Python Virtual Environment

Comprehensive Guide on python3 -m venv .venv

This guide covers all aspects of using Python's venv module, including installation, activation, deactivation, renaming the virtual environment, installing packages, and managing dependencies using requirements.txt.

Full Workflow Example

Here’s how the entire process might look:

# 1. Create a virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv

# 2. activate the environment
source .venv/bin/activate  

# 3. Upgrade pip and build tools
pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel

# 4. Install core development tools
pip install --upgrade notebook ipython ipykernel pip-tools jupytext

# 5. Install core data science libraries
pip install --upgrade numpy pandas matplotlib seaborn scikit-learn scipy plotly

# 6. Install additional useful libraries
pip install --upgrade requests python-dotenv tqdm rich

# 8. Generate requirements.txt for reproducibility
pip freeze > requirements.txt

Key Points

• Use .venv as a convention for the environment folder.
• Always activate the virtual environment before installing packages.
• Use requirements.txt to manage dependencies for portability.
• Deactivate the environment when not in use.

This ensures your projects are well-isolated and maintainable!