How to Create Virtual Environment & Jupyter Kernel Python

Creating a virtual environment and setting up a Jupyter kernel allows you to manage dependencies for different projects and use them within Jupyter notebooks. Here are the steps to create a virtual environment and set up a Jupyter kernel:

Step 1: Install Python (if not already installed)

Make sure you have Python installed on your system. You can download it from the official website: Python.org.

Step 2: Install virtualenv (if not already installed)

Open your command prompt or terminal and run:

pip install virtualenv

Step 3: Create a Virtual Environment

Navigate to the directory where you want to create the virtual environment and run:

# Replace "myenv" with the name you want for your environment
virtualenv myenv

This will create a folder named myenv which contains a self-contained Python environment.

Step 4: Activate the Virtual Environment

• On Windows, activate the environment with:

myenv\Scripts\activate

On MacOS and Linux, activate the environment with:

source myenv/bin/activate

Step 5: Install Jupyter

While in your virtual environment, install Jupyter:

pip install jupyter

Step 6: Install Kernel (within the virtual environment)

You will need to install the IPython kernel in your virtual environment to use it with Jupyter.

pip install ipython
pip install ipykernel

ipython kernel install --user --name=myenv

python -m ipykernel install --user --name=myenv

Replace myenv with the name you want for your Jupyter kernel.

Install the Bash Kernel:

Inside the activated environment, run:

pip install bash_kernel
python -m bash_kernel.install

Step 7: Start Jupyter Notebook

While still in your virtual environment, start Jupyter Notebook:

jupyter notebook

Step 8: Select the Virtual Environment Kernel in Jupyter

1. Open a browser window with the Jupyter interface.
2. Navigate to the notebook or create a new one.
3. Click on the “Kernel” menu.
4. Choose “Change Kernel” and select the virtual environment kernel you created (in this case, it will be named “myenv”).

Now, your Jupyter notebook will be using the Python environment from your virtual environment.

To check if bash is install and working correctly run below command

%%bash
echo "Hello from Bash!"

Step 9: Deactivate the Virtual Environment

When you’re finished working in your virtual environment, you can deactivate it by running:

deactivate

Remember, you’ll need to activate the environment again before using it in the future.