Upgrade to Python 3.8 on a Chromebook
How to get up and running with Python 3.8 on your Chromebook in under 10 minutes.
Step 1— Install Python 3.8 prerequisites
From the Linux terminal app on the Chromebook:
sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install build-essentialsudo apt-get install libreadline-gplv2-dev libncursesw5-dev \
libssl-dev libsqlite3-dev tk-dev libgdbm-dev libc6-dev libbz2-devsudo apt-get install libffi-dev liblzma-dev
Step 2— Download and extract Python 3.8 source
Note — If you want to use a later version just replace the version number (3.8.1) in all the next steps with the latest version number
cd /usr/srcsudo wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.8.1/Python-3.8.1.tgzsudo tar xzf Python-3.8.1.tgz
Step 3— Compile and install Python 3.8
cd Python-3.8.1sudo ./configure --enable-optimizationssudo make altinstall
Notes — The altinstall option leaves the original Python untouched.
That’s it. You can now test the installation with:
python3.8What else might you need?
If your Chromebook was freshly power-washed you may also wish to install pip, and IDE of your choice and some other tools for Python.
This article covers other tools you may wish to install for web development on a Chromebook.
References
This Python install method provides an update for 3.8 to this original blog post
