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# Installation

## via pipx

tox is a CLI tool that needs a Python interpreter (version 3.7 or higher) to run. We recommend pipx to install tox into an isolated environment. This has the added benefit that later you’ll be able to upgrade tox without affecting other parts of the system.

    python -m pip install pipx-in-pipx --user
    pipx install tox
    tox --help

## via pip

Alternatively you can install it within the global Python interpreter itself (perhaps as a user package via the `--user` flag). Be cautious if you are using a Python installation that is managed by your operating system or another package manager. `pip` might not coordinate with those tools, and may leave your system in an inconsistent state. Note, if you go down this path you need to ensure pip is new enough per the subsections below:

    python -m pip install --user tox
    python -m tox --help

### wheel

Installing tox via a wheel (default with pip) requires an installer that can understand the `python-requires` tag (see PEP 503), with pip this is version `9.0.0` (released in November 2016). Furthermore, in case you’re not installing it via PyPI you need to use a mirror that correctly forwards the `python-requires` tag (notably the OpenStack mirrors don’t do this, or older devpi/devpi versions - added with version `4.7.0`).

### sdist

When installing via a source distribution you need an installer that handles the PEP 517 specification. In case of `pip` this is version `18.0.0` or later (released in July 2018). If you cannot upgrade your pip to support this you need to ensure that the build requirements from pyproject.toml are satisfied before triggering the installation.

## via `setup.py`

We don’t recommend and officially support this method. You should prefer using an installer that supports PEP 517 interface, such as pip `19.0.0` or later. That being said you might be able to still install a package via this method if you satisfy build dependencies before calling the installation command (as described under sdist).

## latest unreleased

Installing an unreleased version is discouraged and should be only done for testing purposes. If you do so you’ll need a pip version of at least `18.0.0` and use the following command:

    pip install git+https://github.com/tox-dev/tox.git@rewrite

## Python and OS Compatibility

tox works with the following Python interpreter implementations:

- CPython versions 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12

This means tox works on the latest patch version of each of these minor versions. Previous patch versions are supported on a best effort approach.