🔒 Python setup help :P

[fiery loom]

@storm bloom @willow trail

[gloomy glacier]

@fiery loom

Python help channel opened

Remember to:

• Ask your Python question, not if you can ask or if there's an expert who can help.
• Show a code sample as text (rather than a screenshot) and the error message, if you've got one.
• Explain what you expect to happen and what actually happens.

:warning: Do not pip install anything that isn't related to your question, especially if asked to over DMs.

Closes after a period of inactivity, or when you send !close.

[fiery loom]

bleh

[storm bloom]

Hey

[fiery loom]

:P

hallo

can i ask a question to like clear my head of this question

[willow trail]

no :3 /jk

ask away anyway

[fiery loom]

people say learn C or C++ for a easier learning experience for other langs after mastering those two

is it worth doing that or python first?

[storm bloom]

No. Python first.

[fiery loom]

okay

[willow trail]

ok the thing about C and C++ is that they are like the grandmommy of all languages. almost all languages are inspired by them

[fiery loom]

yeha i heard python was built off of C

[willow trail]

they are not as simple as python, and definitely A LOT harder to get good at

[fiery loom]

if im not mistaken

[willow trail]

you can say that yes

for now, at least

[fiery loom]

yeah because you can do print("Hello guys") and in C u cannot

[willow trail]

shall we get back to installing the editor

[fiery loom]

yes

https://github.com/thonny/thonny/releases/tag/v4.1.7

im here

[willow trail]

i dont use thonny myself

i actually use vscodium

so i wont be able to help much

[storm bloom]

Why not use the download from the official site instead: https://thonny.org/

[fiery loom]

https://vscodium.com/ im here

[fiery loom]

it took me to github

[willow trail]

yea there should be some downloads

[fiery loom]

https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium/releases

oh that looks horrible

[storm bloom]

? I just hovered over the Windows download and clicked the first installer from the site. No github at all.

[fiery loom]

i clicked the download version 4.1.7 at the top right

[willow trail]

wait wait wait

let's settle on thonny or vscodium

[fiery loom]

okay

[willow trail]

i think it's probably ok to go vscodium

[fiery loom]

Peach said dont use thonny because 3.10 and i have 3.14

and you said yes

go thonny

[willow trail]

what is your OS

[fiery loom]

Windows 11 (pro) 😉

bloatware 💔

[willow trail]

you will want, as mentioned by @devout moon mentioned earlier, the user installer

[fiery loom]

downloading

installing on pc currently

wait

is windows written in C?

[devout moon]

most parts of it are

[fiery loom]

bc

when i look at files

it always says somewhere

C;/ or something

[devout moon]

"C:/" is unrelated to the C programming language. C is your drive letter.

[fiery loom]

oh

i thought i was onto somehting but i guess im on something

[devout moon]

there's historical reasons for why it's C and not A/B

[fiery loom]

oo

wait

its saying code with extensions

oh

[willow trail]

screenshots

[fiery loom]

im assuming install python

this feels like downloading mods for minecraft 😭

[storm bloom]

Yep. The top one on the left

[fiery loom]

it installed 3 when i clicked that

Python, Debugger and Enviroments

[storm bloom]

That's fine

[fiery loom]

now what

[storm bloom]

Click built-in terminal

[fiery loom]

where do you see this

[fiery loom]

oh

i was on the 3rd page

thats on 2nd

polkay

it doesnt show that

just Code with Extensions, install git, customanize shortcuts

[storm bloom]

Okay never mind then.

[fiery loom]

i opened a tab

wrong ss

i selected python

[storm bloom]

So now that you selected Python that's a new Python file. In the top right, if you close that tab on the right, you should see a play button that will allow you to run the code in that Python file. Keep this in mind for later.

[fiery loom]

oklay

[storm bloom]

After you selected Python, did your screen change at all? Can you post another screenshot? I want to see if it detected your current Python interpreter

[fiery loom]

file name Untitled-1?

[storm bloom]

This will change when you save the file.

[fiery loom]

save as type python
file name: Untitled etc

okay

i saved

its asking python interpreter

[storm bloom]

Okay. You may need to browse to the location of your Python executable.

[fiery loom]

Selected file is not a valid Python interpreter: c:\Users\Arake\Untitled-1.py

i selected it

[storm bloom]

That's the Python file, not the interpreter. Open a cmd and type where python to get the path to your current interpreter

[fiery loom]

you think zehata would know she said she uses this

[fiery loom]

o okay

C:\Users\Arake>where python
C:\Users\Arake\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.exe
C:\Users\Arake\AppData\Local\Python\bin\python.exe

[storm bloom]

Browse to the second path in the select interpreter window and select that exe

C:\Users\Arake\AppData\Local\Python\bin\python.exe

[fiery loom]

peach you think if i shared my screen this would be easier

[storm bloom]

No, we're almost done.

[fiery loom]

okay

second path?

create virtual?

[storm bloom]

No, hit browse

[fiery loom]

done

it opened my files

[storm bloom]

Can you post a screenshot?

Of the editor I mean

[fiery loom]

editor?

im so lost

[storm bloom]

The VSCodium window

[storm bloom]

Okay, hit that yellow button on the bottom right. It will come up with a panel with the Browse option. Select "Browse" and enter C:\Users\Arake\AppData\Local\Python\bin\python.exe in the panel. Done.

[fiery loom]

i did it and it doesnt work

[storm bloom]

Oh okay, VSCodium works different than VSCode since it popped up a file selection box. Okay browse to C:\Users\Arake\AppData\Local\Python\bin and select python.exe

Then select open

[fiery loom]

theres a lot

of things in here

hi zehata

[storm bloom]

You'll want to select "python" not in the file explorer you just posted a screenshot of but in the file dialog window that came up when you were selecting an interpreter

[fiery loom]

?

this

the highlighted

[storm bloom]

Yes. Browse to C:\Users\Arake\AppData\Local\Python\bin in that window.

[storm bloom]

K now highlight the file named just "python" and select Open

[fiery loom]

opened terminal

[storm bloom]

What does the terminal say

[fiery loom]

Python 3.14.3 (tags/v3.14.3:323c59a, Feb 3 2026, 16:04:56) [MSC v.1944 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

[storm bloom]

Can you post a screenshot of your VSCodium window once more?

[storm bloom]

Okay, I'm not sure why it's saying it's not a valid python interpreter. Try selecting an interpreter again but selecting the file named "python3.14" this time.

[fiery loom]

didnt work

i really feel like i should share the screen vro

[fleet path]

Install python extension

[fiery loom]

already installed

so is enviroment and debugger

[fleet path]

And also install install python from web

[fiery loom]

when i click a interpreter or a the file

it says looking for a venv

[storm bloom]

Even though you got those error messages, I'm seeing VSCodium report the correct Python version in the bottom right of your window. Try entering the following code in your Python file and and hitting the play button icon in the top right:

print("Hello World")

[willow trail]

correct me if im wrong isnt appdata the msstore one

[storm bloom]

They didn't install 3.14 from the ms store

[willow trail]

oh mb

[storm bloom]

You did it! You ran a Python program. Everything is set up properly.

You can ignore those errors you were seeing

[fiery loom]

then what the hell does the interpreter have to do with anything 😭

[storm bloom]

The Python interpreter is what actually runs your programs

[fiery loom]

correct me if im wrong but isnt there like free classes or something?

[storm bloom]

For Python or VSCodium? Yes, and probably yes.

[fiery loom]

i tried doing learnpython.org but that one was weird

i did another like called camp or something and that one felt better

[storm bloom]

Take a look at these resources to get started:
!slorb

Oh, it didn't work

!learn

[gloomy glacier]

Go-to beginner resources

Here are the top free resources we recommend for people who are new to programming:

• Automate the Boring Stuff — an online book (also available to purchase as a physical book)
• Harvard’s CS50P course — video lectures (slides and notes provided) with exercises
• Python Programming MOOC 2026 course — text-based lessons with exercises
• Corey Schafer's YouTube playlist

For a full, curated list of educational resources we recommend, please see our resources page!

[fiery loom]

microslop

Python Programming MOOC 2026 course — text-based lessons with exercises?

[storm bloom]

Any of those choices should lead you in the right direction when learning Python.

[fiery loom]

okay

is it worth buying the book?

oh

OH

table of contents in the website

[storm bloom]

https://programming-26.mooc.fi/part-1/1-getting-started

[fiery loom]

do i watch the recordings?

[storm bloom]

What recordings? It should all be text for that resource

[fiery loom]

https://programming-26.mooc.fi/

[fiery loom]

now see it didnt show me this before

i clicked on the link the bot provided

[storm bloom]

Oh okay I see the recordings. No, I wouldn't.

[fiery loom]

okay doke

i should make an account

[storm bloom]

Since you're done setting up Python, you can probably close this help thread. Feel free to post in #python-discussion or open another help thread if you have any questions along the way while you're learning Python.

[fiery loom]

okay

[storm bloom]

You can close this thread with the command !close

[fiery loom]

uh its asking for studen info

i aint a studen

[storm bloom]

I guess when you sign up for the site you become a student

[fiery loom]

i dont think so because its asking for a helinkski id'

or whayever

Student information
Tell us about yourself. This information helps us register course credits and organize the course. You can edit your information later in the course settings. After filling in your information, click 'Save' at the bottom of the page.
Given name

Family name

University of Helsinki student number

hehe

[willow trail]

https://programming-26.mooc.fi/part-1
if you go to this page, it asks you to login?

[fiery loom]

uh

Leave empty if you are not currently a student at the University of Helsinki.

small print at the bottom

there

i am NOW signed up for ts

lets go

thank, you guys

[storm bloom]

Sure. Good luck learning Python!

[fiery loom]

thank you!

thank you peach, zehata, gojo and ice

for helping me set up my python

print("goodbye, world")

!close

[gloomy glacier]

Python help channel closed with !close

This help channel has been closed. Feel free to create a new post in #1035199133436354600. To maximize your chances of getting a response, check out this guide on asking good questions.