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Are Conda, Miniconda and Anaconda free to use and open-source?
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pythonanacondacondaminicondaconda-forge
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Are conda, miniconda, and anaconda free to use?

I've seen stack overflow answers saying one or the other is free to use, then another answer saying the opposite. I am confused.

Indiscrete answered 11/12, 2022 at 17:13 Comment(0)
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TL;DR The answer is no, none of these are free for commercial usage since 2020.

Anaconda is a commercial distribution of Python with the most popular machine libraries libraries preinstalled (numpy, scipy, MKL, etc...).

Anaconda itself is not free and not open-source. That being said, bear in mind that Anaconda is a collection of software and libraries (either preinstalled or installable later), which are governed by their own licenses.

Anaconda itself was never open-source. They do not publish source code or build that is required to recreate the Anaconda distribution.

Anaconda itself was free to use until April 2020 when Anaconda Inc, the company behind Anaconda updated their terms of services to prohibit commercial usage of Anaconda.

Miniconda is similar to Anaconda but much a lighter distribution. While Anaconda is around 3 GB and has hundreds of popular packages, Miniconda is around 500 MB and has the python interpreter with fewer packages.

Conda is the package manager, to build and install packages. Conda is the base block for all the Anaconda ecosystem, it is bundled with Anaconda and other distributions.

Conda is open-source, the repo is on github under BSD-3 licence https://github.com/conda/conda

Conda is partly owned and controlled by Anaconda Inc, the company behind Anaconda. (If you don't believe it, cue the contact email on the GitHub repo conda(at)anaconda.com)

Conda is not entirely free to use, and that's where it gets really complicated.

Conda repositories and anaconda.org

While conda itself is free (BSD-3), conda has to download packages from packages repositories and packages repositories have restrictions. Notably the anaconda repo on anaconda.org is prohibiting commercial usage in organizations with more than 200 employees.

Conda defaults to using the official repository (whether you're using a conda standalone build or from Anaconda or from Miniconda) and it is not free to use.

Warning: While there is an exception in the license terms to allow downloading the Anaconda and Miniconda installer, it's extremely narrow and doesn't lift other restrictions. You can easily find yourself unwittingly committing license violations.

There are alternative repositories (channels) with different licensing terms and different set of packages. The most popular channels at the moment are anaconda, conda-forge, cctbx and fastchan.

All repositories are hosted and operated by Anaconda Inc. In an interview last year the CEO stated they were spending $80 000 to $100 000 per month to host conda-forge, that's generally regarded as the community-maintained open-source channel.

There are alternative distributions (Anaconda, Miniconda, Miniforge, MicroMamba, etc..) that differ in what packages they bundle and what channel they prefer to download from.

To conclude, the conda ecosystem is a minefield since they changed their licence terms to prohibit commercial usage in April 2020. Review anything you use very carefully if you work in a commercial organization.

Indiscrete answered 11/12, 2022 at 17:13 Comment(6)
Mostly concur, but a couple points for clarification: 1. How is Conda not free to use if using only the Conda Forge builds, e.g., Miniforge base installation? Do you know of any cases where they have filed request for compensation in that circumstance? Personally, I’ve only heard about requesting compensation when there was evidence of companies mirroring defaults channels. 2. I think “to prohibit commercial usage” is inaccurate - they allow it (and want it), but require licensing fees. Perhaps add a qualifier like “prohibit unlicensed commercial use”? – Hamrnand
One caveat since you're going there. the "defaults" channel is hardcoded to the commercial anaconda channel, even in derivative distributions (like miniforge) that are supposed to be free and only use free channels. I've personally found that quite surprising. – Indiscrete
1. Once someone defines channels in .condarc, the default channels are ignored. In all the Miniforge variants, a .condarc file is included in CONDA_ROOT, which makes "conda-forge" the only channel that is searched. 2. The multichannel defaults is defined by the default_channels configuration option. Yes, it is initialized with hardcoded values in Conda that point back to Anaconda's main and r, but the user has full ability to redefine it. See conda config --describe default_channels custom_multichannels. – Hamrnand
"You can easily find yourself unwittingly committing license violations." While this is not untrue, I think its important to define the tone here; all interactions that I have had, and been party to, with the Anaconda foundation personnel regarding licensing have been very positive. If you have doubts, please by all means reach out to them for clarification. – Bid
Here is a great official summary in a non-legal language of the terms of use: conda, the software program for package and environment management, is free to use by anyone. It’s open source, too. The conda-compatible packages in conda-forge, Bioconda, and almost all other publicly accessible channels are free to use by any one. The conda-compatible packages in the default channel and Anaconda Distribution are free to use if: Your organization has less than 200 people or exempted, o.w not (small change to original to fit character limit) – Moderator
I think this answer needs to be edited, because its conclusion is wrong. conda the package manager, and many package channels, are free for use. Packages created by the Anaconda company, and some others, included in channels such as the anaconda channel, are not free for commercial use. I believe the Anaconda company has also since clarified that installing conda via the Miniconda distribution is not considered "commercial activity". – Bid
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One does not need to purchase a license if they use conda package manager only with conda-forge channel. I received this answer from Anaconda customer support via email on February 27th, 2023.

This can be achieved by creating a file ~/.condarc with the following contents:

channels:
  - conda-forge

You can check the active channels by running:

conda config --show channels
Homogenetic answered 27/2, 2023 at 14:48 Comment(3)
good answer, but to be clear, the only non-free channel is the anaconda package channel, all other channels (including conda-forge) are free to use without a license, as far as I know. Actually, that brings up the issue that conda users worried about licensing might need to be double-checking on the license requirements for all of their packages channels, I guess its possible others might be non-free as well. Worth mentioning that iirc the Anaconda org. vets all packages on the anaconda channel, thus their desire to protect access to it – Bid
@Bid there are many non-free channels and non-free software, for a quick example, see the intel channel under an intel licence and the mosek channel that is distributing the commercial mosek math library. – Indiscrete
@Indiscrete thanks for catching that mistake in my comment – Bid
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tl;dr:

  • The conda package manager is free to use; not all package channels are free to use for commercial purposes, such as the anaconda channel.

  • Packages built by the Anaconda organization and hosted on the "anaconda" conda channel are not free to use commercially, but can be used for free for non-commercial purposes as per their Terms of Service.

  • Packages hosted on channels such as "conda-forge" and "bioconda" are free to use.

  • some third-party conda channels might also be free or non-free to use, so be sure to check before using them in a manner that may violate the channel's Terms of Service.

The answer directly from the Anaconda User_Care_Team:

https://community.anaconda.cloud/t/is-conda-cli-free-for-use/14303

Hello.

The terms of service only applies to the packages in the Anaconda.com 21 (http://anaconda.com/ 11) package repository, not to the conda software itself (which has an open source BSD license).

You are free to use conda with any other source of packages (conda-forge, their own packages, etc) without worrying about the Anaconda commercial terms of service.

Please let me know if this answers your question.

Kim

Some particularly relevant portions of the Terms of Service (as accessed on 2023-03-29) (I encourage you to read it in its entirety)

So that we can be sure the Repository works as a resource for our community of developers, we are not granting you permission to use the Repository for commercial activities (as defined below) or in a way that could negatively impact other users, such as downloading or mirroring the entire Repository.

...

In particular, but without limitation, you agree not to use the Repository to:

  • mirror the Repository or create a cache via any automated means including as prohibited below under the heading “Access and Interference”;
  • engage in commercial activities to market the Repository or a material portion of its contents or engaging in activities which encourage the use of the Repository in a manner that violates this Agreement, or utilizing the Repository in a way that could degrade the ability of our other community members to use the Repository;
  • republish any material portion of the Repository in a manner competitive with the offering by Anaconda, including republication on another website or creating a public or private mirror without express permission from Anaconda (For private mirrors, we encourage you to contact Anaconda at [email protected] for more information about Anaconda Enterprise);
  • sell, rent or sub-license material from the Repository; or
  • redistribute or embed any or all Anaconda tools with the explicit exception of Miniconda installer in a commercial product for redistribution or resale.

...

The downloading of Anaconda® Distribution installer and the Miniconda® installer (and their bundled packages) shall not be considered a commercial activity.

Bid answered 29/3, 2023 at 19:24 Comment(1)
It appears that the highlighted paragraph ("The downloading of ...") has been removed from the TOS. – Casillas
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We're at 2024-07-18, and I am just being made aware of the ToS changes from years ago.

TL;DR for orgs >= 200 people: install conda using miniforge and avoid usage of the anaconda and R channels (and maybe others).

Anaconda Terms of Service

A reading of the Anaconda Terms of Service states that organizations >= 200 people may not use the Anaconda Distribution Installer, nor the Anaconda channel (or other proprietary channels, like the R channel).

Your registration, download, use, installation, access, or enjoyment of all Anaconda Offerings ... requires a paid license.

OFFERING DESCRIPTION: ANACONDA DISTRIBUTION INSTALLER

OFFERING DESCRIPTION: MINICONDA

Emphasis mine. For me, it is clear that the Anaconda and Miniconda installers are not free to use for orgs >= 200 people. The program conda is still free to use for all. The original conda program repository on GitHub, and Anaconda's fork, are covered by a standard 3-clause BSD license with no commercial-use exceptions.

Miniforge

Miniforge includes both conda and mamba and has a standard 3-clause BSD license. The installer configures both to avoid the anaconda channel and use conda-forge by default. The base environment uses packages only obtained from conda-forge by default.

Summary

Miniforge installs conda configured to use the conda-forge channel, all of which are free to use. Miniforge serves as the closest thing to a drop-in replacement for Anaconda and Miniconda. The only "missing" piece is the non-free channels.

Edit

2024-08-07: Since I first posted this, the Anaconda Terms of Service page has changed to include new offerings. I haven't combed it but beware of additional changes or restrictions. I'm going to recommend out institution stick to miniforge.

Duchamp answered 18/7, 2024 at 19:15 Comment(0)

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