Table of Contents

About Conda#

Conda is a software and environment manager. You can use it to create an isolated environment where you can install a software along with its dependencies i.e., all the software it depends upon to function.

There are three different sources from which you can get Conda — Miniconda, Anaconda, and Miniforge. In this tutorial, I will install Conda using the Miniforge installer.

Note
I run these commands on Linux Mint 22.1. These steps should also work on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Step 1: Downloading Miniforge Installer#

Visit https://conda-forge.org/ and click on the Download Installer button.

This should take you to the Download the conda-forge Installer page.

Under Miniforge Latest Release, click on the Linux x86_64 (amd64) option.

This will download the installer file to your computer as Miniforge3-Linux-x86_64.sh.

Step 2: Running the Installer Script#

Open a terminal.

Change in to the directory where you downloaded the installer script. In my case this was /home/vimal/Downloads:

$ cd ~/Downloads

Then, run the installer script using bash:

$ bash Miniforge3-Linux-x86_64.sh

Press the ENTER key. You will need to answer the following prompts to continue.

Q1: Miniforge License Agreement#

First, you will need to read the Miniforge license¹ agreement and accept the terms to proceed with the installation. To scroll down, press the ENTER key.

To proceed, type yes at the >>> prompt and press the ENTER key.

Do you accept the license terms? [yes|no]
>>> yes

Q2: Where to Install Miniforge#

Next, you will need to select a location for installing Miniforge.

Press the ENTER key to use the default — /home/user/minforge3. You can also type in a different path after the >>> prompt, if you wish.

Miniforge3 will now be installed into this location:
/home/vimal/miniforge3

  - Press ENTER to confirm the location
  - Press CTRL-C to abort the installation
  - Or specify a different location below

[/home/vimal/miniforge3] >>> 

Press the ENTER key to proceed.

Q3: Do You Wish to Initialize Conda?#

In the final step, you will need to decide if you wish to initialize conda.

Typing yes here will have the following effects:

1. The conda command will be available in your PATH. ²
2. The Conda base environment will be activated automatically when you open a terminal session.

Type either yes or no and press the ENTER key to proceed:

Do you wish to update your shell profile to automatically initialize conda?
...
Proceed with initialization? [yes|no]
[no] >>> yes

Note
I have answered yes here, but I will disable auto-activation of the Conda base environment in Step 3. This is because I prefer to activate conda environments only when I need it.

Check if Conda is Installed Correctly#

Open a new terminal session:

(base) vimal@mint-zara:~$ 

Notice the (base) label at the beginning of the prompt. This means the Conda base environment is now active.

Now, type:

$ conda --version

Example output:

conda 25.3.1

If you receive an output like the above, Conda is installed and ready to use.

Step 3: (Optional) Disabling Auto-Activation of base Environment#

If you answered yes in Step 2 Q3, the Conda base environment will be activated automatically whenever you open a new terminal session.

Note
This step is only necessary if you prefer to activate conda environments manually.

Type the following command:

$ conda config --set auto_activate false

There will be no output, but this command will update your Conda configuration. If you open a new terminal, you will notice the (base) label will no longer be visible.

Now, if you wish to activate the Conda base environment, type:

$ conda activate

To exit the environment, type:

$ conda deactivate

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Footnotes: