Quick conda-forge & python package demo

Install miniforge3

1. Go to the miniforge github page
2. Pick the right installer filename for your OS/arch (under Requirements & Installers)

• MacOS w/ Apple silicon: Miniforge3-MacOSX-arm64.sh
• Linux w/ intel chip: Miniforge3-Linux-x86_64.sh
• Get your architecture with uname -m on terminal

3. Download the right installer:

curl -L -O "https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge/releases/latest/download/Miniforge3-$(uname)-$(uname -m).sh"

4. Set a few env variables:

INSTALLER=Miniforge3-<your-OS-arch>.sh PREFIX="$HOME/miniforge3-tutorial" 6. Run the miniforge3 installer

sh "$INSTALLER" -b -p "$PREFIX"

• IMPORTANT: If you already have an Anaconda or miniforge install and are doing this just for a demo, do not run conda init! Don’t want to alter your existing dotfiles.
• If you do on accident, simply run:

"$PREFIX/bin/conda" init --reverse

6. Deactivate any current conda (if it’s already running in your shell)

conda deactivate

8. Initialize our new miniforge3 installation, not any pre-existing one (won’t affect any dotfiles)

source "$PREFIX/etc/profile.d/conda.sh"

9. Activate conda base env of our new install (just for this shell)

conda activate

Install conda-lock in your base env

We will need this later on, and is one of the few packages you will likely want in your base environment (as well as a basic python, git, etc.)

conda install -n base conda-lock

Installing a conda env from a YAML file

If you want to inherit the env name from the YAML file:

conda create -f {environment_file}.yaml

If you want to give it your own env name:

conda create -n {my_env_name} -f {environment_file}.yaml

Generating conda env files

The below commands are how to generate conda env files given an existing env on your machine, not how to install one:

1. For maximal information (only guaranteed to be buildable on the same system & architecture):

conda env export -f environment.yaml

2. For all dependency versions specified (reproducible, but not portable for multiple OS's):

conda env export -f --no-builds environment_no_builds.yaml

3. For core, user-specified dependency list (usually portable for most systems, but not guaranteed to be reproducible):

conda env export -f --no-builds --from-history environment_from_history.yaml

4. For full dependency specification, portability, and reproducibility across multiple systems:

conda env export -f --no-builds --from-history environment_from_history.yaml conda-lock ...

Streamlining the process with a makefile

For your future self, collaborators, and CI testing, it's best to wrap up all of the most important functionality in a makefile. See the one in this repo for some simple examples of how to implement this. Some basic commands you can do with it:

1. make lock: Will regenerate the lock file for osx-64, osx-arm64, and linux-64, incorporating any updates to the passed environment file (environment_from_history in this case, for cross-platform specification).
2. make install: Will create a new environment based on the produced conda-lock.yml file, plus a local install of the simple example_package python package.
3. make clean: Remove the generated conda-lock file
4. make test: Run the unit tests defined in tests/ (requires the environment to be installed! But it will activate it on its own)