Pipenv: Sacred Marriage of Pipfile, Pip, & Virtualenv

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Pipenv — the officially recommended Python packaging tool from Python.org, free (as in freedom).

Pipenv is a project that aims to bring the best of all packaging worlds to the Python world. It harnesses Pipfile, pip, and virtualenv into one single toolchain. It features very pretty terminal colors. Windows is a first–class citizen, in our world.

It automatically creates and manages a virtualenv for your projects, as well as adds/removes packages from your Pipfile as you install/uninstall packages. The lock command generates a lockfile (Pipfile.lock).

The problems that Pipenv seeks to solve are multi-faceted:

• When using Pipenv, you no longer need to use pip and virtualenv separately. They work together.
• Managing a requirements.txt file can be problematic, so Pipenv uses the upcoming Pipfile and Pipfile.lock instead, which is superior for basic use cases.
• Hashes are used everywhere, always. Security.

Install Pipenv Today!

$ pip install pipenv
✨🍰✨

If you have excellent taste, there’s also a fancy installation method.

• Pipenv & Virtual Environments
  • ☤ Make sure you’ve got Python & pip
  • ☤ Installing Pipenv
  • ☤ Installing packages for your project
  • ☤ Using installed packages
  • ☤ Next steps

User Testimonials

Jannis Leidel, former pip maintainer—

Pipenv is the porcelain I always wanted to build for pip. It fits my brain and mostly replaces virtualenvwrapper and manual pip calls for me. Use it.

Jhon Crypt—

Pipenv is the best thing since pip, thank you!

Isaac Sanders—

Pipenv is literally the best thing about my day today. Thanks, Kenneth!

☤ Pipenv Features

• Enables truly deterministic builds, while easily specifying what you want.
• Automatically generates and checks file hashes for locked dependencies.
• Automatically finds your project home, recursively, by looking for a Pipfile.
• Automatically generates a Pipfile, if one doesn’t exist.
• Automatically generates a Pipfile.lock, if one doesn’t exist.
• Automatically creates a virtualenv in a standard location.
• Automatically adds packages to a Pipfile when they are installed.
• Automatically removes packages from a Pipfile when they are un-installed.
• Also automatically updates pip and itself, when asked.

The main commands are install, uninstall, and lock, which generates a Pipfile.lock. These are intended to replace $ pip install usage, as well as manual virtualenv management (to activate a virtualenv, run $ pipenv shell).

Basic Concepts

• A virtualenv will automatically be created, when one doesn’t exist.
• When no parameters are passed to install, all packages [packages] specified will be installed.
• To initialize a Python 3 virtual environment, run $ pipenv --three.
• To initialize a Python 2 virtual environment, run $ pipenv --two.
• Otherwise, whatever virtualenv defaults to will be the default.

Other Commands

• graph will show you a dependency graph, of your installed dependencies.
• shell will spawn a shell with the virtualenv activated.
• run will run a given command from the virtualenv, with any arguments forwarded (e.g. $ pipenv run python).
• check asserts that PEP 508 requirements are being met by the current environment.

Further Documentation Guides

• Pipenv & Virtual Environments
  • ☤ Make sure you’ve got Python & pip
  • ☤ Installing Pipenv
  • ☤ Installing packages for your project
  • ☤ Using installed packages
  • ☤ Next steps
• Advanced Usage of Pipenv
  • ☤ Example Pipfile & Pipfile.lock
  • ☤ Importing from requirements.txt
  • ☤ Specifying Versions of a Package
  • ☤ Specifying Versions of Python
  • ☤ Fancy Installation of Pipenv
  • ☤ Pragmatic Installation of Pipenv
  • ☤ Crude Installation of Pipenv
  • ☤ Environment Management with Pipenv
  • ☤ Configuration With Environment Variables
  • ☤ Custom Virtual Environment Location
  • ☤ Testing Projects
  • ☤ Pipfile.lock Security Features
  • ☤ Shell Completion

☤ Pipenv Usage

pipenv

pipenv [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options

--update

Update Pipenv & pip to latest.

--where

Output project home information.

--venv

Output virtualenv information.

--rm

Remove the virtualenv.

--bare

Minimal output.

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

-h, --help

Show this message then exit.

-j, --jumbotron

An easter egg, effectively.

--version

Show the version and exit.

check

Checks PEP 508 markers provided in Pipfile.

pipenv check [OPTIONS]

Options

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

graph

Displays currently–installed dependency graph information.

pipenv graph [OPTIONS]

Options

--bare

Minimal output.

install

Installs provided packages and adds them to Pipfile, or (if none is given), installs all packages.

pipenv install [OPTIONS] [PACKAGE_NAME] [MORE_PACKAGES]...

Options

-d, --dev

Install package(s) in [dev-packages].

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

--system

System pip management.

-r, --requirements <requirements>

Import a requirements.txt file.

--verbose

Verbose mode.

--ignore-pipfile

Ignore Pipfile when installing, using the Pipfile.lock.

--skip-lock

Ignore locking mechanisms when installing—use the Pipfile, instead.

Arguments

PACKAGE_NAME

Optional argument

MORE_PACKAGES

Optional argument(s)

lock

Generates Pipfile.lock.

pipenv lock [OPTIONS]

Options

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

--verbose

Verbose mode.

-r, --requirements

Generate output compatible with requirements.txt.

run

Spawns a command installed into the virtualenv.

pipenv run [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

Arguments

COMMAND

Required argument

ARGS

Optional argument(s)

shell

Spawns a shell within the virtualenv.

pipenv shell [OPTIONS] [SHELL_ARGS]...

Options

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

-c, --compat

Run in shell compatibility mode (for misconfigured shells).

--anyway

Always spawn a subshell, even if one is already spawned.

Arguments

SHELL_ARGS

Optional argument(s)

uninstall

Un-installs a provided package and removes it from Pipfile.

pipenv uninstall [OPTIONS] [PACKAGE_NAME] [MORE_PACKAGES]...

Options

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

--system

System pip management.

--lock

Lock afterwards.

-d, --dev

Un-install all package from [dev-packages].

--all

Purge all package(s) from virtualenv. Does not edit Pipfile.

Arguments

PACKAGE_NAME

Optional argument

MORE_PACKAGES

Optional argument(s)

update

Updates Pipenv & pip to latest, uninstalls all packages, and re-installs package(s) in [packages] to latest compatible versions.

pipenv update [OPTIONS]

Options

-v, --verbose

Verbose mode.

-d, --dev

Additionally install package(s) in [dev-packages].

--three, --two

Use Python 3/2 when creating virtualenv.

--python <python>

Specify which version of Python virtualenv should use.

--dry-run

Just output outdated packages.

--bare

Minimal output.

Indices and tables

• Index
• Module Index
• Search Page