What do you use to manage multiple Python versions?

Posted by Little-Chard-8096@reddit | Python | View on Reddit | 17 comments

Hey everyone 👋

Managing multiple Python versions across projects can get messy.

What tools do you usually use?

I tried building something simple for myself: pvm-shell PVM gthb

Curious how you handle this and if there are better approaches.

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aminoy77@reddit

pyenv for version management, uv for everything else (venvs, deps, running scripts). The combination covers basically every case without thinking too hard about it.

Tried asdf for a while but the Python plugin added complexity I didn't need for a single-language setup.

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I'd always just used the py launcher you get when installing Python on Windows, but since I've been using ZorinOS more the last couple years I mainly use pyenv. I use uv for managing individual projects, but I'm still installing new global Python versions with pyenv for now.

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Ha_Deal_5079@reddit

honestly just pick whatever. the whole thing is consolidation tho - one tool beats juggling five things

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theevildjinn@reddit

Until last year: pyenv

Going forwards: uv

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valueoverpicks@reddit

uv is great, but “no reason to use anything else” depends on what you optimize for.

it is fast, but you lose some transparency and control compared to separating version management and environments.

i have found pyenv + lightweight envs to be more predictable long term, especially across multiple projects.

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JamzTyson@reddit

no reason to use anything else

so long as none of the Behavior Quirks are an issue for your project.

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valueoverpicks@reddit

pyenv for managing versions, then venv per project.

keeps everything isolated, reproducible, and avoids dependency conflicts without adding extra tooling overhead.

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nicwolff@reddit

Docker.

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JamzTyson@reddit

What do you use to manage multiple Python versions?

I use pyenv

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