Encountering "-bash: /usr/local/bin/pip3: /usr/bin/python3.6: bad interpreter: No such file or directory" while checking the pip3 version

I installed pip3 for my current python version

$ python -V
Python 3.5.1+

I used this command to install pip3

sudo apt install python3-pip

When I tried to check out the version of pip

$ pip3 -V 

I got

-bash: /usr/local/bin/pip3: /usr/bin/python3.6: bad interpreter: No such file or directory

Previously I had installed python3.6 and deleted it.

Here is the approval:

$ sudo apt remove python3.6
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package 'python3.6' is not installed, so not removed
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

Here is my ${PATH}

$ echo ${PATH}
/home/user/.local/share/umake/bin:/home/user/.local/share/umake/bin:/home/user/.local/share/umake/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin:/snap/bin:/snap/bin

How do I fix path for my current pip?

Solution 1:

1. Run the command which python3 to show the path to the python3 executable. In the commands in step 2, I am assuming that it is the default which is /usr/bin/python3

2. Create a symbolic link at /usr/bin/python3.6 which references to file /usr/bin/python3.

   sudo ln -s /usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python3.6
   

Solution 2:

Type in a terminal (I used the VSCode terminal, because my default terminal with Ctrl + Alt + T won't work).

sudo update-alternatives --config python3

See the terminal output You will be prompted to select the path for your python3, In my case I've selected option number 1 (I want the option that says python3.6 manual mode).

Now everything should work fine (terminal , software update manager, python etc).