Simple Configuration of Python Environment on Win11

We recently received a task that required development on a Windows-based system.

It's been a long time! It's been several years since we last used Windows.

We tried a few methods and finally settled on using PowerShell to set up the Python environment.

We initially thought about using WSL for configuration, but that would turn the environment into a Linux environment... (?)

If we already have a Linux environment at hand, why bother configuring one on Windows?

Operating Environment​

We're using the virtual environment tool provided by Mac: Parallels Desktop.

With Parallels Desktop, we can smoothly run a Windows system on Mac, and the currently installed one is Windows 11.

Installing Chocolatey​

First, we need to launch PowerShell.

Chocolatey is a package manager for Windows. It automates the process of installing, upgrading, and managing software using NuGet and PowerShell technologies. It's similar to apt-get or yum on Linux, allowing Windows users to manage software in a simple and consistent way.

Installing Chocolatey is relatively simple. Just run the following command in PowerShell with administrative privileges:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

After installation, enter the following command to verify if Chocolatey was installed successfully:

choco -v

If you see the version number of Chocolatey, it means the installation was successful.

Installing git​

After installation, continue running PowerShell as an administrator, and execute the following command to install Git:

choco install git -y

After installation, enter the following command to verify if Git was installed successfully:

git --version
# >>> git version 2.45.2.windows.1

Installing Python​

We use pyenv to manage Python versions.

Installing and using pyenv on Windows is not usually straightforward because pyenv is designed for Unix-like environments. However, you can use the pyenv-win project, which is a Windows port of pyenv.

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Installing pyenv-win​

• Reference: pyenv-win/docs/installation.md

Download the pyenv-win project:

Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pyenv-win/pyenv-win/master/pyenv-win/install-pyenv-win.ps1" -OutFile "./install-pyenv-win.ps1"; &"./install-pyenv-win.ps1"

If you encounter any UnauthorizedAccess errors as shown below, please launch Windows PowerShell with the "Run as Administrator" option and execute:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope LocalMachine

After completion, rerun the installation command above.

Step 2: Verify Installation​

1. Restart PowerShell:

   • Close and reopen the PowerShell window to apply the environment variable changes.

2. Check pyenv installation:

   • Enter the following command to check the pyenv version:

     pyenv --version
     

Step 3: Use pyenv to install Python versions​

1. View available Python versions:

   • List all available Python versions with the following command:

     pyenv install --list
     

2. Install a specific Python version:

• For example, to install Python 3.10.11:

  pyenv install 3.10.11
  

3. Set a global Python version:

   • This step is not necessary, but if you want to use the same Python version across all shells, you can set the installed Python version as the global default:

     pyenv global 3.10.11
     

4. Verify Python installation:

   • Enter the following command to verify if Python was installed successfully:

     python --version
     

Installing VS Code​

Finally, we install Visual Studio Code as our development tool.

Here, we'll go to the VS Code official website to download the installer and then proceed with the installation.

After installation, we want to be able to use the code command directly in PowerShell to open VS Code.

So, we need to add the installation path of VS Code to the environment variables. Copy the following path:

C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin

Side Note​

Actually, we find the PowerShell display screen really hard to look at.

For this part, we suggest using oh-my-posh to beautify the appearance of PowerShell.

But this part is not the focus of this article. Interested readers can check out:

• Tutorial - Customize Your Prompt with Oh My Posh for PowerShell or WSL

Conclusion​

Through PowerShell, we can quickly set up the Python environment and install development tools.

Of course, the above only covers the most basic configurations, leaving this article as a reference.