Python Virtualenv management tips

I work with a lot of Python projects, and managing virtualenvs is extremely critical to my workflow.

A lot of people are still using virtualenv commands or python -m venv commands.

If you have never used virtualenv before I’d recommend reading this guide by @arionmiles

I would highly recommend you to start using a utility called virtualenvwrapper link. Some of it’s benefits are:

all virtualenv folders are stored inside ~/.virtualenv
easy activation of virtualenv - workon <venv name>
easy creation of virtualenv - mkvirtualenv <venv name>
easy deletion of virtualenv - rmvirtualenv <venv name>

Here <venv name> can be anything, but I follow the convention of using project root directory name.

Lazy Loading Virtualenvwrapper

If you source the virtualenv script, by default it will run everytime you create a new shell.

Make sure to instead lazy load it - instructions here

Introducing the `w` command

Using the above 3 commands is a huge gain in itself, but lets go a bit further.

I have written a custom function called w and added it to my ~/.zshrc (or you can add it to ~/.bashrc)

It does 2 things. w will find a virtualenv named with current directory:

If a venv exists it will activate it
other wise it will prompt you if you want to create one instead

workon_cache=()
function w() {
    if [ ${#workon_cache[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
        # populate cache
        workon_cache=(`workon`)
    fi
    curr_pwd=`pwd`
    curr_dir=`basename $curr_pwd`
    if [[ " ${workon_cache[@]} " =~ " ${curr_dir} " ]]; then
        # workon_cache contains env matching curr_dir
        workon $curr_dir
    else
        echo "Sorry. No virtualenv found."
        echo "Do you want to create a virtualenv named: '$curr_dir'? [y/N]"
        read choice
        if [[ $choice == [yY]* ]]; then
            mkvirtualenv $curr_dir
            workon_cache+=($curr_dir)
        fi
    fi
}

Using w, my workflow for activating virtualenvs is as simple as cding into my root project directory and typing w.

ox in /www/oxal.org on master ● ● λ w
(oxal.org) ox in /www/oxal.org on master ● ● λ
# as you can see the virtualenv `oxal.org` got activated
# automatically from the project dir name

I use the same command w to create virtualenvs too.

ox in /mozilla/foundation.mozilla.org on 3763-fix-rss-feed-format λ w
Sorry. No virtualenv found.
Do you want to create a virtualenv named: 'foundation.mozilla.org'? [y/N]
y
Using base prefix '/usr'
New python executable in /home/ox/.virtualenvs/foundation.mozilla.org/bin/python3
Also creating executable in /home/ox/.virtualenvs/foundation.mozilla.org/bin/python
Installing setuptools, pip, wheel...
done.
virtualenvwrapper.user_scripts creating /home/ox/.virtualenvs/foundation.mozilla.org/bin/predeactivate
virtualenvwrapper.user_scripts creating /home/ox/.virtualenvs/foundation.mozilla.org/bin/postdeactivate
virtualenvwrapper.user_scripts creating /home/ox/.virtualenvs/foundation.mozilla.org/bin/preactivate
virtualenvwrapper.user_scripts creating /home/ox/.virtualenvs/foundation.mozilla.org/bin/postactivate
virtualenvwrapper.user_scripts creating /home/ox/.virtualenvs/foundation.mozilla.org/bin/get_env_details
(foundation.mozilla.org) ox in /mozilla/foundation.mozilla.org on 3763-fix-rss-feed-format λ

This has made managing virtualenv a breeze.

There are some plugins which auto-activate a venv when you cd into a project directory (at a bit of performance cost), but as the Zen of Python says

Explicit is better than Implicit

Lazy Loading Virtualenvwrapper

Introducing the w command

Introducing the `w` command