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Python - Create a Virtual Environment

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Python - Create a Virtual Environment

Description​

Package your Python-based analytics solutions in a portable, repeatable, and reusable manner. This SAS Studio custom step helps you create a virtual Python environments for use within SAS Viya. This enables ephemeral and isolated sessions.

A general idea of how to use steps related to virtual environments:

General idea

A quick video: Watch this YouTube video here.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaiPOU0M278

User Interface​

Refer the "About" tab on the step for more details.

Parameters​

This step helps you create a virtual environment. Input arguments required :

  1. Path to your virtual environment (optional) : specify a full path to a persistent location on the filesystem, for future reuse
  2. Requirements (optional) : either specify a path to a requirements.txt or enter them in space-delimited format.
  3. Install system-site packages (checkbox): Keep this checked to ensure system-site packages from the base environment are also made available in the virtual environment.

Python - Create a virtual environment

Requirements​

  1. A SAS Viya 4 environment (last update on a monthly release 2026.05) with SAS Studio Flows
  2. Python configured with the above environment (preferably using the SAS Configurator for Open Source)

Installation & Usage​

Refer to the steps listed in the main README.md

The WHY : Background information​

Refer this blog for background. The ability to create and use virtual Python environments for use within SAS Viya helps data scientists create portable solutions, maintain solution integrity, and exploit the integration between SAS and Python to the fullest extent.

Watch this example!

SAS & Open Source (Python) Integration : Better Together

Creating virtual Python environments within SAS Studio.

This repository contains 5 custom steps which are offered as examples of how you could create, activate, switch between, and package virtual Python environments from within SAS Viya applications and tools, such as SAS Studio. It makes use of Custom Steps, a component within SAS Studio which help users package repeatable steps in an user-friendly manner.

Change Log​

  • Version 2.2.0 (02JUL2026)
    • Additional documentation and refinement
  • Version 2.1.0 (01SEP2025)
    • Converted ORIGINAL_PYPATH to global macro variable to avoid breaking downstream steps
  • Version 2.0.0 (26AUG2025)
    • Refactored code to leverage venv (Goodbye, virtualenv!)
    • Separate folder in repository
    • Additional parameters
    • Accepts folder selector as input
    • Handles errors in requirements and folder input
  • Version 1.1 (12JUL2022)
    • Added new Custom Step - "Python - Obtain requirements from project directory"
  • Version 1.0 (20MAY2022)
    • Renamed to "Python - " as per Wilbram's advice; shuffled order of About tab on "Freeze"