Using sudo inside venv

Python Help
1

I’m running a script successfully inside a virtual environment created with venv, e.g.

(.venv) paul@desktop:~/st-python/clock-mpl$ python3 clock-4.py

I would like to run this script as a root inside the same virtual environment, but this doesn’t work:

(.venv) paul@desktop:~/st-python/clock-mpl$ sudo python3 clock-4.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/paul/st-python/clock-mpl/clock-4.py", line 1, in <module>
    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'matplotlib'

In sudo mode, Python is using different environment. Is there a workaround?

2

Is python3 referring to the same executable in both cases? (Try which python3 and sudo which python3) Probably not, since it’s a venv — you’ll need to call that one directly.

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3

Sudo is not running the puthon3 in the venv.

Use the full path to the python3 in the venv.
This avoids the need to activate the venv.

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4

Use the full path to the python3 in the venv.

Thank you. It works!

5

No, it’s not. Thank you.

6

Why does this happen? Do commands run “as” root with sudo use a separate PATH for the root user, or something like that?

7

It depends on your configuration and what command-line options you
pass to your sudo invocation, but often yes. For example, on modern
Debian systems this is controlled by default with a secure_path
option in the /etc/sudoers file.

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