asdf-python

Python plugin for asdf version manager

Install

asdf plugin-add python

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

Executables in the first version will take priority over the executables in the next one. Note that you can use an arbitrary number over versions, if needed. With the above example, python will therefore use the python executable found in version 3.6.2. However, as the python2 does not exist in Python 3.6.2, python2 will use the python2 executable found in version 2.7.13.

python -V
Python 3.6.2

python3 -V
Python 3.6.2

python2 -V
Python 2.7.13

Pip installed modules and binaries

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

Default Python packages

asdf-python can automatically install a default set of Python packages with pip right after installing a Python version. To enable this feature, provide a $HOME/.default-python-packages file that lists one package per line, for example:

ansible
pipenv

You can specify a non-default location of this file by setting a ASDF_PYTHON_DEFAULT_PACKAGES_FILE variable.