Quickstart guide for Mac & Linux using the CLI

This quickstart guide is intended to help you create an Anaconda account, obtain conda software, and configure it to access your instance of Anaconda while mainly operating from the command line interface (CLI). If you prefer the use of a graphical user interface (GUI), see the Quickstart guide for Mac & Linux using Anaconda Navigator to perform these configurations.

On this page:

Creating an account

Go to https://anaconda.cloud/sign-up, where you will be prompted to create an account.

Complete the following steps:

1. Enter your email address and a secure password.
2. Check the box next to Agree to agree to our Terms of Service.
3. Check the Captcha box.
4. Click Create My Account.

You will then be directed to the Create a profile page.

Creating a profile

Fill out the Personal Information form, check the box if you would like to receive marketing promotions or newsletters, then click Save and Continue.

You will receive a verification email once you have created your profile.

Purchasing a subscription to Anaconda

1. Sign in to your Anaconda Cloud account.

2. Open the user dropdown menu and select Subscriptions.

   

3. Select Change Plan.

   

4. Choose a monthly or yearly payment plan, then click Subscribe beneath your preferred tier.

   

5. Enter your organization’s information and your billing information.

6. Check the box to agree to the Anaconda EULA, then click Purchase Now.

7. You will receive two emails. One is an invoice for your subscription purchase. The other contains your private access token.

   

You can now invite members and manage your organization.

Installing conda software

If you already have Anaconda Distribution or Miniconda installed, you’re all set to move forward!

If you have not installed Anaconda Distribution or Miniconda yet, download either Anaconda Distribution or Miniconda and install it on your system before proceeding with configuration.

Not sure whether you need Anaconda Distribution or Miniconda? Refer to the Downloading conda topic for guidance.

Installing conda-token

After you have installed Anaconda Distribution or Miniconda, you can use it to install the conda-token package!

1. Open a terminal. You should see (base) preceding the command line. This means you are in your base conda environment.

2. Install conda-token by running the following command:

   conda install conda-token -n base
   

3. Enter “y” when prompted to proceed with the installation.

Authenticating to Anaconda

Anaconda uses private tokens to authenticate users to their organizations. You must be assigned a seat within an organization to activate a token. Once you’re assigned a seat, you can generate a private token for yourself at any time.

1. Go to your organization’s page.

2. Select Token Access from the left-hand navigation.

3. Select Activate token if it is the first time you are receiving a token, or Reissue token if you are obtaining a new token. An automated email containing a private token will be delivered to the address associated with your Anaconda account.

   

4. Configure conda to use this token by running the following command:

   # Replace <TOKEN> with the token you received in your email
   conda token set <TOKEN>
   

   Caution

   You must run this command every time you receive a new token.

Here is an example of what your terminal will display when you set your token correctly:

Important information about the .condarc file

The .condarc file is a configuration file that tells conda where to look for packages. Here is an example of what your .condarc file might look like:

channels:
  - defaults
add_anaconda_token: true
restore_free_channel: false
default_channels:
  - https://repo.anaconda.cloud/repo/main
  - https://repo.anaconda.cloud/repo/r
  - https://repo.anaconda.cloud/repo/msys2

Conda searches for requested packages in the channel listed at the top of the channels: list first. If that channel contains the requested package, it is downloaded from that channel.

If the requested package is not located in that channel, conda will search for the package in the next entry of the channels: list.

When conda reaches the defaults entry of the channels: list, it searches the channels listed under the default_channels: list, in the same descending order.

In this example, conda will look in the default channels in listed order, starting with https://repo.anaconda.cloud/repo/main, then https://repo.anaconda.cloud/repo/r, and finally, in https://repo.anaconda.cloud/repo/msys2.

For more information regarding the .condarc file, see the official conda documentation.

Viewing your .condarc file

You can view your .condarc file at any time by running the following command:

cat .condarc

Adding conda-forge as a channel

If you need to install packages from the conda-forge repository, run the following command:

conda config –append channels conda-forge

Using Anaconda behind a firewall or proxy (Optional)

Some companies have security policies that prevent communications on their network with external servers, like Anaconda. Under these circumstances, you’ll need to connect to your company’s firewall/proxy server in order to download packages successfully.

To connect to a firewall/proxy server, you’ll need to include a proxy_servers: section in the .condarc file that contains the URL to the proxy server. This entry must also contain a username and password for logging in to the proxy server. Speak with your IT Administrator if you do not have this information.

There are no commands to include this portion of the .condarc file, so you need to manually include the following lines:

# Replace <USERNAME> with the username for your proxy server
# Replace <PASSWORD> with the password for your proxy server
# Replace <URL> with the URL to your proxy server
proxy_servers:
 http: http://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<URL>:8080
 https: https://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<URL>:8443

You’ll also need to work with your IT team to allowlist connections to the main package repositories once you’ve configured your connection to the firewall/proxy server. The main package repositories are:

• https://anaconda.org
• https://repo.anaconda.com
• https://repo.anaconda.cloud

In some situations, it is necessary to export the HTTP_PROXY and HTTPS_PROXY environment variables to utilize the proxy server. To export your environment variables, open a terminal and run the following commands:

# Replace <USERNAME> with the username for your proxy server
# Replace <PASSWORD> with the password for your proxy server
# Replace <URL> with the URL to your proxy server
export HTTP_PROXY=http://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<URL>:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=https://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<URL>:8443

Verifying your configurations

To test your configurations and verify that conda downloads packages from anaconda.cloud, complete the following procedure:

1. Create an environment by running the following command:

   # Replace <ENV_NAME> with a name for your environment
   conda create --name <ENV_NAME>
   

2. Verify your environment created successfully by running the following command:

   conda env list
   

3. Activate your environment by running the following command:

   # Replace <ENV_NAME> with the name of your environment
   conda activate <ENV_NAME>
   

4. Install a package by running the following command:

   # Replace <PKG_NAME> with the name of the package you want to download from your channel
   conda install <PKG_NAME>
   

5. If necessary, you can delete the environment by running the following command:

   # Replace <ENV_NAME> with the name of your environment
   conda env remove --name <ENV_NAME>
   

Additional conda commands

The conda info command provides information about the currently active environment (including the location of your .condarc file).

The conda --help command provides a list of available arguments, brief descriptions of their functions, and a list of additional commands from other packages.

This conda cheat sheet contains a list of common conda commands and brief explanations of their functions with examples.