conda search

Search for packages using the MatchSpec format

Overview

The conda search command queries channels for packages matching the provided package specification. It uses the MatchSpec query language to find packages across configured channels or within local environments.

Syntax

conda search [options] [match_spec]

Search Specifications

match_spec · string

Package specification to search for. Supports MatchSpec format including wildcards, version constraints, and channel specifications. Defaults to * (all packages) if not specified.

Search Mode

--envs · boolean

Search all of the current user’s environments. If run as Administrator (on Windows) or UID 0 (on unix), search all known environments on the system.

Output Options

-i, --info · boolean

Provide detailed information about each package.

--subdir, --platform · string

Search the given subdir. Should be formatted like osx-64, linux-32, win-64, and so on. The default is to search the current platform.

--skip-flexible-search · boolean

Do not perform flexible search if initial search fails.

Channel Customization

-c, --channel · string

Additional channel to search for packages. These are URLs searched in the order they are given (including local directories using the file:// syntax or simply a path like /home/conda/mychan or ../mychan). Can be used multiple times.

--use-local · boolean

Use locally built packages. Identical to -c local.

-O, --override-channels · boolean

Do not search default or .condarc channels. Requires —channel.

--repodata-fn · string

Specify file name of repodata on the remote server. Can be passed multiple times.

--experimental · string

Enable experimental features. Options: jlap (download incremental package index data), lock (use locking when reading/updating index cache).

--no-lock · boolean

Disable locking when reading, updating index (repodata.json) cache.

--repodata-use-zst / --no-repodata-use-zst · boolean

Check for/do not check for repodata.json.zst. Enabled by default.

Networking Options

-C, --use-index-cache · boolean

Use cache of channel index files, even if it has expired. This is useful if you don’t want conda to check whether a new version of the repodata file exists.

-k, --insecure · boolean

Allow conda to perform “insecure” SSL connections and transfers. Equivalent to setting ssl_verify to false.

--offline · boolean

Offline mode. Don’t connect to the Internet.

Output Format Options

--json · boolean

Report all output as json. Suitable for using conda programmatically.

-v, --verbose · boolean

Can be used multiple times. Once for detailed output, twice for INFO logging, thrice for DEBUG logging, four times for TRACE logging.

-q, --quiet · boolean

Do not display progress bar.

Examples

Search for specific package

conda search scikit-learn

Common Use Cases

Basic Package Search

Search for a package by name:

conda search scikit-learn

Wildcard Searches

Find packages matching a pattern:

conda search '*scikit*'

Note: Quote wildcards to prevent shell expansion:

conda search "*scikit"
conda search "*scikit*"

Version-Specific Search

Find specific versions of a package:

conda search 'numpy>=1.12'
conda search 'python=3.11'
conda search 'pandas>=1.0,<2.0'

Channel-Specific Search

Search in a specific channel:

conda search -c conda-forge tensorflow

Or using MatchSpec syntax:

conda search conda-forge::numpy
conda search 'numpy[channel=conda-forge]'

Platform-Specific Search

Search for packages built for a specific platform:

conda search numpy[subdir=linux-64]
conda search --subdir osx-64 pytorch

Detailed Package Information

Get comprehensive information about available packages:

conda search -i scikit-learn

This shows:

• File name
• Version
• Build string and number
• Size
• License
• Subdir
• URL
• Dependencies
• Constraints

Searching Installed Environments

Find where a package is installed:

conda search --envs numpy

This searches all environments instead of channels.

Multi-Channel Search

Search across multiple channels:

conda search -c conda-forge -c bioconda biopython

Offline Search

Search using cached channel data:

conda search --offline numpy

Machine-Readable Output

Get JSON output for programmatic use:

conda search --json pandas > results.json

Your shell may expand * before passing the command to conda. Use single or double quotes around search patterns containing wildcards: '*scikit*' or "*scikit*".

If conda doesn’t find an exact match, it automatically performs a flexible search with wildcards unless you use --skip-flexible-search.

Use the MatchSpec format for precise searches:

• package[version=">=1.0", subdir=linux-64, channel=conda-forge]
• Supports: name, version, build, channel, subdir, and more