Configure a Python interpreter

Change the Python interpreter using the Python Interpreter selector

• The Python Interpreter selector is located on the status bar. It is the most convenient and quickest way to switch the Python interpreter. Just click it and select the target interpreter:

  

Change the Python interpreter in the project settings

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open IDE settings and select Project <project name> | Python Interpreter.

2. Expand the list of the available interpreters and click the Show All link. Alternatively, click the icon and select Show All.

   

3. Select the target interpreter.

   

   When PyCharm stops supporting any of the outdated Python versions, the corresponding Python interpreter is marked as unsupported.

Modify a Python interpreter

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open IDE settings and select Project <project name> | Python Interpreter.

2. Expand the list of the available interpreters and click the Show All link. Alternatively, click the icon and select Show All.

   

3. Select the target interpreter and click Edit.

   

   You can specify an alternative interpreter name for the selected interpreter. The Python interpreter name specified in the Name field, becomes visible in the list of available interpreters. Click OK to apply the changes.

   For remote interpreters (that are available in PyCharm Professional) you can modify configuration parameters.

   

   warning

   When you modify an SSH interpreter, PyCharm shows the parameters of the corresponding Deployment configuration. It is not recommended to select the SSH option as it doesn't allow file synchronization and is part of the legacy implementation.

1. Do one of the following:

   • Click the Python Interpreter selector and choose Add Interpreter.

   • Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open the project Settings/Preferences and go to Project <project name> | Python Interpreter. Then click the icon and select Add.

     

2. Choose the interpreter type to add and perform the specific settings:

   warning

   Note that SSH, WSL, Vagrant, Docker, and Docker Compose are available only for the commercial version of PyCharm. WSL is Windows specific.

   Virtualenv

   Pipenv

   Conda

   System

   SSH

   Vagrant

   WSL

   Docker

   Docker Compose

   1. In the left-hand pane of the Add Python Interpreter dialog, select Virtualenv Environment. The following actions depend on whether the virtual environment existed before.

      

      If New environment is selected:

      1. Specify the location of the new virtual environment in the text field, or click and find location in your file system. Note that the directory where the new virtual environment should be located, must be empty!

      2. Choose the base interpreter from the list, or click and find a Python executable in the your file system.

         If PyCharm detects no Python on your machine, it provides two options: to download the latest Python versions from python.org or to specify a path to the Python executable (in case of non-standard installation).

         

      3. Select the Inherit global site-packages checkbox if you want that all packages installed in the global Python on your machine to be added to the virtual environment you're going to create. This checkbox corresponds to the --system-site-packages option of the virtualenv tool.

      4. Select the Make available to all projects checkbox, if needed.

      If Existing environment is selected:

      1. Expand the Interpreter list and select any of the existing interpreters. Alternatively, click and specify a path to the Python executable in your file system, for example, C:\Python36\python.exe.

      2. Select the checkbox Make available to all projects, if needed.

   2. Click OK to complete the task.

   See Configure a virtual environment for more details.

1. From the main menu, select New Projects Settings | Settings for New Project (on Window and Linux) or New Projects Settings | Preferences for New Project (on macOS).

2. Select Python Interpreter settings. Then either choose an existing interpreter from the Python interpreter list of click to add a new interpreter. Click OK to save the changes.

   The change will become effective for all newly created projects in PyCharm.