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Setting Up a Python Environment on Windows OS

Welcome to the setup guide for creating a Python environment on a Windows OS machine without admin rights and behind a firewall. This guide will walk you through all the prerequisites and steps required to set up a Python development environment, ensuring you can work seamlessly even with limited permissions on your Windows machine.

In the following sections, you will find instructions on installing essential tools like Visual Studio Code, Anaconda, and Git Bash without requiring administrative privileges. We'll also provide guidance on configuring your environment behind a firewall, ensuring a smooth setup process for your project.

Follow these steps carefully to get your Python environment up and running, and you'll be well-equipped to dive into your project. Let's get started!

Instructions

Note

Before you can get started with this project, you'll need to have the following software installed on your Windows machine.

Prerequisites

Visual Studio Code (VS Code):

  • Download and install VS Code by following the instructions on the official website: VS Code Download
  • During the installation process, choose an installation location within a directory where you have write permissions, typically within your user directory, C:/Users/[Username]/. You should not encounter any admin rights issues during the installation of VS Code.

Anaconda Distribution:

  • Download the Anaconda Distribution for Windows from the official website: Anaconda Download
  • Follow these steps to install Anaconda without admin rights:
    • During the Anaconda installation process, when you reach the "Advanced Options" section, select the "Install for me only" option.
    • Choose a directory location where you have write permissions (e.g., your user directory) for the installation.
    • Complete the installation process.

Git Bash:

  • Download and install Git Bash, which provides a Unix-like command-line environment for Windows: Git Bash Download
  • During the installation, choose an installation location within a directory where you have write permissions (e.g., your user directory). You should not encounter any admin rights issues when installing Git Bash.

Once you have installed these prerequisites, you'll be ready to set up and run this project on your Windows machine, even without admin rights.

To ensure a consistent development environment and take advantage of tools and configurations tailored for this project, it's advisable to install the extensions specified in the .vscode/extensions.json file.

Follow the steps below:

  1. Start by opening the project in Visual Studio Code.
  2. Access the Extensions panel:
    • Click the square icon on the sidebar
    • Or press Ctrl+Shift+X
  3. Once in the Extensions panel:
    • Type @recommended in the search bar. This filters and displays the list of recommended extensions for the project.
  4. Install the extensions: For every listed recommended extension, press the Install button to incorporate it into your VS Code.

Enable the Usage of Conda Commands from the Git Bash Terminal in VS Code

Follow the steps below to get started:

1. Identify Anaconda Installation Path

  • Open the Anaconda Prompt from the Start menu.
  • Type the command below and press Enter:
Anaconda Prompt
conda info
  • Look for the line starting with base environment :. This displays the path to your Anaconda installation.

2. Activate Conda in Git Bash

  • Start VS Code.
  • Open a new terminal, making sure it's Git Bash.
  • Run the following command, substituting the path with your specific Anaconda installation path:
Bash
. C:/Users/[Username]/Anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh

3. Automate Conda Activation

To ensure Conda activates automatically every time you launch the integrated Git Bash terminal in VS Code:

Determine .bashrc and .bash_profile location

In the integrated Git Bash terminal of VS Code, run:

Bash
echo $HOME

Note

.bashrc and .bash_profile might be hidden. Turn on the 'view hidden files' option in File Explorer.

If these files are absent in your home directory:

Info

In Windows OS, the home directory for a user is typically located at C:/Users/[Username]/, where [Username] is the name of the user account. When using tools that are Unix-based or Unix-like (e.g., Git Bash), the concept of the "home" directory often maps to this path.

When you're in Git Bash, for instance, referencing ~ (the tilde symbol) will typically point to this directory. So if you run a command like cd ~ in Git Bash, it would take you to C:/Users/[Username]/.

a. Open the integrated Git Bash terminal in VS Code

You can do this by selecting the Git Bash option from the terminal dropdown in VS Code or by setting it as the default terminal.

b. Create the .bashrc File

Enter this command to generate a .bashrc file in your home directory:

Bash
touch ~/.bashrc

This touch command produces an empty .bashrc file if it's missing.

c. Create the .bash_profile File

To create the .bash_profile file, use:

Bash
touch ~/.bash_profile
d. Edit the .bash_profile File

To edit the file using VS Code's built-in editor, run:

Bash
code ~/.bash_profile

Once opened in VS Code, incorporate these lines:

Bash
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
  source ~/.bashrc
fi

Save and close the file.

e. Edit the .bashrc File

To edit the .bashrc file in VS Code, use:

Bash
code ~/.bashrc

Then, append:

Bash
. C:/Users/[Username]/Anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh

Remember to replace [Username] with your actual username. Save and close the file once done.

f. Apply the Changes

Apply your changes by either restarting the integrated Git Bash terminal in VS Code or by sourcing the .bash_profile file:

Bash
source ~/.bash_profile

Every time you initiate a new Bash session within VS Code, the .bashrc file gets sourced automatically due to the .bash_profile configuration. This setup loads the Conda configuration in .bashrc, enabling the use of Conda commands.

4. Verify Conda Activation

  • Shut and reopen the Git Bash terminal in VS Code.
  • Enter conda activate and hit Enter. If (base) appears in the terminal, the base Conda environment is active.

With these steps complete, you can now utilize Conda commands from the Git Bash terminal in VS Code on Windows. Whenever you launch a new Git Bash terminal in VS Code, Conda activates automatically, streamlining your Conda environment and package management tasks.

Install Linux Tools on Git Bash

When you lack admin rights on a Windows machine, system-wide software installations become tricky. Yet, for your local environment, like Git Bash, there's a way. For instance, to install the make tool, follow the steps below.

What is make?

make is a utility controlling the creation of executables and other non-source program files.

Steps to Add make to Git Bash

1. Download the Tool

Head over to ezwinports and get make-4.4.1-without-guile-w32-bin.zip.

Reference

Reference: Check this article for a more comprehensive setup guide.

2. Extract the Download

Unpack the contents to, say, C:\Users\[Username]\Tools\make-4.4.1-without-guile-w32-bin.

3. Update the $PATH in Git Bash

Run the following commands:

Bash
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:C:\\Users\\[Username]\\Tools\\make-4.4.1-without-guile-w32-bin\\bin' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

This is how your .bashrc profile should now appear:

Bash
. C:/Users/[Username]/Anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
export PATH=$PATH:C:\\Users\\[Username]\\Tools\\make-4.4.1-without-guile-w32-bin\\bin

4. Verify Installation

At this point, you should be able to run make commands from Git Bash.

Note

Tools added this way are localized to your Git Bash environment for your user profile. They won't be accessible in other command-line interfaces unless their paths receive similar adjustments.

Some tools might come with dependencies. Make it a habit to peruse documentation or README files to guarantee all requisite components are in place.

Install Poetry for Dependency Management

Here are the steps to install Poetry in the NYL Windows machine without admin access and firewall.

Disconnect VPN

Disconnect your VPN is it is connected.

Update Conda

Open the Anaconda PowerShell Prompt and update your Conda installation:

Anaconda Prompt
conda update conda
Install Poetry for Package Management

Following the Poetry's docs, let's install Poetry with pipx. First install pipx:

Anaconda Prompt
pip install pipx

Install Poetry using pipx:

Anaconda Prompt
pipx install poetry

Output:

Anaconda Prompt
installed package poetry 1.6.1, installed using Python 3.9.18

These apps are now globally available

- poetry.exe

⚠️ Note: 'C:\\Users\\[Username]\\.local\\bin' is not on your PATH environment variable. These apps will not be globally accessible until your PATH is
updated. Run pipx ensurepath to automatically add it, or manually modify your PATH in your shell's config file (i.e. ~/.bashrc).

done! ✨ 🌟 ✨

It looks like Poetry was installed successfully using Pipx, but the .local/binfolder where the poetry executable is installed is not in your PATH environment variable.

Since you don't have admin access to modify the PATH globally, you need to update it just for your user account.

Since we are using .bashrc and .bash_profile files for our shell configuration on Windows, here is how you can automatically add Poetry's path to our PATH. Add the following line to your .bash_profile:

Bash
export PATH=$PATH:C:\\Users\\[Username]\\.local\\bin

Your .bashrc must looks like this:

Bash
# Add Anaconda to PATH
# Sourcing this script initializes Conda and adds it to the PATH
# This gives access to Conda, Python and any packages installed in the default Conda env
# This give access to Conda command from Git Bash integrated in VS Code
. C:/Users/[Username]/Anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
# Add Make to PATH
# This adds the Make (GNU make) bin folder containing make.exe to the PATH
# Now Make can be run from any directory in the Git Bash terminal integrated in VS Code
export PATH=$PATH:C:\\Users\\[Username]\\Tools\\make-4.4.1-without-guile-w32-bin\\bin
# Add Poetry to PATH
# Poetry is used for Python dependency and package management
# It was installed using Pipx into the ~/.local/bin folder
# Adding this folder to PATH makes the poetry command globally available
# Now Make can be run from any directory in the Git Bash terminal integrated in VS Code
export PATH=$PATH:C:\\Users\\[Username]\\.local\\bin
# General notes:
# - Use single quotes for Windows paths
# - Escape spaces and special characters in paths
# - Export PATH additions to make commands globally available
# - Source scripts like conda.sh to initialize environments
# - Restart shell or run source ~/.bashrc after making changes

Now, restart your Git Bash terminal integrated in VS Code or run source ~/.bashrc and validate the Poetry command is available:

Bash
$ poetry --version
Poetry (version 1.6.1)
(base)

Notice that the Conda base environment must be activated to validate that conda, make and, poetry commands are available on Git Bash:

Bash
[Username]@IAG-MAGUI1-KQ10 MINGW64 ~/OneDrive - New York Life/Documents/Projects/service-sage-rag
$ conda activate
(base) 
[Username]@IAG-MAGUI1-KQ10 MINGW64 ~/OneDrive - New York Life/Documents/Projects/service-sage-rag
$ conda --version
conda 23.9.0
(base) 
[Username]@IAG-MAGUI1-KQ10 MINGW64 ~/OneDrive - New York Life/Documents/Projects/service-sage-rag
$ make --version
GNU Make 4.4.1
Built for Windows32
Copyright (C) 1988-2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
(base) 
[Username]@IAG-MAGUI1-KQ10 MINGW64 ~/OneDrive - New York Life/Documents/Projects/service-sage-rag
$ poetry --version
Poetry (version 1.6.1)
(base)