A **virtual environment** is a directory with some files in it.

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/// info

This page will teach you how to use **virtual environments** and how they work.

If you are ready to adopt a **tool that manages everything** for you (including installing Python), try <a href="https://github.com/astral-sh/uv" class="external-link" target="_blank">uv</a>.

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## Create a Project { #create-a-project }

* 🔧 Update sponsors badges, Databento. PR [#10519](https://github.com/tiangolo/fastapi/pull/10519) by [@tiangolo](https://github.com/tiangolo).
* 👷 Adopt Ruff format. PR [#10517](https://github.com/tiangolo/fastapi/pull/10517) by [@tiangolo](https://github.com/tiangolo).