Thonny

About

Thonny is a Python IDE for learning programming. Its macOS installers come in versions for Intel Macs and Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, and later), and each includes Python 3.14, so a single installer is enough to start. Advanced users can instead install Thonny with Homebrew (brew install thonny) or pip, or reuse an existing Python installation.

Thonny's initial interface leaves out features that may distract beginners. Selecting View → Variables shows how a program and shell commands affect Python variables. The simple debugger lets you run a program step by step without breakpoints: Ctrl+F5 starts it, F6 takes a big step, and F7 takes a small step. Small steps also show how Python evaluates expressions. Other aids include highlighting of syntax errors such as unclosed quotes and parentheses, visual distinction between local variables and globals, a mode for explaining references, and code completion for exploring APIs.

Thonny also includes a beginner-friendly system shell, opened with Tools → Open system shell, for installing extra packages or working with Python on the command line. Tools → Manage packages provides a simple pip interface for installing third-party packages. Thonny supports plug-ins, though its developers neither endorse nor are responsible for them.