How to fix npm ERR! Error: spawn python ENOENT in npm

First, verify whether Python is installed and accessible from your terminal:

python --version

If this fails, try:

python3 --version

If neither command works, Python is not installed or not in your PATH. If only python3 works, you'll need to configure npm to use it (see step 3).

On Windows, also check:

where python

On macOS/Linux:

which python python3

On Windows:

Option 1 - Using the official installer:
1. Download Python from https://www.python.org/downloads/
2. Run the installer and check "Add Python to PATH" during installation
3. Restart your terminal/PowerShell after installation

Option 2 - Using winget:

winget install Python.Python.3.12

Option 3 - Using Chocolatey:

choco install python

On macOS:

# Using Homebrew (recommended)
brew install python

# Or install Xcode Command Line Tools (includes Python)
xcode-select --install

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip

On Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip

After installation, close and reopen your terminal, then verify with python --version or python3 --version.

If Python is installed but node-gyp cannot find it, tell npm where Python is located:

If python3 is your command (common on modern Linux/macOS):

npm config set python python3

Or specify the full path:

# macOS/Linux
npm config set python /usr/bin/python3

# Windows (adjust path as needed)
npm config set python C:\Python312\python.exe

Using environment variable (useful for CI/CD):

export PYTHON=/usr/bin/python3
npm install

Or on Windows PowerShell:

$env:PYTHON = "C:\Python312\python.exe"
npm install

To check your current npm Python configuration:

npm config get python

Native modules also require C/C++ compilers. The error may mention Python first even if build tools are also missing.

On Windows:

# Install Visual Studio Build Tools (recommended)
npm install -g windows-build-tools

Or manually install:
1. Download "Build Tools for Visual Studio" from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
2. Select "Desktop development with C++" workload
3. Restart your terminal after installation

On macOS:

xcode-select --install

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install build-essential

On Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"

If you have python3 but some packages expect python, you can create a symlink:

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install python-is-python3

Manual symlink (use with caution):

# Check where python3 is located
which python3

# Create symlink (example)
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python

On macOS with Homebrew:

brew link python

Note: Creating manual symlinks can interfere with system scripts that expect a specific Python version. The python-is-python3 package on Ubuntu is the safest approach.

For Docker builds, ensure your Dockerfile includes Python and build tools:

# Node.js with build dependencies (Alpine)
FROM node:20-alpine
RUN apk add --no-cache python3 make g++

# Node.js with build dependencies (Debian-based)
FROM node:20
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y python3 build-essential

# Set python3 as default python
RUN ln -sf /usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python

For GitHub Actions:

- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
    python-version: '3.12'
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: '20'
- run: npm install

For GitLab CI:

image: node:20
before_script:
  - apt-get update && apt-get install -y python3 build-essential
  - npm config set python python3

Some packages offer prebuilt binaries that avoid the need for compilation entirely:

# For node-sass, switch to the pure JavaScript alternative
npm uninstall node-sass
npm install sass

# For bcrypt, use the pure JavaScript version
npm uninstall bcrypt
npm install bcryptjs

# For sqlite3, try better-sqlite3 which has prebuilds
npm uninstall sqlite3
npm install better-sqlite3

Check if the problematic package offers prebuilt binaries for your platform:

# Install with verbose logging to see if prebuild is used
npm install <package-name> --verbose

Many packages now include prebuilt binaries via @prebuild/prebuildify, which eliminates the need for Python and compilers entirely.