Getting Started With Python

macOS

Installing Python 3 on macOS with Homebrew

To begin, Python 3 must be installed. There are several ways to install Python 3 (through the Python website, Anaconda, Homebrew).

To use Homebrew, first install Homebrew by typing the following into the command line:

% /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

If you use zsh, add Homebrew to your PATH with this command:

% echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> /Users/[username]/.zprofile
  eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

where [username] is replaced by your own specific machine username. These two commands will also appear in terminal after Homebrew is installed under Next Steps: and can be copied from there. If you use bash, add Homebrew to your PATH with the command:

% echo "export PATH=/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH" >> ~/.bash_profile && source ~/.bash_profile

Finally, to install Python 3, use the command

% brew install python3

Linux

Installing Python 3 and Setting Up Port Access on Linux

To install Python 3 on a Linux machine, type the following into the command line:

% sudo apt install python3

Additionally, you will need to make sure you have the pip command. To do this, type

% sudo apt install python3-pip

into the command line. Finally, in order to access the port where the sensor is attached, you will need to make sure that your Linux account is in the group "dialout". To see what groups your account is in type:

% groups

into the command line. If you do not see dialout type the following command to add yourself to the dialout group:

% sudo usermod -a -G dialout [username]

where [username] is replaced by your own specific account username. Then, you will need to completely log out and log back in before continuing. Once you have logged back in, type

% groups

again and make sure that the group dialout appears.

Windows

Installing Python3 on Windows

Python3 can be installed on Windows machines using the python.org installer or Microsoft Store. Open the Microsoft Store through your Start menu in the lower left. Once in the Microsoft Store, search for Python, and install the latest version of Python. To check if installation was successful, type

% Python --version

into your Command Prompt. It is also helpful to make sure that pip was included in this installation. To confirm that you can use pip, type

% pip --version

into your Command Prompt.

Next Steps

If a command not found error appears after any installation step, try running the command in new command window. For any additional help, please contact us. We are here to support you! Once you have installed Python, start using Twinleaf's TIO package to establish communication with your device. Instructions for this can be found on our Getting Started With TIO Python page.