Before you can start learning Django, you must install some software on your computer. Fortunately, this is a simple three-step process:

1. Install Python
2. Install a Python Virtual Environment; and
3. Install Django

I’ve written this chapter mostly for those of you running Windows, as most new users are on Windows. I have also included a section on installing Python 3 and Django on macOS. If you are using Linux, there are many resources on the Internet—the best place to start is Django’s own installation instructions.

For Windows users, your computer can be running any recent version of Windows (7, 8.1 or 10). This chapter also assumes you’re installing Django on a desktop or laptop computer and will use the development server and SQLite to run all the code in this book. This is by far the easiest and best way to set up Django when you are first starting.