How to Install Anaconda on Ubuntu 18.04

Anaconda is the most popular python data science and machine learning platform, used for large-scale data processing, predictive analytics, and scientific computing. Anaconda distribution ships with more than 1,000 data packages, the conda command-line tool and with a desktop graphical user interface called Anaconda Navigator.

This tutorial will guide you through the steps of downloading and installing Anaconda Python Distribution on Ubuntu 18.04.

Installing Anaconda #

At the time of writing this article, the latest stable version of Anaconda is version 5.2. Before downloading the Anaconda installer script visit the Anaconda Downloads page and check if there is a new version of Anaconda for Python 3 available for download.

Follow the steps below to install Anaconda on Ubuntu 18.04:

1. Download the Anaconda Installation Script.

   Change to the tmp directory and download the Anaconda installation script with wget or curl :

   Terminal

   cd /tmp
   curl -O https://repo.anaconda.com/archive/Anaconda3-5.2.0-Linux-x86_64.sh

   The download may take some time depending on your connection speed.

2. Verify the Data Integrity of the Script.

   Use the sha256sum command to verify the script checksum:

   Terminal

   sha256sum Anaconda3-5.2.0-Linux-x86_64.sh

   You should see an output like the following:

   output

   09f53738b0cd3bb96f5b1bac488e5528df9906be2480fe61df40e0e0d19e3d48  Anaconda3-5.2.0-Linux-x86_64.sh

   Make sure the hash printed from the command above matches the one available at the Anaconda with Python 3 on 64-bit Linux page for your appropriate Anaconda version.

   url

   https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/install/hashes/Anaconda3-5.2.0-Linux-x86_64.sh-hash.html

   

3. Run the Anaconda Installation Script

   To start the Anaconda installation process run the installation script:

   Terminal

   bash Anaconda3-5.2.0-Linux-x86_64.sh

   You should see an output like the following:

   output

   Welcome to Anaconda3 5.2.0
   
   In order to continue the installation process, please review the license
   agreement.
   Please, press ENTER to continue

   Press ENTER to continue and then press ENTER to scroll through the license. Once you’re done reviewing the license, you’ll be asked to approve the license terms:

   output

   Do you approve the license terms? [yes|no]

   Type yes to accept the license and you’ll be prompted to choose the installation location.

   output

   Anaconda3 will now be installed into this location:
   /home/linuxize/anaconda3
   
       - Press ENTER to confirm the location
       - Press CTRL-C to abort the installation
       - Or specify a different location below

   The default location is fine for most users, press ENTER to confirm the location and installation process will continue.

   The installation may take some time and once it is completed, the following output will be displayed:

   output

   Installation finished.
   Do you wish the installer to prepend the Anaconda3 install location
   to PATH in your /home/linuxize/.bashrc ? [yes|no]

   If you want to use the conda command type yes press ENTER and you’ll be presented the following output:

   output

   Appending source /home/linuxize/anaconda3/bin/activate to /home/linuxize/.bashrc
   A backup will be made to: /home/linuxize/.bashrc-anaconda3.bak
   
   For this change to become active, you have to open a new terminal.
   
   Thank you for installing Anaconda3!

   The installer will also ask you whether you would like to download and install Visual Studio Code.

   output

   Anaconda is partnered with Microsoft! Microsoft VSCode is a streamlined
   code editor with support for development operations like debugging, task
   running and version control.
   
   To install Visual Studio Code, you will need:
       - Administrator Privileges
       - Internet connectivity
   
   Visual Studio Code License: https://code.visualstudio.com/license
   
   Do you wish to proceed with the installation of Microsoft VSCode? [yes|no]

   You can find more information about Visual Studio on the editor website . If you want to install Visual Studio Code type yes otherwise type no.

   To activate the Anaconda installation load the new PATH environment variable which was added by the Anaconda installer into the current shell session with the following command:

   Terminal

   source ~/.bashrc

4. Verify the Installation

   You can verify your Anaconda installation using the conda command. For example to display information about current conda install type:

   Terminal

   conda info

   output

       active environment : None
       user config file : /home/linuxize/.condarc
   populated config files :
           conda version : 4.5.4
       conda-build version : 3.10.5
           python version : 3.6.5.final.0
       base environment : /home/linuxize/anaconda3  (writable)
           channel URLs : https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main/linux-64
                           https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main/noarch
                           https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/free/linux-64
                           https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/free/noarch
                           https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r/linux-64
                           https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r/noarch
                           https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/pro/linux-64
                           https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/pro/noarch
           package cache : /home/linuxize/anaconda3/pkgs
                           /home/linuxize/.conda/pkgs
       envs directories : /home/linuxize/anaconda3/envs
                           /home/linuxize/.conda/envs
               platform : linux-64
               user-agent : conda/4.5.4 requests/2.18.4 CPython/3.6.5 Linux/4.15.0-22-generic ubuntu/18.04 glibc/2.27
                   UID:GID : 1000:1000
               netrc file : None
           offline mode : False

Updating Anaconda #

Updating the Anaconda is a pretty straight forward process, first update the conda tool with:

conda update conda

When prompted to confirm the update, type y to proceed.

Once conda is updated, proceed with the Anaconda update:

conda update anaconda

Same as with the previous command, when prompted, type y to proceed.

You should regularly update your Anaconda installation.

Uninstalling Anaconda #

If you want to uninstall Anaconda from your Ubuntu system, follow the steps below:

1. Remove the Anaconda install directory.

   To remove the entire Anaconda installation directory type:

   Terminal

   rm -rf ~/anaconda3

2. Edit the PATH environment variable.

   Edit the ~/.bashrc file and remove the Anaconda directory from the PATH environment variable:

   ~/.bashrcsh

   # added by Anaconda3 installer
   export PATH="/home/linuxize/anaconda3/bin:$PATH"

3. Remove the hidden files.

   The following rm command will remove the hidden files and folders that have been created in your user home directory:

   Terminal

   rm -rf ~/.condarc ~/.conda ~/.continuum

Conclusion #

Now that you have downloaded and installed Anaconda your Ubuntu system, you can check the official Getting started with conda guide.

If you hit a problem or have feedback, leave a comment below.

About the authors

Dejan Panovski

Dejan Panovski is the founder of Linuxize, an RHCSA-certified Linux system administrator and DevOps engineer based in Skopje, Macedonia. Author of 800+ Linux tutorials with 20+ years of experience turning complex Linux tasks into clear, reliable guides.

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