
What is the NumPy Library?
NumPy is a Python library that allows you to perform numerical calculations. Think about linear algebra in school (or university) β NumPy is the Python library for it. Itβs about matrices and vectors β and doing operations on top of them.
Get Version Number with np.__version__
To check the NumPy version running in your script, run two commands in your shell:
- Import the library with
import numpy as np
, and - Run and print the attribute
np.__version__
to check the version of NumPy running in your script.
Here’s the code and the output version on my computer:
import numpy as np print(np.__version__)
The output in my Python script is:
1.19.2
Get Detailed Version Information with numpy.version
Alternatively, to check the NumPy version running in your script, run two commands in your shell:
- Import the library with
import numpy as np
, and - Run and print the attribute
np.version.version
to check the version of NumPy running in your script.
Here’s the code and the output version on my computer:
import numpy as np print(np.version.version)
The output in my Python script is:
1.19.2
The numpy.version
name refers to a submodule itself that is packed with lots of additional information
>>> type(np.version) <class 'module'>
For instance, the numpy.version
module can provide you even more insight as shown in the following code snippet:
import numpy as np print(np.version.version) # 1.19.2 print(np.version.short_version) # 1.19.2 print(np.version.full_version) # 1.19.2 print(np.version.git_revision) # 68752f786df542d340f25c41a8920d9b2aed66cf print(np.version.release) # True
How to Check Your NumPy Version with Pip? [Win, macOS, Linux]
To check your NumPy version with pip
in your Windows command line, Powershell, macOS terminal, or Linux shell, run pip show numpy
. The second line of the output provides your NumPy version.
PS C:\Users\xcent> pip show numpy Name: numpy Version: 1.18.4 Summary: NumPy is the fundamental package for array computing with Python. Home-page: https://www.numpy.org Author: Travis E. Oliphant et al. Author-email: None License: BSD Location: c:\users\xcent\appdata\local\programs\python\python38\lib\site-packages Requires: Required-by: seaborn, scipy, pandas, matplotlib
Here’s a screenshot on my Windows computer using Powershell:

Resources and Further Reading
You can check the newest NumPy versions here: https://pypi.org/project/numpy/#history
If you need to get a refresher on NumPy, check out my in-depth NumPy Tutorial on this Finxter blog.
If you’re really ambitious about your data science skills, check out our in-depth book Coffee Break NumPy (Amazon Link).

While working as a researcher in distributed systems, Dr. Christian Mayer found his love for teaching computer science students.
To help students reach higher levels of Python success, he founded the programming education website Finxter.com that has taught exponential skills to millions of coders worldwide. He’s the author of the best-selling programming books Python One-Liners (NoStarch 2020), The Art of Clean Code (NoStarch 2022), and The Book of Dash (NoStarch 2022). Chris also coauthored the Coffee Break Python series of self-published books. He’s a computer science enthusiast, freelancer, and owner of one of the top 10 largest Python blogs worldwide.
His passions are writing, reading, and coding. But his greatest passion is to serve aspiring coders through Finxter and help them to boost their skills. You can join his free email academy here.