As a shoutout to my fellow Data Engineers, I'm going to take a step back from typical data science workflows. When we build standalone applications, we probably don't want to be tossing around Miniconda's 720 software packages in production, nor would we ever want to commit the source of any dependencies to Github. This is where Pipenv comes in handy: it serves as both an environment management tool, as well as a sort of package.json for your Python app.

The combination of virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper have reigned supreme for some time. While this combination is a totally fine solution, I've noticed even senior developers gloss over the existence of a better alternative, pipenv, which makes package management way, way easier. This is especially important in cases such as building apps for Heroku, where we're pushing to an otherwise agnostic environment which must explicitly be kept in sync with our local setup to ensure anything works.

Apologies in advance for what might seem a bit like Python 101, but I've been finding that the following information might be more relevant to some than we might presume.

Why Pipenv?

Pipenv's shell interface is entirely user-friendly. Rarely will developers find themselves needing to type more than two words, perhaps a single argument, to achieve a series of tasks which were previously less trivial. Pipenv also does an excellent job of documenting all dependencies in the resulting Pipfile and Pipfile.lock, which are easily generated and capture our project's dependencies to be handed off to the next poor bloke. Finally, Pipenv does us the luxury of keeping installed dependencies out of our project folder and instead creates virtual environments in parallel with our Python Path. This keeps folders potentially holding hundreds of dependencies out of our project folders,  mitigates any risk of us committing these packages to any git repos (if you're a nodejs person, you know what I mean with npm and node_modules).

Creating Environments

Unsurprisingly, we get started with pip3 install pipenv. This may as well be the first and last package you install on your python path.

While in your project folder, give pipenv shell a go. If an environment has not been created in this folder previously, this will create a new environment for this directory. If an environment does exist, this same command will be used to activate the environment. Compare this to the syntax of venv:

$ venv myenv
$ . myenv/bin/activate
Traditional method of creating a Python virtual environment

When creating environments, pipenv shell can also take additional arguments such as —python, which allows you to specify which installed version of python to use for this environment:

$ pipenv shell —python 3.7
Create a Pipenv environment

While in the shell, we can install packages using pip as expected.

Managing packages

The point of environments is not only to isolate dependencies, but also to track them so that our environment is both transferable and easily reproducible. Chances are you’re familiar with the typical output of pip freeze:

aadict==0.2.3
asset==0.6.12
beautifulsoup4==4.6.1
certifi==2018.4.16
chardet==3.0.4
click==6.7
decorator==4.3.0
dnspython==1.15.0
Flask==1.0.2
Flask-Assets==0.12
Flask-Login==0.4.1
Flask-Static-Compress==1.0.2
globre==0.1.5
gunicorn==19.9.0
idna==2.7
infinity==1.4
intervals==0.8.1
itsdangerous==0.24
jac==0.17.1
Jinja2==2.10
lessc==0.1.2
lesscpy==0.13.0
MarkupSafe==1.0
ordereddict==1.1
ply==3.11
pymongo==3.7.1
requests==2.19.1
rjsmin==1.0.12
six==1.11.0
SQLAlchemy==1.2.10
SQLAlchemy-Utils==0.33.3
urllib3==1.23
validators==0.12.2
webassets==0.12.1
Werkzeug==0.14.1
WTForms==2.2.1
WTForms-Alchemy==0.16.7
WTForms-Components==0.10.3
requirements.txt

pip freeze is a great human-friendly way to see what you have installed in your environment; but what about robots? This wouldn't be Hackers And Slackers if we didn't have a robot-friendly solution, now would it? Check out the output of pipenv lock, which writes to a file called Pipfile.lock in your local environment:

{
    "_meta": {
        "hash": {
            "sha256": "668ab7d6f7db268048ca01a717c1cf77b8b4f373ed8074e48a9f22517975a306"
        },
        "pipfile-spec": 6,
        "requires": {
            "python_version": "3.7"
        },
        "sources": [
            {
                "name": "pypi",
                "url": "https://pypi.org/simple",
                "verify_ssl": true
            }
        ]
    },
    "default": {
        "asn1crypto": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:2f1adbb7546ed199e3c90ef23ec95c5cf3585bac7d11fb7eb562a3fe89c64e87",
                "sha256:9d5c20441baf0cb60a4ac34cc447c6c189024b6b4c6cd7877034f4965c464e49"
            ],
            "version": "==0.24.0"
        },
        "certifi": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:13e698f54293db9f89122b0581843a782ad0934a4fe0172d2a980ba77fc61bb7",
                "sha256:9fa520c1bacfb634fa7af20a76bcbd3d5fb390481724c597da32c719a7dca4b0"
            ],
            "version": "==2018.4.16"
        },
        "cffi": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:151b7eefd035c56b2b2e1eb9963c90c6302dc15fbd8c1c0a83a163ff2c7d7743",
                "sha256:1553d1e99f035ace1c0544050622b7bc963374a00c467edafac50ad7bd276aef",
                "sha256:1b0493c091a1898f1136e3f4f991a784437fac3673780ff9de3bcf46c80b6b50",
                "sha256:2ba8a45822b7aee805ab49abfe7eec16b90587f7f26df20c71dd89e45a97076f",
                "sha256:3bb6bd7266598f318063e584378b8e27c67de998a43362e8fce664c54ee52d30",
                "sha256:3c85641778460581c42924384f5e68076d724ceac0f267d66c757f7535069c93",
                "sha256:3eb6434197633b7748cea30bf0ba9f66727cdce45117a712b29a443943733257",
                "sha256:495c5c2d43bf6cebe0178eb3e88f9c4aa48d8934aa6e3cddb865c058da76756b",
                "sha256:4c91af6e967c2015729d3e69c2e51d92f9898c330d6a851bf8f121236f3defd3",
                "sha256:57b2533356cb2d8fac1555815929f7f5f14d68ac77b085d2326b571310f34f6e",
                "sha256:770f3782b31f50b68627e22f91cb182c48c47c02eb405fd689472aa7b7aa16dc",
                "sha256:79f9b6f7c46ae1f8ded75f68cf8ad50e5729ed4d590c74840471fc2823457d04",
                "sha256:7a33145e04d44ce95bcd71e522b478d282ad0eafaf34fe1ec5bbd73e662f22b6",
                "sha256:857959354ae3a6fa3da6651b966d13b0a8bed6bbc87a0de7b38a549db1d2a359",
                "sha256:87f37fe5130574ff76c17cab61e7d2538a16f843bb7bca8ebbc4b12de3078596",
                "sha256:95d5251e4b5ca00061f9d9f3d6fe537247e145a8524ae9fd30a2f8fbce993b5b",
                "sha256:9d1d3e63a4afdc29bd76ce6aa9d58c771cd1599fbba8cf5057e7860b203710dd",
                "sha256:a36c5c154f9d42ec176e6e620cb0dd275744aa1d804786a71ac37dc3661a5e95",
                "sha256:a6a5cb8809091ec9ac03edde9304b3ad82ad4466333432b16d78ef40e0cce0d5",
                "sha256:ae5e35a2c189d397b91034642cb0eab0e346f776ec2eb44a49a459e6615d6e2e",
                "sha256:b0f7d4a3df8f06cf49f9f121bead236e328074de6449866515cea4907bbc63d6",
                "sha256:b75110fb114fa366b29a027d0c9be3709579602ae111ff61674d28c93606acca",
                "sha256:ba5e697569f84b13640c9e193170e89c13c6244c24400fc57e88724ef610cd31",
                "sha256:be2a9b390f77fd7676d80bc3cdc4f8edb940d8c198ed2d8c0be1319018c778e1",
                "sha256:ca1bd81f40adc59011f58159e4aa6445fc585a32bb8ac9badf7a2c1aa23822f2",
                "sha256:d5d8555d9bfc3f02385c1c37e9f998e2011f0db4f90e250e5bc0c0a85a813085",
                "sha256:e55e22ac0a30023426564b1059b035973ec82186ddddbac867078435801c7801",
                "sha256:e90f17980e6ab0f3c2f3730e56d1fe9bcba1891eeea58966e89d352492cc74f4",
                "sha256:ecbb7b01409e9b782df5ded849c178a0aa7c906cf8c5a67368047daab282b184",
                "sha256:ed01918d545a38998bfa5902c7c00e0fee90e957ce036a4000a88e3fe2264917",
                "sha256:edabd457cd23a02965166026fd9bfd196f4324fe6032e866d0f3bd0301cd486f",
                "sha256:fdf1c1dc5bafc32bc5d08b054f94d659422b05aba244d6be4ddc1c72d9aa70fb"
            ],
            "version": "==1.11.5"
        },
        "chardet": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:84ab92ed1c4d4f16916e05906b6b75a6c0fb5db821cc65e70cbd64a3e2a5eaae",
                "sha256:fc323ffcaeaed0e0a02bf4d117757b98aed530d9ed4531e3e15460124c106691"
            ],
            "version": "==3.0.4"
        },
        "cryptography": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:21af753934f2f6d1a10fe8f4c0a64315af209ef6adeaee63ca349797d747d687",
                "sha256:27bb401a20a838d6d0ea380f08c6ead3ccd8c9d8a0232dc9adcc0e4994576a66",
                "sha256:29720c4253263cff9aea64585adbbe85013ba647f6e98367efff9db2d7193ded",
                "sha256:2a35b7570d8f247889784010aac8b384fd2e4a47b33e15c4a60b45a7c1944120",
                "sha256:42c531a6a354407f42ee07fda5c2c0dc822cf6d52744949c182f2b295fbd4183",
                "sha256:5eb86f03f9c4f0ac2336ac5431271072ddf7ecc76b338e26366732cfac58aa19",
                "sha256:67f7f57eae8dede577f3f7775957f5bec93edd6bdb6ce597bb5b28e1bdf3d4fb",
                "sha256:6ec84edcbc966ae460560a51a90046503ff0b5b66157a9efc61515c68059f6c8",
                "sha256:7ba834564daef87557e7fcd35c3c3183a4147b0b3a57314e53317360b9b201b3",
                "sha256:7d7f084cbe1fdb82be5a0545062b59b1ad3637bc5a48612ac2eb428ff31b31ea",
                "sha256:82409f5150e529d699e5c33fa8fd85e965104db03bc564f5f4b6a9199e591f7c",
                "sha256:87d092a7c2a44e5f7414ab02fb4145723ebba411425e1a99773531dd4c0e9b8d",
                "sha256:8c56ef989342e42b9fcaba7c74b446f0cc9bed546dd00034fa7ad66fc00307ef",
                "sha256:9449f5d4d7c516a6118fa9210c4a00f34384cb1d2028672100ee0c6cce49d7f6",
                "sha256:bc2301170986ad82d9349a91eb8884e0e191209c45f5541b16aa7c0cfb135978",
                "sha256:c132bab45d4bd0fff1d3fe294d92b0a6eb8404e93337b3127bdec9f21de117e6",
                "sha256:c3d945b7b577f07a477700f618f46cbc287af3a9222cd73035c6ef527ef2c363",
                "sha256:cee18beb4c807b5c0b178f4fa2fae03cef9d51821a358c6890f8b23465b7e5d2",
                "sha256:d01dfc5c2b3495184f683574e03c70022674ca9a7be88589c5aba130d835ea90"
            ],
            "version": "==2.3"
        },
        "defusedxml": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:24d7f2f94f7f3cb6061acb215685e5125fbcdc40a857eff9de22518820b0a4f4",
                "sha256:702a91ade2968a82beb0db1e0766a6a273f33d4616a6ce8cde475d8e09853b20"
            ],
            "version": "==0.5.0"
        },
        "idna": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:156a6814fb5ac1fc6850fb002e0852d56c0c8d2531923a51032d1b70760e186e",
                "sha256:684a38a6f903c1d71d6d5fac066b58d7768af4de2b832e426ec79c30daa94a16"
            ],
            "version": "==2.7"
        },
        "jira": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:9adeead4d5f5a6aff74c630787f8bd2d4b0e154f3a3036641298064e91b2d25d",
                "sha256:e2a94adff98e45b29ded030adc76103eab34fa7d4d57303f211f572bedba0e93"
            ],
            "index": "pypi",
            "version": "==2.0.0"
        },
        "numpy": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:14fb76bde161c87dcec52d91c78f65aa8a23aa2e1530a71f412dabe03927d917",
                "sha256:21041014b7529237994a6b578701c585703fbb3b1bea356cdb12a5ea7804241c",
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                "sha256:aaa519335a71f87217ca8a680c3b66b61960e148407bdf5c209c42f50fe30f49",
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                "sha256:d690a2ff49f6c3bc35336693c9924fe5916be3cc0503fe1ea6c7e2bf951409ee",
                "sha256:e2317cf091c2e7f0dacdc2e72c693cc34403ca1f8e3807622d0bb653dc978616",
                "sha256:f28e73cf18d37a413f7d5de35d024e6b98f14566a10d82100f9dc491a7d449f9",
                "sha256:f2a778dd9bb3e4590dbe3bbac28e7c7134280c4ec97e3bf8678170ee58c67b21",
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                "sha256:fb4c33a404d9eff49a0cdc8ead0af6453f62f19e071b60d283f9dc05581e4134"
            ],
            "markers": "python_version >= '2.7' and python_version != '3.2.*' and python_version != '3.3.*' and python_version != '3.0.*' and python_version != '3.1.*'",
            "version": "==1.15.0"
        },
        "oauthlib": {
            "hashes": [
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                "sha256:d883b36b21a6ad813953803edfa563b1b579d79ca758fe950d1bc9e8b326025b"
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            "version": "==2.1.0"
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        "pandas": {
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            ],
            "index": "pypi",
            "version": "==0.23.4"
        },
        "pbr": {
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            ],
            "version": "==4.2.0"
        },
        "psycopg2-binary": {
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                "sha256:a89ee5c26f72f2d0d74b991ce49e42ddeb4ac0dc2d8c06a0f2770a1ab48f4fe0",
                "sha256:b4c8b0ef3608e59317bfc501df84a61e48b5445d45f24d0391a24802de5f2d84",
                "sha256:b5fcf07140219a1f71e18486b8dc28e2e1b76a441c19374805c617aa6d9a9d55",
                "sha256:b86f527f00956ecebad6ab3bb30e3a75fedf1160a8716978dd8ce7adddedd86f",
                "sha256:be4c4aa22ba22f70de36c98b06480e2f1697972d49eb20d525f400d204a6d272",
                "sha256:c2ac7aa1a144d4e0e613ac7286dae85671e99fe7a1353954d4905629c36b811c",
                "sha256:de26ef4787b5e778e8223913a3e50368b44e7480f83c76df1f51d23bd21cea16",
                "sha256:e70ebcfc5372dc7b699c0110454fc4263967f30c55454397e5769eb72c0eb0ce",
                "sha256:eadbd32b6bc48b67b0457fccc94c86f7ccc8178ab839f684eb285bb592dc143e",
                "sha256:ecbc6dfff6db06b8b72ae8a2f25ff20fbdcb83cb543811a08f7cb555042aa729"
            ],
            "index": "pypi",
            "version": "==2.7.5"
        },
        "pycparser": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:99a8ca03e29851d96616ad0404b4aad7d9ee16f25c9f9708a11faf2810f7b226"
            ],
            "version": "==2.18"
        },
        "pyjwt": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:30b1380ff43b55441283cc2b2676b755cca45693ae3097325dea01f3d110628c",
                "sha256:4ee413b357d53fd3fb44704577afac88e72e878716116270d722723d65b42176"
            ],
            "version": "==1.6.4"
        },
        "python-dateutil": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:1adb80e7a782c12e52ef9a8182bebeb73f1d7e24e374397af06fb4956c8dc5c0",
                "sha256:e27001de32f627c22380a688bcc43ce83504a7bc5da472209b4c70f02829f0b8"
            ],
            "version": "==2.7.3"
        },
        "pytz": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:a061aa0a9e06881eb8b3b2b43f05b9439d6583c206d0a6c340ff72a7b6669053",
                "sha256:ffb9ef1de172603304d9d2819af6f5ece76f2e85ec10692a524dd876e72bf277"
            ],
            "version": "==2018.5"
        },
        "requests": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:63b52e3c866428a224f97cab011de738c36aec0185aa91cfacd418b5d58911d1",
                "sha256:ec22d826a36ed72a7358ff3fe56cbd4ba69dd7a6718ffd450ff0e9df7a47ce6a"
            ],
            "index": "pypi",
            "version": "==2.19.1"
        },
        "requests-oauthlib": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:8886bfec5ad7afb391ed5443b1f697c6f4ae98d0e5620839d8b4499c032ada3f",
                "sha256:e21232e2465808c0e892e0e4dbb8c2faafec16ac6dc067dd546e9b466f3deac8"
            ],
            "version": "==1.0.0"
        },
        "requests-toolbelt": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:42c9c170abc2cacb78b8ab23ac957945c7716249206f90874651971a4acff237",
                "sha256:f6a531936c6fa4c6cfce1b9c10d5c4f498d16528d2a54a22ca00011205a187b5"
            ],
            "version": "==0.8.0"
        },
        "six": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:70e8a77beed4562e7f14fe23a786b54f6296e34344c23bc42f07b15018ff98e9",
                "sha256:832dc0e10feb1aa2c68dcc57dbb658f1c7e65b9b61af69048abc87a2db00a0eb"
            ],
            "version": "==1.11.0"
        },
        "sqlalchemy": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:72325e67fb85f6e9ad304c603d83626d1df684fdf0c7ab1f0352e71feeab69d8"
            ],
            "index": "pypi",
            "version": "==1.2.10"
        },
        "urllib3": {
            "hashes": [
                "sha256:a68ac5e15e76e7e5dd2b8f94007233e01effe3e50e8daddf69acfd81cb686baf",
                "sha256:b5725a0bd4ba422ab0e66e89e030c806576753ea3ee08554382c14e685d117b5"
            ],
            "markers": "python_version != '3.0.*' and python_version != '3.3.*' and python_version != '3.1.*' and python_version != '3.2.*' and python_version < '4' and python_version >= '2.6'",
            "version": "==1.23"
        }
    },
    "develop": {}
}
Pipenv.lock

Pipfile.lock is Python's very own equivalent to package-lock.json. With Pipfile.lock present, future developers need only to type the command pipenv install to install the exact dependencies in your project with all the correct versions. What's more, Pipfile.lock is actually a must-have for Heroku development, which uses this file to wisely produce environments upon deployment.

What about updating all packages past their locked version, you might ask? Check out the output of pipenv update, which updates all packages to their latest, and updates the corresponding .lock file accordingly:

You had me at Snake emoji.

When to Use Conda or Virtualenv

If you're strictly in the data science profession, chances are that none of this nonsense interests you - you and all your friends are always working with the full Anaconda suite (which has its own similar environment manager), and you don't care for shipping products. You're a scientist, not some sort of blue collar data equivalent of manufacturing.

Even if you're engineer, virtualenv still has it's place. Take Lambda Functions in AWS for example: if you're looking to create a zip of dependencies to upload to your Lambda, it's much simpler to have those packages to live in your local working folder.

I'm sure you're itching to hear more on the topic of Python environment management, but the analytics say that 90% of readers have already bounced by this point. To the remaining 10%... you are all that I live for.