if on Linux, NEVER touch the system Python! If you can, you should use the package manager of your distro to install the desired python version. If not availabl

if on Linux, NEVER touch the system Python! If you can, you should use the package manager of your distro to install the desired python version. If not available, or you don't trust a third party ppa, compile from source and install using make altinstall: https://docs.python.org/3/using/unix.html#building-python https://docs.python.org/3/using/unix.html#building-python Next, install pip for your user! `curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py` `python get-pip.py --user` Now you should have `python` which is the system one and `python3.x` for alternate versions. Installing modules from pip can also be harmful, so always use `pip install --user` for tools written in python (like aws cli). Those tools are installed in ~/.local/bin, so make sure to add that to your PATH. Next, you can use virtual environments to prevent your .local/bin from becoming bogged, if you are dealing with many dependencies from different projects. A nice virtual environment management tool helps a lot. Take your pick, virtualenv + wrapper, pyenv, pipenv, conda... whichever you choose, stick to virtualenv for development! In a nutshell 1. never touch your system python! 2. install tools from pipy using pip's --user flag 3. install different python versions using make altinstall, if building from source 4. virtual environments for development This should be enough to keep your Linux installation healthy while messing around with python. Also, docker containers could simplify this whole process, although this is another tech you are adding to your stack