How to Check and Verify the Version of Python

Posted on December 11, 2014 by J. Mays | Updated: May 10, 2023

Category: Technical Support | Tags: CentOS, CentOS 7, CLI, Command-line, Fedora, Fedora 21, LTS, Programming, Python, Ubuntu

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Python is a programming language. It is quite popular and has a design philosophy that emphasizes code readability. It is widely considered to be a straightforward programming language to learn and master because of its focus on readability. Python is open source, and will run a multitude of platforms including, but not limited to: Various Linux/UNIX distributions (CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, etc.), Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X.

Pre-Flight Check

These instructions are intended specifically for checking which version of Python is installed.
I’ll be working from a Liquid Web Core Managed CentOS 7 server, and I’ll be logged in as root.

Check and Verify a Python Installation

Check the version of Python installed with the following command:

python --version

Which should yield a response similar to:

Python 2.7.5

Enter the Python command line with the following command:

python

This command should generate a command line similar to:

Python 2.7.5 (default, Jun 17 2014, 18:11:42)
[GCC 4.8.2 20140120 (Red Hat 4.8.2-16)] on linux2
Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information.

And exit the command line with:

quit()

About the Author: J. Mays

As a previous contributor, JMays shares his insight with our Knowledge Base center. In our Knowledge Base, you'll be able to find how-to articles on Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora and much more!