envon

Emit the activation command for the nearest or specified Python virtual environment, and install shell bootstrap wrappers for seamless activation in your favorite shell.

Features

• Auto-detects and activates Python virtual environments in your project.
• Supports multiple shells: bash, zsh, sh, fish, powershell, pwsh, nushell, cmd, csh/tcsh/cshell.
• Installs a shell bootstrap function for one-command activation.
• Flexible CLI flags for advanced usage.

Supported Shells

• bash (full auto-activation and deactivation)
• zsh (full auto-activation and deactivation)
• sh (full auto-activation and deactivation)
• fish (full auto-activation and deactivation)
• csh, tcsh, cshell (full auto-activation and deactivation)
• nushell, nu (full auto-activation and deactivation)
• powershell, pwsh (full auto-activation, manual deactivation)
• cmd, batch, bat (prints command for manual activation and deactivation)

For detailed shell support and limitations, see docs/user_guide.md.

Supported Environments

• Linux/Unix/macOS: Native support for all major shells.
• Windows (Native): PowerShell and CMD.
• Windows (POSIX Layers): Inside MSYS2 and Git Bash, we support all the same shells that are supported on Linux, Unix, or macOS.

Installation

Recommended: Install with pipx for isolated environments:

pipx install envon

Alternative: Install with pip (may fail on some distros like Ubuntu or Windows due to PEP 668):

python3 -m pip install envon

After installation, run:

envon --install

This detects your shell and sets up the bootstrap for auto-activation.

For more detailed installation instructions, see docs/installation.md.

Usage

After installation and bootstrap setup, run:

envon

This will activate the nearest virtual environment in your project.

Supported flags: -V, --version, --emit [SHELL], --print-path, --install [SHELL].

For advanced usage, examples, and all flags, see docs/user_guide.md.

Development

For development setup, building, and project structure, see docs/development.md.

Contributor Note

envon is in its early phase. Basic functionality is solid, but we welcome help!

• Nushell support needs improvement (auto-activation, overlays).
• Additional shell support (ksh, xonsh, elvish) would be valuable additions.
• If you find issues, please raise an issue.
• If you'd like to contribute, fork and submit a PR—contributions are very welcome!

Let's make envon the best Python venv activator for every shell!

Release Notes

Version 0.2.0

• Full automatic activation and deactivation across all 7 major Unix shells (bash, sh, zsh, fish, csh, tcsh, nushell).
• First-class Nushell support with unbuffered real-time interactive selection menu streaming and dynamic prompt customization ((venv) prefix).
• Out-of-the-box support for stdlib python -m venv environments in Nushell without requiring third-party virtualenv or activate.nu.
• Complete C-Shell (csh) and TC-Shell (tcsh) support with strict variable cleanup and zero environment leakage.
• Added deactivation guards across all shell wrappers to prevent collisions with host/system deactivator scripts.
• Hardened filesystem scanning against permission crashes (PermissionError/OSError) in restricted directories (such as /tmp/systemd-private*).
• Resolved -- command-line argument separator handling across all wrapper scripts.

Version 0.1.6

• Added -V / --version flag to print the current version of envon.
• Added robust support for MSYS2 and Git Bash environments on Windows (now supporting all the same shells as on Linux, Unix, or macOS).
• Resolved interactive selection crashes in Mintty-based terminals (Git Bash/MSYS2).
• Fixed Zsh command substitution capturing hidden carriage returns in MSYS2.
• Improved shell detection and activation for all supported shells via explicit --emit flag in bootstrap wrappers.

Version 0.1.5

• Improved venv resolution logic: defaults to active venv if present before falling back to WORKON_HOME.
• Added WORKON_HOME fallback for default envon command (no arguments).
• Auto-selection of single environment in WORKON_HOME.
• Fixed shadowing issues where WORKON_HOME could override active environments.

Version 0.1.4
This is one of the initial releases of envon. A lot of work is still ongoing, especially in the testing, CI, and adding support for missing shells (e.g., full auto-activation for Nushell and csh/tcsh).

If you see any issues, feel free to open an issue. If you're interested in contributing, feel free to submit a PR. If you have ideas or anything regarding the project, feel free to open a discussion or feature request in an issue.

Check out the project on PyPI.