Why Conda?

Conda is an easy and reliable way to get a Python installation with all required packages and dependencies for your project. Conda provides the conda command that is used to install various Python packages and create isolated environments for different projects. Conda is cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) and works across many different system configurations. We use conda for setting up your Python environments for all our courses.

Use of Conda by large commercial companies may require a license. For more details and alternatives, read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Anaconda Distribution vs Miniconda

Anaconda offers multiple installers.

Miniconda is the preferred installation option for all our course participants.

Install Miniconda on Windows

  1. Visit the Miniconda Download page and then select the Windows 64-Bit Graphical Installer under Miniconda. It will download an .exe file.

  1. Once downloaded, run the installer by double-clicking it. Click Next.

  1. Read the terms of conditions and click I Agree to accept them.

  1. Select Just Me (recommended) option for installation and click Next.

  1. For Choose Install Location, you can keep the the default suggested directory as the Destination Folder. Click Next

Note: If your username has spaces, or non-English characters, it can causes problems with some packages. In that case, you can install it to a path such as C:\miniconda3.

  1. Confirm the Advanced Installation Options and click Install.

  1. Once the installation finishes, click Finish to exit the installer.

  1. Your installation is complete, but we need to verify it and configure a few settings. Open a new Anaconda Powershell Prompt from the Start Menu.

  1. A new Anaconda Powershell Prompt window will open and display your base environment activated by default. Enter the following command which will initialize and configure conda to work with Powershell.
conda init powershell

  1. Finally, run the following command to accept the Anaconda Terms of Service (ToS).
conda tos accept

Your setup is now complete.

Install Miniconda on Mac

  1. Visit the Miniconda Download page and then select the 64-bit (Apple silicon) Graphical Installer under Miniconda. It will download a .pkg installer.

  1. Once downloaded, run the installer by double-clicking it. Click Continue.

  1. Read the terms of conditions and click Agree to accept them.

  1. Confirm the install location and click Continue.

  1. Wait for the installer to finish and then click Close.

  1. Open a new Terminal window. If your installation was successful, the terminal will start without any errors and will display your base environment activated by default.

  1. Run the following command to accept the Anaconda Terms of Service (ToS).
conda tos accept

Your setup is now complete.

Install Miniconda on Linux

  1. Visit the Miniconda Download page and then download the appropriate Linux installer under Miniconda. Choose the 64-Bit (x86) Installer for Intel based systems and 64-Bit (AWS Graviton2 / ARM64) Installer for systems with ARM processors.

  1. Open a Terminal and cd to the directory containing the downloaded file. Run the following command to start the installer. Pick the command for the installer you have downloaded.
bash ~/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh
bash ~/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-aarch64.sh

  1. Read the terms of conditions and type yes to accept them.

  1. Confirm the install location and press Enter.

  1. Wait for the installer to finish and when prompted to Proceed with initialization?, enter yes.

  1. Restart the Terminal for the changes to take effect. The terminal will now display your base environment activated by default. Run the following command to accept the Anaconda Terms of Service (ToS).
conda tos accept

Your setup is now complete.

FAQs

Is Conda free?

Anaconda’s Terms of Service requires commercial entities with more than 200 employees purchase a license. Python ecosystem has many other package managers that are offered under more liberal licensing terms. Once you learn the basics of creating environments and installing packages using conda, you may consider switching to any of the following alternatives.

  • Mamba is an alternate open-source package manager that is fully compatible with conda and does not have the commercial licensing requirements of conda.
  • Pixi is a fast and modern alternative to conda.

Can I use UV?

Working with Geospatial Python requires installing binary packages such as GDAL - which are not supported by pure Python package managers like pip or uv. You can read more about Python package managers which details all the options and their tradeoffs.

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