Start a virtualenv inside a shell script

Question

I'm working on a Python project that's wrapped in a virtualenv. I'd like to have a script that does all the "footwork" of getting set up as soon as I clone my git repo -- namely make the virtualenv, download my requirements, and stay in the virtualenv after exiting . However, once the shell script finishes, I'm no longer in my virtualenv, since the changes it makes to its shell don't propagate to mine.

How can I have the virtualenv "stick" to the parent shell that ran the script?

Answer 1

Use a function instead of a separate script. A function executes in the context of your current shell.