- Joined
- Nov 16, 2025
- Messages
- 38
Hi everyone, I'm new to Python development and I'm running into some difficulties activating my virtual environments on Windows. I've followed several tutorials but can't seem to get it right consistently.
My usual process involves creating the environment using `python -m venv my_project_env`. This part seems to work fine, as I can see the `my_project_env` folder created with `Scripts`, `Lib`, etc., inside it.
The problem arises when I try to activate it. I navigate to the project directory in my terminal (using PowerShell or Command Prompt) and then try `.\my_project_env\Scripts\activate`. Sometimes it just opens the `activate.ps1` or `activate.bat` file in Notepad, or sometimes it just doesn't seem to do anything at all and the prompt doesn't change to indicate the environment is active.
I'm currently using Windows 11, and my Python version is 3.9. I've tried this in both PowerShell and the standard Command Prompt, with varying degrees of non-success. I suspect it might be related to path issues or perhaps execution policies in PowerShell, but I'm not entirely sure how to troubleshoot those effectively.
Could anyone provide a clear, step-by-step guide or common pitfalls to check specifically for Windows users when activating a Python virtual environment? I'm particularly interested in understanding why the `activate` script might not be executing as expected. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm trying to get a small web project off the ground.
My usual process involves creating the environment using `python -m venv my_project_env`. This part seems to work fine, as I can see the `my_project_env` folder created with `Scripts`, `Lib`, etc., inside it.
The problem arises when I try to activate it. I navigate to the project directory in my terminal (using PowerShell or Command Prompt) and then try `.\my_project_env\Scripts\activate`. Sometimes it just opens the `activate.ps1` or `activate.bat` file in Notepad, or sometimes it just doesn't seem to do anything at all and the prompt doesn't change to indicate the environment is active.
I'm currently using Windows 11, and my Python version is 3.9. I've tried this in both PowerShell and the standard Command Prompt, with varying degrees of non-success. I suspect it might be related to path issues or perhaps execution policies in PowerShell, but I'm not entirely sure how to troubleshoot those effectively.
Could anyone provide a clear, step-by-step guide or common pitfalls to check specifically for Windows users when activating a Python virtual environment? I'm particularly interested in understanding why the `activate` script might not be executing as expected. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm trying to get a small web project off the ground.