Python Virtual Environment¶
About Python Virtual Environment - venv¶
venv is a tool to create isolated Python environments. Since Python 3.3, a subset of it has been integrated into the standard library under the venv module.
The venv module provides support for creating lightweight “virtual environments” with their own site directories, optionally isolated from system site directories. Each virtual environment has its own Python binary (which matches the version of the binary that was used to create this environment) and can have its own independent set of installed Python packages in its site directories.
Install venv¶
In order to install venv, we need to install the following packages:
sudo apt install python3-venv
Initialization of a Virtual Environment¶
Go to the root destination of your project and run the following command:
python3 -m venv .venv
This will create a virtual environment in the current directory. The virtual environment folder will be named .venv.
Activation of a Virtual Environment¶
In order to activate a virtual environment, from the root directory of your project, run the following command:
source .venv/bin/activate
Check if the virtual environment is activated by running the following command:
which python
The output should be with ../.venv/bin/python as the output.
Bonus:
You can add an alias to your bash profile to make it easier to activate the virtual environment:
alias activate='source .venv/bin/activate'
Deactivation of a Virtual Environment¶
When you are done with the virtual environment, you can deactivate it by running the following command:
deactivate