How to Create a Specific Python Virtual Environment on Windows

Previously I explained how to create a default virtual environment on Windows; this article focuses on creating a virtual environment with a specific Python version.

First, ensure both Python 2 and Python 3 are installed on the machine. The virtualenv package is required, which was covered in the earlier article.

Step 1: Run the command virtualenv -p C:\Python27\python.exe demo in the command line. The -p option specifies the interpreter path, and demo is the name of the new environment.

Step 2: After execution, the demo folder appears, indicating the environment has been created.

Step 3: The environment is created in the current directory; the folder structure can be seen in the file explorer.

Step 4: Inside the Scripts subfolder, the Python executable is the Python 2 version, confirming the correct interpreter was used.

Step 5: Activate the environment by running activate.bat in the command line. The prompt changes to show (demo) at the beginning, indicating the environment is active.

Step 6: Within the activated environment, run python to verify that the interpreter version is Python 2.

Step 7: To exit, press Ctrl+Z or type exit() to leave the Python REPL, then run deactivate.bat. The prompt returns to normal, confirming the environment is deactivated.

Step 8: Creating another virtual environment without the -p option defaults to Python 3, as demonstrated in the final screenshot.

With these steps, you can freely switch between Python 2 and Python 3 virtual environments on Windows.