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Introduction to Virtual Environments (`venv`)

Python Programming: The 0 to Hero Bootcamp

Managing Dependencies: Virtual Environments

As soon as you start using third-party libraries (like requests, pandas, etc.), you face the problem of dependency management. Different projects often require different versions of the same library.

A Virtual Environment (venv) is a self-contained directory that holds a specific Python interpreter and its own set of installed packages, isolated from other projects and the system-wide Python installation.

Key Commands

1. Creating the Environment

Navigate to your project folder and run:

bash python3 -m venv my_project_env

(This creates a folder named my_project_env)

2. Activating the Environment

  • Mac/Linux: bash source my_project_env/bin/activate

  • Windows (Command Prompt): bash my_project_env\Scripts\activate.bat

  • Windows (PowerShell): bash my_project_env\Scripts\Activate.ps1

Once activated, your terminal prompt will show the environment name (e.g., (my_project_env) $).

3. Installing Packages

Use pip to install packages. They will only be installed in the active environment.

bash (my_project_env) $ pip install requests

4. Deactivating

bash (my_project_env) $ deactivate