🚀 Python 3.11.7 Installation & VS Code Development Environment Setup

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install Python 3.11.7 and prepare a complete development environment using Visual Studio Code (VS Code).
The steps are written in incremental fashion – start from the basics and move toward a ready-to-code environment.

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1️⃣ Install Python 3.11.7

Windows

1. Go to the official Python downloads page:
   👉 Python 3.11.7 for Windows
2. Download the Windows installer (64-bit).
3. Run the installer:
   • ✅ Check "Add Python 3.11 to PATH"
   • Select Customize Installation → Keep all default options checked.
   • Choose Install for all users (recommended).
4. Verify installation:

   python --version

   Should output:

   Python 3.11.7
   

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macOS

1. Install Homebrew (if not installed):

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

2. Install Python 3.11.7:

   brew install python@3.11

3. Ensure python3.11 points correctly:

   brew link python@3.11 --force

4. Verify installation:

   python3.11 --version

   Output should be:

   Python 3.11.7
   

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Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

1. Update system packages:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install prerequisites:

   sudo apt install -y build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev    libncurses5-dev libffi-dev libsqlite3-dev libreadline-dev wget curl

3. Download Python 3.11.7 source:

   wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.11.7/Python-3.11.7.tgz

4. Extract and build:

   tar -xvzf Python-3.11.7.tgz
   cd Python-3.11.7
   ./configure --enable-optimizations
   make -j$(nproc)
   sudo make altinstall

5. Verify installation:

   python3.11 --version

   Output:

   Python 3.11.7
   

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2️⃣ Set Up Virtual Environment (Recommended for Projects)

1. Create a project folder:

   mkdir my_python_project && cd my_python_project

2. Create a virtual environment:

   python3.11 -m venv venv

3. Activate the environment:
   • Windows (PowerShell):

     .\venv\Scripts\Activate

   • macOS/Linux:

     source venv/bin/activate

4. Confirm:

   which python

   Should point to your project venv.

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3️⃣ Install VS Code

1. Download and install Visual Studio Code:
   👉 VS Code Download

2. Install the following extensions:

   • 🟦 Python (ms-python.python)
   • 🟦 Pylance (ms-python.vscode-pylance)
   • 🟦 Jupyter (ms-toolsai.jupyter) – optional, for notebooks
   • 🟦 Black Formatter (ms-python.black-formatter) – optional, for code style

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4️⃣ Configure VS Code for Python

1. Open your project folder in VS Code:

   code my_python_project

2. Select Python interpreter:
   • Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS).
   • Search for Python: Select Interpreter.
   • Choose the one from your venv.
3. Create a file app.py:

   print("Hello, Python 3.11.7 with VS Code!")

4. Run with:

   python app.py

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5️⃣ Install Developer Essentials

Inside your virtual environment, install common packages:

pip install --upgrade pip
pip install black flake8 pytest requests

• black → automatic code formatting
• flake8 → linting
• pytest → testing framework
• requests → common HTTP library

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6️⃣ (Optional) Set Up Debugging in VS Code

1. Go to Run & Debug (Ctrl+Shift+D).
2. Click Create a launch.json file.
3. Choose Python file.
4. Add breakpoints and press F5 to debug.

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7️⃣ Set Up Git & GitHub Access

Windows (Git Bash)

1. Download Git for Windows:
   👉 Git for Windows
2. Install using default options. This will include Git Bash (a terminal that works like Linux).
3. Open Git Bash and configure Git:

   git config --global user.name "Your Name"
   git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

4. Generate SSH key (for secure GitHub access):

   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com"

   Press Enter to accept defaults.
5. Add your SSH key to GitHub:
   • Copy key:

     cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

   • Go to GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key, paste the key, and save.
6. Test the connection:

   ssh -T git@github.com

macOS / Linux

1. Install Git (if not already installed):

   sudo apt install git -y          # Ubuntu/Debian
   brew install git                 # macOS (Homebrew)

2. Configure Git:

   git config --global user.name "Your Name"
   git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

3. Generate SSH key:

   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com"

4. Add SSH key to GitHub:

   cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

   Copy and paste into GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key.
5. Test connection:

   ssh -T git@github.com

✅ Now you can clone, push, and pull repositories securely:

git clone git@github.com:your-username/your-repo.git

✅ Final Check

• Python 3.11.7 is installed and available.
• Virtual environment working correctly.
• VS Code configured with Python interpreter.
• Common dev tools installed (black, flake8, pytest).
• Ready to start Python project development! 🎉

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📦 Recommended Packages for Modern Python Development

Below are some useful packages you may want to install depending on your project needs:

pip install fastapi uvicorn[standard] sqlalchemy aiosqlite httpx pydantic python-dotenv requests python-jose[cryptography]==3.3.0 passlib[bcrypt]==1.7.4

Package Overview

• FastAPI → High-performance web framework for building APIs with Python.
• Uvicorn[standard] → ASGI server (with extras like uvloop and httptools) for running FastAPI or other async web apps.
• SQLAlchemy → Powerful ORM (Object Relational Mapper) for database interaction.
• aiosqlite → Async support for SQLite database access.
• httpx → Modern async HTTP client for making API requests.
• Pydantic → Data validation and settings management using Python type hints.
• python-dotenv → Loads environment variables from .env files for configuration.
• Requests → Popular HTTP library for synchronous API calls.
• python-jose[cryptography]==3.3.0 → JWT (JSON Web Token) implementation for authentication & authorization.
• passlib[bcrypt]==1.7.4 → Password hashing library with bcrypt support.

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✅ With these packages, you can build production-ready APIs, handle databases, secure authentication, manage async/sync requests, and keep configuration clean.