This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Mahdi Ahmadi
1. What is a Virtual Environment in Python?
When developing multiple projects with Python, each project may require different verzsions of libraries. This is where Virtual Environment (Virtualenv) comes to the rescue!
A virtual environment is an isolated space for installing libraries and packages for a specific project without affecting your main system.
2. Why Should You Use Virtualenv?
Avoid version conflicts: If different projects require different versions of the same library, conflicts may arise without a virtual environment.
Project isolation: Each project has its own set of dependencies, ensuring stability.
Portability: You can easily recreate the project environment on another system using a requirements.txt file.
Increased security: Installing packages in an isolated environment prevents unintended changes to system files.
3. Installing and Using Virtualenv
- Installing Virtualenv on Windows, Linux, and macOS
If Virtualenv is not already installed, you can install it using the following command:
pip install virtualenv
Check installation:
virtualenv --version
- Creating a Virtual Environment
To create a virtual environment in your project directory, run:
virtualenv venv
venv is the name of the folder where the virtual environment will be created. You can use any name you prefer.
- Activating the Virtual Environment
The activation process depends on your operating system:
On Windows (CMD or PowerShell):
venv\Scripts\activate
Or for PowerShell:
venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
On Linux and macOS:
source venv/bin/activate
Once activated, you will see the virtual environment name in the terminal prompt:
(venv) user@computer:~$
- Installing Packages in the Virtual Environment
After activation, you can install project dependencies using:
pip install django
- Deactivating the Virtual Environment
To deactivate the virtual environment, simply run:
deactivate
4. Saving and Recreating the Virtual Environment with requirements.txt
To save the list of installed packages in the virtual environment, use:
pip freeze > requirements.txt
To recreate the same environment on another system:
pip install -r requirements.txt
5. Conclusion
Virtualenv helps you run Python projects in an isolated and conflict-free manner.
You can install it with pip install virtualenv.
Create and activate a virtual environment with venv.
Use requirements.txt to store and restore dependencies.
Thanks for reading❤️
I hope this guide helps you understand and use virtual environments effectively. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Mahdi Ahmadi
Mahdi Ahmadi | Sciencx (2025-02-17T02:02:26+00:00) Complete Guide to Virtual Environments (Virtualenv) in Python. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/02/17/complete-guide-to-virtual-environments-virtualenv-in-python/
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