--- title: "Setting up a Python Environment" layout: framework_docs objective: How to setup a functional python environment on your local machine. order: 0 --- ## Initial Local Setup Make sure that [Python](https://www.python.org/) is already installed on your computer along with a way to create virtual environments. This allows you to run your project locally, and test that it works, before deploying it to Fly.io. <section class="callout"> We recommend the latest [supported versions](https://devguide.python.org/versions/#supported-versions) of Python. </section> ## Dependency Management For project and dependency management we use [Poetry](https://python-poetry.org/). Like most package managers, Poetry combines multiple tools in one. You have other options: - [venv](https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html) and [pip](https://pip.pypa.io/) - [Pipenv](https://github.com/pypa/pipenv) - [pyenv](https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv) - [pip-tools](https://pypi.org/project/pip-tools/) If you are just starting out, it is easiest to follow along using `poetry`. After installing it, you will have to set 2 flags for virtual environment management. ```cmd poetry config virtualenvs.create true poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true ``` This will make your development environment resemble what ends up happening inside the docker image. You can create a new project using this command: ```cmd poetry new <app-name> ``` Once inside the project, you can add packages with the add command: ```cmd poetry add <dep> ``` This will automatically create a virtual environment for you. To interact with your virtual environment, you can prefix your commands with `poetry run`: ```cmd poetry run python main.py ``` Alternatively, you can activate the environment: ```cmd poetry shell python main.py ```

poetry config virtualenvs.create true
poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true

poetry new <app-name>

poetry add <dep>

poetry run python main.py

poetry shell
python main.py