venv: Create Virtual Environments Easily in Python
Tags: python, programming
Published: 2023-12-10 15:25:22

Have you ever needed an **isolated environment** apart from your primary Python environment **to manage the different versions of dependencies** for your project?

That is where the **virtual environment** comes into play.

***A virtual environment is a tool used to manage the dependencies required by the different projects separately by creating isolated virtual environments for them.*** This is used by most Python developers often.

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to use [Python's `venv` module](https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html) to create and manage the [virtual environments](https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html#venv-def) for our project separately. Each environment created will be capable of managing different versions of the dependency and Python versions too.

In the last, we'll also see other options like `virtualenv` and `conda` to create virtual environments.

## What is a virtual environment?

Well, till now, you've got a pretty good idea of a virtual environment.

A virtual environment is a **self-contained directory tree** containing the specific Python version installed and some additional third-party applications.

## Why do we need a virtual environment?

Why do we use a virtual environment when we don't know why we need it?

Suppose you are working on two Python projects based on [web scraping](https://geekpython.in/web-scraping-in-python-using-beautifulsoup). Let's say `application_X` and `application_Y` where *application\_X* uses ***beautifulsoup4=4.11.1*** and *application\_Y* uses ***beautifulsoup4=4.10.0***. In this situation, the dependencies will conflict, and installing either version *4.11.1* or *4.10.0* will leave one of the applications unable to run.

For such situations, virtual environments can be very helpful in managing the different dependencies for both projects.

It is a **good practice to use virtual environments** for your project so that your project doesn't conflict with one another regarding dependencies and the Python version.

## How does a virtual environment work?

By default, the external packages we install using ***pip*** in our Python base environment rest inside a folder called ***site-packages/***

```PowerShell
.
└── Python/
    ├── include
    ├── Lib/
    │   └── site-packages/
    │       ├── asgiref-3.5.2.dist-info 
    │       ├── beautifulsoup4-4.11.1.dist-info
    │       ├── certifi-2022.6.15.dist-info
    │       ├── Django-4.0.6.dist-info
    │       ├── django
    │       ├── Flask-2.1.2.dist-info
    │       └── flask
    ├── libs
    ├── Scripts
    ├── tcl
    └── Tools
```

When we create a virtual environment using `venv`, it re-creates the file and folder structure of the standard Python installation on our OS.

Python also copies the folder structure or [symlinks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_link) into that folder, the Python executable with which we've created our virtual environment.

A symlink is a **symbolic link** that points to another file and folder in our computer or a connected file system. So basically, when we create our virtual environment, that **virtual environment points to the file and folder of the standard Python installation to create its own environment**.

The folder structure looks like this when we create our virtual environment.

```PowerShell
D:
│   pyvenv.cfg
│
├───Include
├───Lib
│   └───site-packages
│       │   distutils-precedence.pth
│       ├───pip
│       ├───pip-22.0.4.dist-info
│       ├───pkg_resources
│       ├───setuptools
│       ├───setuptools-58.1.0.dist-info
│       └───_distutils_hack                  
│
└───Scripts
        activate
        activate.bat
        Activate.ps1
        deactivate.bat
        pip.exe
        pip3.10.exe
        pip3.exe
        python.exe
        pythonw.exe
```

**To list the directory tree, follow the steps below:**

1. ***cd*** into the virtual environment directory in your terminal.
    

```PowerShell
PS> cd your/virtual/environment/dir
```

1. Then run the following command in your terminal
    

```PowerShell
PS> tree /F
```

The above command will generate a directory tree with all the files. However, the tree generated by this command will be very long.

## Setting up a virtual environment

Remember our two applications, ***application\_X***, and ***application\_Y***, both use different versions of Beautiful Soup ***v4.11.1*** and ***v4.10.0***, respectively. If we try to install ***v4.10.0*** for ***application\_Y*** and then try to install ***v4.11.1*** for ***application\_X*** globally then ***v4.10.0*** will be overwritten.

```PowerShell
PS> python -m pip install beautifulsoup4==4.10.0
PS> python -m pip list

Package            Version
------------------ -----------
beautifulsoup4     4.10.0
```

```PowerShell
PS> python -m pip install beautifulsoup4==4.11.1
PS> python -m pip list

Package            Version
------------------ -----------
beautifulsoup4     4.11.1
```

But this won't be a problem with the virtual environment if we create for both of the applications.

### Creating a virtual environment

To create a virtual environment, we'll use Python's `venv` module.

```PowerShell
PS> python -m venv my_venv
```

Like the above command, we can create two separate virtual environments for our *application\_X* and *application\_Y*.

### Creating multiple virtual environments at once

```PowerShell
PS> python -m venv application_X application_Y
```

The above command will create two separate virtual environments in the same directory. **We can also specify different paths for our virtual environments**.

```PowerShell
PS> python -m venv application_X your/full/path/to/directory/application_Y
```

For example, I am creating an application\_A in the root directory and another application in the sub-directory named `app_b_path`.

Then the command will be -

```PowerShell
PS> python -m venv application_A D:\SACHIN\Pycharm\Virtual_environment\app_b_path\application_B
```

Please look at the folder structure of the virtual environments we have created.



![Folder structure](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/62vipajfqicnif2r990s.png)

### Activating a virtual environment

Great, our application has its virtual environment, but to start using it first, we must activate it.

The simple command for activating any virtual environment is to execute a script that comes with the installation.

```PowerShell
PS> Scripts\activate

(application_A) PS>
```

**Note: Before executing the above command, make sure to change the directory to the virtual environment.**

Or we can run command &lt;***virtual\_environment\_directory/Scripts/activate***\&gt; from the root directory.

```PowerShell
PS> application_X\Scripts\activate

(application_X) PS>
```

### Installing packages into it

Now that we have created two separate virtual environments for our ***application\_X*** and ***application\_Y***, we can install the external dependencies we need for our project.

Activating ***application\_X*** and installing ***v4.11.1*** of `beautifulsoup4`

```PowerShell
PS> application_X\Scripts\activate

(application_X) PS> pip install beautifulsoup4==4.11.1

(application_X) PS> pip list

Package        Version
-------------- -----------
beautifulsoup4 4.11.1
pip            22.0.4
setuptools     58.1.0
soupsieve      2.3.2
```

Activating ***application\_Y*** and installing ***v4.10.0*** of `beautifulsoup4`

```PowerShell
PS> application_Y\Scripts\activate

(application_Y) PS> pip install beautifulsoup4==4.10.0

(application_Y) PS> pip list

Package        Version
-------------- -----------
beautifulsoup4 4.10.0
pip            22.0.4
setuptools     58.1.0
soupsieve      2.3.2
```

We used ***pip*** to install the dependency just like we do globally in our standard Python Installation. Since we created and activated the virtual environments, pip will install the dependency in an isolated location.

Now you can understand how we can manage different versions of dependencies and avoid system pollution or conflict between external packages.

### Deactivate the virtual environment

Once you are done with the virtual environment, you must deactivate it.

```PowerShell
(application_Y) PS> deactivate

PS>
```

After running the `deactivate` command, your command prompt will return to its normal state. It means that you've successfully exited your virtual environment, and if you continue using Python or `pip` in your command prompt, you'll directly interact with globally installed Python.

## Other popular options

Python's `venv` module is a great tool to work with virtual environments, and its main advantage is that it comes preinstalled with Python. But there are other popular options also available.

1. Virtualenv
    
2. Conda
    

### Virtualenv

It is a tool for creating isolated Python environments. Virtualenv allows some great features that a typical in-built `venv` module doesn't provide.

* **Speed** matters. It creates a virtual environment more quickly.
    
* Automatically discovers the installed Python version.
    
* Tools can be upgraded using `pip`
    

Installing the `virtualenv` package globally

```PowerShell
PS> pip install virtualenv
```

Creating a virtual environment using `virtualenv` and activating it

```PowerShell
PS> virtualenv my_virtualenv

PS> ls

Mode            LastWrite        Time         Length   Name
----            ----------       ---          ------   ----
d-----          8/4/2022         6:07 PM               my_virtualenv
```

```PowerShell
PS> my_virtualenv/Scripts/activate

(my_virtualenv) PS>
```

If the virtual environment doesn't activate, try changing your system's ***Execution Policy***.

For Windows PowerShell

```python
PS> Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope Process
```

This command will remove the restriction for the current process.

### Conda

Conda is an open-source **package** and **environment management system** that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It comes with [Anaconda Python Distribution](https://www.anaconda.com/products/distribution). It was created primarily for Python programs but later extended support for most programming languages.

We can also set `conda` in our system using the [Miniconda installer](https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html), which provides a minimal running requirement for `conda` on our system.

Conda easily creates, saves, loads, and switches between environments on our local computer.

After downloading Anaconda or Miniconda, follow the further steps.

Anaconda comes with its own PowerShell Prompt called ***Anaconda PowerShell Prompt*** and we are going to use it to create and activate virtual environments using ***conda***.

**Creating a virtual environment using** `conda`

```Shell
(base) PS> conda create -n virtualconda
```

> Note: If you use Windows PowerShell to create virtual environments using conda, you might encounter some errors. So try to add your Anaconda installation to the PATH.

**Activating our *virtualconda* environment**

```Shell
(base) PS> conda activate virtualconda

(virtualconda) PS>
```

**Installing packages**

We were using `pip` to install external packages but in this case, we have to use `conda`.

```Shell
(virtualconda) PS> conda install pandas
```

All the necessary packages will be installed along with **Python** (the same version as on your system) and `pandas`.

**Deactivating our *virtualconda* environment**

After finishing work with the virtual environment, deactivate it.

```Shell
(virtualconda) PS> conda deactivate

(base) PS>
```

The virtual environments are stored inside the ***envs*** folder inside the Anaconda installation path.

## Conclusion

We created many virtual environments throughout this tutorial using different packages and in-built modules.

We now understand the use of virtual environments for our projects, and how helpful they can be for managing the different projects with dependencies of different versions separately. It is good practice to have an isolated environment to avoid conflicts and system pollution.

We've built a thorough understanding of the virtual environments and now we can use them for our projects without a second thought.

---

🏆**Other articles you might be interested in if you liked this one**

✅[**Comparing the list reverse and reversed functions**](https://geekpython.in/reverse-vs-reversed-in-python).

✅[**8 different ways to reverse a Python list**](https://geekpython.in/different-ways-to-reverse-a-python-list).

✅[**NumPy argmax() and TensorFlow argmax() - Are they similar?**](https://geekpython.in/argmax-function-in-numpy-and-tensorflow).

✅[**Execute your code dynamically using the exec() in Python**](https://geekpython.in/exec-function-in-python).

✅[**Perform high-level file operations on files in Python**](https://geekpython.in/shutil-module-in-python).

✅[**Number your iterable data using the enumerate() in Python**](https://geekpython.in/python-enumerate-function-with-example-beginners-guide).

✅[**Understanding *args and* \*kwargs in function parameter in Python**](https://geekpython.in/understanding-args-and-kwargs-in-python-best-practices-and-guide).

---

**That's all for now**

**Keep Coding✌✌**