What is the difference between venv pyvenv pyenv virtualenv virtualenvwrapper pipenv etc

Question

Python 3 3 includes in its standard library the new package venv  What does it do  and how does it differ from all the other packages that seem to match the regex  py   v virtual pip  env

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I would just avoid the use of virtualenv after Python3 3  and instead use the standard shipped library venv  To create a new virtual environment you would type    python3 -m venv  lt MYVENV gt     virtualenv tries to copy the Python binary into the virtual environment s bin directory  However it does not update library file links embedded into that binary  so if you build Python from source into a non-system directory with relative path names  the Python binary breaks  Since this is how you make a copy distributable Python  it is a big flaw  BTW to inspect embedded library file links on OS X  use otool  For example from within your virtual environment  type    otool -L bin python python       executable path    Python  compatibility version 3 4 0  current version 3 4 0       usr lib libSystem B dylib  compatibility version 1 0 0  current version 1238 0 0   Consequently I would avoid virtualenvwrapper and pipenv  pyvenv is deprecated  pyenv seems to be used often where virtualenv is used but I would stay away from it also since I think venv also does what pyenv is built for  venv creates virtual environments in the shell that are fresh and sandboxed  with user-installable libraries  and it s multi-python safe  Fresh because virtual environments only start with the standard libraries that ship with python  you have to install any other libraries all over again with pip install while the virtual environment is active  Sandboxed because none of these new library installs are visible outside the virtual environment  so you can delete the whole environment and start again without worrying about impacting your base python install  User-installable libraries because the virtual environment s target folder is created without sudo in some directory you already own  so you won t need sudo permissions to install libraries into it  Finally it is multi-python safe  since when virtual environments activate  the shell only sees the python version  3 4  3 5 etc   that was used to build that virtual environment  pyenv is similar to venv in that it lets you manage multiple python environments  However with pyenv you can t conveniently rollback library installs to some start state and you will likely need admin privileges at some point to update libraries  So I think it is also best to use venv  In the last couple of years I have found many problems in build systems  emacs packages  python standalone application builders  installers     that ultimately come down to issues with virtualenv  I think python will be a better platform when we eliminate this additional option and only use venv  EDIT  Tweet of the BDFL  I use venv  in the stdlib  and a bunch of shell aliases to quickly switch  mdash  Guido van Rossum   gvanrossum  October 22  2020

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Let s start with the problems these tools want to solve  My system package manager don t have the Python versions I wanted or I want to install multiple Python versions side by side  Python 3 9 0 and Python 3 9 1  Python 3 5 3  etc Then use pyenv  I want to install and run multiple applications with different  conflicting dependencies  Then use virtualenv or venv  These are almost completely interchangeable  the difference being that virtualenv supports older python versions and has a few more minor unique features  while venv is in the standard library  I m developing an  application  and need to manage my dependencies  and manage the dependency resolution of the dependencies of my project  Then use pipenv or poetry  I m developing a  library  or a  package  and want to specify the dependencies that my library users need to install Then use setuptools  I used virtualenv  but I don t like virtualenv folders being scattered around various project folders  I want a centralised management of the environments and some simple project management Then use virtualenvwrapper  Variant  pyenv-virtualenvwrapper if you also use pyenv   Not recommended  pyvenv  This is deprecated  use venv or virtualenv instead  Not to be confused with pipenv or pyenv

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Jan 2020 Update  Flimm has explained all the differences very well  Generally  we want to know the difference between all tools because we want to decide what s best for us  So  the next question would be  which one to use  I suggest you choose one of the two official ways to manage virtual environments   Python Packaging now recommends Pipenv Python org now recommends venv

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UPDATE 20200825  Added below  quot Conclusion quot  paragraph I ve went down the pipenv rabbit hole  it s a deep and dark hole indeed     and since the last answer is over 2 years ago  felt it was useful to update the discussion with the latest developments on the Python virtual envelopes topic I ve found  DISCLAIMER  This answer is NOT about continuing the raging debate about the merits of pipenv versus venv as envelope solutions- I make no endorsement of either  It s about PyPA endorsing conflicting standards and how future development of virtualenv promises to negate making an either or choice between them at all  I focused on these two tools precisely because they are the anointed ones by PyPA  venv As the OP notes  venv is a tool for virtualizing environments  NOT a third party solution  but native tool  PyPA endorses venv for creating VIRTUAL ENVELOPES   quot Changed in version 3 5  The use of venv is now recommended for creating virtual environments quot   pipenv pipenv- like venv - can be used to create virtual envelopes but additionally rolls-in package management and vulnerability checking functionality  Instead of using requirements txt  pipenv delivers package management via Pipfile   As PyPA endorses pipenv for PACKAGE MANAGEMENT  that would seem to imply pipfile is to supplant requirements txt  HOWEVER  pipenv uses virtualenv as its tool for creating virtual envelopes  NOT venv which is endorsed by PyPA as the go-to tool for creating virtual envelopes  Conflicting Standards  So if settling on a virtual envelope solution wasn t difficult enough  we now have PyPA endorsing two different tools which use different virtual envelope solutions  The raging Github debate on venv vs virtualenv which highlights this conflict can be found here  Conflict Resolution  The Github debate referenced in above link has steered virtualenv development in the direction of accommodating venv in future releases   prefer built-in venv  if the target python has venv we ll create the environment using that  and then perform subsequent operations on that to facilitate other guarantees we offer   Conclusion  So it looks like there will be some future convergence between the two rival virtual envelope solutions  but as of now pipenv- which uses virtualenv - varies materially from venv  Given the problems pipenv solves and the fact that PyPA has given its blessing  it appears to have a bright future  And if virtualenv delivers on its proposed development objectives  choosing a virtual envelope solution should no longer be a case of either pipenv OR venv  Update 20200825  An oft repeated criticism of Pipenv I saw when producing this analysis was that it was not actively maintained  Indeed  what s the point of using a solution whose future could be seen questionable due to lack of continuous development  After a dry spell of about 18 months  Pipenv is once again being actively developed  Indeed  large and material updates have since been released

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PyPI packages not in the standard library    virtualenv is a very popular tool that creates isolated Python environments for Python libraries  If you re not familiar with this tool  I highly recommend learning it  as it is a very useful tool  and I ll be making comparisons to it for the rest of this answer   It works by installing a bunch of files in a directory  eg  env    and then modifying the PATH environment variable to prefix it with a custom bin directory  eg  env bin    An exact copy of the python or python3 binary is placed in this directory  but Python is programmed to look for libraries relative to its path first  in the environment directory  It s not part of Python s standard library  but is officially blessed by the PyPA  Python Packaging Authority   Once activated  you can install packages in the virtual environment using pip  pyenv is used to isolate Python versions  For example  you may want to test your code against Python 2 7  3 6  3 7 and 3 8  so you ll need a way to switch between them  Once activated  it prefixes the PATH environment variable with    pyenv shims  where there are special files matching the Python commands  python  pip   These are not copies of the Python-shipped commands  they are special scripts that decide on the fly which version of Python to run based on the PYENV VERSION environment variable  or the  python-version file  or the    pyenv version file  pyenv also makes the process of downloading and installing multiple Python versions easier  using the command pyenv install  pyenv-virtualenv is a plugin for pyenv by the same author as pyenv  to allow you to use pyenv and virtualenv at the same time conveniently  However  if you re using Python 3 3 or later  pyenv-virtualenv will try to run python -m venv if it is available  instead of virtualenv  You can use virtualenv and pyenv together without pyenv-virtualenv  if you don t want the convenience features  virtualenvwrapper is a set of extensions to virtualenv  see docs   It gives you commands like mkvirtualenv  lssitepackages  and especially workon for switching between different virtualenv directories  This tool is especially useful if you want multiple virtualenv directories  pyenv-virtualenvwrapper is a plugin for pyenv by the same author as pyenv  to conveniently integrate virtualenvwrapper into pyenv  pipenv aims to combine Pipfile  pip and virtualenv into one command on the command-line  The virtualenv directory typically gets placed in    local share virtualenvs XXX  with XXX being a hash of the path of the project directory  This is different from virtualenv  where the directory is typically in the current working directory  pipenv is meant to be used when developing Python applications  as opposed to libraries   There are alternatives to pipenv  such as poetry  which I won t list here since this question is only about the packages that are similarly named    Standard library    pyvenv is a script shipped with Python 3 but deprecated in Python 3 6 as it had problems  not to mention the confusing name   In Python 3 6   the exact equivalent is python3 -m venv  venv is a package shipped with Python 3  which you can run using python3 -m venv  although for some reason some distros separate it out into a separate distro package  such as python3-venv on Ubuntu Debian   It serves the same purpose as virtualenv  but only has a subset of its features  see a comparison here   virtualenv continues to be more popular than venv  especially since the former supports both Python 2 and 3    Recommendation for beginners   This is my personal recommendation for beginners  start by learning virtualenv and pip  tools which work with both Python 2 and 3 and in a variety of situations  and pick up other tools once you start needing them

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pyenv - manages different python versions  all others - create virtual environment  which has isolated python version and installed  quot requirements quot     pipenv want combine all  in addition to previous it installs  quot requirements quot   into the active virtual environment or create its own if none is active  So maybe you will be happy with pipenv only  But I use  pyenv   pyenv-virtualenvwrapper    pipenv  pipenv for installing requirements only   In Debian   apt install libffi-dev  install pyenv based on https   www tecmint com pyenv-install-and-manage-multiple-python-versions-in-linux   but       but instead of pyenv-virtualenv install pyenv-virtualenvwrapper  which can be standalone library or pyenv plugin  here the 2nd option   pyenv install 3 9 0 git clone https   github com pyenv pyenv-virtualenvwrapper git   pyenv root  plugins pyenv-virtualenvwrapper into    bashrc add  export  VIRTUALENVWRAPPER PYTHON  quot  usr bin python3 quot  source    bashrc pyenv virtualenvwrapper   Then create virtual environments for your projects  workingdir must exist   pyenv local 3 9 0    to prevent  interpreter not found  in mkvirtualenv python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel mkvirtualenv  lt venvname gt  -p python3 9 -a  lt workingdir gt   and switch between projects  workon  lt venvname gt  python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel pipenv  Inside a project I have the file requirements txt  without fixing the versions inside  if some version limitation is not neccessary   You have 2 possible tools to install them into the current virtual environment  pip-tools or pipenv  Lets say you will use pipenv  pipenv install -r requirements txt  this will create Pipfile and Pipfile lock files  fixed versions are in the 2nd one  If you want reinstall somewhere exactly same versions then  Pipfile lock must be present   pipenv install  Remember that Pipfile lock is related to some Python version and need to be recreated if you use a different one  As you see I write requirements txt  This has some problems  You must remove a removed package from Pipfile too  So writing Pipfile directly is probably better  So you can see I use pipenv very poorly  Maybe if you will use it well  it can replace everything  EDIT 2021 01  I have changed my stack to  pyenv   pyenv-virtualenvwrapper   poetry  Ie  I use no apt or pip installation of virtualenv or virtualenvwrapper  and instead I install pyenv s plugin pyenv-virtualenvwrapper  This is easier way  Poetry is great for me  poetry add  lt package gt      install single package poetry remove  lt package gt  poetry install     if you remove poetry lock poetry will re-calculate versions

[python] What is the difference between venv, pyvenv, pyenv, virtualenv, virtualenvwrapper, pipenv, etc?

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