How to create virtual environments for python with Conda

How to set up a virtual environment using conda for the Anaconda Python distribution

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A virtual environment is a tool that helps to keep dependencies required by different projects separate by creating isolated python virtual environments for them. This is one of the most important tools that most of the Python developers use.

Steps

Check conda is installed and available
Update conda if necessary
Create a virtual environment
Activate a virtual environment
Install additional python packages
Deactivate a virtual environment
Delete a virtual environment

Requirements

Check if Anaconda Python Distribution is installed and accessible

1. Check if conda is installed and in your PATH

Open a terminal client.
Enter conda -V into the terminal command line and press enter.
If conda is installed you should see somehting like the following.

2. Check conda is up to date

In the terminal client enter

conda update conda

Upadate any packages if necessary by typing y to proceed.

3. Create a virtual environment for your project

In the terminal client enter the following where yourenvname is the name you want to call your environment, and replace x.x with the Python version you wish to use. (To see a list of available python versions first, type conda search "^python$" and press enter.)

conda create -n yourenvname python=x.x anaconda

Press y to proceed. This will install the Python version and all the associated anaconda packaged libraries at “path_to_your_anaconda_location/anaconda/envs/yourenvname”

4. Activate your virtual environment.

To activate or switch into your virtual environment, simply type the following where yourenvname is the name you gave to your environment at creation.

source activate yourenvname

Activating a conda environment modifies the PATH and shell variables to point to the specific isolated Python set-up you created. The command prompt will change to indicate which conda environemnt you are currently in by prepending (yourenvname). To see a list of all your environments, use the command conda info -e.

5. Install additional Python packages to a virtual environment.

To install additional packages only to your virtual environment, enter the following command where yourenvname is the name of your environemnt, and [package] is the name of the package you wish to install. Failure to specify “-n yourenvname” will install the package to the root Python installation.

conda install -n yourenvname [package]

6. Deactivate your virtual environment.

To end a session in the current environment, enter the following. There is no need to specify the envname – which ever is currently active will be deactivated, and the PATH and shell variables will be returned to normal.