python and python3 command does not point to pyenv global version

Question

I had previously installed python 2.7 and python 3 with homebrew.

I added these versions to pyenv

ln -s $(brew --cellar python)/* ~/.pyenv/versions
ln -s $(brew --cellar python@2)/* ~/.pyenv/versions

When I set the global version with pyenv global 3.6.5 , I get the following error on running this command

➜ python --version
pyenv: python: command not found

The `python' command exists in these Python versions:
  2.7.15

I'd like to setup so that python command points to the global version.

Answer 1

Homebrew's python formula is Python 3. To avoid breaking applications which expect the python command to run Python 2, brew install python does not add a python command, only python3 . This is included in the caveats, visible in brew info python :

Python has been installed as /usr/local/bin/python3

Unversioned symlinks python , python-config , pip etc. pointing to python3 , python3-config , pip3 etc., respectively, have been installed into /usr/local/opt/python/libexec/bin

When using homebrew only, it's easy to get python to point to Python 3 by adding a line like this to one's shell configuration:

export PATH="/usr/local/opt/python/libexec/bin:$PATH"

So, one solution could be to link pyenv to that directory instead:

ln -s $(brew --prefix)/opt/python/libexec/bin ~/.pyenv/versions/3-brew

This would make python work. However, it means that python3.6 won't work, because that executable lives back in $(brew --cellar python)/3.6.5 , so it's not a complete solution. I haven't yet figured out anything that preserves both behaviors without manually adding symlinks to Homebrew's installed Python.