Managing Python Versions on macOS with pyenv

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:30:00 -0300

macOS ships with Python, but using the system Python for your projects is asking for trouble. pyenv solves this elegantly: install as many versions as you want and choose which one to use per project, without conflicts.

Installation

brew install pyenv

Then add the following to your shell config (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):

export PYENV_ROOT="$HOME/.pyenv"
export PATH="$PYENV_ROOT/bin:$PATH"
eval "$(pyenv init -)"

Reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc

Installing Python versions

List available versions:

Pyenv on thomazrb

Managing Python Versions on macOS with pyenv

Installation

Installing Python versions