How to fix the python path

Question

I have python 2.7.2 installed on my Mac. I installed using python-2.7.2-macosx10.6.dmg I have only one instance of python.

When i type in the terminal to find the python path , I get this :

 python
Python 2.7.2 (v2.7.2:8527427914a2, Jun 11 2011, 15:22:34) 
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import os.path
>>> os.environ['PYTHONPATH'].split(os.pathsep)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/UserDict.py", line 23, in __getitem__
    raise KeyError(key)
KeyError: 'PYTHONPATH'

It is the one thing missing so I can install Mercurial. I was using Mercurial before and I may have broken something. Do you know how to fix this problem ?

Answer 1

You need to modify the sys.path array. It is initialized from the Python defaults and the environment variable "PYTHONPATH": http://docs.python.org/library/sys.html#sys.path

To append your directory the active path:

import sys;
sys.path.append("/path/to/your/dir")

Answer 2

Here's another useful tip:

Look under your ~/.local folder. There may be a homebrew.pth (or *.pth) file under ~/.local/lib/ which may cause issue by overriding the python path.

If unsetting $PYTHONPATH doesn't fix your issue, try removing the:

~/.local folder.