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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-16T21:37:14+00:00

I have the default Python 2.6.1 installed as /usr/bin/python and Python 3.1.2 installed in

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I have the default Python 2.6.1 installed as /usr/bin/python and Python 3.1.2 installed in /usr/local/bin/python3.1. Considering that I use only 3.x syntax, is it safe to replace the default interpreter (2.6) with the 3.1 one (python-config included) using symlinks (and removing old Python binary)? Or is the system relying on the 2.x version for some purpose I don’t know?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    If you’re only using Python 3, start your scripts with:

    #! /usr/bin/env python3.1

    And you’ll be using the right version, without doinking the system about.

    edit: BTW this idea is suggested by the Python docs. Each script will be running the version of Python they depend on. Since Python 3 is not backward compatible, it seems dangerous to be replacing the Python executable with one that will break scripts other utilities may rely on.

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