The pipenv Package

Pipenv provides an alternative command-line utility for installing third-party Python packages and managing Python versions and package dependencies.

Reference:

• https://pipenv-fork.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

• https://pipenv-fork.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html#installing-pipenv

• http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/dev/virtualenvs/#virtualenvironments-ref <-- an awesome guide to help you get started

• http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/starting/install3/win/

• https://github.com/pypa/pipenv

Installation

When installing Pipenv, one option is to install it via Pip, almost like you would any other Python package:

pip install --user pipenv

However, for Mac users, you can alternatively install Pipenv via Homebrew (recommended):

brew install pipenv

Usage

Setup

After installing Pipenv, you will mostly be using it from the root directory of some project repository to manage packages and versions. So navigate to your project directory:

cd path/to/my-project-repo/ # where path/to/my-project-repo/ is the actual path to your desired project directory

From your project's root directory, install a new virtual environment:

pipenv install
# or, for a specific version:
pipenv install --python 3.7

This should create two files in the root directory of your project repository: a Pipfile and a Pipfile.lock.

NOTE: for some Windows users, you might not see these files, but the virtual environment is still created.

Installing Project-specific Packages

To install a specific package:

pipenv install my_package # where my_package is the name of the package to install

This will add the package to the project's Pipfile and Pipfile.lock, and make it available for use by scripts run within the project's virtual environment.

Running a Virtual Environment

From your repository's root directory, enter into a virtual environment with all the specified packages installed and ready to use:

pipenv shell

From within the virtual environment, you should be able to examine its Python installation and execute scripts as usual:

--->> pipenv shell
# Loading .env environment variables…
# Spawning environment shell (/bin/bash). Use 'exit' to leave.
# bash-3.2$ . /Users/mjr/.local/share/virtualenvs/my-project-repo
# -app-JQd9Gsl3/bin/activate
(my-stocks-app-JQd9Gsl3) bash-3.2$ which python
#> /Users/mjr/.local/share/virtualenvs/my-project-repo-JQd9Gsl3/bin/python
(my-stocks-app-JQd9Gsl3) bash-3.2$ python --version
#> Python 3.6.5
(my-stocks-app-JQd9Gsl3) bash-3.2$ python my_script.py
#> (some output from my_script.py)

When you are done, type exit and press enter to leave the virtual environment and return to your normal command-line experience.