opensafely / opensafely/documentation

Python installation on Windows: would recommending a standard or Microsoft Store installation instead of Anaconda be easier for new Python users?

Open
#485 6 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

improve content
Dominant language
Python
Stars
48
Forks
10
Avg merge
2d 19h
Merged PRs (30d)
17

Description

Currently the docs, here, suggest Windows users to install Anaconda to obtain Python.

This can cause the following confusion for users who are new to Python:

  • under the default Anaconda installation process the Anaconda3 folder is not added to the PATH environment variable
  • the new user opens their repo in VSCode but doesn't realise that they additionally need to launch the Anaconda Prompt (and change its directory to their repo); instead they try to run pip install opensafely in the VSCode Terminal (which will be running Powershell or cmd) which fails (because pip is not on their PATH, because the Anaconda3 folder wasn't added to PATH).

My guess is that recommending either a standard Python installation, making sure to check the box during the installation process to Add Python 3.# to PATH, or installing one of the Python 3s from the Microsoft Store, e.g., 3.10 is here, would probably be easier for new Python users.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the install-python documentation page linked in the issue and review the Windows installation guidance, including PATH and VSCode terminal usage. Compare the proposed standard Python and Microsoft Store options, then update the page so a new user can install Python and run pip from their repository without needing Anaconda Prompt.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.