You should use a dedicated virtual environment for each new Python project. There are many areas of software development that are hotly debated, but using virtual environments for Python development is not one.

Virtual environments allow you to create and manage separate environments for each Python project on the same computer. It quickly becomes a mess.įortunately there is an easy solution: virtual environments.

But what happens if you need Django 3.2 for one project and Django 4.2 for another? Not to mention, most projects rely on dozens of different software packages that all have different versions. If you went to your command line right now and typed python -m pip install Django then Django would be installed on your computer. Virtual Environmentsīy default, Python and Django are installed globally on a computer meaning. To exit Python from the command line you can type either exit() and the Enter key or use Ctrl + z on Windows or Ctrl + d on macOS. Type 'help', 'copyright', 'credits' or 'license' for more information. Here is how it looks on my computer, where my current user is named wsv. This will open a new window with a dark blue background and a blinking cursor after the > prompt. To access it, locate the taskbar on the bottom of the screen next to the Windows button and type in 'powershell' to launch the app. On Windows, the built-in options is called PowerShell. Most everyday users will never need it but software developers rely on it constant to install and update software, use tools like Git for version control, connect to servers in the cloud, and so on. The Command Line is a text-only interface for your computer. In the future, creating or modifying Django projects should require only a few keystrokes. This guide will explain all these concepts and provide step-by-step instructions so your computer is properly configured for Django development. But even then there is some nuance involved and best practices you should know about such as requirement.txt files, Git, and customizing a text editor for Python/Django work.

Instal the last version for mac MASKA