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by StavrosK 2401 days ago
I kind of agree with both of you. I don't think Python deployment is that bad, as most modern managers get it right (I prefer Poetry nowadays). However something like letsencrypt-auto, which AFAIK installs its own dependencies, is not something I'd run. I've actually never used it precisely because it's too magical. Programs shouldn't install their own dependencies anywhere outside of a virtualenv.
2 comments

Does certbot do the same ? I don’t use either so I can’t tell.

I strongly agree that any python program must install its dependencies in a virtualenv. One could even argue that this principle could be extended to any software !

Have you heard of our Lord and Savior pipx? Solves the python tool isolation issue nicely.
I haven't used it, I use virtualfish which does a great job as well.
Virtualfish is new to me, will check it out thanks.
And it turned out that pipx wasn't what I thought it was, so thank you as well! Though virtualfish is only useful if you use the fish shell.