Using virtualenv with PyPy
==========================

Thanks to the work that was recently done on the `sys-prefix`_ branch, it is
now possible to use virtualenv_ with PyPy.

To try it, you need:

  - a recent version of PyPy: PyPy 1.3 does not contain the necessary logic to
    work with virtualenv, so you need a more recent PyPy from subversion
    trunk. You can either `build it by yourself`_ or download one of our
    precompiled `nightly builds`_

  - a copy of `virtualenv-pypy`_: this is a fork of virtualenv that contains
    all the patches needed to work with PyPy, and hopefully will be `merged
    back`_ at some point.  It should be totally compatible with the official
    version of virtualenv, so it is safe to use it even to create non-PyPy
    environments.  If you notice some weird behavior that does not happen with
    the standard virtualenv, please let us know.

.. _`sys-prefix`: http://codespeak.net/pipermail/pypy-svn/2010-June/041686.html
.. _virtualenv: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/virtualenv
.. _`build it by yourself`: http://codespeak.net/pypy/dist/pypy/doc/getting-started-python.html#translating-the-pypy-python-interpreter
.. _`nightly builds`: http://buildbot.pypy.org/nightly/trunk/
.. _`virtualenv-pypy`: http://bitbucket.org/antocuni/virtualenv-pypy/
.. _`merged back`: http://bitbucket.org/ianb/virtualenv/issue/53/virtualenv-with-pypy

The directory layout has been redesigned in a way that it is possible to use
virtualenv to install a PyPy both from a precompiled tarball or from an svn
checkout::

  # from a tarball
  $ virtualenv -p /opt/pypy-c-jit-76426-linux/bin/pypy my-pypy-env

  # from the svn checkout
  $ virtualenv -p /path/to/pypy-trunk/pypy/translator/goal/pypy-c my-pypy-env

Once the environment has been created, you can enter it as usual. Note that
``bin/python`` is now a symlink to ``bin/pypy``.

Enjoy it :-)