How to Install Outdated Python Versions on Debian

Note

All of this is now made far more convenient with uv and -p/--python <PYTHON_VERSION>. Just run uv <cmd> -p 3.10 and you’re done.

uv documentation

I use apt-get autoremove -y in my upgrade script, which made me feel the discomfort of seeing python3.10 uninstalled from my system without being able to install it again with apt, as it’s no longer available in the Debian’s package list.

Fortunately, even if it’s not as straightforward as apt install python3.10, it’s still possible to reinstall it from source.

Installation Steps

Update the Package List

sudo apt update

Install the Required Build Dependencies

sudo apt install curl build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev libncurses5-dev \
libncursesw5-dev libreadline-dev libsqlite3-dev libgdbm-dev libdb5.3-dev \
libbz2-dev libexpat1-dev liblzma-dev tk-dev

Download Python 3.10 Sources

PYTHON_VERSION=3.10.14
curl -LO https://www.python.org/ftp/python/${PYTHON_VERSION}/Python-${PYTHON_VERSION}.tgz

Change the value of the variable to the version you want to install.

Extract the Tarball

tar -xf Python-${PYTHON_VERSION}.tgz

Change Directory

cd Python-${PYTHON_VERSION}

Configure the Build Environment

./configure --enable-optimizations

Compile the Source Code

make -j $(nproc)

Install Python 3.10

make altinstall

Check the Installation

python3.10 --version

This installation won’t erase the python3 or python symlink; you’ll have to execute python3.10.

Clean Up

cd ..
rm -rf Python-${PYTHON_VERSION} Python-${PYTHON_VERSION}.tgz