Post History

Why is "'python' not found" on Debian/Ubuntu/Mint/etc. ?

<section class="notice">

This question is motivated by several threads and posts on the Linux Mint forums in which people encounter this sort of problem.
</section>

On Debian-derived distributions of Linux, it's possible that the `python` command described in tutorials may not work out of box:

```
$ python /path/to/tutorial/folder/example_script.py
Command 'python' not found, did you mean:
command 'python3' from deb python3
command 'python' from deb python-is-python3
```

Similarly for third-party software that suggests explicitly running a Python script to start the program, or to execute a script that has a shebang line like `#!/usr/bin/python` or `#!/usr/bin/env python`.

I had understood that Python is not only pre-installed, but critical for my system to operate properly. Why can't the `python` command be found, and what should I do about it?