Question

So far to execute a Python program, I’m using

> python file.py

I want to run the Python script simply using file name, like

> file.py 

similar to shell scripts like

> sh file.sh
> chmod +x file.sh
> ./file.sh 

or move file.sh to bin and then run

> file.sh

Answer 1

Put this at the top of your Python script:

#!/usr/bin/env python

The #! part is called a shebang, and the env command will simply locate python on your $PATH and execute the script through it. You could hard-code the path to the python interpreter, too, but calling /usr/bin/env is a little more flexible. (For instance, if you’re using virtualenv, that python interpreter will be found on your $PATH.)