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What happens when you create a new Python venv in the same location as an existing one?


I recently ran into some issues using Python venvs by accidently recreating a venv in the same location as an existing one.

Steps to reproduce:

  • Created a venv using Python 3.10.11
  • Installed numpy 2.1.2 via pip
  • Recreated the venv in the same location using Python 3.12.7
  • Attempted to reinstall numpy 2.1.2 via pip, but pip said it is already installed
  • Ran import numpy as np in the venv

Resulting error (from numpy):

ImportError: Error importing numpy: you should not try to import numpy from
        its source directory; please exit the numpy source tree, and relaunch
        your python interpreter from there.

It seems like the recreation of the venv messes up something with the numpy installation. As I said above, this was an accident in the first place – I should have created the second venv in a new location. However, I’m curious what might be happening here, and more generally what the consequences of overwriting existing venvs with new ones might be?



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