv

pip is the package manager for Python. venv is the built-in tool for creating virtual environments in Python. A virtual environment is a self-contained directory that contains a Python installation for a particular version of Python, plus several additional packages. This is useful for managing dependencies for different projects separately.

To create a virtual environment, run the following command in your terminal:

$ python -m venv <env_path> # usually <env_path> is a `.venv` directory in your project

This will create a new directory called <env_path> that contains a copy of the Python interpreter and the standard library. To activate the virtual environment, run the following command:

$ source <env_path>/bin/activate # Bash
$ source <env_path>/bin/activate.fish # Fish
$ <env_path>\Scripts\activate # Windows

This will change your shell prompt to indicate that you are now working inside the virtual environment. To deactivate the virtual environment, run the following command:

$ deactivate

This will return you to your system’s default Python interpreter with all its installed libraries.

While the virtual environment is activated, you can use pip to install packages into the virtual environment. For example, to install the latest version of numpy, run the following command:

$ pip install numpy

This will install numpy into the virtual environment, and it will not affect the system-wide Python installation. To install a specific version of numpy, run the following command:

$ pip install numpy==1.23.4

This will install version 1.23.4 of numpy into the virtual environment. To list all the packages installed in the virtual environment, run the following command:

$ pip list

This will show you a list of all the packages installed in the virtual environment, along with their versions. To uninstall a package, run the following command:

$ pip uninstall numpy

This will uninstall numpy from the virtual environment. To upgrade a package, run the following command:

$ pip install --upgrade numpy

This will upgrade numpy to the latest version in the virtual environment.

uv

uv can not only manage Python versions, but also manage Python environments. To create a new Python environment, run the following command:

$ uv venv --python <python_version> # e.g. 3.10, 3.11, ...

This will create a new directory called .venv that contains a copy of the Python interpreter and the standard library. To activate the virtual environment, run the following command:

$ source <env_path>/bin/activate # Bash
$ source <env_path>/bin/activate.fish # Fish
$ <env_path>\Scripts\activate # Windows

After activating the virtual environment, you can use uv pip to install packages into the virtual environment. For example, to install the latest version of numpy, run the following command:

$ uv pip install numpy