How to Install Python 2 on Debian 12

Python 2 was widely used for many years before reaching its end-of-life (EOL) on January 1, 2020. While Python 2 is no longer maintained, some legacy applications still use it.

This article shows how to install Python 2.7.18 and PIP from source on a Debian 12 instance, verify the installation, and run a Python script to confirm that Python 2 works as expected.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Have access to a Debian 12 based Linux instance as a non-root sudo user.

Install Python 2

Debian 12 does not include Python 2 in its default repositories. To install it, compile Python 2.7.18 from source.

1. Update the APT package index.

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   $ sudo apt update
   

2. Upgrade installed packages.

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   $ sudo apt upgrade -y
   

3. Install required dependencies.

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   $ sudo apt install libreadline-dev libbz2-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev -y
   

4. Download the Python 2.7.18 source code.

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   $ wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.18/Python-2.7.18.tgz
   

5. Extract the archive.

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   $ tar zxf Python-2.7.18.tgz
   

6. Switch to the Python source folder.

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   $ cd Python-2.7.18
   

7. Run the configure script to set up the build system.

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   $ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --enable-optimizations
   

   In the command above:

   • --prefix=/usr/local: Installs Python in the /usr/local directory.
   • --enable-optimizations: Enables performance optimizations such as LTO and PGO.

8. Compile the build files.

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   $ make
   

9. Install Python 2 from the built source.

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   $ sudo make install
   

10. Verify the installation.

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    $ python2 --version
    

    Output:

    Python 2.7.18

Install PIP for Python 2

PIP is the package manager for Python. For Python 2, install PIP 2 using the get-pip.py script.

1. Download the installation script.

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   $ curl -O https://bootstrap.pypa.io/pip/2.7/get-pip.py
   

2. Install PIP 2 using Python 2.

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   $ python2 get-pip.py
   

3. If you see the following warning in your output:

   WARNING: The scripts pip, pip2, and pip2.7 are installed in '/home/your-user/.local/bin', which is not on PATH.

   1. Add the directory to your PATH.

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      $ echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.local/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
      

   2. Update your shell environment's PATH variable.

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      $ source ~/.bashrc
      

4. Verify the installation.

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   $ pip2 --version
   

   Example output:

   pip 20.3.4 from /home/your-user/.local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pip (python 2.7)

Test and Use Python 2 and PIP

To test your Python 2 installation, follow the steps below.

1. Create a Python script for testing purposes.

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   $ nano hello.py
   

2. Add the following contents to the file:

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   print "Hello from Python 2"
   

   Save and exit the file.

3. Run the script.

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   $ python2 hello.py
   

   Output:

   Hello from Python 2

   This validates your Python 2 installation.

4. Try installing a PIP package, such as the lxml package.

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   $ pip2 install lxml
   

   If the command works and installs the package, your PIP 2 is working.

Conclusion

In this article, you installed Python 2.7.18 and PIP 2 on a Debian 12 instance from the source and tested them. This setup enables legacy Python 2 applications to run on modern systems. Avoid using Python 2 for new development and migrate to Python 3 to ensure continued support and security.