Commands Overview

Complete reference for all conda command-line interface commands

Conda provides a comprehensive set of commands for managing packages, environments, and configurations. This page provides an overview of all available commands organized by category.

Command Structure

All conda commands follow the pattern:

conda <command> [options] [arguments]

Use conda <command> --help to see detailed help for any command.

Command Categories

Package Management

Install, update, remove, and search for packages

Environment Management

Create, activate, and manage conda environments

Configuration

Configure conda settings and channels

Information

View system information and package details

Maintenance

Clean caches and manage conda itself

Advanced

Advanced operations and utilities

Package Management

Commands for installing, updating, removing, and searching for packages.

Command	Description	Common Usage
install	Install packages into an environment	conda install numpy
update (or upgrade)	Update packages to latest compatible versions	conda update scipy
remove (or uninstall)	Remove packages from an environment	conda remove pandas
search	Search for packages using MatchSpec format	conda search "numpy>=1.12"
list	List installed packages in an environment	conda list

Package Management Patterns

Installing Packages

# Install a single package
conda install package-name

# Install multiple packages
conda install numpy scipy pandas

# Install specific version
conda install python=3.11

# Install from specific channel
conda install -c conda-forge matplotlib

Updating Packages

# Update specific package
conda update numpy

# Update all packages
conda update --all

# Update with dependencies frozen
conda update --no-update-deps scipy

Removing Packages

# Remove specific package
conda remove numpy

# Remove multiple packages
conda remove numpy scipy pandas

# Force removal without dependency check
conda remove --force-remove package-name

Environment Management

Commands for creating and managing isolated conda environments.

Command	Description	Common Usage
create	Create a new conda environment	conda create -n myenv python=3.11
env	Parent command for environment operations	conda env list
env create	Create environment from YAML file	conda env create -f environment.yml
env list	List all conda environments	conda env list
env remove	Remove an environment	conda env remove -n myenv
env update	Update environment from YAML file	conda env update -f environment.yml
env export	Export environment to YAML file	conda env export > environment.yml
env config	Configure environment-specific settings	conda env config vars list
activate	Activate a conda environment	conda activate myenv
deactivate	Deactivate current environment	conda deactivate
rename	Rename an existing environment	conda rename -n oldenv newenv

Environment Management Patterns

Creating Environments

# Create empty environment
conda create -n myenv

# Create with specific Python version
conda create -n myenv python=3.11

# Create with packages
conda create -n myenv python=3.11 numpy pandas

# Create from environment file
conda env create -f environment.yml

# Clone existing environment
conda create -n env2 --clone env1

Working with Environments

# List all environments
conda env list

# Activate environment
conda activate myenv

# Deactivate environment
conda deactivate

# Export environment
conda env export > environment.yml
conda env export --from-history > environment.yml

# Remove environment
conda env remove -n myenv

# Remove all packages but keep environment
conda remove -n myenv --all --keep-env

Configuration

Commands for managing conda configuration settings.

Command	Description	Common Usage
config	Modify configuration values in .condarc	conda config --show

Configuration Patterns

Viewing Configuration

# Show all configuration
conda config --show

# Show specific setting
conda config --show channels

# Show configuration sources
conda config --show-sources

# Describe configuration options
conda config --describe
conda config --describe channel_priority

Modifying Configuration

# Add channel (highest priority)
conda config --add channels conda-forge

# Append channel (lowest priority)
conda config --append channels bioconda

# Set configuration value
conda config --set channel_priority strict

# Remove channel
conda config --remove channels conda-forge

# Remove configuration key
conda config --remove-key auto_update_conda

Configuration Scopes

# Modify user config (~/.condarc)
conda config --add channels conda-forge

# Modify system config
conda config --add channels conda-forge --system

# Modify environment config
conda config --add channels conda-forge --env

# Modify specific file
conda config --add channels conda-forge --file /path/to/.condarc

Information

Commands for viewing information about conda, environments, and packages.

Command	Description	Common Usage
info	Display information about conda installation	conda info
list	List installed packages	conda list
search	Search for packages with detailed info	conda search numpy --info
compare	Compare packages between environments	conda compare env1 env2
export	Export environment specification	conda export

Information Patterns

System Information

# Show conda information
conda info

# Show base environment path
conda info --base

# List all environments
conda info --envs

# Show system information
conda info --system

# Show all information
conda info --all

Package Information

# List packages in current environment
conda list

# List packages matching pattern
conda list numpy

# List with full details
conda list --show-channel-urls

# Export package list
conda list --export > packages.txt

# Show package revisions
conda list --revisions

# List with sizes
conda list --size

# Search package details
conda search numpy --info

Maintenance

Commands for cleaning caches and maintaining conda.

Command	Description	Common Usage
clean	Remove unused packages and caches	conda clean --all
notices	View and manage conda notices	conda notices

Maintenance Patterns

Cleaning Caches

# Clean all (index, packages, tarballs, logs)
conda clean --all

# Clean package tarballs
conda clean --tarballs

# Clean unused packages
conda clean --packages

# Clean index cache
conda clean --index-cache

# Clean log files
conda clean --logfiles

# Clean temporary files
conda clean --tempfiles

# Force removal of all package caches
conda clean --force-pkgs-dirs

Viewing Notices

# View all notices
conda notices

# View notices in JSON format
conda notices --json

Advanced

Advanced commands for specialized operations.

Command	Description	Common Usage
run	Run a command in a conda environment	conda run -n myenv python script.py
init	Initialize conda for shell interaction	conda init bash
package	Create and extract conda packages	conda package -w myenv
commands	List all available conda commands	conda commands

Advanced Patterns

Running Commands

# Run command in specific environment
conda run -n myenv python script.py

# Run command with environment variables
conda run -n myenv --env MY_VAR=value python script.py

# Run without capturing output
conda run -n myenv --no-capture-output python script.py

Shell Integration

# Initialize conda for bash
conda init bash

# Initialize for zsh
conda init zsh

# Initialize for fish
conda init fish

# Initialize for PowerShell
conda init powershell

# Reverse initialization
conda init --reverse

Package Operations

# Create package from environment
conda package -w /path/to/env

# Extract package
conda package -u package.tar.bz2

# Reset extracted package
conda package --reset

Common Conventions

Environment Targeting

Most commands accept options to specify which environment to operate on:

Option	Description	Example
-n NAME or --name NAME	Target environment by name	conda install -n myenv numpy
-p PATH or --prefix PATH	Target environment by path	conda install -p /path/to/env numpy
(none)	Use currently active environment	conda install numpy

Output Formats

Many commands support different output formats:

Option	Description	Usage
--json	Output in JSON format	conda list --json
--quiet or -q	Suppress output	conda install -q numpy
--verbose or -v	Increase output verbosity	conda install -vv numpy

Dry Run and Safety

Option	Description	Usage
--dry-run	Show what would happen without executing	conda install --dry-run numpy
--yes or -y	Automatically confirm prompts	conda remove -y numpy

Channel Options

Option	Description	Example
-c CHANNEL or --channel CHANNEL	Add channel for this command	conda install -c conda-forge package
--override-channels	Use only specified channels	conda search --override-channels -c main numpy

Plugin Commands

Conda supports plugin-based subcommands through its plugin system. Additional commands may be available depending on installed plugins. Use conda commands to see all available commands including those from plugins.

Plugin commands with names matching built-in commands will be ignored. Built-in commands always take precedence.

Deprecated Commands

Some commands have aliases for backward compatibility:

• conda upgrade → Use conda update
• conda uninstall → Use conda remove

Getting Help

# General help
conda --help

# Command-specific help
conda install --help

# Show conda version
conda --version

# List all commands
conda commands

Next Steps

Installation Commands

Learn about package installation options

Environment Commands

Master environment management

Configuration Guide

Configure conda for your workflow

Advanced Features

Python API and plugin development