Troubleshooting ‘Zsh Command Not Found’ Errors for Python

Chances are very high that you are probably using the Zsh shell on your system. Zsh comes packed with customization features and incredible tools that you, as a developer, are going to appreciate.

However, you may encounter the “Zsh: command not found” error when trying to invoke Python, Python scripts, or Python-related commands such as pip.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to troubleshoot and fix this error when working in Zsh. Keep in mind that although we try to cover a wide array of causes and fixes, we may miss some or the cause of your error may not be outlined in this post.

We recommend reaching out to the community or using the available resources such as the documentation or other troubleshooting tools.

Requirements:

Before we dive into troubleshooting the cause and fix this error, make sure that you have the following:

Zsh

Ensure that Zsh is installed on your system. If you do not have it already installed, you can use your package manager to install it.

You can use the following on Debian-based systems:

$ sudo apt-get install zsh

You can use the following on Red Hat/Fedora:

$ sudo yum install zsh

You can use the following on macOS (using Homebrew):

$ brew install zsh

Python

Ensure that Python is installed on your system.

You can download the latest version of Python from the official Python website or install it using your system’s package manager.

Correct Path Settings

The next and probably most important is to ensure that you have the correct entries in the PATH variable.

The system’s PATH variable should include the path to the directory where Python is installed. This is crucial for Zsh to locate the Python executables.

$ echo $PATH

From the resulting output, verify that the output includes the path to Python (e.g., /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin).

What Causes this Error?

In simple terms, the “Zsh command not found” error for Python typically occurs when the shell cannot locate the Python interpreter or the script that you’re trying to execute.

Cause 1: Incorrect PATH Configuration

The most common reason for this error is an incorrect PATH configuration. Zsh needs to know where to find the Python executable.

To resolve it, you can simply update the path in your Zsh configuration file.

$ nano ~/.zshrc

Add the entry as follows:

export PATH="/path/to/python:$PATH"

Replace the “/path/to/python” with the actual path to the Python binaries.

For example, if Python is installed in “/usr/bin”, the line should be:

export PATH="/usr/bin:$PATH"

Save the changes and reload the configuration.

$ source ~/.zshrc

Cause 2: Python Virtual Environment

If you are using the Python virtual environment such as virtualenv or venv, you might encounter issues with the PATH configuration within these environments.

To resolve this issue, ensure that you have the following:

Activate the virtual environment.

$ source venv/bin/activate

Replace “venv” with the name of your virtual environment.

Cause 3: Shebang Line

Ensure that the Python script that you wish to execute has the correct shebang line at the beginning.

The shebang line tells the shell which interpreter to use.

For example, a Python 3 script should start with:

#!/usr/bin/env python3

Cause 4: Permissions

Check if the script has executable permissions. You can use the “chmod” command to grant the execution permissions:

chmod +x script.py

There you have it!

Conclusion

This post covered the process of troubleshooting and fixing the “Zsh Command Not Found” error for Python.