Difference between /path/to/env/bin/python setup.py and python setup.py in virtualenv

Question

This is a silly question but here it goes.

Usually, when I need to install a package in a virtual environment that for some reason is not playing nice with PIP , I activate such environment and then run /path/to/env/bin/python setup.py . This works fine but I have seen that some people just run python setup.py . Is it an omission of the full path? Or maybe, provided the virtual environment is activated, python setup.py installs the package in a virtual environment automatically. I don't know which one is correct.

Note: I don't want to mess up my clean Linux installation testing the hard way, so I thought it would be better to ask here.

Answer 1

If you have activated the virtualenv in your shell, there is no difference. The obvious difference is that using the explicit path means you'll definitely get the version you expect.