Using venv in Python – Python virtual environments

Using venv in Python

A virtual environment is an isolated workspace for your Python projects.
It lets you install and manage packages without affecting your system-wide Python installation — perfect for avoiding dependency conflicts.

1. Create a Virtual Environment

From your project folder, run:

python -m venv venv

Here:

• python is your Python interpreter
• -m venv tells Python to use the built-in virtual environment module
• venv is the folder name where the environment will be stored (you can call it anything)

2. Activate the Virtual Environment

Windows:

venv\Scripts\activate

macOS/Linux:

source venv/bin/activate

You’ll notice (venv) appears in your terminal prompt — meaning it’s active.

3. Install Packages Inside venv

Once activated, you can install packages just for this project:

pip install requests

These will be stored inside the venv folder, not globally.

4. Deactivate the Virtual Environment

To exit:

deactivate

5. Recreate an Environment from Requirements

If someone shares a project with a requirements.txt file:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # or venv\Scripts\activate on Windows
pip install -r requirements.txt

Tip: Always add venv/ to your .gitignore file so it’s not uploaded to version control.