CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythondjango
Deane
Deane

Reputation: 8737

How do you correctly set the PYTHONPATH variable on Windows?

Whenever I try to expirement with Python on Windows, I always run into a wall with the import statements. Python simply can't find anything on Windows -- every import, even for something as core as timezone fails.

I know this has something to do with the PYTHONPATH environment variable. In my case, Python is installed to "C:\Python27". My PYTHONPATH looks like this:

C:\Python27;C:\Python27\DLLs;C:\Python27\Lib

Still, nothing will import. I get errors like this:

File "D:\Code\Django\polls\models.py", line 3, in <module>
    from django.utils import timezone
ImportError: cannot import name timezone

What's wrong with my situation?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 21961

Answers (3)

Burhan Khalid
Burhan Khalid

Reputation: 174614

PYTHONPATH = If this variable exists in your environment, Python will add it to the normal search path for modules when you use any import statement; you normally do not modify this as well behaved Python scripts will install themselves in the site-packages directory, and Python searches this by default.

PATH = this is the global file system path. Your operating system will search the directories listed in this variable (from left to right), to find commands when you type something at a command prompt.

In order for Python to work correctly only Windows, the C:\Python27 directory should be listed in PATH. If you ran the installer as an Administrator, the installer will modify the global PATH and add this for you. If you installed it as a normal user, you need to modify the PATH manually.

To add this manually, right click on My Computer and select Properties. Click on Advanced, then Environment Variables. You'll see two boxes - User Variables and System Variables. You can only edit user variables - system variables need administrative access.

Simply add a new variable (or modify the existing PATH) You should also add C:\Python27\Scripts to your PATH as most commands installed by Python scripts (like django-admin.py) are installed here. Directories are separated by ;

Once you have done this; python should work properly for you on Windows.

Upvotes: 2

sam
sam

Reputation: 19164

virtualenv is good option.
else simply add site-packages in path.

Upvotes: -1

Brian Neal
Brian Neal

Reputation: 32379

Take a look at the official docs on using Python on Windows, in particular the section on finding modules.

You have to add the directory where you installed 3rd party modules to your PYTHONPATH if you didn't install them to your Python27\Libs\site-packages directory.

Another option is to get acquainted with pip and virtualenv. These tools make installing 3rd party modules a breeze. Although I don't know how well they are supported on Windows (I mainly do Python development on Linux).

Upvotes: 3

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