What does the $ mean when running commands?

python command installation dollar-sign
joshpaulchan picture joshpaulchan · Nov 14, 2013 · Viewed 46.5k times · Source

I've been learning Python, and I keep running into the $ character in online documentation. Usually it goes something like this:

$ python ez_setup.py (Yeah, I've been trying to install setup tools)

I'm fairly certain that this command isn't for the python IDE or console, but I've tried windows cmd and it doesn't work. Any help?

Answer

user2555451 picture user2555451 · Nov 14, 2013

As of now, Python does not implement $ in its syntax. So, it has nothing to do with Python.

Instead, what you are seeing is the terminal prompt of a Unix-based system (Mac, Linux, etc.)

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