Creating a Python virtual environment
Python has emerged as the language of choice for network automation. There are a lot of open-source Python tools like Ansible, Nornir, NAPALM, etc… that you can use to build network automation workflows. But managing the various versions of Python and associated package dependencies can be extremely difficult. And if you just use your system python installation, you can create some really nasty headaches for yourself. This is why it is recommended that you leverage Python virtual environments. If you are interested in a more detailed take on why you should use virtual environments, check out some of these articles:
- Python Virtual Environments: A Primer – Real Python
- Why you should use a virtual environment for EVERY python project!
There are multiple options for creating virtual environments, all with their own pros and cons.
In this article, we are going to focus on how to set up a virtual environment using pyenv, our preferred method.
Mac OS
On Mac OS you can install pyenv using HomeBrew. Detailed instructions can be found here, but you can just run the following commands.
brew update brew install readline xz brew install pyenv echo -e 'if command -v pyenv 1>/dev/null 2>&1; then\n eval "$(pyenv init -)"\nfi' >> ~/.bash_profile exec "$SHELL"
NOTE: If you use zsh instead of bash, replace .bash_profile in the last command with .zshrc
NOTE: Make sure eval “$(pyenv init -)” is placed toward the end of the shell configuration file since it manipulates PATH during the initialization.
Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
Detailed instructions can be found here, but you can just run these commands in your terminal
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev \ libbz2-dev libreadline-dev libsqlite3-dev wget curl llvm \ libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev xz-utils tk-dev libffi-dev \ liblzma-dev python-openssl git curl https://pyenv.run | bash exec $SHELL git clone https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv-virtualenv.git $(pyenv root)/plugins/pyenv-virtualenv echo 'eval "$(pyenv virtualenv-init -)"' >> ~/.bash_profile exec $SHELL
NOTE: If you use zsh instead of bash, replace .bash_profile in the last command with .zshenv
At this point, when you run which python in your terminal window it should return
$HOME/.pyenv/shims/python
Now you are ready to install the version of Python you need for your project and create your first virtual environment based on it.
- Installing a specific Python version
pyenv install 3.7.7
- Set your global python version
pyenv global 3.7.7
- Create your python virtual environment named test-venv
pyenv virtualenv 3.7.7 test-venv
To use your virtual environment simply run pyenv activate test-venv
To verify that your setup was completed properly, when you run pyenv which python you should see
$HOME/.pyenv/versions/test-venv/bin/python
Other useful commands:
- To deactivate (or exit out of) a virtual environment
pyenv deactivate
- To delete a virtual environment
pyenv uninstall <name_of_virtual_environment>
- To list all of your python versions and virtual environments
pyenv versions
NOTE: By default your virtualenvs will be in $HOME/.pyenv/versions
If you are using and IDE like PyCharm or VSCode, these links below show you to work with virtual environments:
- Pycharm/IntelliJ – Configure a virtual environment – Help | PyCharm
- VSCode – Using Python Environments