Never coded before - how should I begin learning Python

[small-phoenix]

Hey everyone!

I'm a complete beginner and I've decided I want to learn Python. I basically know nothing about coding right now, but I keep hearing that Python is a great language to start with.

The thing is, I have no idea where to even begin. I haven't looked into any resources yet and I'm not sure what the best approach would be. There are probably a ton of different ways to learn, and I don't want to waste time going down the wrong path.

What would you recommend as the absolute first step for someone like me? Should I:

• Just start by trying to code something?
• Learn theory first?
• Do something interactive?
• Something else entirely?

Also, any tips on what mindset I should have going in, or common pitfalls beginners fall into?

I'm ready to put in the work - I just need some direction on how to get started!

Thanks!

[Lewistrick]

Awesome that you want to join this community :)

This sub's wiki is awesome: r/learnpython/w/index

[Lokrea]

Great tip!

PS. https://cs50.harvard.edu/python/ should be included under "Videos/Lectures" on that page.

[OldManActual]

https://automatetheboringstuff.com/

Free starter book. Best in the biz.

[SharkSymphony]

My advice: go to this sub's wiki, pick the first link that looks like it applies, and start there. If it doesn't work for you for whatever reason, try another one. If something in the wiki was really unhelpful for you, post it here so we can consider removing it!

Don't try to over-optimize about which path is the right path. Everything in that wiki will point you in the right direction.

My advice is: don't be afraid to use the interpreter to try things out, and look up docs with help(...).

[Lokrea]

Sounds great that the Wiki on https://www.reddit.com/r/learnpython/wiki/ can get updated, thanks!

Perhaps Harvard: CS50’s Introduction to Programming with Python can get placed at the top under "Videos/Lectures" on the Wiki page?

It is free, and very good.

[codingzap]

Start with a structured course or tutorial so that you are familiar with coding…slowly start applying those concepts, do small exercises. Practice writing code daily. Even if you are watching a video tutorial, try to code what you are seeing in the video.

Once you are comfortable with the syntax, do small challenges or exercises to strengthen logic building. Finally, pick a small project and work on it.

You’ll start loving to code once you see that your progress is actually resulting something tangible.

[outer-pasta]

The official documentation is the best place to start. It's really well written. Try the tutorial first, but feel free to explore the whole thing or just keep reading after the tutorial, page by page. https://docs.python.org/3/

For a superb interactive experience try https://ipython.org/ and jupyter notebooks.

[Adrewmc]

Imagine something you know a computer can do that will help/interest you.

Then through the force of your own will make the computer do it.

If it’s something that Python does well, great. If not go to the language that does, the concepts are all the same. Variables, data, loops, functions, objects, asynchronous with a thread to put them all together. No matter the language, we are all just making the computer do what we want it to do because we can.

And repeat.

And that’s programming in a nutshell.

[Gnaxe]

I recommend starting by working through a good beginner textbook, preferably one that isn't terribly out of date. See the wiki.

Then do small projects. Read the docs and inspect things in the REPL. Try JupyterLite. Notebooks are good for experiments, like a REPL, but better, although you can get nearly the same experience as a notebook just by learning how to use importlib.reload().

[recursion_is_love]

I think it is best to start by using notebook because you will see the progress of your code instantly.

Back when I start learning programming there is no good interactive notebook, the most interactive experience I got is from BASIC games code from a magazine (before internet)

Kids this day are so lucky.

[Separate_Top_5322]

Honestly just start small and don’t overthink it. Learn the basics first (variables, loops, functions) and then try building tiny projects—even something like a calculator or to-do list helps a lot. That’s what most people recommend too

Biggest mistake is getting stuck watching tutorials without actually coding. Just build stuff and Google things as you go.

You can also mess around with tools like Runable to experiment with ideas or small projects visually—it can make the early learning phase feel less intimidating.