Published on May 18, 2023

Python developers now have a new tool to manage virtual environments and project dependencies: Poetry. This clean and simple toolset offers deterministic dependencies with specific package versions, making it easier to build, package, and publish projects and libraries to PyPI.

To create a Poetry-managed Python project, a user can type “poetry new “. Poetry has its way of handling virtual environments where it stores them in a centralized cache directory that varies depending on the operating system. Poetry also installs any dependencies listed in the project’s pyproject.toml file, providing convenience when copying a Poetry project from somewhere else.

One of the key benefits of using Poetry is that it allows for all-in-one project management capability. This means that users can manage virtual environments, dependencies, and packaging all in one place.

However, if users prefer not to use Poetry’s behavior of managing virtual environments, they can disable it using the command “poetry config virtualenvs.create false”.

Overall, Poetry is a powerful tool that can streamline project management for Python developers. By providing deterministic dependencies, all-in-one project management capability, and easy packaging and publishing to PyPI, Poetry can help developers save time and avoid headaches in their projects.