How can I control which Python distribution to pip install a package to when I have Python 2, Python 3, and Anaconda on my computer?

Question

I have the following Python distributions installed on my Windows computer:

• Python 2.7 (IDLE)
• Python 3.4 (IDLE)
• Anaconda (Python 3.4)

Answer 1

I'm not sure why you need so many different Pythons, but for Anaconda, you should use conda.

conda install pytz

will install pytz into your Anaconda Python.

If all you are aiming to do is to have both Python 2 and Python 3 you can do this with conda.

conda create -n py27 python=2.7 anaconda

will create a conda environment (similar to a virtualenv but more powerful) with the Python 2.7 version of Anaconda. You can then activate this with

activate py27

See http://continuum.io/blog/anaconda-python-3.

You can also use pip with Anaconda, but using conda is recommended unless the package you need is not available through conda.