🐍 VenvStudio
Lightweight Python Virtual Environment Manager
Create, manage, and launch your Python environments — all from a modern GUI
📦 Install
pip install venvstudio
venvstudio
🐧 On Linux, pip may refuse to install. Most current distributions mark the
system Python as externally managed (PEP 668), so a plain pip install stops
with error: externally-managed-environment. Two ways around it:
# Isolated — recommended, no system packages touched
pipx install venvstudio
# Into the system Python — needs the override flag
sudo pip install venvstudio --break-system-packages --no-cache-dir -U
The same flag applies when upgrading a system-wide install later on.
Or download the standalone binary — no Python required:
| Platform | File | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🪟 Windows | VenvStudio.exe |
Portable — just run |
| 🐧 Linux | VenvStudio-x86_64.AppImage |
chmod +x then run |
| 🍎 macOS | VenvStudio-macOS |
Apple Silicon + Rosetta 2 |
✨ Features
🗂️ Environment Management
- 8 environment types — Python venv, uv, Poetry, Conda (micromamba), pipx, Hatch, PDM, Pixi
- Create, rename, clone, delete virtual environments with a modern GUI
- Type column — see each env's package manager at a glance (🐍 venv, ⚡ uv, 📜 Poetry, 🦎 Conda, 📦 pipx, 🏗️ Hatch, 📦 PDM, 🌊 Pixi)
- Runtime column — actual Python version detected from each environment's binary
- Auto-detect existing environments on disk at startup
- Per-environment cache — instant load, no subprocess delays
- Set a Default Environment that opens automatically on launch
- Open terminal with environment pre-activated (cmd, PowerShell, pwsh, bash, zsh, fish...)
- Export as
requirements.txt,requirements-frozen.txt(SHA-256 hashes), JSON,Dockerfile,docker-compose.yml,pyproject.toml,environment.yml
🔧 Supported Environment Types
| Icon | Type | Backend | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍 | Python venv | python -m venv |
Standard virtual environment with pip |
| ⚡ | uv | uv venv |
Rust-powered — 10–100× faster than pip |
| 📜 | Poetry | poetry new |
Dependency management with lock file |
| 📦 | pipx | pipx install |
Isolated CLI applications |
| 🦎 | Conda | micromamba | conda-forge — R, RStudio, jamovi, JASP, DBeaver and 25,000+ packages |
| 🏗️ | Hatch | hatch new |
Modern Python project manager by PyPA with pyproject.toml |
| 📦 | PDM | pdm init |
PEP 582 / pyproject.toml based package manager |
| 🌊 | Pixi | pixi init |
conda-forge + PyPI, blazing fast Rust-powered environment |
🧩 Conflict Manager
VenvStudio checks packages against a curated compatibility list before installing them — every install path (Catalog, Presets, Manual Install, Install Launcher) goes through the same check, so nothing slips through.
- 218 curated rules — packages with known Python-version limits, environment restrictions, or that need a native/conda build instead of a plain pip wheel
- Live PyPI fallback — for packages not on the curated list, VenvStudio checks PyPI directly for a matching wheel before installing
- Click any package for a detail panel: plain-English explanation, the exact install command for your environment type, and one-click actions — 🚀 Install, 🌱 Create New Environment, 🔄 Try Alternative (swap in a known-good replacement, e.g. PyQt5 → PySide6), 📚 Open in Learn
- Scan Environment — check every package already installed, not just new ones
- Export — save the full compatibility table as CSV or JSON
📦 Package Management
- Installed tab — filter, select, uninstall, export, import packages
- Catalog tab — 64 curated packages across 32 categories with PyPI & Docs links
- Presets tab — one-click install bundles (Data Science, Web API, Django, Flask, ML, NLP, CV, Testing...)
- Manual Install tab — paste package names or version specs (
numpy==1.24,pandas>=2.0) - pip or uv backend (uv is 10–100× faster)
🚀 Quick Launch
- Sidebar shows installed apps for the active environment
- 26 one-click launchers — see full list below
- Install Launcher (File menu) — pick any app, VenvStudio finds a compatible environment automatically or offers to create one
- System tools — R, RStudio, Ollama, DBeaver, jamovi, JASP via Conda
- Jupyter Working Directory — configurable (Home / Env Folder / Custom Path)
- Create Desktop Shortcut for any app
- Instant sync between sidebar dropdown, environment table, and package panel
🐍 Python Management
- Auto-detect all system Python installations
- Add custom Python paths
- Set User Default or System Default Python (PATH management with optional admin elevation)
- Download standalone Python builds from python-build-standalone
⚙️ Settings & Customization
- 🌙 13 themes (8 dark + 5 light, Catppuccin-based)
- 3-level font system (Headings / UI & Menus / Details)
- 🌍 11 languages: EN, TR, DE, ES, RU, JA, AR, FR, PT, ZH, KO
- Conda mirrors — reorderable list with automatic failover; a
Skip Mirrorbutton jumps to the next one mid-install instead of waiting out a slow server - pipx interpreter — pin which Python your CLI apps get installed with, useful when the newest release is ahead of the tools you need
- Custom venv base directory
- Custom terminal, catalog categories, and packages
- CLI/TUI Tools: Starship (preset preview, inline config editor, test terminal), Oh My Posh, Nerd Fonts
- Auto-check for updates on startup
🚀 Supported Launchers
Launch any of these tools directly from VenvStudio — if installed in the active environment, it appears in the sidebar automatically.
📓 Python Launchers (venv, uv, Hatch, PDM, Poetry)
| Tool | Description | Category | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
JupyterLab | Next-gen interactive development environment for notebooks | 📓 Notebooks | jupyter.org |
|
Jupyter Notebook | Classic notebook interface for interactive computing | 📓 Notebooks | jupyter.org |
 |
Streamlit | Build data apps in minutes with pure Python | 🌐 Web Apps | streamlit.io |
 |
Gradio | Build and share ML demos and web apps | 🌐 Web Apps | gradio.app |
 |
Plotly Dash | Analytical web applications with Python | 🌐 Web Apps | dash.plotly.com |
 |
Panel | High-level app and dashboarding framework | 🌐 Web Apps | panel.holoviz.org |
 |
Voilà | Turn Jupyter notebooks into standalone web apps | 🌐 Web Apps | voila.readthedocs.io |
 |
FastAPI | Modern, fast web framework for building APIs | ⚡ API | fastapi.tiangolo.com |
 |
TensorBoard | Visualization toolkit for machine learning experiments | 📊 ML Ops | tensorflow.org/tensorboard |
 |
MLflow | Platform for the complete ML lifecycle | 📊 ML Ops | mlflow.org |
 |
Spyder IDE | Scientific Python development environment | 🔬 IDE | spyder-ide.org |
 |
Orange Data Mining | Visual programming for data analysis and ML | 🔬 Data Science | orangedatamining.com |
 |
Datasette | Explore and publish data with instant JSON API | 🗄️ Data | datasette.io |
 |
Marimo | Reactive notebook — no hidden state, runs as an app | 📓 Notebooks | marimo.io |
 |
Quarto | Publish documents, reports and dashboards | 📄 Publishing | quarto.org |
 |
IPython | Enhanced interactive Python shell | 🐍 Shell | ipython.org |
 |
Chainlit | Build conversational AI / LLM chat apps | 🗣️ LLM & GenAI | chainlit.io |
 |
Shiny | Python web apps for data science, R-inspired | 🌐 Web Apps | shiny.posit.co |
 |
NiceGUI | Python-only web UIs, no HTML/CSS/JS needed | 🌐 Web Apps | nicegui.io |
 |
Bokeh | Interactive visualization for modern browsers | 📊 ML Ops | bokeh.org |
🛠️ System Tools (Conda / Portable)
Available in Conda environments — installed via conda-forge or detected on system.
| Tool | Description | Install Method |
|---|---|---|
| R | Statistical computing language | Conda (r-base) or system installer |
| RStudio | IDE for R | Conda (rstudio-desktop) or portable download |
| Ollama | Run large language models locally | Portable binary |
| DBeaver | Universal database tool | Conda or portable ZIP |
| jamovi | Statistical spreadsheet | Conda or AppImage (Linux) |
| JASP | Bayesian statistics | Conda or AppImage (Linux) |
🚀 Quick Start
From PyPI
pip install venvstudio
venvstudio
From Source
git clone https://github.com/bayramkotan/VenvStudio.git
cd VenvStudio
pip install PySide6
python main.py
Linux — System Dependencies
Before running VenvStudio on Linux, install the required Qt/XCB libraries:
Debian / Ubuntu / Pardus / Linux Mint:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-cursor0 libxcb-icccm4 libxcb-image0 \
libxcb-keysyms1 libxcb-render-util0 libxcb-shape0 libxkbcommon-x11-0
Arch Linux / CachyOS / Manjaro:
sudo pacman -S xcb-util-cursor xcb-util-icccm xcb-util-image \
xcb-util-keysyms xcb-util-renderutil libxkbcommon-x11
Fedora / RHEL / CentOS:
sudo dnf install libxcb xcb-util-cursor xcb-util-icccm xcb-util-image \
xcb-util-keysyms xcb-util-renderutil libxkbcommon-x11
openSUSE Leap / Tumbleweed:
sudo zypper install libxcb-cursor0 libxcb-icccm4 libxcb-image0 \
libxcb-keysyms1 libxcb-render-util0 libxkbcommon-x11-0 libgthread-2_0-0
Note: If the AppImage fails with
Could not load the Qt platform plugin "xcb", installing these packages will fix it.
CLI
VenvStudio is a GUI first, but the core actions work headless too — handy over SSH, in scripts, or when you just want one quick thing done.
Installing with pip gives you two names for the same tool: vs to type and
venvstudio to read. Use whichever you like.
| Short | Full | What it does |
|---|---|---|
vs |
venvstudio |
Launch the GUI |
vs list |
venvstudio list |
List every detected environment |
vs create NAME |
venvstudio create NAME |
Create a venv environment |
vs create NAME -t uv |
venvstudio create NAME -t uv |
Create a uv environment |
vs create NAME -t poetry |
venvstudio create NAME -t poetry |
Create a Poetry environment |
vs create NAME -t conda |
venvstudio create NAME -t conda |
Create a Conda environment |
vs create NAME -t hatch |
venvstudio create NAME -t hatch |
Create a Hatch environment |
vs create NAME -t pdm |
venvstudio create NAME -t pdm |
Create a PDM environment |
vs create NAME -t pixi |
venvstudio create NAME -t pixi |
Create a Pixi environment |
vs delete NAME |
venvstudio delete NAME |
Delete an environment (asks first) |
vs delete NAME -y |
venvstudio delete NAME -y |
Delete without the confirmation prompt |
vs packages ENV |
venvstudio packages ENV |
List packages installed in ENV |
vs install ENV PKG... |
venvstudio install ENV PKG... |
Install one or more packages into ENV |
vs uninstall ENV PKG... |
venvstudio uninstall ENV PKG... |
Uninstall packages from ENV |
vs preset list |
venvstudio preset list |
List every preset with its packages |
vs preset install NAME ENV |
venvstudio preset install NAME ENV |
Install a whole preset into ENV |
vs preset remove NAME ENV |
venvstudio preset remove NAME ENV |
Uninstall a preset's packages from ENV |
vs -V |
venvstudio -V |
Show version (also: version) |
vs -h |
venvstudio -h |
Show help |
vs # short and sweet
venvstudio list # or spell it out
vs install myenv requests httpx
On Windows, venvstudio-gui starts the GUI without a console window.
📤 Export and Import
Export your environment in multiple formats from the Export ▾ dropdown:
| Format | File(s) | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| 📄 requirements.txt | requirements.txt |
Standard pip |
| 🔒 requirements-frozen.txt | requirements-frozen.txt |
Reproducible install with SHA-256 hashes |
| 📋 JSON | packages.json |
Machine-readable package list |
| 🐳 Dockerfile | Dockerfile + requirements.txt |
Docker container |
| 🐳 docker-compose.yml | 3 files | Docker Compose |
| 📦 pyproject.toml | pyproject.toml |
Modern Python packaging |
| 🐍 environment.yml | environment.yml |
Conda compatibility |
| 📋 Clipboard | — | Quick copy-paste |
Import does the reverse — pick a requirements.txt-style file and
VenvStudio installs everything in it into the current environment,
using the right command for that environment's type (pip install -r,
uv pip install -r, poetry install, conda install --file).
⬇️ Python Downloader
Download standalone Python builds straight from VenvStudio — no system install, no admin rights needed.
Five sources, tried in order until one answers:
| Source | What it serves |
|---|---|
| Astral (default) | python-build-standalone via GitHub Releases — the same builds uv uses |
| GitHub Releases | Same builds, fetched directly |
| python.org | Official CPython source tarballs |
| SourceForge | Mirror — often faster in some regions |
| Custom URL | Point it anywhere you like |
The default chain is Astral → GitHub → python.org: if one is unreachable or slow, VenvStudio moves to the next on its own. Pick your preferred source in Settings → Python.
Install target:
- User Install — no admin required, stored in VenvStudio config
- System Install — Windows (
C:\Program Files), Linux (/opt/python), macOS (/usr/local/python)
🏗️ Build from Source
pip install pyinstaller PySide6 Pillow
python build.py
📝 License
Made with ❤️ by Bayram Kotan
GitHub · Releases · Issues · Screenshots
⭐ If VenvStudio helps you, give it a star! ⭐
1 maintainer
Release files for venvstudio 1.6.81
For a detailed explanation of source distributions (sdists) and built distributions (wheels), please see the package formats documentation.
Source distribution (sdist)
| File | Size | Uploaded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| venvstudio-1.6.81.tar.gz | 27.7 MB | Details |
Built distribution (wheel)
| File | Interpreter | ABI | Platform | Reset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| venvstudio-1.6.81-py3-none-any.whl | Python 3 | none | any | Details |
Total release size: 28.4 MB
Release files / venvstudio-1.6.81.tar.gz
| Download URL | venvstudio-1.6.81.tar.gz |
|---|---|
| Size | 27.7 MB |
| Tags | Source |
|
SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
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Yes |
| Uploaded via |
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Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 5, 2026.
Transparency logRelease files / venvstudio-1.6.81-py3-none-any.whl
| Download URL | venvstudio-1.6.81-py3-none-any.whl |
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| Size | 711.0 kB |
| Tags | Python 3 |
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SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
537771f2577b7ff2f091f2c8af2c710c8a6d32a7ff31029bd7438c26fe527908
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Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? What is trusted publishing? |
Yes |
| Uploaded via |
twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14
|
Provenance
Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.
PyPI Publish Attestation
PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.
Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 5, 2026.
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