A virtual environment (Python venv, Node nvm, Conda) creates an isolated sandbox of libraries and runtime versions. Benefits:
- Dependency control: Avoid version clashes across projects.
- Reproducibility: Freeze exact package lists for CI/CD.
- Proxy config isolation: Store PROXY_URL=socks5://gateway.proxied.com:1080 in the env's .env file so each project can target unique Proxied credentials or rotation rules.
For production-grade isolation—including system libs—wrap your scraper in Docker and inject Proxied credentials at runtime.