How do I find where Python is located on Unix?

Question

I'm working on a new server for a new workplace, and I'm trying to reuse a CGI script I wrote in Python earlier this year. My CGI script starts off with

#!/local/usr/bin/python

But when I run this on the new server, it complains that there's no such folder. Obviously Python's kept in a different place on this box, but I've got no idea where.

I haven't done much unix before, just enough to get around, so if there's some neat trick I should know here I'd appreciate it :)

Thanks!

Answer 1

Try:

which python

in a terminal.

Answer 2

For this very reason it is recommend that you change your shebang line to be more path agnostic:

#!/usr/bin/env python

See this mailing list message for more information:

Consider the possiblities that in a different machine, python may be installed at /usr/bin/python or /bin/python in those cases, #!/usr/local/bin/python will fail. For those cases, we get to call the env executable with argument which will determine the arguments path by searching in the $PATH and use it correctly.

(env is almost always located in /usr/bin/ so one need not worry that env is not present at /usr/bin.)

Answer 3

# which python
/usr/local/bin/python

Update:

I misread. Replace your header with

#!/usr/bin/env python

This will pull in the python location from the user that runs the script's environmental settings

Answer 4

Try: which python or whereis python

Answer 5

It is a good idea to use backticks for header Python script:

`which python`

Answer 6

The proper way to solve this problem is with

#!/usr/bin/env python

which allows for the use of a binary in the PATH in a shebang.