findpython
A utility to find python versions on your system
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. FindPython is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with minimal friction, and solves a real problem for tools that need to discover Python interpreters. Its permissive MIT license and broad Python version support make it safe to adopt. Install it if you're building tooling that must locate or select among Python versions.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >=3.9.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with only packaging and platformdirs as runtime dependencies.
- Actively maintained with a recent release.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal obligations.
last release 2026-04-30 (106 days) · last repo commit 2026-04-30 · 40 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 57,147,594 downloads/mo, #523 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install findpython
import findpython
python_version = findpython.find(3, 9)
print(python_version.executable)- Whether find() and find_all() handle edge cases like missing Python versions gracefully or raise exceptions.
- Performance characteristics when scanning systems with many Python installations or symlinks.
- Whether the CLI and library APIs remain stable across minor version updates.
What it is and what it does
FindPython is a utility library that discovers Python interpreters installed on your system. It searches multiple standard locations—PATH, pyenv, asdf, rye, uv, macOS framework directories, and Windows registry—and returns matching interpreters as objects containing the executable path, version, and architecture. You can query by major/minor version, version string, architecture, or executable name, and retrieve either the first match or all matches.
The package is a rewrite of the pythonfinder project with a simplified codebase. It depends only on packaging and platformdirs, making it lightweight to install. It also provides a command-line interface for scripting or manual inspection, with options to filter duplicates, resolve symlinks, and select specific providers.
Use it for
- Build tools or test runners that need to locate a specific Python version to execute code or run tests.
- Version managers or development environment setup scripts that must discover available Python installations.
- CI/CD pipelines that require finding and invoking a particular Python interpreter by version or architecture.
- Development tools that need to detect all Python installations to offer version selection to the user.
- Cross-platform scripts that must locate Python interpreters without hardcoding paths.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
FindPython is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with minimal friction, and solves a real problem for tools that need to discover Python interpreters. Its permissive MIT license and broad Python version support make it safe to adopt. Install it if you're building tooling that must locate or select among Python versions.
Install
findpython on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with only packaging and platformdirs as runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with a recent release.
Requires Python >=3.9.
License in practice
MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal obligations.
Quickstart
pip install findpython
import findpython
python_version = findpython.find(3, 9)
print(python_version.executable)Verify before relying
- Whether find() and find_all() handle edge cases like missing Python versions gracefully or raise exceptions.
- Performance characteristics when scanning systems with many Python installations or symlinks.
- Whether the CLI and library APIs remain stable across minor version updates.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagespackagingplatformdirs |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 106 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 57,147,594 / month, #523 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9 |
Evidence: findpython-0.8.0-py3-none-any.whl
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