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Python Compiler for Mobile: Code Python on Your Phone

How to write and run Python on an Android phone or iPhone without an app: what works, what doesn't, and tips for typing code on a small screen.

Mentr Engineering6 min read

Plenty of students first meet Python on a phone. You don't need an app for that: a browser-based compiler runs Python in Chrome on Android or Safari on iPhone. Here is what works, what doesn't, and how to make typing code on a small screen less painful.

Do you need an app?

No. Mentr's online Python compiler runs real CPython 3.14 inside the mobile browser using WebAssembly. Open mentr.in/openpythoncompiler, wait for the one-time download (about 6.3 MB) and press Run. Later visits load from cache.

How the phone layout works

  • Three tabs, Code, Input and Output, instead of a cramped side-by-side view.
  • A big Run button in a bottom bar, within thumb reach and clear of the iPhone home indicator.
  • Pressing Run switches to Output; tapping an error's line number jumps back to Code with the line marked.
  • 16 px text in the editor so iOS doesn't zoom in when you tap to type.
  • input() prompts show a text field right after the question, and the keyboard's Enter key sends your answer.

Tips for typing Python on a phone

  • Let the editor indent for you: after a line ending in a colon, pressing Enter adds four spaces.
  • Start from the Examples menu and edit, rather than typing every line from scratch.
  • Turn the phone sideways for long lines.
  • Quotes: some phone keyboards insert curly “smart” quotes. If you see a SyntaxError on a print line, retype the quotes or turn off smart punctuation.

What doesn't work on mobile (or anywhere in a browser)

  • tkinter and turtle need a desktop window, so they aren't available in any browser compiler.
  • pip install isn't available; only packages built for Pyodide load (numpy, pandas, scipy and a few hundred others do).
  • Very old phones and browsers may not support WebAssembly well.

Common questions

Can I run Python on an iPhone without an app?
Yes. Open Mentr's online Python compiler in Safari. Python runs in the browser via WebAssembly; nothing is installed.
Does the Python compiler work on Android?
Yes, in Chrome and other modern Android browsers, with a phone layout of Code, Input and Output tabs.
How much data does it use?
About 6.3 MB on the first visit to download Python. After that it loads from your browser's cache.

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