Using Python Virtualenvs Over Emacs TRAMP Is Getting Simpler

Since my original post on using remote virtualenvs from Emacs, the process has gotten a lot simpler.

First, Michael Albinus fixed the python.el that ships with Emacs 24 nightly builds, eliminating the need for my hack to it.

Next, I put the Python support code from the Emacs distribution on PyPI, so you can add it to a remote virtualenv with pip install emacs.

Finally, I improved tramp-virtualenv.el and the example .dir-locals.el so that Emacs can change to a configured virtualenv when you switch buffers.

The implementation of tramp-virtualenv.el is an ugly hack, but it worked well enough for coding on two Python projects last night. I’m starting to wonder if something like it would be a good addition to virtualenv.el.

The improvements in tramp-virtualenv also made obsolete its python.sh wrapper script and the need to set directory local values of python-command and gud-pdb-command-name, since TRAMP finds the active virtualenv’s python from the PATH now.

Next up, another attempt at using Python’s refactoring tools over TRAMP.