cd into the directory where you would like to create your project.

If you are working with Python 3.8 or later, you can create a virtual environment shell by doing the following: To see all venv options, enter: python -m venv -h Venv and virtualenv have similar features and command structure, but venv has fewer options. Replace pip with State Tool for installing and managing packages.Ĭreate a Virtual Environment Shell with Venv

ActiveState Platform – package management solution that automatically creates Python runtimes environments and installs them in virtual environments.

pipenv – effectively combines pip+venv into a single tool that lets you create virtual environments with whatever Python version you want, and then install and manage packages therein.

pyenv – Python version manager that lets you change the global Python version, install multiple local Python versions, set directory-specific or project-specific Python versions, and create and manage virtual environments.

virtualenv – a third party package introduced in Python 2, which is a more full-featured version of venv, but you’ll still need pip to manage packages.

You’ll still need to use pip to install and manage packages, though.

venv – built into the Python standard library since v3.3, venv provides support for creating and managing virtual environments.

Which one you should use depends on your individual project needs: Python has many different ways to create virtual environments, each with its own pros and cons. Ways to Create Virtual Python Shell Environments Virtual environments allow you to run multiple Python projects and/or multiple versions of Python on the same local system without worrying about dependency conflicts between installations.

Why Use a Python Virtual EnvironmentĪ Python virtual environment is a local installation (as opposed to global installation) that has its own directory system (including site-packages), Python interpreter, and shares the standard Python library. What is a Virtual Python Shell?Ī virtual Python shell is used to execute commands and compile Python code in a virtual environment on your local machine. In corporate environments located behind a firewall, you may require the use of an HTTP proxy server to redirect internal traffic to, or any other repository that hosts Python packages.

By default pip installs third party packages from the Python Package Index (PyPI).

Python venv