How to Check the Python Version at Runtime?

Method 1: sys.version

To check your version at runtime in your code, import the sys module and print the sys.version attribute to your Python shell:

import sys
print(sys.version)
# 3.7.2 (tags/v3.7.2:9a3ffc0492, Dec 23 2018, 23:09:28) [MSC v.1916 64 bit (AMD64)]

Method 2: sys.version_info

If you need an easy-to-process output for the major, minor, and micro versions, use the sys.version_info attribute. For example, Python version 3.9.5 has major version 3, minor version 9, and micro version 5. You can access the major version with sys.version_info[0], the minor version with sys.version_info[1], and the micro version with sys.version_info[2].

import sys

print(sys.version_info)
# sys.version_info(major=3, minor=9, micro=5, releaselevel='final', serial=0)

print(sys.version_info[0])
# Major: 3

print(sys.version_info[1])
# Minor: 9

print(sys.version_info[2])
# Micro: 5

Method 3: platform.python_version()

The platform.python_version() function returns a string representation of the form 'major:minor:micro'. For example, you can easily split it on the dots to obtain the respective major, minor, or micro version info returned by this function.

import platform
print(platform.python_version())
# 3.9.5