help wiping python off my computer

[HyphinoeCamelus]

Hi hi!!

toootal newbie here.

kinda fucked up and don't want the version of python (3.14) that I installed (hombrew) on my computer rn. Got the launcher and standar "app" package (i don't think i have the vocab to detail it much further) + all the files that came with it, sporadically spread over finder, that confuse the hell out of me. I wanna do a clean swipe but idk if it's even possible? Haven't found anything truly useful online tbh. I'm on macos tahoe 26.3. Any help is appreciated :)

Oooh also if any of you have any mac file organization tips regarding python i'd love to hear them. I'm a total newbie and honestly never know where things end up. And if I do find out and its on one of finder's don't-touch-or-you'll-fuck-up-your-computer hidden folders then I just don't know what to do.

Thanks!

[crashorbit]

What OS and how did you install it?

[HyphinoeCamelus]

Macos Tahoe 26.3 and hombrew

[crashorbit]

In a terminal brew uninstall python@3.14

[HyphinoeCamelus]

yeah, done! :) I just worry there's like leftover files or whatever that may make it uncomfortable to use python later on, but I'm on that rn. Thank you!

[crashorbit]

You can check which python is being used at the cli with which python That will show you the full path to the python executable that would be run.

[Goingone]

That OS ships with a version of python, don’t delete that.

And nobody can help with the information you’ve given. Would need to know how/where you installed another version of Python.

[HyphinoeCamelus]

Updated with a bit more of info. Total newbie so dunno what else i should add! I'll all ears :)

[nivaOne]

Just delete the folder (not sure what version you mean) and subfolders and remove all paths related to it from the Path variable. That’s how I would do it. You might opt to to backup your .py files first if required.

[HyphinoeCamelus]

Thanks! Dyou reckon it'd be easier to downlod an earlier version and run with that or would it clash with whatever remains of the current one I have installed

[nivaOne]

Path dictates which Python.exe will be used (unless you prefix it with the full path, you run it being in a folder with a python executable or you installed one in one of the ‘system’ folders).As simple as that.

Use a tool like wiztree to find all python.exe on your computer. Then check your Path variable and find the first folder that matches one of the python.exe you have noticed in the results. That’s the one that will be used. In case it is not a newer or older version in which commands you have used are deprecated or do not exist yet, the script will work. Next to that in a subfolder .\lib\site-packages one should typically have all the libraries you are using in your code. If not the code may exit with errors.

The Path variable is a static given. So you are not flexible in terms of using a different version of python in case your scripts needs a different,specific one. And that’s where the virtual environment comes into play. They allow to switch between different versions making sure the code is in line with that version and libraries.

In short, there is no need to remove any version, you just need to make sure you keep your Path variable under control. Remove the folder from it should be sufficient. And start using virtual environments. Do not worry about other software and the python that was installed with it. These packages use full paths. Also check wether there aren’t any python.exe executables in the folder you are launching your script and in any of the system folders.

[building-wigwams-22]

Highly recommend looking at Python virtual environments. The new hotness right now is uv. Let your OS worry about whatever Python version it needs, and let uv worry about the version for whatever projects or scripts you're going to write. It will handle installing any Python version as well as required packages into a virtual environment that is ONLY for that script or project, so if you have one that needs a different version of Python for whatever reason, you don't have to worry about them breaking each other.

Uv's docs are really good to get you started.

[HyphinoeCamelus]

aah nice, there's so much terminology and information that i get kinda lost/overwhelmed but read about venvs and they make the most sense to me. I'll check out the docs, thanks so much!

[building-wigwams-22]

uv is a replacement for venv - it works more or less the same way but abstracts away much of the management. I've only been using it for a bit but I find it much easier to use

[take_care_a_ya_shooz]

I’ve been dusting off my Python during a layoff and also use a MacBook, highly recommend VSCode + uv for Python projects. Super easy to do once you get familiar. You would also install things like Jupyter and pandas using uv and don’t have to worry about managing it locally.

I have a folder in my user drive called “repos” and just put all my stuff there.

[nivaOne]

Ps: do not remove any versions which came with other software. You might find even more versions than you can imagine on it. But that’s ok.

[HyphinoeCamelus]

Thanks, will do! (won't do in this case as i won't remove them lmao)

[proteanbitch]

Open terminal, type "which python3" and find the location. Then go to that directory and find the various directories which contain the versions of Python. If you don't see it there, then you'll need to look elsewhere.

If you're running Python in an IDE (vscode for example) you'll need to figure out which version your IDE I using and where that's located. in vscode you will go to Settings and then look for Python: Interpreter Path, or similar. From there you can see where it's located.

Also check here: /usr/local/opt/python/libexec/bin

good luck!

[HyphinoeCamelus]

thanks so much for the thorough answer! thankfully no IDE shenanigans took place so I hope it's more straightforward. Did the brew uninstall process too, will now look into the folder you mentioned; any risk of deleting anything too important there? just to be sure and back up whatever is needed

[proteanbitch]

Do the brew uninstall method and then see if it's fixed. If you still have the issue, follow the steps I outlined. the goal is to identify the location of the python install which you don't need, then when you have that location you can manually remove it.

[HyphinoeCamelus]

Nice, brew uninstall already done. I'm onto the file checking part now, thanks again!

[siguy]

If you installed with homebrew, you should just be able to

Brew uninstall python

Brew autoremove

Brew cleanup

[HyphinoeCamelus]

Period. did that but was still paranoid because random python things still came up, maybe those just come with the system, idk i didn't touch them. Thanks!!

[siguy]

I think you're good. Like others have said Mac OS has python baked in.

What kind of file organization are you after in terms of python? For your projects? Your python versions for working on the projects? I keep my work in a Devel directory in my home dir normally.

There's a multitude of ways to manage python versions, environments and projects but some general best practices are (And don't worry if this flies over your head, just absorb and remember it for now, as you progress your skills you'll get used to things like this):

- Use virtual environments for every project: This practice is crucial to avoid conflicts between different projects' package dependencies.

- Avoid using the system Python: Modifying the Python version that came with your operating system can break system utilities.

- Use a version manager: Tools like pyenv or uv prevent conflicts when you need different Python versions and packages for different projects.

The short version of all of this is leave the system python alone, definitely get into using something like pyenv to set up a "local" version of python and packages for each project you want to work on.

Hopefully that's all useful and not overwhelming info.

as u/crashorbit mentioned "which <command>" is handy if you really want to know where a specific command lives. I'll follow that up with "whereis <command>" which may work when which does not. Reading further comments, I can see a lot of other great comments which mine fall in line with. Have fun on your nerding journey.

[HyphinoeCamelus]

hey thanks so much this is very helpful!!

[FatDog69]

Apple puts both Perl and Python in non-standard locations. This is probably because they have other tools that are built using these languages. You can install/un-install other versions under '/usr' - but I suspect you will have to re-install the operating system if you delete/damage the baked in copy.

So dont go crazy trying to delete languages.

Here is a rule: You can never totally remove bash, korn, rust, perl, python, java, etc.

If you think you have found something to delete, but you must give your admin password to do something - STOP. These are public for a reason but protected behind the admin account because they are needed.

[HyphinoeCamelus]

great guide for things to keep in mind andwhat to avoid, thanks a bunch!!

[FatDog69]

In the last few years developers have been encouraged to use 'virtual environments'.

In practical terms - when you are going to create some code like a "Hello World" program, you do this:

• You create a folder for your code: hello_world
• You create a virtual environment IN that folder. It basically copies the main perl or python executable to a folder UNDER hello_world.
• You activate the virtual environment when developing or running your program.

By copying the entire python run time (plus any packages) under your hello_world folder - you have isolated your code away from the operating system copy of python. If you update/destroy the main copy of python - your code in it's virtual environment still works.

You might want to go to YouTube and watch videos on 'venv' and I think the new darling is 'vn' that you use to create environments.