virtualenv choosing python version gives permission denied error

Question

I would like to specify the python version of the virtualenv. I have installed python 2.7 and 3.8 through home brew and I can create virtual environments like it is described here like so for both versions:

virtualenv --python=/usr/bin/python2.7 my-env

To now use other python versions eg 3.7 many pages recommend pyenv . I can install a specific python version using pyenv however when I want to use it in a similar fashion:

virtualenv --python=/Users/user/.pyenv/versions/3.7.7 my-env

I get RuntimeError: failed to query /Users/user/.pyenv/versions/3.7.7 with code 13 err: 'Permission denied'

I also tried to activate the pyenv environment globally and use that to install. I can successfully change my python version in the terminal using pyenv . However after creating the virtual environment it always uses the true python installed and not the one from pyenv .

Why do I get a permission denied for something that is installed in my home folder? I never used sudo to install any of these things explicitly. How can I solve this?

Answer 1

Ok I now found it out. It must link to the python binary like so:

virtualenv --python=/Users/user/.pyenv/versions/3.7.7/bin/python ~/.virtualenvs/my-project

The reason why it worked with the brew installed versions was that /usr/bin/python2.7 is actually a symlinks not a folder.