[SOLVED] How to leave/exit/deactivate a Python virtualenv

Issue

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

me@mymachine:~$ workon env1
(env1)me@mymachine:~$ workon env2
(env2)me@mymachine:~$ workon env1
(env1)me@mymachine:~$ 

How do I exit all virtual environments and work on my system environment again? Right now, the only way I have of getting back to me@mymachine:~$ is to exit the shell and start a new one. That's kind of annoying. Is there a command to work on "nothing", and if so, what is it? If such a command does not exist, how would I go about creating it?

Solution

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

Answered By - Brandon Rhodes

Answer Checked By - Terry (WPSolving Volunteer)