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Create a Python environment with Miniconda

Installing Miniconda

NOTE:

Please be mindful that Miniconda has no user interface and only offers the `conda` prompt and Python. It also requires general knowledge of how the terminal works.

Graphical installer:

macOS

You must download the Miniconda installer from the official page (https://docs.anaconda.com/free/miniconda/). From here, you can choose the Intel or the M1/2/3 chip version and the bash or pkg versions. We strongly recommend using the bash version since the pkg may skip the "Destination select" process, failing the installation.

bash

  • Once you download the document, locate where it is stored (it is most likely in the Downloads folder).
  • Go to a new terminal in your computer (Command + Space bar type terminal + Enter)
  • Go into the folder where you have the bash file stored (Ej. cd Downloads); you can verify it is there by running ls.
  • This is an optional step, but we recommend verifying the download to ensure everything will run correctly. In your terminal run shasum -a 256 filename replacing filename with the downloaded file name. If it does not raise any error, follow the next step.
  • Run bash <conda-installer-name>-latest-MacOSX-x86_64.sh. Replace the <conda-installer-name> with the downloaded file's name.
  • Once the process is finished, please close and reopen your terminal (Command + q to close/reboot the program completely. You can see if this was successful by clicking Command + tab. It should show you all the applications you have opened. Make sure that the terminal does not show there).
  • To verify the installation, open a terminal window and run conda list. If you installed everything correctly, a list of all the installed packages should appear.

Windows

For Windows, you can just download the .exe file and run it. In case you want to install it directly from the command line, you can run the following code:

NOTE:

If your computer is not 64-bit, you can look into miniconda archive installs. Just keep in mind that older versions are not compatible with newer versions of Python, and will limit the amount of new libraries you can use.


curl https://repo.anaconda.com/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Windows-x86_64.exe -o miniconda.exe

The curl command allows the terminal to exchange data directly from another server, in this case, it is making an HTTP request, just like a web browser. If the request fails, make sure that your internet connection is stable. Once the download is complete, type:

start /wait "" miniconda.exe /S

This will start the installation process. Afterward, you can run del miniconda.exe to delete the executable file.

After installing, close the terminal and open the "Anaconda Prompt (miniconda3)" to use miniconda.

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