How can I use Python 2 on Google Colab?

Question

How can I use the earlier version of Python i.e version 2.x?

Under the 'change runtime' option - I can see the option for selecting hardware accelerator.

Solution 1

You can use these 2 shortcuts to create a Python 2 Colab.

• bit.ly/colabpy2
• colab.to/py2

They will forward to this URL.

https://colab.research.google.com/notebook#create=true&language=python2

Solution 2

Python 2 reached its end of life on January 1, 2020, and is no longer supported by the Python developer community. Because of that, Colab is in the process of deprecating Python 2 runtimes; see https://research.google.com/colaboratory/faq.html#python-2-deprecation for details.

Presently, there is no way to change to Python 2 via the Colab UI, but existing Python 2 notebooks will still connect to Python 2 for the time being. So, for example, if you open a notebook like this one: https://colab.research.google.com/gist/jakevdp/de56c474b41add4540deba2426534a49/empty-py2.ipynb and execute code, it will execute in Python 2 for now. I would suggest following that link, and then choosing File->Save A Copy In Drive to get your own copy of an empty Python 2 notebook.

But please be aware that at some point in the future, Python 2 runtimes will be entirely unavailable in Colab, even for existing notebooks that specify Python 2 in their metadata.

Comments

[Prachi]

Thanks for sharing , how did you created it? I have not been able to access the Runtime type option earlier.

[korakot]

The option is removed. But this is the direct link to the old menu: "Create Python 2 Notebook".

[S P Sharan]

The colab link does not work any more as of today.