How to Install and Run Multiple Python Versions on macOS | pyenv & virtualenv Setup Tutorial

Summary

This tutorial demonstrates how to manage multiple Python versions on macOS using pyenv, a command-line tool. It covers installation of pyenv alongside necessary libraries, setting up the environment, and switching between Python versions. The video also explains how to utilize virtual environments for projects with specific dependencies and integrates this setup with Visual Studio Code for a seamless development experience.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video demonstrates how to install and use different Python versions on macOS using pyenv.
• 🛠️ The first step is to install the Xcode Command Line Tools using a specific command in the terminal.
• 📚 Several libraries, including openssl, readline, sqlite3, xz, and zlib, are required to be installed via Homebrew before pyenv.
• 🔧 Pyenv can be installed either via Homebrew or by cloning the GitHub repository, with the latter offering more control over the environment.
• 📝 After installing pyenv, specific commands are needed to set up environment variables and initialize pyenv for every new terminal session.
• 🔍 Pyenv allows listing all available Python versions with the 'pyenv install -l' command.
• 🔄 It enables the installation of specific Python versions, such as 3.9.7 or release candidates like 3.10.0rc2.
• 🌐 Pyenv can set a specific Python version globally or locally for dedicated projects.
• 📁 For project-specific dependencies, virtual environments can be created with 'python -m venv .venv'.
• 💻 To integrate with Visual Studio Code, a settings.json file can be configured to automatically activate the virtual environment when the project is opened.
• 🔗 All commands and additional resources can be found on the presenter's website, with a link provided in the video description.

Q & A

What is the purpose of using pyenv on macOS?

Pyenv is used to install and manage multiple Python versions on macOS, allowing developers to switch between different Python versions and set specific versions for dedicated projects or to check out the latest release candidates.

Why is it necessary to install the Xcode Command Line Tools before installing pyenv?

The Xcode Command Line Tools are required for the installation of other software packages that pyenv depends on, such as libraries for OpenSSL, readline, sqlite3, xz, and zlib.

How can you install the Xcode Command Line Tools on macOS?

You can install the Xcode Command Line Tools by running the command 'xcode-select --install' in the terminal.

What are the steps to install pyenv using the GitHub repository instead of Homebrew?

To install pyenv from GitHub, you first clone the pyenv repository into your home directory under the .pyenv directory, and then set up environment variables and initialize pyenv by entering specific commands in the terminal.

How do you list all the available Python versions that can be installed using pyenv?

You can list all available Python versions by using the command 'pyenv install -l' in the terminal.

What command is used to install a specific Python version using pyenv?

The command to install a specific Python version is 'pyenv install <version>', where <version> is the version string of the Python version you want to install.

How can you set a specific Python version to be used globally for all terminal sessions?

You can set a global Python version by using the command 'pyenv global <version>', where <version> is the version string of the Python version you want to set as the default.

What is the purpose of creating a .python-version file in a project directory?

The .python-version file specifies the Python version to be used for that particular project, ensuring that the project runs with the correct Python version set by pyenv.

How do you create and activate a virtual environment for a Python project?

You create a virtual environment by navigating to the project directory and running 'python -m venv .venv', and then activate it by running 'source .venv/bin/activate'.

How can you configure Visual Studio Code to automatically activate the virtual environment when working on a specific project?

You can configure Visual Studio Code to activate the virtual environment by adding "python.pythonTerminal.activateEnvironment": true to the project's settings.json file.

What is the benefit of using virtual environments with pyenv and Visual Studio Code?

Using virtual environments with pyenv and Visual Studio Code allows developers to isolate project dependencies, ensuring that each project has its own specific Python version and installed modules without affecting other projects.

Outlines

00:00

💻 Installing Multiple Python Versions with pyenv on macOS

This paragraph introduces the video's focus on using pyenv to manage different Python versions on macOS, which is essential for developers working on multiple projects with varying Python requirements. The speaker, Cons, a computer science graduate and research assistant, explains the process of installing pyenv alongside virtual environments to facilitate seamless version switching. The video begins with the installation of the Xcode command line tools and necessary libraries using Homebrew, followed by the installation of pyenv itself, either via Homebrew or directly from GitHub. The speaker opts for the GitHub method for greater control over the installation. After setting up the environment variables and initialization, the viewer is guided through listing available Python versions and installing a specific version, such as 3.9.7, using pyenv.

05:03

🔧 Setting Python Versions and Using Virtual Environments

The second paragraph delves into setting a specific Python version for the entire system using pyenv's global command and verifying the installation with version-specific scripts. It also covers the process of installing a Python release candidate, such as 3.10.0rc2, for testing purposes. The speaker demonstrates how to create and activate a virtual environment within a project directory using Python's built-in 'venv' module. This allows for project-specific dependencies without affecting the system-wide Python installation. The paragraph concludes with integrating the virtual environment with Visual Studio Code, ensuring the IDE activates the correct environment and interpreter for the project, as detailed in a settings.json configuration.

10:03

🎬 Conclusion and Additional Resources

The final paragraph wraps up the video with a summary of the steps covered for installing different Python versions using pyenv and utilizing virtual environments with Visual Studio Code. The speaker invites viewers to share their feedback in the comments and provides a link to their website for access to all commands used in the video. There is also an invitation to join a Discord community and a special thanks to Patreon supporters. The video concludes with a farewell and an anticipation for the next video, emphasizing the value of the presented information and the support from the community.

Keywords

💡pyenv

pyenv is a command-line tool that allows users to install and manage multiple versions of Python on the same system. It is central to the video's theme as it enables seamless switching between different Python versions. In the script, pyenv is used to install Python 3.9.7 and the latest release candidate 3.10.0rc2, demonstrating its utility for developers who need to work with multiple Python environments.

💡Xcode Command Line Tools

Xcode Command Line Tools are a set of software development tools for macOS that include compilers and other command-line utilities. In the context of the video, these tools are a prerequisite for installing pyenv, as they provide essential components for building and managing Python installations on macOS.

💡Brew

Brew, or Homebrew, is a package manager for macOS that simplifies the installation of software. In the video, Brew is used to install libraries such as openssl, readline, sqlite3, xz, and zlib, which are necessary for setting up the environment for pyenv to work properly.

💡Virtual Environments

Virtual environments are isolated spaces within a project that allow developers to work with specific versions of libraries and Python itself without affecting the global Python installation. In the script, virtual environments are created using the 'venv' module to manage dependencies for individual projects, showcasing their importance in Python development.

💡Python

Python is a high-level, interpreted programming language widely used for web development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and more. The video focuses on managing different versions of Python, emphasizing its importance as a versatile tool in the developer's toolkit. The script mentions installing and switching between Python 3.9.7 and the 3.10.0 release candidate.

💡Dependencies

Dependencies in the context of Python projects refer to libraries or modules that a project requires to function properly. The video discusses managing dependencies within virtual environments to avoid conflicts between projects, which is crucial for maintaining a stable development environment.

💡Release Candidate

A release candidate is a version of software that is almost ready for release but is still undergoing testing. In the script, the latest Python release candidate, 3.10.0rc2, is installed and tested using pyenv, illustrating how developers can try out new versions before they are officially released.

💡Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a popular source code editor that supports Python development among other languages. The video demonstrates how to configure Visual Studio Code to work with pyenv and virtual environments, showing its integration capabilities with development tools.

💡Environment Variables

Environment variables are a set of dynamic values in the operating system that can affect the way running processes behave. In the script, environment variables are set for pyenv to ensure that the correct Python version is used when the terminal is opened, highlighting their role in configuring the development environment.

💡Pip

Pip is a package installer for Python that allows users to install and manage Python packages. In the video, pip is used within virtual environments to install project-specific modules without affecting the global Python installation, demonstrating the importance of pip in Python package management.

💡Settings JSON

Settings JSON is a configuration file used in Visual Studio Code to customize editor behavior and settings for a specific workspace. In the script, a settings JSON is created to ensure that the virtual environment is automatically activated when working on a project in Visual Studio Code, showing how developers can tailor their development environment to their needs.

Highlights

Installing different Python versions on macOS using pyenv for projects with varying requirements.

Using pyenv with virtual environments and Visual Studio Code for seamless Python development.

Installing Xcode command line tools as a prerequisite for pyenv setup.

Installing necessary libraries like openssl, readline, sql3, xz, and zlip via brew.

Two methods for installing pyenv: using brew or cloning from GitHub.

Setting up environment variables and initializing pyenv after installation.

Listing available Python versions with pyenv install -l.

Installing a specific Python version using pyenv install <version>.

Setting a global Python version for all terminals with pyenv global <version>.

Checking the active Python version with python -v.

Installing the latest Python release candidate for project-specific needs.

Using pyenv local to set a Python version for a specific project directory.

Creating and managing virtual environments with Python's built-in venv module.

Activating virtual environments to isolate project dependencies.

Configuring Visual Studio Code to automatically activate virtual environments.

Using a settings.json file in VS Code to ensure virtual environment activation.

Running Python scripts in VS Code with the correct Python version and virtual environment.

Finding all commands used in the video on the presenter's website.

Invitation to join the presenter's Discord community and support on Patreon.

Transcripts

you want to install different python

versions under mac os because you work

on different python projects that

require different python versions or

different python dependencies or you

just want to check out the latest python

release candidate in this video i'm

going to show you how to install and use

different python versions using pyenv

together with virtual environments and

how to use those with visual studio code

welcome i'm cons i got a master's degree

in computer science and currently work

as a graduate research assistant in

computer science and work with python on

a daily basis which makes python to one

of my most important tools installing

and using different python versions

under mac os is actually pretty easy

using pyen pinef is a command line tool

which allows you to seamlessly switch

between different python versions and

also enables you to set specific python

versions for dedicated folders together

with virtual environments it's an

incredibly useful tool for everyone who

works with python and without further

ado let's jump right into mac os to set

everything up before we can start to

install pi and we have to install other

software packages the first software

package we have to install are the xcode

command line tools for which we are

going to use this command x code minus

select minus minus install and you can

find all the commands

used in this video on my website for

which you can find the link down below

in the description

so we're going to copy this xcode

command over here and just paste it in

the terminal and press enter and i

already installed the xcode command line

tools before

now we have to install several libraries

which will be provided by brew we're

going to install openssl readline sql3

xz and zlip and we're going to copy that

as well and enter that into our command

line and press enter with those packages

installed we can start installing pine

if there are actually two ways to

install pine the first one is to use

brew and the second one is to install pi

f directly from github and i'm going to

use the second one because i want a

little bit more control over my pie and

environment but you can also use the

brew command and then you just enter

brew install pie you can also find that

on my website so we scroll down and

we're just going to clone the github

repository payment

into our home directory

under the

directory.pinf and we paste that in our

command line and press enter and we've

cloning the github repository pinef is

technically already installed in our

system but we have to set it up now

and for that we're going to scroll

further down on my website and we're

going to enter those three commands

in the terminal as well the first one

will set an environment variable called

pi and root which will point to the pi

inf directory we just created which is

under home.pion the second one will add

the bin directory included in the pi

root directory into the path so when we

are going to use the pine command in our

terminal it is actually found

and the last one is the pine init minus

minus path and that will take care of

initializing pi and every time we open a

new terminal so we're just going to copy

all three

copy and

enter them as well into our terminal and

press on enter this concludes the

installation of pine under macos and we

are now going to use it and if you

enjoyed the video so far make sure to

give it a like to use pine we're going

to start a new terminal such that the

environment variables are set and the

init command is run and now we can enter

pi

and we are going to be presented with

the list of all commands that pions

offers the first command we are going to

issue is the pine install minus l

command this will list all the available

python versions that can be installed

using pyenv we're going to enter pine

install minus l

and this will print out a long long list

of python versions we can install we

have down here python stackless pi pi

miniconda

jyphon but we are actually interested in

the normal c python implementation

and the latest version available at

the time of recording this video is the

version 3.9.7 and we're just going to

copy this string and jump back down and

we enter

pi and install

and paste the version string

3.9.7 which will install the python

version 3.9.7 through pi inf now that

the installation of the python version

3.9.7 is finished we can enter pi inf

versions

which will list all the python versions

that are currently available through

paying we can see we have the system

version which comes with the operating

system and we have the newly installed

version 3.9.7

and the currently active version is

indicated by this asterisk in front

and we would like to set the version

3.9.7 for the whole system so we are

going to enter pi n

global 3.9.7

and this will set this python version

for every terminal we are going to open

so we open a new terminal

and in this terminal we're going to

enter

python

minus v

and we can see we're actually running

python version 3.9.7

and i also prepared a little hello world

command which prints out the python

version we can check that as well that

is under

python test and when we run it with

python

hello pi we can see it prints out hello

i'm python version 3.9.7 however i would

like to check out the latest release

candidate of the next python version

with my current project

for that i'm going to

enter pi and

install minus l once again

and then we're going to check

which is the latest release candidate of

python

and

at the time of recording it is 3.10

0rc2 i'm going to copy that and enter

pi and

install and paste that string and press

on enter once again which will install

the latest release candidate of this

python version through pyenv now that

the installation of the latest python

release candidate is finished we enter

pi in

versions once again and we can see is

actually available

i don't want to use this release connect

on my whole system i just want to use it

for this project and for that i'm going

to use the command pi and

local and i'm going to enter 3.10.0rc2

and this will create a dot python

version file when we have a look here

it created the dot python version file

and when we

have a look into that file

it includes the version string of this

particular python version

and if we now

enter python

minus v we can see we're actually

running this python version

and we can also check that with our

hello world

we enter hello pi

and we see hello i'm python version

3.10.0

rc2 usually your python projects depend

on a lot of different modules

and sometimes those modules have to be

at a certain version number and if i

install a new module through pip it will

install this module system-wide for the

currently activated python version for

paying

however if i only want to install a

module for a specific project i'm going

to use virtual environments to create a

virtual environment for my project i

first have to head into the project

directory and inside the project

directory i'm going to enter python

minus m

vent

dot then

which will create a dot went directory

which will

hold the python interpreter and all the

modules that i will be installing

through pip and we have a look into the

vent directory with ls

vent

bin we can see it actually has its own

python interpreter and its own version

of pip in here and that is the version

we have set with pyenv to activate our

virtual environment we are going to

enter

source

vent

bin

activate and when it's active we have

this dot vent in front of our prompt and

we can now just use the normal python

interpreter minus v and if we have a

look which interpreter is currently used

seen with which python we see it

actually uses the interpreter from our

virtual environment and now i would like

to use this virtual environment together

with the python version we have set for

pyth in visual studio code for that i'm

going to open visual studio code within

my project directory

i just enter code dot and that is will

open

virtual visual studio code in this

directory and we can see we have this

hello pi which just prints out the

python version

to tell visual studio code to always

activate the virtual environment when we

enter this project we have to add a

settings json to our project for that

i'm going to enter command shift p to

bring up the command palette and then

enter

settings

json and we're going to open the

settings json for this workspace

it will open a empty json file and in

this json file i'm going to enter

python

terminal

activate environment true

i'm going to save that

close the settings json

and if we now go to

run

run without debugging

a new terminal opens up and we can see

it automatically activates a virtual

environment we see we have the event in

the front

and when we run our little hello world

script we can see it says hello i'm

python version 3.10 point rc2 this

concludes this video on how to install

different python versions using pi inf

and how to use virtual environments

together with visual studio code and

pyenv i hope you enjoyed this video let

me know down below in the comments if it

was helpful for you and remember that

you can find all the commands used in

this video on my website for which you

can find the link down below in the

description

remember to give this video a like and

if you want to catch up with me join our

lovely discord community last but not

least big shout out to my patreon

subscribers for their support i hope to

see you in my next video and bye bye