Fixing ‘Zsh Command Not Found Errors’ with Jupyter

[Linux Hint]

However, you may encounter the “Zsh: command not found” error when trying to invoke Python, Python scripts, or Python related commands such as Jupyter.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to troubleshoot and fix this error when working in Zsh. Keep in mind that although we try to cover a wide array of causes and fixes, we may miss some or the cause of your error may not be outlined in this post.

We recommend reaching out to the community or using the available resources such as the documentation or other troubleshooting tools.

Requirements:

Before we dive into troubleshooting the cause and fix this error, make sure that you have the following:

Zsh

Ensure that Zsh is installed on your system. If you do not have it already installed, you can use your package manager to install it.

You can use the following command on Debian-based systems:

$ sudo apt-get install zsh

 

You can use the following command on Red Hat/Fedora:

$ sudo yum install zsh

 

You can use the following command on macOS (using Homebrew):

$ brew install zsh

 

Python

Ensure that Python is installed on your system.

You can download the latest version of Python from the official Python website or install it using your system’s package manager.

Install Jupyter Notebook

Next, ensure that you have the Jupyter notebook installed on your machine.

Use Homebrew on macOS:

$ brew install jupyterlab

 

On other systems, install it with “pip” with the following command:

pip install jupyterlab

 

Correct Path Settings

The next and probably most important is to ensure that you have the correct entries in the PATH variable.

The system’s PATH variable should include the path to the directory where Jupyter is installed. This is crucial for Zsh to locate the Python executables.

$ echo $PATH

 

From the resulting output, verify that the output includes the path to Python (e.g., /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin).

What Causes this Error?

In simple terms, the “Zsh command not found” error for Jupyter typically occurs when the shell cannot locate the Python binary.

Cause 1: Incorrect PATH Configuration

The most common reason for this error is an incorrect PATH configuration. Zsh needs to know where to find the Jupyter executable.

To resolve it, you can simply update the path in your Zsh configuration file.

$ nano ~/.zshrc

 

Add the entry as follows:

export PATH="/path/to/python:$PATH"

 

Replace “/path/to/python” with the actual path to the Python binaries.

For example, if Python is installed in “/usr/bin”, the line should be:

export PATH="/usr/bin:$PATH"

 

Save the changes and reload the configuration.

$ source ~/.zshrc

 

Cause 2: Python Virtual Environment

If you are using the Python virtual environment such as virtualenv or venv, you might encounter issues with the PATH configuration within these environments.

To resolve this issue, ensure that you:

Activate the virtual environment.

$ source venv/bin/activate

 

Replace venv with the name of your virtual environment.

Conclusion

This post covered the process of troubleshooting and fixing the “Zsh Command Not Found” error for Python.

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