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For a virtual environment created on Windows, activate it in Git Bash with source .venv/Scripts/activate. Then verify which interpreter the shell is running: a changed prompt alone does not prove that the virtual environment’s Python is being used.

Set up and verify a Windows virtual environment in Git Bash

From your project directory, create the environment with the Windows Python launcher, then activate its Windows scripts directory using Bash’s source command:

py -m venv .venv
source .venv/Scripts/activate

Python places scripts in Scripts for a Windows-created environment; a POSIX environment uses bin. Git Bash provides a Bash-like shell in the Git for Windows environment, but that does not turn a Windows Python installation into a POSIX one. The activation command combines the Windows layout with Bash’s activation mechanism. See the Python venv documentation and the PyPA guide to installing packages with virtual environments.

Check the interpreter from the same Git Bash session where you activated the environment:

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python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable); print(sys.prefix); print(sys.base_prefix); print(sys.prefix != sys.base_prefix)"

The executable path should point into your project’s .venv, and the final expression should print True. Python documents sys.prefix != sys.base_prefix as a way to identify that the running interpreter is inside a virtual environment. Do not rely on VIRTUAL_ENV alone: activation is optional, so a venv interpreter can be used without that variable being set.

If the activation script cannot be found

First confirm that Git Bash is in the project directory and that the environment is actually named .venv. List the Windows environment’s scripts directory:

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pwd
ls .venv/Scripts

If the directory or activation file is absent, check the environment name and where it was created. A Windows-created environment uses .venv/Scripts/activate; a POSIX-created environment instead has an activation script under bin. Use forward slashes in Git Bash paths. The two layouts reflect different operating-system environments, not interchangeable activation filenames.

If the prompt changes but Python is still the wrong one

The prompt is only a visual cue. Command lookup depends on the shell’s PATH, so use command -v python and inspect sys.executable and the prefixes rather than diagnosing from python --version alone.

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Git for Windows’ wrapper adjusts PATH to put Git directories first, and pyenv-win notes that PATH priority can cause an unexpected Python version. If you changed a user-level PATH setting, open a fresh prompt before testing. In the current session, the interpreter path and the prefix comparison show whether the environment’s Python is actually running. See the Git for Windows wrapper documentation and the pyenv-win FAQ.

If a native command receives a mangled path

Git Bash uses an MSYS-derived environment, where Unix-style paths differ from native Windows paths. MSYS2 documents that arguments resembling Unix paths may be automatically converted when passed to native executables. This is a separate issue from which Python appears first on PATH, and behavior can vary by command and setup; do not assume every Git for Windows installation converts every argument the same way.

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Identify which process consumes the path before changing conversion behavior. When a native Windows program needs a Windows-form path, convert it explicitly with cygpath -w; use cygpath -u for Unix form:

cygpath -w <path>
cygpath -u <path>

A blanket attempt to disable path conversion can fix one command while disrupting others. The MSYS2 filesystem paths documentation explains the conversion model and these utilities.

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If deactivate is missing in VS Code

This can be specific to VS Code’s integrated terminal rather than evidence that Python cannot run from the environment. The VS Code Python extension wiki describes configurations in which its terminal activation approach does not run the usual venv activation script, so the normal deactivate shell function is not registered. Python’s standard activation mechanism normally defines that function.

The wiki documents two possible workarounds: add its supplied hook to a Bash initialization file, or set python.terminal.activateEnvironment to false and reopen the terminal. The wiki was last edited in 2023, so its instructions may not match every current extension version. See VS Code Python extension: Fixing “deactivate” command for virtual environments.

If the project was moved after the environment was created

Recreate the environment at its new location, then reinstall dependencies from the project’s requirements file or other dependency manifest. Do not copy or relocate the old .venv as a repair: Python notes that installed scripts can contain absolute interpreter paths, which makes virtual environments generally non-portable. Follow the Python venv documentation for environment creation and activation details.

Activation is optional if you call the venv interpreter directly

Activation mainly adjusts the current shell’s PATH for convenience. If you want to avoid shell activation, invoke the environment’s interpreter directly from the project directory:

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.venv/Scripts/python

Use that executable for the command you intend to run, for example .venv/Scripts/python -m pip install -r requirements.txt. This avoids relying on which python Git Bash resolves, while still using the Windows virtual environment.

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