Philip Durbin 🚀 (Mar 14 2024 at 01:25): Philip Durbin 🚀 (Mar 14 2024 at 01:25):Homebrew? Conda? pyenv? What do you recommend? I'm on Python 3.9.6 from /usr/bin/python3 (system Python) and I'm in need of a newer version.
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Mar 14 2024 at 01:32):I installed pyenv from Homebrew and am trying it.
Jan Range (Mar 14 2024 at 07:17):I am a conda user and can totally recommend. Pretty easy env management. Maybe look into miniconda if envs are the only use case.
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Mar 14 2024 at 10:56):Do you install Conda with Homebrew?
Jan Range (Mar 14 2024 at 12:08):Yes, I have done it using brew
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Mar 14 2024 at 12:16):Gotcha. Thanks. So far pyenv is working fine for me but a friend of mine is a Conda maintainer. I should probably give it a try. :grinning:
Philip Durbin 🚀 (May 16 2025 at 16:04):I got a new laptop last year and have survived with system Python until today. It was version 3.9.6.
Since pyenv worked well enough for me last time I set it up on this laptop (again installed with Homebrew) and I'm still liking it: https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Aug 18 2025 at 19:13):@Jan Range just so I'm clear, to switch between versions of Python you use Conda?
Jan Range (Aug 18 2025 at 19:15):Yes, you can setup a Python version per environment through the following
conda create --name easydataverse python=3.11
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Aug 18 2025 at 19:20):Ok, maybe I should stop using pyenv since it's giving me trouble with poetry: #python > poetry not working for python-dvuploader
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Sep 17 2025 at 19:32):The bad news is that my laptop had to get wiped. The good news is that I can try Conda this time! :sweat_smile:
Jan Range (Sep 17 2025 at 19:32):Oh no and oh yes :smile:
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Sep 18 2025 at 16:33):@Jan Range so to get Conda, do you recommend installing via brew? And do you recommend Miniconda or Anaconda Distribution?
My main use case is having Poetry work well. And switching between Python versions. And having the equivalent of venv which I gather I won't be using anymore. :cry:
Oliver Bertuch (Sep 18 2025 at 17:54):Please be very careful when using Conda. We have had serious legal and finance trouble on the horizon when we used the default channels on campus.
Oliver Bertuch (Sep 18 2025 at 17:56):https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/rse/the_latest/the-anaconda-is-squeezing-us
Oliver Bertuch (Sep 18 2025 at 17:58):Your mileage may vary if you work for a university
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Sep 18 2025 at 18:01):Interesting post. Does it all apply to Miniconda as well?
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Sep 18 2025 at 18:02):Oh, I guess it is mentioned: "mini-forge and micromamba are drop-in replacements for conda (and miniconda)"
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Sep 18 2025 at 19:59):I ended up installing Python 3.10 with brew. Maybe I don't need extra tools. :sweat_smile:
Jan Range (Sep 18 2025 at 20:03):@Oliver Bertuch very nice read! Have not been aware of this. How does that relate to using Conda solely for environments? I dont use conda install but pip install, which is not using their channel. Does that also fall under their ToS?
Oliver Bertuch (Sep 19 2025 at 06:22):You can always use conda (or one of the competitors), just make sure to not use the Anaconda channels. Then you should be fine, as you are not trying to use their commercial product.
Jan Range (Sep 19 2025 at 10:34):Thanks, that is really good to know!
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Sep 19 2025 at 13:59):I'm a little disappointed that pyenv didn't work out for me. I'm basically scared to use it, since it stopped working with poetry. For now I'm going to try to manage multiple versions of Python with homebrew.
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Feb 10 2026 at 19:16):Wow, I just saw this crazy Venn diagram from https://alpopkes.com/posts/python/packaging_tools/ in some slides from @Yamil Suarez
venn_diagram_updated_08_2024.png
No wonder I'm confused! :sweat_smile:
Jan Range (Feb 10 2026 at 19:17):Its a lot :smile:
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Feb 10 2026 at 19:18):For now, I'm still using brew to manage Python versions.
Jan Range (Feb 10 2026 at 19:22):I have settled with uv now. Its fast and easy to use. Until the next one comes by :smile:
Philip Durbin 🚀 (Feb 10 2026 at 19:29):Right, right. Next laptop I'll try uv. Or if I have to wipe this one again. :upside_down:
Felipe Gómez-Cortés (Mar 23 2026 at 09:24):I had issues while teaching Python (windows, linux & macos at the same time): Students with old MAC's were not able to install UV.
On modern machines UV runs like a charm.
Yamil Suarez (Mar 24 2026 at 21:14):FYI: the for profit company that created and maintains UV, Astral, got bought out by OpenAI. They say they will still support UV, and that the Astral team will join their Codex team.
https://openai.com/index/openai-to-acquire-astral/
https://astral.sh/blog/openai
https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1rxzy4d/openai_to_acquire_astral/
Last updated: Apr 03 2026 at 06:08 UTC