# Install any python package question
**URL:** https://discourse.paraview.org/t/install-any-python-package-question/17608
**Category:** Development
**Created:** [May 27, 2026, 11:36am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/install-any-python-package-question/17608 "2026-05-27T11:36:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CsatiZoltan](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/CsatiZoltan)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2026, 11:36am UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/install-any-python-package-question/17608/1 "2026-05-27T11:36:40Z")
@mwestphal
I created the virtual environment successfully with pvpython:
```bash
./pvpython -m venv .venv
```
But when I open the site packages directory (_.venv/lib/python3.10/site-packages/_), I do not see the actual Python packages that come pre-installed with ParaView:
```bash
pvpython -c '
from pathlib import Path
import site
site_packages = site.getsitepackages()[0]
for package in Path(site_packages).iterdir():
print(package.stem)
'
```
On the other hand, the Python executable in the virtual environment (_.venv/bin/python_) can correctly import the external packages, such as NumPy.
How can I get the actual site-packages directory of ParaView from within .venv?
---
### Author:  [@jourdain](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/jourdain)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/install-any-python-package-question/17608/2 "2026-05-27T15:08:41Z")
```auto
pvpython --venv .venv
pvbatch --venv .venv
paraview --venv .venv
```
---
### Author:  [@CsatiZoltan](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/CsatiZoltan)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/install-any-python-package-question/17608/3 "2026-05-27T15:34:15Z")
This is to tell ParaView/pvpython/pvbatch to use the given virtual environment. What I would like to achieve is that the Python interpreter of the virtual environment created by
```auto
./pvpython -m venv .venv
```
knows about the installed packages. Because it doesn’t. When I launch that interpreter (_.venv/bin/python_) and execute
```python
from pathlib import Path
import site
site_packages = site.getsitepackages()[0]
for package in Path(site_packages).iterdir():
print(package.stem)
```
it prints
```auto
pip
pkg_resources
distutils-precedence
setuptools
_distutils_hack
setuptools-65.5.0
pip-23.0.1
```
which is far from all the packages that ParaView ships.
---
### Author:  [@jourdain](https://discourse.paraview.org/u/jourdain)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2026, 9:05pm UTC](https://discourse.paraview.org/t/install-any-python-package-question/17608/4 "2026-05-27T21:05:17Z")
To use a venv with ParaView in it, you just need to set the PYTHONPATH and LD\_LIBRARY\_PATH (linux) environment variable.
What was discussed before was to use the venv to pip install things and have those things available inside ParaView Qt or ParaView Python shell.