How to connect Python to Oracle database?

Data Science

Oracle is a popular DBMS and this post walks you through how to set up the connectivity between it and Python.

Step 1 - Find out the bit version of your Python

Type “python” in the cmd window and it shows whether your Python is 32 or 64 bit. 

Find out bit version of your Python

If you use Anaconda, type “conda info” to find out its bit version as well. 

Find out bit version of your Anaconda

Step 2 - Download and unzip Oracle Instant Client

After we find out the bit version of Python, we need to download the corresponding Oracle Instant Client package from Oracle’s website. Since I have Windows OS and 64-bit Python installed, I will download the package for Microsoft Windows (x64).

Find the package compatible with your system
Download the Basic Package

Extract the downloaded folder to “C:\Oracle” and get the folder path after extraction.

Extract Oracle Instant Client package
Get the folder path

Step 3 - Add path to the system environment variable

Access the environment variable and add the above folder path to the system path as shown in the screenshots below. You might need to reboot the computer after this step if you get an error when testing the Python script in Step 5. 

Click "Environment Variables..."
Select "Path" and click "Edit..."
Click "New" and paste the path in the new slot

Step 4 - Install cx_Oracle Python library

We next install the cx_Oracle library in Python by typing “python -m pip install cx_Oracle --upgrade” in the command window. If you'd like to learn more about this library, see its website.

Step 5 - Test the Python script

If everything is set up correctly, when you run the code below, it shouldn’t show any error. This means that now you are ready to access your Oracle database via Python.

Python test script

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