How to run python file

How do I run a Python program?

So I’m starting like Python a bit, but I’m having trouble erm. running it. Lol

I’m using IDLE for now, but its no use whatsoever because you can only run a couple of lines at a time.

I’m using Windows 7, and Komodo Edit 5 as my IDE. Pressing F5 in Komodo doesn’t do anythin at all.

10 Answers 10

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I’m very glad you asked! I was just working on explaining this very thing in our wikibook (which is obviously incomplete). We’re working with Python novices, and had to help a few through exactly what you’re asking!

Command-line Python in Windows:

Save your python code file somewhere, using «Save» or «Save as» in your editor. Lets call it ‘first.py’ in some folder, like «pyscripts» that you make on your Desktop.

Open a prompt (a Windows ‘cmd’ shell that is a text interface into the computer):

start > run > «cmd» (in the little box). OK.

Navigate to where your python file is, using the commands ‘cd’ (change directory) and ‘dir’ (to show files in the directory, to verify your head). For our example something like,

> cd C:\Documents and Settings\Gregg\Desktop\pyscripts

If you get this message:

‘python’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

then python (the interpreter program that can translate Python into ‘computer instructions’) isn’t on your path (see Putting Python in Your Path below). Then try calling it like this (assuming Python2.6, installed in the usual location):

(Advanced users: instead of first.py, you could write out first.py’s full path of C:\Documents and Settings\Gregg\Desktop\pyscripts\first.py)

Putting Python In Your Path

In order to run programs, your operating system looks in various places, and tries to match the name of the program / command you typed with some programs along the way.

this needs to include: C:\Python26; (or equivalent). If you put it at the front, it will be the first place looked. You can also add it at the end, which is possibly saner.

Then restart your prompt, and try typing ‘python’. If it all worked, you should get a «>>>» prompt.

How To Run Your Python Scripts

Read it in 8 Mins

If you are planning to enter the world of Python programming, the first and the most essential skill you should learn is knowing how to run Python script and code. Once you grab a seat in the show, it will be easier for you to understand whether the code will actually work or not. To know more about sys.argv command line argument, click here.

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Also, know how to use Self in Python by visiting the given link.

What is the difference between Code, Script and Modules?

In computing, the code is a language that is converted from a human language into a set of ‘words’ that the computer can understand. It is also referred to as a piece of statements together that forms a program. A simple function or a statement can also be considered a code.

On the other hand, a script is a file consisting of a logical sequence of instructions or a batch processing file that is interpreted by another program instead of the computer processor.

In simple terms, a script is a simple program, stored in plain file text which contains Python code. The code can be directly executed by the user. A script is also called a top-level-program-file.

A module is an object in Python with random attributes that you can bind and reference.

Is Python a Programming Language or a Scripting Language?

Basically, all scripting languages are considered to be programming languages. The main difference between the two is that programming languages are compiled, whereas scripting languages are interpreted.

Scripting languages are slower than programming languages and usually sit behind them. Since they only run on a subset of the programming language, they have less access to a computer’s local abilities.

Python can be called a scripting language as well as a programming language since it works both as a compiler and an interpreter. A standard Python can compile Python code into bytecodes and then interpret it just like Java and C.

However, considering the historical relationship between the general-purpose programming language and the scripting language, it will be more appropriate to say that Python is a general-purpose programming language that works nicely as a scripting language too.

The Python Interpreter

The Interpreter is a layer of software that works as a bridge between the program and the system hardware to keep the code running. A Python interpreter is an application that is responsible for running Python scripts.

The Python Interpreter works on the Read-Eval-Print-Loop (REPL) environment.

The interpreter terminates when we use the exit() or quit() command otherwise the execution keeps on going.

A Python Interpreter runs code in two ways—

Starting the Python Interpreter

The simplest way to start the interpreter is to open the terminal and then use the interpreter from the command line.

To open the command-line interpreter:

Running Python Code Interactively

Running Python code through an interactive session is an extensively used way. An interactive session is an excellent development tool to venture with the language and allows you to test every piece of Python code on the go.

To initiate a Python interactive session, type python in the command-line or terminal and hit the ENTER key from the keyboard.

An example of how to do this on Windows:

The >>> on the terminal represents the standard prompt for the interactive mode. If you do not see these characters, you need to re-install Python on your system.

The statements you write when working with an interactive session are evaluated and executed immediately:

The only disadvantage is when you close the interactive session, the code no longer exists.

How to Run Python Script by the Interpreter

The term Python Execution Model is given to the entire multi-step process to run Python script.

How to Run Python Script using Command-Line

The most sought-after way of writing a Python program is by using a plain text editor. The code written in the Python interactive session is lost once the session is closed, though it allows the user to write a lot of lines of code. On Windows, the files use the .py extension.

If you are at the beginning of working with Python, you can use editors like Sublime or Notepad++ which are easy-to-use or any other text editors.

Now you need to create a test script. In order to do that, open your most suited text editor and write the following code:

Then save the file on your desktop with the name first_script.py or anything you like. Remember you need to give the .py extension only.

Using python command

The most basic and easy way to run a Python script is by using the python command. You need to open a command line and type the word python followed by the path to your script file, like this:

Then you hit the ENTER button from the keyboard and that’s it. You can see the phrase Hello World! on the screen. Congrats! You just ran your first Python script.

However, if you do not get the output, you might want to check your system PATH and the place where you saved your file. If it still doesn’t work, re-install Python in your system and try again.

Redirecting output

Windows and Unix-like systems have a process called stream redirection. You can redirect the output of your stream to some other file format instead of the standard system output. It is useful to save the output in a different file for later analysis.

An example of how you can do this:

What happens is your Python script is redirected to the output.txt file. If the file doesn’t exist, it is systematically created. However, if it already exists, the contents are replaced.

Running modules with the -m option

A module is a file that contains the Python code. It allows you to arrange your Python code in a logical manner. It defines functions, classes, and variables and can also include runnable code.

If you want to run a Python module, there are a lot of command-line options which Python offers according to the needs of the user. One of which is the command

It searches the module name in the sys.path and runs the content as

Note that the module-name is a module object and not any string.

Using Script Filename

Windows makes use of the system registers and file association to run Python script. It determines the program needed to run that particular file. You need to simply enter the file-name containing the code.

An example of how to do this using command prompt:

On GNU/Linux systems, you need to add a line before the text— #!/usr/bin/env python. Python considers this line nothing but the operating system considers it everything. It helps the system to decide what program should it use to run the file.

The character combination #! known as hashbang or shebang is what the line starts with, which is then followed by the interpreter path.

Finally, to run scripts, assign execution permissions and configure the hashbang line and then simply type the filename in the command line:

However, if it doesn’t work, you might want to check if the script is located in your current

working directory or not. Otherwise, you can use the path of the file for this method.

How to Run Python Script Interactively

As we have discussed earlier, running Python scripts in an interactive session is the most common way of writing scripts and also offers a wide range of possibilities.

Using import

An implementation of the import :

You can see its execution only when the module contains calls to functions, methods or other statements which generate visible output.

One important thing to note is that the import option works only once per session. This is because these operations are expensive.

For this method to work efficiently, you should keep the file containing the Python code in your current working directory and also the file should be in the Python Module Search Path (PMSP). The PMSP is the place where the modules and packages are imported.

You can run the code below to know what’s in your current PSMP:

Using importlib

importlib is a module that is an implementation of the import statement in the Python code. It contains the import_module whose work is to execute any module or script by imitating the import operation.

An example to perform this:

importlib.reload() is used to re-import the module since you cannot use import to run it for the second time. Even if you use import after the first time, it will do nothing. importlib.reload() is useful when you want to modify and test your changes without exiting the current session.

The following code shows that:

Using runpy.run_module() and runpy.run_path()

The Python Standard Library has a module named runpy. run_module() is a function in runpy whose work is to execute modules without importing them in the first place.

The module is located using import and then executed. The first argument of the run_module() must contain a string:

Similarly, runpy contains another function run_path() which allows you to run a module by providing a location.

An example of such is as follows:

Both the functions return the globals dictionary of the executed module.

Run Python script Using exec()

An example of exec() is:

Run Python Script Using py_compile

py_compile is a module that behaves like the import statement. It generates two functions— one to generate the bytecode from the source file and another when the source file is invoked as a script.

You can compile your Python script using this module:

The py_compile generates a new subdirectory named » __pycache__ » if it doesn’t already exist. Inside the subdirectory, a Compiled Python File (.pyc) version of the script file is created. When you open the .pyc file, you can see the output of your Python script.

Running Python Scripts using an IDE or a Text Editor

An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is an application that allows a developer to build software within an integrated environment in addition to the required tools.

You can use the Python IDLE, a default IDE of the standard Python Distribution to write, debug, modify, and run your modules and scripts. You can use other IDEs like Spyder, PyCharm, Eclipse, and Jupyter Notebook which also allow you to run your scripts inside its environment.

You can also use popular text editors like Sublime and Atom to run Python script.

If you want to run a Python script from your IDE or text editor, you need to create a project first. Once it is created, add your .py file to it or you can just simply create one using the IDE. Finally, run it and you can see the output on your screen.

Running Python Scripts from a File Manager

If you want to run your Python script in a file manager, all you need to do is just double-click on the file icon. This option is mainly used in the production stage after you have released the source code.

However, to achieve this, some conditions must be met:

Though it is easy to execute a script by just double-clicking on the file, it isn’t considered a feasible option because of the limitations and dependency factors it comes with, like the operating system, the file manager, execution permissions, and also the file associations.

So it is suggested to use this option only after the code is debugged and ready to be in the production market.

Conclusion

Working with scripts has its own advantages like they are easy to learn and use, faster edit and run, interactivity, functionality, and so on. They are also used to automate complex tasks in a simplified manner.

In this article, you have learned to run advance d python scripts using:

How To Run Python Scripts From the Command Line (Terminal)

Creating Python scripts that can be run from the command line makes it much easier to abstract and share your code so that it can be reused and shared with others. Running scripts from the command line can also streamline your development and analysis workflows to make them more concise and make you more productive.

It’s quite easy to run Python scripts from the command line.

This article will demonstrate how to get a simple Python script running on the command line in a matter of minutes. Once you’ve mastered that, you can get more complicated by passing in required arguments so that your scripts can stand on their own.

Make Sure Your Terminal or Command Prompt Can Run Python

If you don’t see something similar, it means that you don’t have Python installed or that the command prompt is not aware of your Python installation.

Create a Python Script

Let’s create a very simple script to demonstrate how this works. This Python script (hello.py) will simply print out a statement that lets us know the code in the script has run, as shown below.

Run the Python Script from the Terminal

Once your Python script is created it’s super easy to run it from the terminal or command line. All you need to do is type python followed by the script name. You’ll need to make sure that your terminal’s working directory is the directory that contains your python script, or give the full path to the script. For example. If I just type python hello.py I get the following error.

There are two ways to fix this.

First, specify the full file path. Like this.

You can see that by specifying the full path to the python script that the terminal now knows where to find the file to run and I get the proper output.

Second, use cd to change the terminal’s current directory. Then run the script. Like this.

By using cd to change the terminal’s directory I no longer need to type the full path to the python script. This is especially useful if you have a number of different scripts in the same directory that you will want to run.

There’s More!

This article gives you a brief, simple introduction to running python scripts from the terminal (or command line). This is a powerful skill to have and there is so much more you can do with it. With a more advanced script, you can pass in parameters/arguments from the command line, which makes it easy to generalize and share your scripts for others to use in various situations. You can check out my guide for passing variables to python scripts from the terminal in this article.

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How to execute Python scripts in Windows?

I have a simple script blah.py (using Python 2):

If I execute my script by:

It prints argument but if I execute script by:

So arguments do not pass to script.

python.exe in PATH. Folder with blah.py also in PATH.
python.exe is default program to execute *.py files.

What is the problem?

9 Answers 9

Trending sort

Trending sort is based off of the default sorting method — by highest score — but it boosts votes that have happened recently, helping to surface more up-to-date answers.

It falls back to sorting by highest score if no posts are trending.

Switch to Trending sort

When you execute a script without typing «python» in front, you need to know two things about how Windows invokes the program. First is to find out what kind of file Windows thinks it is:

Next, you need to know how Windows is executing things with that extension. It’s associated with the file type «Python.File», so this command shows what it will be doing:

So on my machine, when I type «blah.py foo», it will execute this exact command, with no difference in results than if I had typed the full thing myself:

If you type the same thing, including the quotation marks, then you’ll get results identical to when you just type «blah.py foo». Now you’re in a position to figure out the rest of your problem for yourself.

(Or post more helpful information in your question, like actual cut-and-paste copies of what you see in the console. Note that people who do that type of thing get their questions voted up, and they get reputation points, and more people are likely to help them with good answers.)

Brought In From Comments:

Even if assoc and ftype display the correct information, it may happen that the arguments are stripped off. What may help in that case is directly fixing the relevant registry keys for Python. Set the

Likely, previously, %* was missing. Similarly, set

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\python.exe\shell\open\command The registry path may vary, use python26.exe or python.exe or whichever is already in the registry.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\py_auto_file\shell\open\command

How to Run a Python Script

Here is a simple python script to print ‘ Hello World! ’:

Here, the ‘ print() ’ function is to print out any text written within the parenthesis. We can write the text that we want to be printed using either a single quote as shown in the above script or a double quote.

If you are coming from any other language then you will also notice that there is no semicolon at the end of the statement as with Python, you no need to specify the end of the line. And also we don’t need to include or import any files to run a simple python script.

There is more than one way to run a python script but before going toward the different ways to run a python script, we first have to check whether a python interpreter is installed on the system or not. So in windows, open ‘cmd’ (Command Prompt) and type the following command.

This command will give the version number of the Python interpreter installed or will display an error if otherwise.

Different ways to run Python Script

Here are the ways with which we can run a Python script.

Example 1:
Run the following line in the interactive mode:

Output:

Example 2:
Run the following lines one by one in the interactive mode:

Output:

Example 3:
Run the following line one by one in the interactive mode:

Output:

You can write your own file name in place of ‘hello.py’.

Output: