If you’ve recently downloaded Python onto your computer, then you may have noticed a new program on your machine called IDLE. You might be wondering, “What is this program doing on my computer? I didn’t download that!” While you may not have downloaded this program on your own, IDLE comes bundled with every Python installation. It’s there to help you get started with the language right out of the box. In this course, you’ll learn how to work in Python IDLE and a few cool tricks you can use on your Python journey!
In this course, you’ll learn:
- What Python IDLE is
- How to interact with Python directly using IDLE
- How to edit, execute, and debug Python files with IDLE
- How to customize Python IDLE to your liking
Reinhard Neuwirth on June 12, 2026
Hi Darren, Recently updating my Python installation to 3.14.5 I have lost the ability to right-click my
.pyscripts, be presented with the option of opening with IDLE. The options presented now are to open with Microsoft’sVisual Studio Code, and some others, likepycharm, but the IDLE option has disapppeared. TryingOpen with - Choose another appgets me nowhere. I wonder if you could help, I am usingWindows10. I should add that I can of course open IDLE and then open the file, but the right-clicking option, with files I am working with presented as icons on the window, has become such a convenient workflow.