How to leave/exit/deactivate a Python virtualenv

Question

I\'m using virtualenv and the virtualenvwrapper. I can switch between virtualenv\'s just fine using the workon command.

me@mymachine:~$ workon          


        

Answer 1

To activate a Python virtual environment:

$cd ~/python-venv/
$./bin/activate

To deactivate:

$deactivate

Answer 2

You can use virtualenvwrapper in order to ease the way you work with virtualenv.

Installing virtualenvwrapper:

pip install virtualenvwrapper

If you are using a standard shell, open your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc if you use Oh My Zsh. Add these two lines:

export WORKON_HOME=$HOME/.virtualenvs
source /usr/local/bin/virtualenvwrapper.sh

To activate an existing virtualenv, use command workon:

$ workon myenv
(myenv)$

In order to deactivate your virtualenv:

(myenv)$ deactivate

Here is my tutorial, step by step on how to install virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper.

Answer 3

Usually, activating a virtualenv gives you a shell function named:

$ deactivate

which puts things back to normal.

I have just looked specifically again at the code for virtualenvwrapper, and, yes, it too supports deactivate as the way to escape from all virtualenvs.

If you are trying to leave an Anaconda environment, the command depends upon your version of conda. Recent versions (like 4.6) install a conda function directly in your shell, in which case you run:

conda deactivate

Older conda versions instead implement deactivation using a stand-alone script:

source deactivate

Answer 4

Use:

$ deactivate 

If this doesn't work, try

$ source deactivate

Anyone who knows how Bash source works will think that's odd, but some wrappers/workflows around virtualenv implement it as a complement/counterpart to source activate. Your mileage may vary.

Answer 5

I had the same problem while working on an installer script. I took a look at what the bin/activate_this.py did and reversed it.

Example:

#! /usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import os
import sys

# Path to virtualenv
venv_path = os.path.join('/home', 'sixdays', '.virtualenvs', 'test32')

# Save old values
old_os_path = os.environ['PATH']
old_sys_path = list(sys.path)
old_sys_prefix = sys.prefix


def deactivate():
    # Change back by setting values to starting values
    os.environ['PATH'] = old_os_path
    sys.prefix = old_sys_prefix
    sys.path[:0] = old_sys_path


# Activate the virtualenvironment
activate_this = os.path.join(venv_path, 'bin/activate_this.py')
execfile(activate_this, dict(__file__=activate_this))


# Print list of pip packages for virtualenv for example purpose
import pip
print str(pip.get_installed_distributions())

# Unload pip module
del pip

# Deactivate/switch back to initial interpreter
deactivate()

# Print list of initial environment pip packages for example purpose
import pip
print str(pip.get_installed_distributions())

I am not 100% sure if it works as intended. I may have missed something completely.

Answer 6

I defined an alias, workoff, as the opposite of workon:

alias workoff='deactivate'

It is easy to remember:

[bobstein@host ~]$ workon django_project
(django_project)[bobstein@host ~]$ workoff
[bobstein@host ~]$