🐛 fix(pip): set PIP_USER=0 to prevent --user installs in virtualenvs#3719
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gaborbernat merged 1 commit intotox-dev:mainfrom Feb 17, 2026
Merged
🐛 fix(pip): set PIP_USER=0 to prevent --user installs in virtualenvs#3719gaborbernat merged 1 commit intotox-dev:mainfrom
gaborbernat merged 1 commit intotox-dev:mainfrom
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When users have pip configured globally to install packages with --user (via pip config --user), pip attempts to use this inside tox virtualenvs where user site-packages aren't visible, causing installation failures. This was fixed in tox 3 but the patch was lost during the tox 4 rewrite. Fixes tox-dev#3010
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Users with
pip config --userconfigured globally experienced installation failures in tox virtualenvs. 🐛 When pip attempted to honor the--userflag inside virtualenvs, it crashed because user site-packages aren't visible in isolated environments.This regression was introduced during the tox 4 rewrite. Tox 3 correctly set
PIP_USER=0to override user configuration, but this protection was lost in the rewrite. The fix restores this behavior by setting the environment variable in all virtualenv-based Python environments.The solution follows pip's documented environment variable precedence where
PIP_USER=0explicitly disables--userinstalls regardless of config file settings. This preserves user workflows while ensuring tox virtualenvs remain isolated. ✨Fixes #3010