How to Set Up Python Virtual Environments on Windows in Minutes

Many Python developers need separate environments for Python 2 and Python 3, and virtual environments provide isolation. This guide shows how to create and use a virtual environment on Windows.

Install virtualenv

Run pip install virtualenv. If already installed, pip will indicate the package exists.

Create a virtual environment

Use virtualenv test where test is the desired environment name. The environment is created in the current directory.

Locate the environment

The folder test appears in the current directory (e.g., C:\Users\lenovo).

View files via command line

Open the Scripts folder

Activate the environment

Run activate.bat inside the environment folder to activate it. The command prompt will show the environment name in parentheses.

Check Python version

After activation, run python to see the Python version (Python 3 in this example).

Deactivate

Exit Python with exit() or Ctrl+Z. Deactivate the virtual environment with deactivate.bat. The environment name disappears from the prompt.

Future articles will cover creating a Python 2 virtual environment.