diff --git a/bob/devtools/scripts/development.py b/bob/devtools/scripts/development.py
index f11affaacad60e870c16d4dfbdc272f4801723f2..f923934ebdb8332d16a8922d320919f34f6924f2 100644
--- a/bob/devtools/scripts/development.py
+++ b/bob/devtools/scripts/development.py
@@ -4,33 +4,51 @@ from click_plugins import with_plugins
 from pkg_resources import iter_entry_points
 
 
-@click.command(epilog="See bdt dev --help")
+@click.command(epilog="See bdt dev --help for examples of this command.")
+@click.option(
+    "-n",
+    "--env-name",
+    help="Name of the conda environment to use",
+    required=True,
+)
 @click.argument(
     "folders",
     nargs=-1,
     type=click.Path(exists=True, file_okay=False, dir_okay=True),
 )
-def install(folders):
-    """runs pip install -vvv --no-build-isolation --no-dependencies --editable <folder>"""
+def install(env_name, folders):
+    """runs:
+
+    pip install -vvv --no-build-isolation --no-dependencies --editable <folder>
+
+    inside the specified conda environment"""
     import subprocess
 
     for folder in folders:
 
         # call pip
+        cmd = [
+            "conda",
+            "run",
+            "-n",
+            env_name,
+            "pip",
+            "install",
+            "-vvv",
+            "--no-build-isolation",
+            "--no-dependencies",
+            "--editable",
+            folder,
+        ]
+        cmd = " ".join(cmd)
         subprocess.check_call(
-            [
-                "pip",
-                "install",
-                "-vvv",
-                "--no-build-isolation",
-                "--no-dependencies",
-                "--editable",
-                folder,
-            ]
+            cmd,
+            shell=True,
         )
+        click.echo("Installed package using the command:", cmd)
 
 
-@click.command(epilog="See bdt dev --help")
+@click.command(epilog="See bdt dev --help for examples of this command.")
 @click.argument("names", nargs=-1)
 @click.option("--use-https/--use-ssh", is_flag=True, default=False)
 @click.option(
@@ -38,7 +56,7 @@ def install(folders):
 )
 @click.pass_context
 def checkout(ctx, names, use_https, subfolder):
-    """git clones a Bob package."""
+    """git clones a Bob package and installs the pre-commit hook if required."""
     import os
     import subprocess
 
@@ -67,9 +85,15 @@ def checkout(ctx, names, use_https, subfolder):
                 click.echo(
                     "Installing pre-commit hooks. Make sure you have pre-commit installed."
                 )
-                subprocess.check_call(["pre-commit", "install"], cwd=dest)
+                try:
+                    subprocess.check_call(["pre-commit", "install"], cwd=dest)
+                except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+                    click.echo(
+                        "pre-commit installation failed. Please install pre-commit manually."
+                    )
 
 
+# the group command must be at the end of this file for plugins to work.
 @with_plugins(iter_entry_points("bdt.dev.cli"))
 @click.group(
     epilog="""Examples:
@@ -79,19 +103,19 @@ def checkout(ctx, names, use_https, subfolder):
 bdt dev checkout bob.bio.face
 cd bob.bio.face
 bdt dev create --python 3.9 bobbioface
-bdt dev install .
+bdt dev install -n bobbioface .
 
 \b
 # later on, checkout and develop more packages
 bdt dev checkout --subfolder src bob.bio.base
-bdt dev install src/bob.bio.base
+bdt dev install -n bobbioface src/bob.bio.base
 
 \b
 # develop a new project
 bdt dev new -vv bob/bob.newpackage "John Doe" "joe@example.com"
 # edit the conda/meta.yaml and requirements.txt files to add your dependencies
 bdt dev create --python 3.9 bobnewpackage
-bdt install ."""
+bdt install -n bobnewpackage ."""
 )
 def dev():
     """Development scripts"""
diff --git a/doc/development.rst b/doc/development.rst
index 4b4b4eb38cba9652f7823e3b5b9a3b4a49dd6f77..57a2e92ffb2131f2acb12613185a6bd84f1830a1 100644
--- a/doc/development.rst
+++ b/doc/development.rst
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ assume you have ``bob.devtools`` installed on a conda environment named ``bdt``
 
 .. code-block:: sh
 
-   $ bdt dev install . # calls pip with correct arguments
+   $ bdt dev install -n dev . # calls pip with correct arguments
    $ python
 
 for example:
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ The last step is to install the package:
 
    $ cd bob.io.base #if that is not the case
    $ conda activate dev #if that is not the case
-   $ bdt dev install .
+   $ bdt dev install -n dev .
 
 To run the test suite:
 
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ and install ``bob.extension`` as following:
 .. code-block:: sh
 
     $ bdt dev checkout --use-ssh --subfolder src bob.extension
-    $ bdt dev install src/bob.extension
+    $ bdt dev install -n dev src/bob.extension
 
 
 .. _bob.devtools.create_package:
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ start developing your package.
     $ cd bob.project.awesome
     $ bdt dev create --stable -vv awesome-project  #here we used the stable channels to make the conda environment.
     $ conda activate awesome-project
-    $ bdt dev install .
+    $ bdt dev install -n awesome-project .
 
 
 Developing existing bob packages along with your new package
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ You need to checkout and install these packages:
 .. code-block:: sh
 
     $ bdt dev checkout --use-ssh --subfolder src bob.extension bob.io.base
-    $ bdt dev install src/bob.extension src/bob.io.base  # the order of installing dependencies matters!
+    $ bdt dev install -n awesome-project src/bob.extension src/bob.io.base  # the order of installing dependencies matters!
 
 When you build your new package, it is customary to checkout the dependent
 packages (in this example ``bob.extension`` and ``bob.io.base``) in the ``src``
@@ -298,6 +298,6 @@ your environment. You can find these dependencies by checking
 .. code-block:: sh
 
     $ mamba install gcc_linux-64 gxx_linux-64 libblitz
-    $ bdt dev install src/bob.extension src/bob.io.base  # the order of installing dependencies matters!
+    $ bdt dev install -n awesome-project src/bob.extension src/bob.io.base  # the order of installing dependencies matters!
 
 .. include:: links.rst