Virtual environments are good practice when developing projects as they provide enhanced:
- isolation
- reproducability
- portability
- security
- and efficiency.
Installation:
To set up a virtual environment, you can follow these steps:
Step 1: Install choice virtual Environment or use native venv.
My pick of choice is generally venv, but there’s also pipenv and virutalenv. Virtualenv is apparently more flexible for complex dependency management, but I’ve yet to experience the limitations of venv.
- It’s also been the standard since it’s inclusion to the native Python library, as of
Python 3.3.
Step 2: Create root directory of the new project.
venvwill create a folder for the virtual environment files.
Step 3: Create a Virtual Environment In the terminal:
Navigate to the directory where you want to create your virtual environment. Next, create a virtual environment by running the following command:
For Windows:
python -m venv .venv
For macOS/Linux:
python3 -m venv .venv
- This will create a virtual environment named “env” in the current directory.
Step 4: Activate the Virtual Environment
Activate the virtual environment by running the appropriate command based on your operating system:
For Windows:
env\\Scripts\\activate
For macOS/Linux:
source .venv/bin/activate #macOS / linux
source .venv/scripts/activate # Windows- You will notice that the virtual environment’s name appears in the terminal prompt, indicating that the virtual environment is now active.
Step 5: Start Using the Virtual Environment:
Make sure you install any dependencies and modules you use in your project only when the virtual environment is active.
- All installations will then be self-contained in that environment, allowed tidy bundling of dependencies, independent of the global server/OS configuration.
Have it activated whenever you’re working on the project!
Step 6: Deactivate the Virtual Environment:
When you’re done working in the virtual environment, you can deactivate it by running the following command:
deactivate
This will return your terminal to the default system environment/shell.
Remember to always activate the virtual environment before working on your project to ensure that you are using the correct dependencies and configurations for that specific project.
Reproducing Environment On Other Systems:
This On the local environment where your app works with all it’s dependencies, run the following at the root directory:
pip freeze > requirements.txtThis creates a file listing all the modules installed, as well as their versions.
To reliably set up those dependencies in other environments, first clone or have your project files wherever you want it to be.
While in the directory with the requirements.txt file, install and activate the virtual environment, before running:
pip install -r requirements.txtThis will install all listed dependencies in the new environment.