Will hatch support managing user's default python?

[ketozhang]

Currently users can add to their shell profile a path to any of the python installed by hatch (e.g., in MacOS ~/Library/Application\ Support/hatch/pythons/3.11/python/bin/). There are a few effects that others may find undesirable:

• If you want to use python as the command, you'll need to add a symlink to python3
• Upgrades require manually modifying the shell profile.

Is there any plans to support version management (e.g., like in pyenv) or is specifying a pyproject/hatch toml file the only intended method?

[ofek]

No Hatch will never act like pyenv, see the relevant rationale here (simplicity part): https://hatch.pypa.io/latest/why/#python-management

I have opened an issue that would resolve some of the hardship astral-sh/python-build-standalone#212

The remaining friction of adding the path can be done with the hatch python install command as usual. If necessary, finding the path can be done with the hatch python find command.

[ketozhang]

Thanks @ofek . That's pretty reasonable and the simplicity is nice to come back to.

I'm currently migrating my defaults from pyenv to hatch.

The experience so far is not too bad

• Remove pyenv from shell profile and . pyenv folder.
• Install hatch and then Python(s).
• Add export PATH=$(hatch python find 3.11):$PATH to shell profile.

Then for interop

• Reinstall pipx-managed applications
• etc.

[batthias]

I do agree, that one doesn’t/shouldn‘t want to emulate pyenvs functionality. Only question I see is why hatch python install doesn't offer to also add the corresponding scripts folder to the path. Also maybe offer to remove the path on deleting the version.