i am running Xubuntu 20.04 and am not ready to upgrade to 24.04 just yet, but i would like to upgrade Python to run the latest version (above 3.8). can this be done? i want to have only one version of Python installed, if possible. how can i go about doing this?
There’s no support for that here (EOL for Xubuntu 20.04 was 2 years ago in 2023 as it only has 3 years of LTS support). Therefore, at minimum, you’d need to upgrade to Xubuntu 22.04 which hits EOL this month, so you might as well upgrade to 24.04.
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS was released in 2020-April (thus 20.04) with 5 years of standard support life; that was extended until 29 May 2025 by Canonical, which is this month!
Why not plan and perform your release-upgrade NOW ! as even Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is still supported 30 May 2025 on this site; where your existing [20.04] system isn’t!
If you change the default python3 version; there are effects on a desktop system, so have you considered those effects?
Support here ends for 20.04 on 29 May 2025 don’t forget.
- Welcome To Support And Help
- Ubuntu Fridge | Extended Security Maintenance for Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa) begins May 29, 2025
Canonical will continue support for 20.04 LTS via ESM, but this site’s Support and Help isn’t Canonical support, but Ubuntu community support don’t forget.
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There is a useful PPA that gives you the ability to use older or newer versions of Python on some recent Ubuntu distros. Check it out:
Moderator Note
We do gently ask that suggestions for potentially-dangerous sources (including the deadsnakes PPA) include enough information for unskilled users to gauge the benefits and risks and make an informed decision.
Installing a wrong version of Python is a common way that users break their systems, so let’s all help prevent those terrible events.
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Okay, I see what the moderator is saying. Though from what I remember, if you install a newer Python from the deadsnakes PPA, you have to invoke it specifically, like
python3.13
In other words, just typing “python” or “python3” won’t run it.
Anyways, another alternative is to use the new way of installing multiple side-by-side versions of Python, which is the super great tool called “uv”.
You install it, you restart your shell, then from then on, to install the latest version of Python, which is 3.13, you’d type:
uv python install 3.13
Then to see which Pythons you have available, you type:
uv python list
Then to run that version, you type:
uv run python3.13
uv does so much more, it’s like the improved way of creating virtual environments for your projects’ packages that is super fast and also disk efficient.
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