> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://anaconda.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environments

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  "--grid-table-cols": cols
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With Anaconda Desktop, you can create and manage conda environments to isolate your projects and dependencies using a graphical interface.

<Beginner>
  Conda environments manage both the <Tooltip tip="The program that reads and runs Python code. Each conda environment can have its own Python version.">Python interpreter</Tooltip> itself as well as packages from multiple programming languages. To learn more about conda environments, see [What is an environment?](/docs/getting-started/concepts/what-is-an-environment)
</Beginner>

Anaconda Desktop also includes several pre-configured [quick start environments](#using-a-quick-start-environment) that come with curated packages for fields that rely on data analytics.

## Viewing environments

To view your environments, select <Icon icon="code" iconType="light" /> **Environments** from the left navigation.

The <Icon icon="code" iconType="light" /> **Environments** page displays your environments in a table. Select a column header to sort environments by name, number of packages, or when it was last updated.

<Badge shape="pill" stroke color="yellow" icon="triangle-exclamation">Business or Custom plan only</Badge> The **CVEs** column shows the number of active Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) detected in each environment. Hover over a CVE count to see a breakdown by severity: Critical, High, Medium, and Low.

<Note>
  CVE data is for reference only.
</Note>

Select an environment's name to open the environment's details page. From the details page, you can view the environment's packages, dependencies, and channels. For more information on managing packages, see [Packages](/docs/anaconda-desktop/packages), and for more information on managing channels, see [Channels](/docs/anaconda-desktop/channels).

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl/images/desktop-environments-details.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl&q=85&s=492639e3943802ebcdfa7331ee8203fd" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the details page for an environment" width="3460" height="1620" data-path="images/desktop-environments-details.png" />
</Frame>

## Searching for an environment

Use the **Search** box to locate an environment by name. Enter all (or part of) an environment's name to filter the list to display only environments that contain the <Tooltip tip="A sequence of characters, like letters, numbers, and spaces, used to search for an item in a database.">search string</Tooltip>.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/U4GowuuC787_II86/images/desktop-environments-search.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=U4GowuuC787_II86&q=85&s=fd529fadd088d78dc5939c10e12e84c3" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the search box for environments" width="3460" height="1876" data-path="images/desktop-environments-search.png" />
</Frame>

## Using a quick start environment

Anaconda Desktop provides a set of quick start environments that come pre-configured with curated packages for a variety of use cases.

To install a quick start environment using its default configuration, click the **Create** button on the environment's card:

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/U4GowuuC787_II86/images/desktop-environments-quick-start-create.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=U4GowuuC787_II86&q=85&s=ff6a37ffe95474d3528d768e6e16350d" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the create button for the anaconda-finance quick start environment card" width="3460" height="1876" data-path="images/desktop-environments-quick-start-create.png" />
</Frame>

To view details about the environment and make custom configurations, select anywhere on the environment's card to view its details page. From the details page, you can customize the environment's [configuration options](#environment-configuration-options). Use the <Icon icon="plus" iconType="regular" /> **Packages** button to add additional packages to the environment.

After you've configured the environment, click **Create Environment** to create the quick start environment:

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/U4GowuuC787_II86/images/desktop-environments-quick-start-details.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=U4GowuuC787_II86&q=85&s=45e04420120aafd7a5853cb6b548e18d" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the details page for the anaconda-finance quick start environment" width="3460" height="2172" data-path="images/desktop-environments-quick-start-details.png" />
</Frame>

## Creating an environment

To create a new environment, click the <Icon icon="plus" iconType="light" /> **Create** button in the upper-right corner:

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl/images/desktop-environments-create.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl&q=85&s=ef645abcfbdd378e342b8e8532ab9757" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the create button in the upper-right corner of the environments page" width="3460" height="1392" data-path="images/desktop-environments-create.png" />
</Frame>

In the **Create Environment** dialog, you can import an `environment.yml` file to create the environment, create a new environment manually, or select a [quick start environment](#using-a-quick-start-environment).

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Creating an environment manually">
    1. In the **Create Environment** dialog, click **Create Manually**.
    2. Set [configuration options](#environment-configuration-options) for the environment.
    3. Click **Create Environment** to create the environment.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Importing an environment">
    There are two situations in which you might want to import an environment:

    * Someone has [exported their environment](/docs/getting-started/working-with-conda/environments#sharing-an-environment) to a `environment.yml` file and shared it with you, and you want to reproduce their environment on your machine.
    * You have [exported an environment](#exporting-an-environment), and you want to restore it to the exported state.

    To create an environment from an imported `environment.yml` file:

    1. In the **Create Environment** dialog, click **Import**.

    2. Set [configuration options](#environment-configuration-options) for the environment.

           <Note>
             Environment names must be unique.
           </Note>

    3. Browse your local files and select the `.yaml` or `.yml` file you want to import.

    4. Click **Create Environment** to create the environment.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Environment configuration options

When you create a new environment, you can configure it with the following options:

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl/images/desktop-environments-configuration-details.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl&q=85&s=7c34fbc5c5743f3279acdd27baefaeba" alt="Desktop showing the environment configuration options" width="3460" height="1618" data-path="images/desktop-environments-configuration-details.png" />
</Frame>

<GTable cols="25% 50% 25%">
  <GHead>
    <GRow>
      <GTH>Option</GTH>
      <GTH>Description</GTH>
      <GTH>Notes</GTH>
    </GRow>
  </GHead>

  <GBody>
    <GRow>
      <GCell>**Location**</GCell>
      <GCell>Choose where to create the environment. Select **Default** to use your default environment directory or **Custom** to specify a custom path.</GCell>
      <GCell>Custom locations identify environments by path rather than name.</GCell>
    </GRow>

    <GRow>
      <GCell>**Name**</GCell>
      <GCell>Set a descriptive name for your environment to help identify its purpose.</GCell>
      <GCell>Not used for custom location environments.</GCell>
    </GRow>

    <GRow>
      <GCell>**Python version**</GCell>
      <GCell>Select which version of Python to install in the environment.</GCell>

      <GCell />
    </GRow>

    <GRow>
      <GCell>**Packages**</GCell>
      <GCell>Select packages to install with the **Search** box.</GCell>
      <GCell>Additional packages can be installed after creation. See [Packages](/docs/anaconda-desktop/packages).</GCell>
    </GRow>

    <GRow>
      <GCell>**Channels**</GCell>
      <GCell>Configure which channels are accessible for the environment with the <Icon icon="network-wired" iconType="light" /> **Channels** button.</GCell>
      <GCell>Channels determine where packages are downloaded from. See [Channels](/docs/anaconda-desktop/channels).</GCell>
    </GRow>
  </GBody>
</GTable>

## Managing environments

<Note>
  You don't need to activate an environment to manage it in Anaconda Desktop.
</Note>

### Opening an environment in an application

From an environment's details page, click **Open with...** to launch an application.

In the **Open with...** dialog, select an application:

* **notebook**: opens Jupyter Notebook
* **jupyterlab**: opens JupyterLab

Select **Set as default** to use the selected application as the default for future **Open with...** launches, then click **Open**.

### Cloning an environment

<Warning>
  Attempting to clone the `base` environment can generate an incomplete environment, which can cause errors while using Desktop or conda. For these reasons, Anaconda Desktop does not allow you to clone your base environment.
</Warning>

To clone an environment:

1. Click the <Icon icon="ellipsis-vertical" iconType="regular" /> **Actions** button in the environment's row and select <Icon icon="clone" iconType="light" /> **Clone**.

   <Frame>
     <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl/images/desktop-environments-clone.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl&q=85&s=897201d2c0e04716b1024b1bfb171b0e" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the clone button in the actions dropdown for an environment" width="3460" height="1702" data-path="images/desktop-environments-clone.png" />
   </Frame>

2. Set the **Location** and **Name** for the new environment. See [configuration options](#environment-configuration-options) for more information.

   <Note>
     Environment names must be unique.
   </Note>

3. Click <Icon icon="clone" iconType="regular" /> **Clone** to create the new environment.

### Exporting an environment

When you export an environment, you create a `.yml` file that contains the environment's configuration. This file can be used as a back up for the environment, to recreate the environment on another machine, or to share the environment with other users.

To export an environment:

1. Click <Icon icon="ellipsis-vertical" iconType="regular" /> **Actions** beside the environment, then select <Icon icon="download" iconType="light" /> **Export**.

   <Frame>
     <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl/images/desktop-environments-export.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl&q=85&s=6f11aa4f3dcafc68ae2f779814314aba" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the export button in the actions dropdown for an environment" width="3460" height="1702" data-path="images/desktop-environments-export.png" />
   </Frame>

2. Using your system's Save dialog, enter a file name for your exported environment and choose a download location.

3. **Save** the file.

The exported environment file is saved to the selected location.

### Frozen environments

A frozen environment is an environment that has been marked as protected from modification. Frozen environments are identified by a <Icon icon="lock" iconType="regular" /> lock icon in the environment list, and update and rename operations are disabled for them.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/79Pz9dzt14yJyBws/images/desktop-frozen-env.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=79Pz9dzt14yJyBws&q=85&s=e127e43a83fa73705871b5aa4557a771" alt="Anaconda Desktop environments list showing a frozen environment with a lock icon" width="3460" height="1706" data-path="images/desktop-frozen-env.png" />
</Frame>

If you need a modifiable version of a frozen environment, [clone it](#cloning-an-environment) to create an unfrozen copy.

To modify a frozen environment directly, open [Anaconda Prompt](/docs/reference/glossary#anaconda-prompt) (Terminal on macOS/Linux) and use the `--override-frozen-env` flag:

```sh theme={null}
conda install --override-frozen-env -n <ENV_NAME> <PACKAGE>
```

<Comments>
  Replace `<ENV_NAME>` with the name of the frozen environment.<br />Replace `<PACKAGE>` with the package(s) to install.
</Comments>

<Warning>
  Overriding a frozen environment bypasses protections that may be in place for a reason. Proceed with caution.
</Warning>

For more information on frozen environments, see the official [conda documentation](https://docs.conda.io/projects/conda/en/stable/user-guide/tasks/manage-environments.html#freezing-or-locking-an-environment).

### Deleting an environment

To delete an environment:

1. Click <Icon icon="ellipsis-vertical" iconType="regular" /> **Actions** beside the environment, then select <Icon icon="trash-can" iconType="light" /> **Delete**.

   <Frame>
     <img src="https://mintcdn.com/anaconda-29683c67/-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl/images/desktop-environments-delete.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=-8Ab2OLMZRX5VHgl&q=85&s=0f5b515c7367ffeb48880c9dd42d2809" alt="Anaconda Desktop showing the delete button in the actions dropdown for an environment" width="3460" height="1702" data-path="images/desktop-environments-delete.png" />
   </Frame>

2. Click <Icon icon="trash-can" iconType="light" /> **Delete** again to confirm you want to delete the environment.

The environment is deleted and removed from your environments list.
