:mod:`!venv` --- Creation of virtual environments
=================================================
.. module:: venv
:synopsis: Creation of virtual environments.
.. moduleauthor:: Vinay Sajip <[email protected]>
.. sectionauthor:: Vinay Sajip <[email protected]>
.. versionadded:: 3.3
**Source code:** :source:`Lib/venv/`
.. index:: pair: Environments; virtual
--------------
.. _venv-def:
.. _venv-intro:
The :mod:`!venv` module supports creating lightweight "virtual environments",
each with their own independent set of Python packages installed in
their :mod:`site` directories.
A virtual environment is created on top of an existing
Python installation, known as the virtual environment's "base" Python, and may
optionally be isolated from the packages in the base environment,
so only those explicitly installed in the virtual environment are available.
See :ref:`sys-path-init-virtual-environments` and :mod:`site`'s
:ref:`virtual environments documentation <site-virtual-environments-configuration>`
for more information.
When used from within a virtual environment, common installation tools such as
:pypi:`pip` will install Python packages into a virtual environment
without needing to be told to do so explicitly.
A virtual environment is (amongst other things):
* Used to contain a specific Python interpreter and software libraries and
binaries which are needed to support a project (library or application). These
are by default isolated from software in other virtual environments and Python
interpreters and libraries installed in the operating system.
* Contained in a directory, conventionally named ``.venv`` or ``venv`` in
the project directory, or under a container directory for lots of virtual
environments, such as ``~/.virtualenvs``.
* Not checked into source control systems such as Git.
* Considered as disposable -- it should be simple to delete and recreate it from
scratch. You don't place any project code in the environment.
* Not considered as movable or copyable -- you just recreate the same
environment in the target location.
See :pep:`405` for more background on Python virtual environments.
.. seealso::
`Python Packaging User Guide: Creating and using virtual environments
<https://packaging.python.org/guides/installing-using-pip-and-virtual-environments/#create-and-use-virtual-environments>`__
.. include:: ../includes/wasm-mobile-notavail.rst
Creating virtual environments
-----------------------------
:ref:`Virtual environments <venv-def>` are created by executing the ``venv``
module:
.. code-block:: shell
python -m venv /path/to/new/virtual/environment
This creates the target directory (including parent directories as needed)
and places a :file:`pyvenv.cfg` file in it with a ``home`` key
pointing to the Python installation from which the command was run.
It also creates a :file:`bin` (or :file:`Scripts` on Windows) subdirectory
containing a copy or symlink of the Python executable
(as appropriate for the platform or arguments used at environment creation time).
It also creates a :file:`lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages` subdirectory
(on Windows, this is :file:`Lib\site-packages`).
If an existing directory is specified, it will be re-used.
.. versionchanged:: 3.5
The use of ``venv`` is now recommended for creating virtual environments.
.. deprecated-removed:: 3.6 3.8
:program:`pyvenv` was the recommended tool for creating virtual environments
for Python 3.3 and 3.4, and replaced in 3.5 by executing ``venv`` directly.
.. highlight:: none
On Windows, invoke the ``venv`` command as follows:
.. code-block:: ps1con
PS> python -m venv C:\path\to\new\virtual\environment
The command, if run with ``-h``, will show the available options::
usage: venv [-h] [--system-site-packages] [--symlinks | --copies] [--clear]
[--upgrade] [--without-pip] [--prompt PROMPT] [--upgrade-deps]
[--without-scm-ignore-files]
ENV_DIR [ENV_DIR ...]
Creates virtual Python environments in one or more target directories.
positional arguments:
ENV_DIR A directory to create the environment in.
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--system-site-packages
Give the virtual environment access to the system
site-packages dir.
--symlinks Try to use symlinks rather than copies, when
symlinks are not the default for the platform.
--copies Try to use copies rather than symlinks, even when
symlinks are the default for the platform.
--clear Delete the contents of the environment directory
if it already exists, before environment creation.
--upgrade Upgrade the environment directory to use this
version of Python, assuming Python has been
upgraded in-place.
--without-pip Skips installing or upgrading pip in the virtual
environment (pip is bootstrapped by default)
--prompt PROMPT Provides an alternative prompt prefix for this
environment.
--upgrade-deps Upgrade core dependencies (pip) to the latest
version in PyPI
--without-scm-ignore-files
Skips adding SCM ignore files to the environment
directory (Git is supported by default).
Once an environment has been created, you may wish to activate it, e.g. by
sourcing an activate script in its bin directory.
.. versionchanged:: 3.4
Installs pip by default, added the ``--without-pip`` and ``--copies``
options.
.. versionchanged:: 3.4
In earlier versions, if the target directory already existed, an error was
raised, unless the ``--clear`` or ``--upgrade`` option was provided.
.. versionchanged:: 3.9
Add ``--upgrade-deps`` option to upgrade pip + setuptools to the latest on PyPI.
.. versionchanged:: 3.12
``setuptools`` is no longer a core venv dependency.
.. versionchanged:: 3.13
Added the ``--without-scm-ignore-files`` option.
.. versionchanged:: 3.13
``venv`` now creates a :file:`.gitignore` file for Git by default.
.. note::
While symlinks are supported on Windows, they are not recommended. Of
particular note is that double-clicking ``python.exe`` in File Explorer
will resolve the symlink eagerly and ignore the virtual environment.
.. note::
On Microsoft Windows, it may be required to enable the ``Activate.ps1``
script by setting the execution policy for the user. You can do this by
issuing the following PowerShell command:
.. code-block:: powershell
PS C:\> Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
See `About Execution Policies
<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170>`_
for more information.
The created :file:`pyvenv.cfg` file also includes the
``include-system-site-packages`` key, set to ``true`` if ``venv`` is
run with the ``--system-site-packages`` option, ``false`` otherwise.
Unless the ``--without-pip`` option is given, :mod:`ensurepip` will be
invoked to bootstrap ``pip`` into the virtual environment.
Multiple paths can be given to ``venv``, in which case an identical virtual
environment will be created, according to the given options, at each provided
path.
.. _venv-explanation:
How venvs work
--------------
When a Python interpreter is running from a virtual environment,
:data:`sys.prefix` and :data:`sys.exec_prefix`
point to the directories of the virtual environment,
whereas :data:`sys.base_prefix` and :data:`sys.base_exec_prefix`
point to those of the base Python used to create the environment.
It is sufficient to check
``sys.prefix != sys.base_prefix`` to determine if the current interpreter is
running from a virtual environment.
A virtual environment may be "activated" using a script in its binary directory
(``bin`` on POSIX; ``Scripts`` on Windows).
This will prepend that directory to your :envvar:`PATH`, so that running
:program:`python` will invoke the environment's Python interpreter
and you can run installed scripts without having to use their full path.
The invocation of the activation script is platform-specific
(:samp:`{<venv>}` must be replaced by the path to the directory
containing the virtual environment):
+-------------+------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Platform | Shell | Command to activate virtual environment |
+=============+============+==================================================+
| POSIX | bash/zsh | :samp:`$ source {<venv>}/bin/activate` |
| +------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| | fish | :samp:`$ source {<venv>}/bin/activate.fish` |
| +------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| | csh/tcsh | :samp:`$ source {<venv>}/bin/activate.csh` |
| +------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| | pwsh | :samp:`$ {<venv>}/bin/Activate.ps1` |
+-------------+------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Windows | cmd.exe | :samp:`C:\\> {<venv>}\\Scripts\\activate.bat` |
| +------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| | PowerShell | :samp:`PS C:\\> {<venv>}\\Scripts\\Activate.ps1` |
+-------------+------------+--------------------------------------------------+
.. versionadded:: 3.4
:program:`fish` and :program:`csh` activation scripts.
.. versionadded:: 3.8
PowerShell activation scripts installed under POSIX for PowerShell Core
support.
You don't specifically *need* to activate a virtual environment,
as you can just specify the full path to that environment's
Python interpreter when invoking Python.
Furthermore, all scripts installed in the environment
should be runnable without activating it.
In order to achieve this, scripts installed into virtual environments have
a "shebang" line which points to the environment's Python interpreter,
:samp:`#!/{<path-to-venv>}/bin/python`.
This means that the script will run with that interpreter regardless of the
value of :envvar:`PATH`. On Windows, "shebang" line processing is supported if
you have the :ref:`launcher` installed. Thus, double-clicking an installed
script in a Windows Explorer window should run it with the correct interpreter
without the environment needing to be activated or on the :envvar:`PATH`.
When a virtual environment has been activated, the :envvar:`!VIRTUAL_ENV`
environment variable is set to the path of the environment.
Since explicitly activating a virtual environment is not required to use it,
:envvar:`!VIRTUAL_ENV` cannot be relied upon to determine
whether a virtual environment is being used.
.. warning:: Because scripts installed in environments should not expect the
environment to be activated, their shebang lines contain the absolute paths
to their environment's interpreters. Because of this, environments are
inherently non-portable, in the general case. You should always have a
simple means of recreating an environment (for example, if you have a
requirements file ``requirements.txt``, you can invoke ``pip install -r
requirements.txt`` using the environment's ``pip`` to install all of the
packages needed by the environment). If for any reason you need to move the
environment to a new location, you should recreate it at the desired
location and delete the one at the old location. If you move an environment
because you moved a parent directory of it, you should recreate the
environment in its new location. Otherwise, software installed into the
environment may not work as expected.
You can deactivate a virtual environment by typing ``deactivate`` in your shell.
The exact mechanism is platform-specific and is an internal implementation
detail (typically, a script or shell function will be used).
.. _venv-api:
API
---
.. highlight:: python
The high-level method described above makes use of a simple API which provides
mechanisms for third-party virtual environment creators to customize environment
creation according to their needs, the :class:`EnvBuilder` class.
.. class:: EnvBuilder(system_site_packages=False, clear=False, \
symlinks=False, upgrade=False, with_pip=False, \
prompt=None, upgrade_deps=False, \
*, scm_ignore_files=frozenset())
The :class:`EnvBuilder` class accepts the following keyword arguments on
instantiation:
* *system_site_packages* -- a boolean value indicating that the system Python
site-packages should be available to the environment (defaults to ``False``).
* *clear* -- a boolean value which, if true, will delete the contents of
any existing target directory, before creating the environment.
* *symlinks* -- a boolean value indicating whether to attempt to symlink the
Python binary rather than copying.
* *upgrade* -- a boolean value which, if true, will upgrade an existing
environment with the running Python - for use when that Python has been
upgraded in-place (defaults to ``False``).
* *with_pip* -- a boolean value which, if true, ensures pip is
installed in the virtual environment. This uses :mod:`ensurepip` with
the ``--default-pip`` option.
* *prompt* -- a string to be used after virtual environment is activated
(defaults to ``None`` which means directory name of the environment would
be used). If the special string ``"."`` is provided, the basename of the
current directory is used as the prompt.
* *upgrade_deps* -- Update the base venv modules to the latest on PyPI
* *scm_ignore_files* -- Create ignore files based for the specified source
control managers (SCM) in the iterable. Support is defined by having a
method named ``create_{scm}_ignore_file``. The only value supported by
default is ``"git"`` via :meth:`create_git_ignore_file`.
.. versionchanged:: 3.4
Added the ``with_pip`` parameter
.. versionchanged:: 3.6
Added the ``prompt`` parameter
.. versionchanged:: 3.9
Added the ``upgrade_deps`` parameter
.. versionchanged:: 3.13
Added the ``scm_ignore_files`` parameter
:class:`EnvBuilder` may be used as a base class.
.. method:: create(env_dir)
Create a virtual environment by specifying the target directory
(absolute or relative to the current directory) which is to contain the
virtual environment. The ``create`` method will either create the
environment in the specified directory, or raise an appropriate
exception.
The ``create`` method of the :class:`EnvBuilder` class illustrates the
hooks available for subclass customization::
def create(self, env_dir):
"""
Create a virtualized Python environment in a directory.
env_dir is the target directory to create an environment in.
"""
env_dir = os.path.abspath(env_dir)
context = self.ensure_directories(env_dir)
self.create_configuration(context)
self.setup_python(context)
self.setup_scripts(context)
self.post_setup(context)
Each of the methods :meth:`ensure_directories`,
:meth:`create_configuration`, :meth:`setup_python`,
:meth:`setup_scripts` and :meth:`post_setup` can be overridden.
.. method:: ensure_directories(env_dir)
Creates the environment directory and all necessary subdirectories that
don't already exist, and returns a context object. This context object
is just a holder for attributes (such as paths) for use by the other
methods. If the :class:`EnvBuilder` is created with the arg
``clear=True``, contents of the environment directory will be cleared
and then all necessary subdirectories will be recreated.
The returned context object is a :class:`types.SimpleNamespace` with the
following attributes:
* ``env_dir`` - The location of the virtual environment. Used for
``__VENV_DIR__`` in activation scripts (see :meth:`install_scripts`).
* ``env_name`` - The name of the virtual environment. Used for
``__VENV_NAME__`` in activation scripts (see :meth:`install_scripts`).
* ``prompt`` - The prompt to be used by the activation scripts. Used for
``__VENV_PROMPT__`` in activation scripts (see :meth:`install_scripts`).
* ``executable`` - The underlying Python executable used by the virtual
environment. This takes into account the case where a virtual environment
is created from another virtual environment.
* ``inc_path`` - The include path for the virtual environment.
* ``lib_path`` - The purelib path for the virtual environment.
* ``bin_path`` - The script path for the virtual environment.
* ``bin_name`` - The name of the script path relative to the virtual
environment location. Used for ``__VENV_BIN_NAME__`` in activation
scripts (see :meth:`install_scripts`).
* ``env_exe`` - The name of the Python interpreter in the virtual
environment. Used for ``__VENV_PYTHON__`` in activation scripts
(see :meth:`install_scripts`).
* ``env_exec_cmd`` - The name of the Python interpreter, taking into
account filesystem redirections. This can be used to run Python in
the virtual environment.
.. versionchanged:: 3.11
The *venv*
:ref:`sysconfig installation scheme <installation_paths>`
is used to construct the paths of the created directories.
.. versionchanged:: 3.12
The attribute ``lib_path`` was added to the context, and the context
object was documented.
.. method:: create_configuration(context)
Creates the ``pyvenv.cfg`` configuration file in the environment.
.. method:: setup_python(context)
Creates a copy or symlink to the Python executable in the environment.
On POSIX systems, if a specific executable ``python3.x`` was used,
symlinks to ``python`` and ``python3`` will be created pointing to that
executable, unless files with those names already exist.
.. method:: setup_scripts(context)
Installs activation scripts appropriate to the platform into the virtual
environment.
.. method:: upgrade_dependencies(context)
Upgrades the core venv dependency packages (currently :pypi:`pip`)
in the environment. This is done by shelling out to the
``pip`` executable in the environment.
.. versionadded:: 3.9
.. versionchanged:: 3.12
:pypi:`setuptools` is no longer a core venv dependency.
.. method:: post_setup(context)
A placeholder method which can be overridden in third party
implementations to pre-install packages in the virtual environment or
perform other post-creation steps.
.. method:: install_scripts(context, path)
This method can be
called from :meth:`setup_scripts` or :meth:`post_setup` in subclasses to
assist in installing custom scripts into the virtual environment.
*path* is the path to a directory that should contain subdirectories
``common``, ``posix``, ``nt``; each containing scripts destined for the
``bin`` directory in the environment. The contents of ``common`` and the
directory corresponding to :data:`os.name` are copied after some text
replacement of placeholders:
* ``__VENV_DIR__`` is replaced with the absolute path of the environment
directory.
* ``__VENV_NAME__`` is replaced with the environment name (final path
segment of environment directory).
* ``__VENV_PROMPT__`` is replaced with the prompt (the environment
name surrounded by parentheses and with a following space)
* ``__VENV_BIN_NAME__`` is replaced with the name of the bin directory
(either ``bin`` or ``Scripts``).
* ``__VENV_PYTHON__`` is replaced with the absolute path of the
environment's executable.
The directories are allowed to exist (for when an existing environment
is being upgraded).
.. method:: create_git_ignore_file(context)
Creates a ``.gitignore`` file within the virtual environment that causes
the entire directory to be ignored by the Git source control manager.
.. versionadded:: 3.13
.. versionchanged:: 3.7.2
Windows now uses redirector scripts for ``python[w].exe`` instead of
copying the actual binaries. In 3.7.2 only :meth:`setup_python` does
nothing unless running from a build in the source tree.
.. versionchanged:: 3.7.3
Windows copies the redirector scripts as part of :meth:`setup_python`
instead of :meth:`setup_scripts`. This was not the case in 3.7.2.
When using symlinks, the original executables will be linked.
There is also a module-level convenience function:
.. function:: create(env_dir, system_site_packages=False, clear=False, \
symlinks=False, with_pip=False, prompt=None, \
upgrade_deps=False, *, scm_ignore_files=frozenset())
Create an :class:`EnvBuilder` with the given keyword arguments, and call its
:meth:`~EnvBuilder.create` method with the *env_dir* argument.
.. versionadded:: 3.3
.. versionchanged:: 3.4
Added the *with_pip* parameter
.. versionchanged:: 3.6
Added the *prompt* parameter
.. versionchanged:: 3.9
Added the *upgrade_deps* parameter
.. versionchanged:: 3.13
Added the *scm_ignore_files* parameter
An example of extending ``EnvBuilder``
--------------------------------------
The following script shows how to extend :class:`EnvBuilder` by implementing a
subclass which installs setuptools and pip into a created virtual environment::
import os
import os.path
from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
import sys
from threading import Thread
from urllib.parse import urlparse
from urllib.request import urlretrieve
import venv
class ExtendedEnvBuilder(venv.EnvBuilder):
"""
This builder installs setuptools and pip so that you can pip or
easy_install other packages into the created virtual environment.
:param nodist: If true, setuptools and pip are not installed into the
created virtual environment.
:param nopip: If true, pip is not installed into the created
virtual environment.
:param progress: If setuptools or pip are installed, the progress of the
installation can be monitored by passing a progress
callable. If specified, it is called with two
arguments: a string indicating some progress, and a
context indicating where the string is coming from.
The context argument can have one of three values:
'main', indicating that it is called from virtualize()
itself, and 'stdout' and 'stderr', which are obtained
by reading lines from the output streams of a subprocess
which is used to install the app.
If a callable is not specified, default progress
information is output to sys.stderr.
"""
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
self.nodist = kwargs.pop('nodist', False)
self.nopip = kwargs.pop('nopip', False)
self.progress = kwargs.pop('progress', None)
self.verbose = kwargs.pop('verbose', False)
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
def post_setup(self, context):
"""
Set up any packages which need to be pre-installed into the
virtual environment being created.
:param context: The information for the virtual environment
creation request being processed.
"""
os.environ['VIRTUAL_ENV'] = context.env_dir
if not self.nodist:
self.install_setuptools(context)
# Can't install pip without setuptools
if not self.nopip and not self.nodist:
self.install_pip(context)
def reader(self, stream, context):
"""
Read lines from a subprocess' output stream and either pass to a progress
callable (if specified) or write progress information to sys.stderr.
"""
progress = self.progress
while True:
s = stream.readline()
if not s:
break
if progress is not None:
progress(s, context)
else:
if not self.verbose:
sys.stderr.write('.')
else:
sys.stderr.write(s.decode('utf-8'))
sys.stderr.flush()
stream.close()
def install_script(self, context, name, url):
_, _, path, _, _, _ = urlparse(url)
fn = os.path.split(path)[-1]
binpath = context.bin_path
distpath = os.path.join(binpath, fn)
# Download script into the virtual environment's binaries folder
urlretrieve(url, distpath)
progress = self.progress
if self.verbose:
term = '\n'
else:
term = ''
if progress is not None:
progress('Installing %s ...%s' % (name, term), 'main')
else:
sys.stderr.write('Installing %s ...%s' % (name, term))
sys.stderr.flush()
# Install in the virtual environment
args = [context.env_exe, fn]
p = Popen(args, stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE, cwd=binpath)
t1 = Thread(target=self.reader, args=(p.stdout, 'stdout'))
t1.start()
t2 = Thread(target=self.reader, args=(p.stderr, 'stderr'))
t2.start()
p.wait()
t1.join()
t2.join()
if progress is not None:
progress('done.', 'main')
else:
sys.stderr.write('done.\n')
# Clean up - no longer needed
os.unlink(distpath)
def install_setuptools(self, context):
"""
Install setuptools in the virtual environment.
:param context: The information for the virtual environment
creation request being processed.
"""
url = "https://bootstrap.pypa.io/ez_setup.py"
self.install_script(context, 'setuptools', url)
# clear up the setuptools archive which gets downloaded
pred = lambda o: o.startswith('setuptools-') and o.endswith('.tar.gz')
files = filter(pred, os.listdir(context.bin_path))
for f in files:
f = os.path.join(context.bin_path, f)
os.unlink(f)
def install_pip(self, context):
"""
Install pip in the virtual environment.
:param context: The information for the virtual environment
creation request being processed.
"""
url = 'https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py'
self.install_script(context, 'pip', url)
def main(args=None):
import argparse
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(prog=__name__,
description='Creates virtual Python '
'environments in one or '
'more target '
'directories.')
parser.add_argument('dirs', metavar='ENV_DIR', nargs='+',
help='A directory in which to create the '
'virtual environment.')
parser.add_argument('--no-setuptools', default=False,
action='store_true', dest='nodist',
help="Don't install setuptools or pip in the "
"virtual environment.")
parser.add_argument('--no-pip', default=False,
action='store_true', dest='nopip',
help="Don't install pip in the virtual "
"environment.")
parser.add_argument('--system-site-packages', default=False,
action='store_true', dest='system_site',
help='Give the virtual environment access to the '
'system site-packages dir.')
if os.name == 'nt':
use_symlinks = False
else:
use_symlinks = True
parser.add_argument('--symlinks', default=use_symlinks,
action='store_true', dest='symlinks',
help='Try to use symlinks rather than copies, '
'when symlinks are not the default for '
'the platform.')
parser.add_argument('--clear', default=False, action='store_true',
dest='clear', help='Delete the contents of the '
'virtual environment '
'directory if it already '
'exists, before virtual '
'environment creation.')
parser.add_argument('--upgrade', default=False, action='store_true',
dest='upgrade', help='Upgrade the virtual '
'environment directory to '
'use this version of '
'Python, assuming Python '
'has been upgraded '
'in-place.')
parser.add_argument('--verbose', default=False, action='store_true',
dest='verbose', help='Display the output '
'from the scripts which '
'install setuptools and pip.')
options = parser.parse_args(args)
if options.upgrade and options.clear:
raise ValueError('you cannot supply --upgrade and --clear together.')
builder = ExtendedEnvBuilder(system_site_packages=options.system_site,
clear=options.clear,
symlinks=options.symlinks,
upgrade=options.upgrade,
nodist=options.nodist,
nopip=options.nopip,
verbose=options.verbose)
for d in options.dirs:
builder.create(d)
if __name__ == '__main__':
rc = 1
try:
main()
rc = 0
except Exception as e:
print('Error: %s' % e, file=sys.stderr)
sys.exit(rc)
This script is also available for download `online
<https://gist.github.com/vsajip/4673395>`_.
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