We describe the steps to install Python 3.12.4 as an additional interpreter on both Windows 10 and Ubuntu 22.10. This installation will add Python 3.12.4 while keeping the existing installations of other Python versions intact.

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Installing Python 3.12.4 as an Additional Interpreter on Ubuntu 22.10 and Windows 10

❶ Let’s cover Windows 10 first, since it is simpler.

  1. Go to https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/ and download the appropriate installer for your Windows 10 machine, such as python-3.12.4-amd64.exe.
  2. Run the installer as an Administrator. Choose the custom installation option to install it to C:\PF\Python312\.

Please note that the C:\PF\Python312\Scripts\ directory now contains only the following executables: pip.exe, pip3.12.exe and pip3.exe. The executable virtualenv.exe is no longer included.

To create a virtual environment (venv) for Python 3.12.4, use the following command:

C:\PF\Python312\python.exe -m venv venv

Updated on 05/November/2024 -- Starts

On Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS (Noble Numbat)

I have recently updated to Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS (Noble Numbat). I followed the steps in this post for Python 3.12.4, but it didn’t work. I gave up and tried Python 3.13.0 instead, which did work. Here are my steps for Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS (Noble Numbat) and Python 3.13.0:

● Install any pending updates:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get upgrade

● Install build tools/dependencies:

$ sudo apt install -y make build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev libbz2-dev libreadline-dev libsqlite3-dev wget curl llvm libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev xz-utils tk-dev libgdbm-dev libnss3-dev libffi-dev pkg-config

● Prepare Python 3.13.0 source code:

$ tar -xf /home/behai/Public/Python-3.13.0.tgz
$ cd Python-3.13.0/

● Prepare the build:

$ ./configure --enable-optimizations --with-ensurepip=install

● Build Python 3.13.0 source code:

Determine the number of cores the current machine has:

$ nproc

Use the number of cores, which is 4, in the make command:

$ make -j4

● Finally, install the built Python 3.13.0:

$ sudo make -j4 altinstall

🐍 Python <code>3.13.0</code>'s path is <code>/usr/local/bin/python3.13</code>.

$ /usr/local/bin/python3.13 --version

Updated on 05/November/2024 -- Ends

❷ On Ubuntu 22.10, I succeeded the first time, but I just did not know where it was installed 😂.

On June 25, 2022, I installed Python 3.9 Beta on a non-Ubuntu Linux. Please refer to this post: Synology DS218: preparing Python 3.9 Beta compelete development environment. That was the only time I installed Python on a Linux system.

For Python 3.12.4, it appears we need to install it from the source code, as indicated on this download page.

I followed the instructions in the section “Method 2: Install Python From Source Code” from the post How to Install Python 3 on Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04.

My steps are as follows:

⓵ Checking the currently active Python version and its installation path using the following commands:

python3 --version
which python3

Please refer to the illustration in the screenshot below:


⓶ Download Python-3.12.4.tgz to /home/behai/Public/.

⓷ Extract the compressed files using the following command:

tar -xf /home/behai/Public/Python-3.12.4.tgz

The files are extracted to /home/behai/Python-3.12.4/. Please see the screenshot illustration below:


⓸ Change to the directory /home/behai/Python-3.12.4/. The command is:

behai@hp-pavilion-15:~$ cd Python-3.12.4/

⓹ Test system and optimise Python. The command is:

behai@hp-pavilion-15:~/Python-3.12.4$ ./configure --enable-optimizations

This command produces a long output and takes a few minutes to complete. I did not encounter any problems.

⓺ Finally, install Python 3.12.4. As stated in the introduction, I want this version to be an additional installation, so the command is:

behai@hp-pavilion-15:~/Python-3.12.4$ sudo make altinstall

It took nearly 20 minutes to complete, with a very long output. No errors were reported.

💥 I would like to point out that I had some vague ideas about what the above steps do: they compile and build the Python interpreter from the source. However, I did not know where Python 3.12.4 was installed. From the output, I knew the installation was successful, but I was unsure of the installation path for Python 3.12.4.

⓻ Verify Python version. I reran the first command from Step 1:

python3 --version

I was unsure, but I was expecting Python 3.10.7. And it is.

⓼ 🐍 Python 3.12.4’s path is /usr/local/bin/python3.12.

After some searching, I came across this page https://docs.python.org/3/using/unix.html#building-python, which discusses installing Python from source code. This page led me to this section https://docs.python.org/3/using/configure.html#cmdoption-prefix.

These two pages effectively point out that the default installation location for the command make altinstall is /usr/local. I have been able to verify that. Please see the screenshot illustration below:


To create a virtual environment (venv) for Python 3.12.4, use the following command:

behai@hp-pavilion-15:~/fastapi$ /usr/local/bin/python3.12 -m venv venv

🚀 Before writing this post, I tested the Python 3.12.4 installation by creating a virtual environment (venv) and running a web server application from this venv.

The installation of Python 3.12.4 as an additional interpreter on Ubuntu 22.10 and Windows 10 appears to be in working order.

Thank you for reading. I hope you find the information in this post useful. Stay safe, as always.

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