You can execute Python code in a terminal just like you would in an IDE like VS Code, Atom, and so on. You can do this in both Windows and Unix operating systems like Linux and macOS.

In this article, you'll learn how to exit a Python program in the terminal using the following methods:

  • The exit() and quit() functions in Windows and macOS (and other Unix-based systems – we'll use macOS to represent them).
  • The Ctrl + Z command in Windows.
  • The Ctrl + D command in macOS.

How to Run a Python Program in the Terminal

To run Python in the terminal, you have to open your terminal and run the python command.

Note that the Python command will only work in your terminal if you have Python installed on your computer.

After running the command, you should have something like this in the terminal:

C:\Users\USER>python
Python 3.10.8 (main, Nov  6 2022, 23:27:16)  [GCC 12.2.0 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
py-in-terminal
Python command in the terminal

I am using Command Prompt for Windows but this should work the same way if you're using macOS or Linux.

Now you can run Python code in the terminal: 

>>> print("Welcome to Py in the terminal!")
Welcome to Py in the terminal!

How to Exit a Python Program in the Terminal Using the exit() and quit() Functions

You can use the exit() and quit() functions to exit a Python program in Windows and macOS. 

>>> print("Welcome to Py in the terminal!")
Welcome to Py in the terminal!
>>> exit()

C:\Users\USER>
py-in-terminal-exit
exit() command in Python terminal

In the example above, we printed "Welcome to Py in the terminal!" before exiting the terminal using the  exit() function.

After the function is executed, you'll be able to use the terminal the regular way (with the Python environment).

The process is the same for the quit() function:

>>> print("Welcome to Py in the terminal!")
Welcome to Py in the terminal!
>>> quit()

C:\Users\USER>
py-in-terminal-quit
exit() command in Python terminal

How to Exit a Python Program in the Terminal Using the Ctrl + Command

You can exit a Python program running in a Windows terminal using the Ctrl + Z command: 

>>> print("Welcome to Py in the terminal!")
Welcome to Py in the terminal!
>>> ^Z


C:\Users\USER>
py-in-terminal-ctrl-z
ctrl + z command to exit Python terminal in Windows

Similarly, you can use the Ctrl + D command in macOS.

Summary

In this article, we talked about running a Python program in the terminal.

We saw how to run Python in the terminal using the Python command.

We also saw how to exit a Python program in the terminal using a couple different methods.

The exit() and quit() functions can exit a Python program in the terminal for both Windows and macOS.

Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + Z command to exit a Python program in the terminal in Windows and Ctrl + D in macOS.

Happy coding! You can learn more about Python on my blog.