PYTHONSTARTUP doesn't seem to work

Question

I'm trying to use the PYTHONSTARTUP environmental variable. I set it to be "c:\python25\pythonstartup.py" in My Computer --> Advanced etc., and it doesn't seem to work.

Opening IDLE doesn't run the script, although it recognized the variable:

>>> import os
>>> os.environ['PYTHONSTARTUP']
'c:\\python25\\pythonstartup.py'
>>> 

I'm using XP and Python 2.5.2. I do not wish to upgrade to 3.0 yet.

Thanks

Answer 1

The documentation says that PYTHONSTARTUP is only run for interactive sessions. I'm not sure how IDLE runs the Python interpreter, but it could be interfering.

Instead, try running python directly from a command prompt, rather than from clicking on an icon.

Answer 2

To add to Greg Hewgill's correct answer: If IDLE doesn't have a startup file of its own, you can put a file called sitecustomize.py in your path which will be executed for both command prompt and scripts / IDLE sessions.