Conda

Installation and Setup

Install Miniconda or Anaconda using the official installers, then initialize your shell and verify the CLI:

• Windows
• Linux + macOS

PS> conda --version
PS> conda init powershell
PS> # Close and reopen the shell after init
PS> conda config --set auto_activate_base false

$ conda --version
$ conda init bash
$ # Restart the shell after init
$ conda config --set auto_activate_base false

A typical user wide configuration lives at ~/.condarc.

Key Features

• Creates isolated environments with pinned versions and reproducible installs from YAML files.
• Installs prebuilt binary packages for Python, R, and system-level libraries on all major platforms.
• Works with multiple channels and supports strict channel priority for reliable resolution.
• Coexists with pip so you can install packages from PyPI inside a Conda environment when needed.
• Provides clear environment management commands and caching to speed up repeated operations.

Usage

Create and activate an environment:

$ conda create -n venv python=3.14
$ conda activate venv

Install packages from the default channel or from conda-forge:

$ conda install numpy pandas
$ conda install -c conda-forge scipy

Search for available builds and versions:

$ conda search pandas

List, update, and remove:

$ conda env list
$ conda update --all
$ conda remove -n venv --all

Configure channels and priority:

$ conda config --add channels conda-forge
$ conda config --set channel_priority strict

Export and recreate environments for repeatability:

$ conda env export --from-history > environment.yml
$ conda env create -f environment.yml

Related Resources

Tutorial

Python Virtual Environments: A Primer

Create isolated project setups on all platforms, and gain a deep understanding of Python's virtual environments created with the venv module.

intermediate devops tools

For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources:

• Working With Python Virtual Environments (Course)
• Python Virtual Environments: A Primer (Quiz)