Bash shell error: “no such file or directory”

Normally when you invoke a command in a bash script, the shell waits until the command completes and then runs the next command. When you use exec, you're telling the shell to replace itself with the command it is about to run, i.e. there is no shell once the command starts. So when the command finishes, it is as if the original script finished as well. You must run your command without exec if you want the script to continue running after the command finishes.

execvp: No such file or directory doesn't look like a bash error message. It is probably coming from the aura script, which is trying to run something that can't be found in your search path.

But, after all, why should virtualenv be active in global gnome-shell context ?

This would surely break all system-level python application installed.

So the only safe way to start a virtualenv application is to start from a terminal shell

Probably it is safer to activate environment in the ~/.bash_profile ~/.zprofile, enabling login-shell option in terminal.

The alternative setting, using ~/.bashrc, should be avoided because it can cause problems in subshells.

So,

• enable the login-option
• start the terminal (or bash/zsh --login in xterm ...)
• "workon"
• then start emacs (server) from the terminal shell.

To run a virtualenv application from gnome-shell, the desktop file must exec a dedicated wrapper script that source env activate before execution.

For a generic wrapper (similar to ruby 'bundle exec' and rvm stuff), see:

• https://gist.github.com/datagrok/2199506

Maybe a 're-hash' is required ...

• https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/blob/develop/virtualenv_embedded/activate.sh#L76