Setting Up a Virtual Environment for Jupyter Notebook (Windows 11 tutorial)

Last update: January 29, 2025

Using virtual environments in Jupyter Notebook ensures a clean and manageable workspace for Python projects. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up a virtual environment and using it in Jupyter.

Step 1: Open Terminal as Administrator

To begin, open the terminal with administrative privileges:

1. Right-click on the Windows Start menu.
2. Select Terminal (Admin).

Step 2: Modify Execution Policy

In the admin terminal, run the following command to allow scripts to be executed:

set-executionpolicy unrestricted

After running the command, you can close the admin terminal.

Step 3: Create a Folder for Your Jupyter Notebook

Navigate to a desired location and create a dedicated folder for your project.

Step 4: Open Terminal in the Project Folder

1. Right-click inside the folder.
2. Choose Open in Terminal.

Step 5: Create and Activate a Virtual Environment

Run the following command to create a virtual environment in your folder:

python -m venv .venv

Activate the virtual environment:

.venv\scripts\activate

Step 6: Install Jupyter

With the virtual environment activated, install Jupyter Notebook and the necessary kernel package:

pip install jupyter ipykernel

Step 7: Install Additional Packages

If your project requires additional packages, install them as needed. For example, to install NumPy:

pip install numpy

Step 8: Register the Virtual Environment in Jupyter

Run the following command to add the virtual environment to Jupyter:

python -m ipykernel install --user --name=.venv --display-name "example-env"

Step 9: Launch Jupyter Notebook

Start Jupyter Notebook with:

jupyter notebook

Step 10: Select the Virtual Environment in Jupyter

1. Click New.
2. Select example-env from the available kernel options.

Step 11: Verify the Setup

Inside a new notebook, run the following Python code to ensure the environment is working:

import numpy as np

a = np.array([3, 5, 7])
a

If you see the expected output, your setup is complete!

By following these steps, you ensure that your Jupyter notebooks run in an isolated environment, keeping dependencies well-organized and avoiding conflicts with system-wide installations.