Upgrade to python 3.8 using conda

Question

Python 3.8.0 is out, but I haven't been able to find any post on how to update to python 3.8 using conda - maybe they will wait for the official release? Any suggestions?

Wilma

Answer 1

You can update your python version to 3.8 in conda using the command

conda install -c anaconda python=3.8

as per https://anaconda.org/anaconda/python. Though not all packages support 3.8 yet, running

conda update --all

may resolve some dependency failures. You can also create a new environment called py38 using this command

conda create -n py38 python=3.8

Edit - note that the conda install option will potentially take a while to solve the environment, and if you try to abort this midway through you will lose your Python installation (usually this means it will resort to non-conda pre-installed system Python installation).

Wilma

conda update conda; conda create -n py38 -c anaconda python=3.8? – Xeniaxeno

You can drop the channel specification, since Python 3.8 is now on the default channel. Thus conda create -n py38 python=3.8 will create a minimal environment with Python 3.8. – Homegrown

If I'm not in an environment, does conda install -c anaconda python=3.8 update the base installation? – Lowborn

Yes this should be the case. – Wilma

I wonder why Anaconda for python 3.8 version is still not out? – Boxing

I can confirm it updates the base as I just did it. Conda-forge does offer a newer update of 3.8 for awareness. – Tasse

"note that the conda install option will potentially take a while to solve the environment". In my case the conda message said it would take 'several minutes', this ended up being about 5 hours... – Kalvin

Guys mine is over 12 hours and repeats with things like 17%Finding shortest conflict path for python-/ teutil[version='>=2.1,<2.7.0']: 1Finding shortest conflict path for python-dateutil[version='>=2.1,<2.7.0']: 18%|▏| 61/343 [12:10:13<8:24:26, 107.33s/it] I'm newby to Python. Shall I leave it run? – Cm

@Cm that's absurdly long. It's probably NP-hard to calculate dependencies or something. At this point it'd be much faster to create a new conda env and install what you need. – Infrequency

The install command which specified you have specified - does it install python 3.8 along side existing python (I have 3.6 existing) or does it upgrade the existing to 3.8? – Ambo

@nba2020: I can confirm, it takes forever to compute a long list of conflicts and it stops there. So, there does not seem to be a way to upgrade python from 3.7 to 3.8 – Subterfuge

I got numerous (a few pages) warnings about diverse packages conflicts and I still have Python 3.7.7. – Goat

what does conda install -c anaconda python=3.8 do? – Departmentalism

Answer 2

Open Anaconda Prompt (base):

1. Update conda:

conda update -n base -c defaults conda

2. Create new environment with Python 3.8:

conda create -n python38 python=3.8

3. Activate your new Python 3.8 environment:

conda activate python38

4. Start Python 3.8:

python

Gongorism

This solution got the job done and worked like a charm in Anaconda Prompt, but it didn't got available outside it. Any clue on how to make the activated python available system wide? – Group

You will need to switch to your newly created python environment using command conda activate – Burp

It is only showing like 17 items on the list. why not the full list? – Gandzha

When I active using windows command shell it failed. Later, I change to directory where my environment installed, then typed just "activate" solved my issue. I validate by typing python gives me latest 3.8.2 version. I search for the environment directory by "conda info --envs" in the command line. – Lobeline

This solution is correct but what should be done to upgrading python in base env? – Grieve

Answer 3

Now that the new anaconda individual edition 2020 distribution is out, the procedure that follows is working:

Update conda in your base env:

conda update conda

Create a new environment for Python 3.8, specifying anaconda for the full distribution specification, not just the minimal environment:

conda create -n py38 python=3.8 anaconda

Activate the new environment:

conda activate py38

python --version
Python 3.8.1

Number of packages installed: 303

Or you can do:

conda create -n py38 anaconda=2020.02 python=3.8

--> UPDATE: Finally, Anaconda3-2020.07 is out with core Python 3.8.3

You can download Anaconda with Python 3.8 from https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual

Indefensible

That link is dead – Filose

Answer 4

Update for 2020/07

Finally, Anaconda3-2020.07 is out and its core is Python 3.8!

You can now download Anaconda packed with Python 3.8 goodness at:

• https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual

Loleta