asdf-python

Python plugin for asdf version manager

Install

asdf plugin-add python https://github.com/danhper/asdf-python.git

Use

Check asdf readme for instructions on how to install & manage versions of Python. Please make sure you have the required system dependencies installed before trying to install Python.

Under the hood, asdf-python uses python-build to build and install Python, check its README for more information about build options and the common build problems wiki page for any issues encountered during installation of python versions.

Using multiple versions of Python

A common request for Python is being able to use the python2 and python3 commands without needing to switch version. This can be achieved by setting multiple versions of Python, for example with

asdf global python 3.6.2 2.7.13

This feature is experimental but should be working well enough for most use cases. Incidentally, the first python version you install will claim python. With the above example:

python -V
Python 3.6.3

python3 -V
Python 3.6.3

python2 -V
Python 2.7.13

In some cases, you might want python2 and python3 to co-exist, but python needs to point at a specific python version. The order of python versions is what controls this.

Pip installed modules and binaries

If you use pip to install a module like ipython that has a binaries. You will need to run asdf reshim python for the binary to be in your path.