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How to Install Python on Windows

by Tim Hopper · Markdown
uv Virtual Environments

You typed python and the Microsoft Store opened. Or you searched for how to install Python and got four different answers: python.org, the Microsoft Store, Anaconda, WSL. This page gives you one recommended path and an honest verdict on each of the others.

The Store popup is not Python. Windows ships an “App execution alias,” a shortcut for python.exe and python3.exe that opens the Store when no real interpreter is installed (Microsoft Learn). Install a real Python and that shortcut steps aside.

Install Python with uv

uv downloads and manages Python interpreters for you, without admin rights and without touching any system Python. It is the path this handbook recommends on every platform.

Install uv from PowerShell:

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

Open a new PowerShell window so the updated PATH takes effect, then install Python:

uv python install

For the WinGet and Scoop installers, or if uv is not found afterward, see how to install uv on Windows.

uv pulls a prebuilt CPython build into its own user-owned directory (%LOCALAPPDATA%\uv\python). Run a script and uv finds that interpreter automatically:

uv run python -c "import sys; print(sys.version)"

The first uv run in a project also creates a virtual environment, so your project dependencies stay isolated from everything else. For per-version details and the --default flag, see how to install Python with uv.

Pick the right installer if you skip uv

If you want the official interpreter without uv, here is the honest verdict on each Windows option.

  • Python Install Manager (from python.org). The modern official tool, introduced by PEP 773. Install it from python.org/downloads/windows or with winget install 9NQ7512CXL7T, then run py install 3.13. It replaces both the old .exe installer and the standalone launcher, which are deprecated as of Python 3.14 (Python docs). Best non-uv choice.
  • The classic python.org installer. The traditional .exe from python.org still works and lets you check “Add python.exe to PATH.” Fine for a single version; the Python Install Manager supersedes it for anything more.
  • Microsoft Store Python. Installs without admin rights and auto-updates, but restricts file access and omits the py launcher (Microsoft Learn). Workable for a quick start, awkward once you need multiple versions.
  • Anaconda. Bundles Python with a scientific stack (NumPy, pandas, Jupyter) and the conda package manager. Reach for it only if you specifically want that data-science bundle; otherwise it is heavier than you need.
  • WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Runs a real Linux environment where you install Python the Linux way. A strong choice if your production target is Linux, but that Python lives inside WSL, not on Windows, so treat it as a separate system.

Sort out py, python, and python3

These commands point at the same interpreters but resolve differently:

  • python and python3 run a specific interpreter found on your PATH.
  • py is the launcher that selects a version across every install, so py -3.12 script.py runs 3.12 and py --list shows what you have. Under the Python Install Manager, py also gains py install and py list.

One catch: the Microsoft Store build does not include py. The python.org installer and the Python Install Manager do (Microsoft Learn). When you use uv, you rarely call any of these directly; uv run selects the interpreter for you.

Fix the PATH so python runs your install

PATH is the top source of Windows Python pain. If the wrong python runs (or the Store still opens), two things are usually off.

First, turn off the Store aliases. Open Start, search “Manage app execution aliases,” find the “App Installer” entries for python.exe and python3.exe, and switch them Off (Microsoft Learn).

Second, make sure your real Python is on PATH. uv installs versioned executables into a user directory for you; the full walkthrough, including how to get a bare python command, is in how to add Python to your system PATH with uv. Whatever you install, open a new PowerShell window afterward so the updated PATH loads.

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