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    Installing Python 2.7.18 and PIP on Debian 12 from Source

    Python 2 was a popular choice for many years until it reached end-of-life (EOL) on January 1, 2020. While it is no longer maintained, some legacy software still depends on it.

    This guide explains how to compile and install Python 2.7.18 and PIP on a Debian 12 system, verify the setup, and run a test script to confirm everything works as expected.

    Important Notice

    Python 2 is no longer supported. Avoid using it for new projects—only use it when maintaining or running legacy applications that explicitly require it.

    Prerequisites

    • Access to a Debian 12 Linux instance
    • A non-root user account with sudo privileges

    Step 1 – Installing Python 2

    Since Debian 12 no longer includes Python 2 in its repositories, you need to compile Python 2.7.18 from source.

    Update the package index

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    sudo apt update

    Upgrade installed packages

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    sudo apt upgrade -y

    Install required build dependencies

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

    Download Python 2.7.18 source

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

    Extract the archive

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    tar zxf Python-2.7.18.tgz

    Navigate to the source directory

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    cd Python-2.7.18

    Configure the build

    This sets up the compilation environment.

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

    Compile the source

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    make

    Install Python 2

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    sudo make install

    Verify installation

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    python2 --version

    Expected output:

    Python 2.7.18

    Step 2 – Installing PIP for Python 2

    PIP is Python’s package installer. For Python 2, you can install it using the get-pip.py script.

    Download the installer script

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

    Run the installer

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    python2 get-pip.py

    If you see a warning like:

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

    Add the directory to PATH

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

    Reload shell configuration

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    source ~/.bashrc

    Check PIP version

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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)

    Step 3 – Testing Python 2 and PIP

    To verify that Python 2 works properly, create a simple script.

    Create a test script

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    nano hello.py

    Insert this code into the file:

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    print "Hello from Python 2"

    Run the script

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    python2 hello.py

    Expected output:

    Hello from Python 2

    Test installing a package

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    pip2 install lxml

    If the installation succeeds, PIP is functioning correctly.

    Conclusion

    In this guide, you compiled and installed Python 2.7.18 along with PIP 2 on Debian 12 from source, then tested them to ensure proper functionality. This setup allows legacy Python 2 applications to run on modern systems. For all new development, use Python 3 to ensure continued updates, security patches, and support.

    Source: vultr.com

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