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Overview

This page provides a comprehensive reference for all configuration settings available in conda. Settings can be specified in:
  • .condarc files (YAML format)
  • Environment variables (prefixed with CONDA_)
  • Command-line arguments
Use conda config --describe to see descriptions of all settings, or conda config --describe <parameter> for a specific setting.

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Channel Configuration

Settings that control where conda searches for packages.
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channels
list
default:"['defaults']"
The list of conda channels to search for packages. Channels earlier in the list have higher priority.
channels:
  - conda-forge
  - bioconda
  - defaults
Environment variable: CONDA_CHANNELS (comma-separated)
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channel_alias
string
default:"https://conda.anaconda.org"
Base URL prepended to channel names that don’t include a full URL. Used to resolve simple channel names.
channel_alias: https://repo.company.com/conda
Environment variable: CONDA_CHANNEL_ALIAS
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channel_priority
string
default:"flexible"
Determines how strictly conda respects channel priority during dependency resolution.
  • strict: Only consider packages from the highest-priority channel that contains any version of a package
  • flexible: Prefer higher-priority channels but allow lower-priority channels to satisfy dependencies
  • disabled: Ignore channel priority entirely; choose packages based solely on version
channel_priority: strict
Environment variable: CONDA_CHANNEL_PRIORITY
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default_channels
list
The list of channel URLs used for the ‘defaults’ multichannel.
default_channels:
  - https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main
  - https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r
Environment variable: CONDA_DEFAULT_CHANNELS
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custom_channels
map
A mapping of channel names to URLs. Overrides the default channel_alias for specific channels.
custom_channels:
  local: file:///opt/conda/packages
  internal: https://repo.company.com/conda
Environment variable: Not supported
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custom_multichannels
map
Define custom multichannels (groups of channels referenced by a single name).
custom_multichannels:
  science:
    - conda-forge
    - bioconda
Environment variable: Not supported
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override_channels_enabled
boolean
default:"true"
Allow use of the --override-channels CLI flag to ignore configured channels.
override_channels_enabled: false
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allowlist_channels
list
Only allow packages from these channels. If specified, channels not in this list are ignored.
allowlist_channels:
  - conda-forge
  - defaults
Environment variable: CONDA_ALLOWLIST_CHANNELS
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denylist_channels
list
Never use packages from these channels.
denylist_channels:
  - untrusted-channel
Environment variable: CONDA_DENYLIST_CHANNELS

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Directory Configuration

Settings for environment and package storage locations.
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envs_dirs
list
Directories to search for named environments. When creating a new environment, it will be placed in the first writable directory.
envs_dirs:
  - ~/my-envs
  - ~/.conda/envs
Default: [$CONDA_ROOT/envs, ~/.conda/envs]Environment variable: CONDA_ENVS_DIRS (path separator-delimited)
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pkgs_dirs
list
Directories for package caches. Downloaded packages are extracted into the first writable directory.
pkgs_dirs:
  - /scratch/conda-pkgs
  - ~/.conda/pkgs
Default: [$CONDA_ROOT/pkgs, ~/.conda/pkgs]Environment variable: CONDA_PKGS_DIRS (path separator-delimited)

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Solver Configuration

Settings that control dependency resolution and package updates.
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solver
string
default:"classic"
The solver backend to use for dependency resolution.
  • classic: Original conda solver
  • libmamba: Faster solver using libmamba (recommended)
solver: libmamba
Environment variable: CONDA_SOLVER
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aggressive_update_packages
list
Packages that are always updated to the latest version when they are part of an install/update operation.
aggressive_update_packages:
  - ca-certificates
  - certifi
  - openssl
Environment variable: CONDA_AGGRESSIVE_UPDATE_PACKAGES
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auto_update_conda
boolean
default:"true"
Automatically update conda when a newer version is available.
auto_update_conda: false
Environment variable: CONDA_AUTO_UPDATE_CONDA
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pinned_packages
list
Package specifications to pin in every environment. These packages will be held at specified versions.
pinned_packages:
  - python=3.11
  - numpy<2.0
Environment variable: CONDA_PINNED_PACKAGES (ampersand-separated)
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disallowed_packages
list
Package specifications that are not allowed to be installed.
disallowed_packages:
  - tensorflow<2.0
  - python=2.7
Environment variable: CONDA_DISALLOWED_PACKAGES (ampersand-separated)
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create_default_packages
list
Packages that are automatically added to newly created environments.
create_default_packages:
  - pip
  - ipython
  - jupyter
Environment variable: CONDA_CREATE_DEFAULT_PACKAGES

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Network Configuration

Settings for internet connectivity and remote repositories.
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ssl_verify
boolean | string
default:"true"
SSL certificate verification setting. Can be:
  • true: Verify certificates using system CA bundle
  • false: Disable verification (not recommended)
  • Path to CA bundle file
  • Path to directory containing CA certificates
  • 'truststore': Use OS certificate store (Python 3.10+)
ssl_verify: /etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
Environment variable: CONDA_SSL_VERIFY
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client_ssl_cert
string
Path to a client SSL certificate file (or combined cert/key PEM file).
client_ssl_cert: ~/.conda/client-cert.pem
Environment variable: CONDA_CLIENT_SSL_CERT
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client_ssl_cert_key
string
Path to a client SSL certificate key file (when cert and key are separate).
client_ssl_cert_key: ~/.conda/client-key.pem
Environment variable: CONDA_CLIENT_SSL_CERT_KEY
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proxy_servers
map
HTTP/HTTPS proxy server configuration.
proxy_servers:
  http: http://user:[email protected]:8080
  https: https://user:[email protected]:8080
Environment variables: HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY
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remote_connect_timeout_secs
float
default:"9.15"
Seconds to wait for connection to remote servers.
remote_connect_timeout_secs: 30.0
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remote_read_timeout_secs
float
default:"60.0"
Seconds to wait for server response after connection.
remote_read_timeout_secs: 120.0
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remote_max_retries
integer
default:"3"
Maximum number of HTTP request retries.
remote_max_retries: 5
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remote_backoff_factor
integer
default:"1"
Backoff factor for retry delays.
remote_backoff_factor: 2
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offline
boolean
default:"false"
Restrict conda to cached content and file:// URLs only.
offline: true
Environment variable: CONDA_OFFLINE
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local_repodata_ttl
boolean | integer
default:"1"
How long to cache repodata locally (in seconds).
  • false or 0: Always fetch fresh repodata
  • true or 1: Respect HTTP Cache-Control headers
  • Other positive integer: Cache for this many seconds
local_repodata_ttl: 3600  # 1 hour

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Package Linking Configuration

Settings for how packages are installed into environments.
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always_copy
boolean
default:"false"
Always copy files instead of using hard-links during installation.
always_copy: true
Environment variable: CONDA_ALWAYS_COPY
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always_softlink
boolean
default:"false"
Always use soft-links (symlinks) instead of hard-links. Warning: This can cause environment corruption.
always_softlink: false
Environment variable: CONDA_ALWAYS_SOFTLINK
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allow_softlinks
boolean
default:"false"
Allow conda to use soft-links when hard-links aren’t possible (e.g., across filesystems).
allow_softlinks: true
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path_conflict
string
default:"clobber"
How to handle conflicting/overlapping file paths during installation.
  • clobber: Overwrite files from other packages
  • warn: Warn about conflicts but proceed
  • prevent: Fail installation if conflicts exist
path_conflict: warn
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rollback_enabled
boolean
default:"true"
Revert changes if an error occurs during package installation.
rollback_enabled: true
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safety_checks
string
default:"warn"
Level of safety checks during installation.
  • enabled: Run all safety checks, fail on errors
  • warn: Run checks, warn on errors but continue
  • disabled: Skip safety checks
safety_checks: enabled
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extra_safety_checks
boolean
default:"false"
Perform additional safety checks (SHA-256 verification of all files).
extra_safety_checks: true
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shortcuts
boolean
default:"true"
Allow packages to create OS-specific shortcuts (e.g., Windows Start Menu entries).
shortcuts: true

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User Interface Configuration

Settings that control conda’s output and interaction.
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always_yes
boolean
default:"false"
Automatically answer ‘yes’ to all prompts.
always_yes: true
Environment variable: CONDA_ALWAYS_YES
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quiet
boolean
default:"false"
Disable progress bars and minimize output.
quiet: true
Environment variable: CONDA_QUIET
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json
boolean
default:"false"
Output all results in JSON format.
json: false
Environment variable: CONDA_JSON
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verbosity
integer
default:"0"
Output verbosity level (0-4). Higher numbers produce more detailed output.
  • 0: Standard output
  • 1: Detailed output
  • 2: Info-level logging
  • 3: Debug-level logging
  • 4: Trace-level logging
verbosity: 2
Environment variable: CONDA_VERBOSITY
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show_channel_urls
boolean
Show channel URLs when displaying packages.
show_channel_urls: true
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auto_activate
boolean
default:"true"
Automatically activate the base environment (or configured default environment) during shell initialization.
auto_activate: true
Environment variable: CONDA_AUTO_ACTIVATE
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changeps1
boolean
default:"true"
Modify the shell prompt to show the active environment name.
changeps1: true
Environment variable: CONDA_CHANGEPS1
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env_prompt
string
default:"({default_env}) "
Template for the environment name in the shell prompt. Supports {prefix}, {name}, and {default_env} variables.
env_prompt: '[{name}] '
Environment variable: CONDA_ENV_PROMPT

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Performance Configuration

Settings to optimize conda’s performance.
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default_threads
integer
Default number of threads for parallel operations. If not set, conda chooses automatically.
default_threads: 4
Environment variable: CONDA_DEFAULT_THREADS
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repodata_threads
integer
Threads for downloading and reading repodata. Defaults to default_threads if not set.
repodata_threads: 8
Environment variable: CONDA_REPODATA_THREADS
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fetch_threads
integer
default:"5"
Threads for downloading packages. Defaults to 5 if neither this nor default_threads is set.
fetch_threads: 10
Environment variable: CONDA_FETCH_THREADS
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verify_threads
integer
default:"1"
Threads for verifying package integrity. Defaults to 1 if neither this nor default_threads is set.
verify_threads: 2
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execute_threads
integer
default:"1"
Threads for executing link/unlink operations. Defaults to 1 if neither this nor default_threads is set.
execute_threads: 2
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use_index_cache
boolean
default:"false"
Use cached index data instead of fetching fresh data.
use_index_cache: true

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Advanced Settings

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subdir
string
Override the platform/architecture (e.g., linux-64, osx-arm64, win-64). Useful for cross-platform package creation.
subdir: linux-64
Environment variable: CONDA_SUBDIR
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subdirs
list
Additional subdirs to consider during package resolution.
subdirs:
  - linux-64
  - noarch
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no_plugins
boolean
default:"false"
Disable all plugins except built-in conda plugins.
no_plugins: false
Environment variable: CONDA_NO_PLUGINS
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no_lock
boolean
default:"false"
Disable file locking. Warning: Can cause race conditions.
no_lock: false
Environment variable: CONDA_NO_LOCK
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repodata_fns
list
default:"['current_repodata.json', 'repodata.json']"
List of repodata filenames to try, in order.
repodata_fns:
  - repodata.json
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prefix_data_interoperability
boolean
default:"false"
Enable plugins to interact with non-conda-installed packages (e.g., pip packages).
prefix_data_interoperability: true

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Viewing Settings

To explore all available settings and their current values: 
# Show all active configuration
conda config --show

# Show configuration sources
conda config --show-sources

# Get description of all settings
conda config --describe

# Get description of specific setting
conda config --describe channel_priority

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See Also

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