How to setup virtual environment

Hi! This is a document file for creating a virtual environment in Python. Below are the steps and instructions.

1. Run python -m venv <name_of_environment> in a terminal.

The command above creates a virtual environment. -m indicates that we are running a module. Meanwhile, venv is the module that creates virtual environment in Python. You may choose any name for your virtual environment but it is common to use env.

An example of a terminal to put this command into is the command-line shell or command prompt in Windows.

2. Create .gitignore file.

Creating a virtual environment installs many scripts, libraries, or dependencies which are heavy to upload. To avoid pushing these files into a remote repository, we can create a .gitignore file and include path file patterns that we want git to ignore.

We can manually create a .gitignore file by creating a new file and labelling it as '.gitignore'.

3. Activate virtual environment with correct file.

Inside env\Scripts directory are the activation files to start the virtual environment. Different files are used to activate the virtual environment depending on the terminal used.

For Command Prompt, enter env\Scripts\activate.bat.

For Windows Powershell, enter env\Scripts\Activate.ps1.

And now your virtual environment is set! Go ahead and keep those programs runnin' (in a safe environment)!

To deactivate virtual environment, enter deactivate command in your terminal.

4: Install packages.

After starting your virtual environment, you may want to install useful Python packages for your project or programs.

To do this you may do the following:

1. Create requirements.txt file.

Create requirements.txt file in main directory and input name of packages that you would like to install or include in the virtual environment (e.g. pandas, requests).

2. Run pip install -r requirements.txt

The command above installs the packages indicated in requirements.txt. This will help you install multiple packages in a single command.