Thonny (θɒni/ THON-ee) is a free and open-source integrated development environment for Python that is designed for beginners. It was created by Aivar Annamaa, an Estonian programmer. It supports different ways of stepping through code, step-by-step expression evaluation, detailed visualization of the call stack and a mode for explaining the concepts of references and heap.
The program works on Windows, macOS and Linux. It is available as a binary bundle including the recent Python interpreter or pip-installable package. It can be installed via the operating-system package manager on Debian, Raspberry Pi, Ubuntu, and Fedora. It is written in Python with the Tk widget toolkit using Tkinter binding.
Thonny has received favorable reviews from Python and computer science education communities. It has been a recommended tool in several programming MOOCs. Since June 2017 it has been included by default in the Raspberry Pi's official operating system distribution Raspberry Pi OS.
What is Thonny?
Thonny by Aivar Annamaa is open-source Windows software in the ides & code editors category. It ranks 13th by popularity among ides & code editors in this catalogue. It is written in Python. Besides Windows, it is available for Unix-like operating system, macOS and Linux.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (Inno Setup) installers for 64-bit and ARM64 Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 5.0.0, released on April 25, 2026. The version history goes back to February 9, 2019: 34 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 4.7 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 94,599 times. The source code on GitHub (thonny/thonny) has 3,972 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 11 of our languages. Similar programs include RStudio, OpenCode and Node.js (LTS).
Project description on GitHub: “Python IDE for beginners”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Documented silent install
- Also runs on Unix-like operating system, macOS and Linux
Cons
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Thonny is an open-source ides & code editor tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Screenshots
Is Thonny safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
1A3B98BF9CECFC32E810517C0ECBAA756FBAB74C5EC5BD9CDB7A39D40F52BA45· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the thonny/thonny repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Actively maintained10
- Licence declared10
- Code review1
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- No binaries in the repository0
- Pinned dependencies0
- Fuzzing0
- Security policy0
- Signed releases0
- Static code analysis0
- Branch protection0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 34 versions ›34 versions over 7 years · about 4.7 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0.0Latest | April 25, 2026 | — | ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.1.7 | December 16, 2024 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.1.6 | September 11, 2024 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.1.4 | November 19, 2023 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.1.3 | September 27, 2023 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.1.2 | August 11, 2023 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.1.1 | June 11, 2023 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.1.0 | June 5, 2023 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id AivarAnnamaa.Thonny -echoco install thonny -yscoop install extras/thonnythonny-5.0.0-x64.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask thonnyflatpak install flathub org.thonny.ThonnyInformation
- Publisher
- Aivar Annamaa
- Category
- IDEs & code editors
- Licence
- MIT
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/thonny/thonny
- Written in
- Python
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Other platforms
- Unix-like operating system, macOS, Linux
- Version
- 5.0.0
- Released
- April 25, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- May 29, 2021
- Versions listed
- 34
- Updates / year
- 4.7
- Chocolatey downloads
- 94,599
- GitHub stars
- 3,972
- GitHub forks
- 1,253
- Website
- thonny.org
- winget ID
- AivarAnnamaa.Thonny
- Chocolatey package
- thonny
- Scoop package
- extras/thonny
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Thonny free?
Yes. Thonny is open-source software under the MIT licence.
Is Thonny safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Thonny with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Thonny be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Thonny run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of Thonny?
The versions page lists all 34 versions with links to their official installer files, back to February 9, 2019.
Can I use Thonny without administrator rights?
Yes, there is a per-user installer that does not need administrator rights.
What are alternatives to Thonny?
RStudio, OpenCode, Node.js (LTS), Apache NetBeans and VSCodium. The alternatives page compares them.
