Detecting platform in Python using sys.platform
The builtin sys module provides a very useful attribute called platform, which can be used to execute separate code blocks in different platforms. Following are the values of this attribute in different operating systems.
| Platform | Value of sys.platform |
|---|---|
| FreeBSD | 'freebsd' |
| Linux | 'linux' |
| Windows | 'win32' |
| Windows/Cygwin | 'cygwin' |
| Mac OS X | 'darwin' |
>>> import sys
>>> sys.platform
'win32'
>>> if sys.platform.startswith('darwin'):
print("I'm on a Mac OS X!")
elif sys.platform.startswith('win32'):
print("I'm on a Windows platform!")
I'm on a Windows platform!
It is a safe bet to use the startswith() method to check platform values, since older versions of Python (less than 3.3) include the major version as well i.e. 'linux2', 'linux3'.
See also:
- Python 101
- Object Oriented Python
- Design Patterns in Python
- 50+ Handy Standard Library Modules
- 60+ Handy Third Library Modules
- 50+ Tips & Tricks for Python Developers
- 50+ Know-How(s) Every Pythonista Must Know