conda update

Update conda packages to the latest compatible version

Overview

The conda update command updates conda packages to the latest compatible version. It accepts a list of package names and updates them to the latest versions that are compatible with all other packages in the environment.

Conda attempts to install the newest versions of the requested packages. To accomplish this, it may update some packages that are already installed, or install additional packages.

Syntax

conda update [options] [package_spec ...]

Target Environment Specification

-n, --name · string

Name of environment.

-p, --prefix · string

Full path to environment location (i.e. prefix).

Package Specifications

package_spec · string

List of packages to update in the conda environment. Package specifications can include:

• Simple names: numpy
• Version constraints: python>=3.11, numpy>=1.20

--file · string

Read package versions from the given file. Repeated file specifications can be passed (e.g. --file=file1 --file=file2).

Solver Mode Modifiers

--freeze-installed, --no-update-deps · boolean

Do not update or change already-installed dependencies. This may force conda to install older versions of the requested packages.

--update-deps · boolean

Update dependencies that have available updates.

-S, --satisfied-skip-solve · boolean

Exit early and do not run the solver if the requested specs are satisfied. Also skips aggressive updates as configured by the aggressive_update_packages config setting.

--update-all, --all · boolean

Update all installed packages in the environment.

--update-specs · boolean

Update based on provided specifications.

--no-deps · boolean

Do not install, update, remove, or change dependencies. This WILL lead to broken environments and inconsistent behavior. Use at your own risk.

--only-deps · boolean

Only update dependencies.

--force-reinstall · boolean

Ensure that any user-requested package for the current operation is uninstalled and reinstalled, even if that package already exists in the environment.

--no-pin · boolean

Ignore pinned file.

--strict-channel-priority · boolean

Packages in lower priority channels are not considered if a package with the same name appears in a higher priority channel.

--no-channel-priority · boolean

Package version takes precedence over channel priority. Overrides the value given by conda config --show channel_priority.

--solver · string

Choose which solver backend to use.

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.

Package Linking and Install-time Options

--clobber · boolean

Allow clobbering of overlapping file paths within packages, and suppress related warnings.

--copy · boolean

Install all packages using copies instead of hard- or soft-linking.

--no-shortcuts · boolean

Don’t install start menu shortcuts.

--shortcuts-only · string

Install shortcuts only for this package name. Can be used several times.

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, Prompt, and Flow Control Options

--download-only · boolean

Solve an environment and ensure package caches are populated, but exit prior to unlinking and linking packages into the prefix.

--show-channel-urls · boolean

Show channel urls. Overrides the value given by conda config --show show_channel_urls.

--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.

-d, --dry-run · boolean

Only display what would have been done.

-y, --yes · boolean

Sets any confirmation values to ‘yes’ automatically. Users will not be asked to confirm any adding, deleting, backups, etc.

Environment Protection

--override-frozen · boolean

DANGEROUS. Use at your own risk. Ignore protections if the environment is frozen.

Examples

Update single package

conda update numpy

Common Use Cases

Updating All Packages in an Environment

Update all packages to their latest compatible versions:

conda update --all

Or for a specific environment:

conda update -n myenv --all

Updating Conda Itself

Keep your conda installation up to date:

conda update conda

Updating Specific Packages

Update one or more specific packages:

conda update numpy pandas matplotlib

Updating Without Breaking Dependencies

Use --no-update-deps to update only the specified package:

conda update --no-update-deps requests

Checking What Would Be Updated

Use dry-run mode to preview changes:

conda update --all --dry-run

Updating with Dependency Updates

Explicitly update dependencies:

conda update --update-deps scipy

If you wish to prevent existing packages from updating, use the --no-update-deps option. This may force conda to install older versions of the requested packages, and it does not prevent additional dependency packages from being installed.

Using --no-deps may result in an environment with incompatible packages. Use this option with great caution.