diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index dbbbf8c7..51aed1a7 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)
 ##################################################
 # dependencies
 
+# python
+FIND_PACKAGE(Python3)
+
 #FIND_PACKAGE (EIGEN3 REQUIRED NO_MODULE)
 #if(APPLE)
 #    INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES (SYSTEM "$ENV{EIGEN3_INCLUDE_DIR}" )
diff --git a/archs/rusty.sh b/archs/rusty.sh
index 98dff864..9838122e 100644
--- a/archs/rusty.sh
+++ b/archs/rusty.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ export CXX=mpic++
 export CC=mpicc
 
 # python for CMAKE 
-export PYTHON_EXECUTABLE=python
+export PYTHON_EXECUTABLE=python3
 
 #prevent lockfiles
 export HDF5_USE_FILE_LOCKING=FALSE
diff --git a/docs/installation.rst b/docs/installation.rst
index e796a315..187a0d29 100644
--- a/docs/installation.rst
+++ b/docs/installation.rst
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ Next we can proceed to compiling. Out-of-source builds are recommended so inside
 
    mkdir build
    cd build
-   cmake ..
+   cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE=$(which python3)
 
 And make sure to check that `CMake` finishes successfully. After that, you are ready to compile the framework with