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Terms of use for conda, mamba, anaconda and alike

just to clarify a couple of terms which easily get confused:

  • conda is an open source python package manager. The license is a BSD-3-clause license. The use of conda and it's components in the DESY environment is unproblematic.
  • mamba is an open source re-implementation of the conda package manager in C++. The licenseis a BSD-3-clause license. The use of mamba in the DESY environment is unproblematic.
  • anaconda inc. is a company providing python packages and installer. DESY is currently not considered academic. Use of anaconda services might be subject to license fees.
  • anaconda is also the name of a popular python package installer. The download is not considered a commercial activity. The use of the installer might be subject to license fees.
  • miniconda is a light-weight version of the anaconda installer. The download is not considered a commercial activity. The use of the installer might be subject to license fees.
  • miniforge is an alternative python package installer. It's not subject to license fees.
  • mambaforge was an alternative python package installer but meanwhile got replaced by miniforge.

Any access to Anaconda repositories from the DESY network or as a DESY employee might be subject to license fees. This could be for example

  • use of the anaconda or miniconda installer
  • download of python packages from the anaconda channels, except for free channels like conda-forge
  • explicit use of channels anaconda,r,main,default,msys2. These channels are also hosted on repo.anaconda.org!
  • installation of anaconda maintained python packages
  • mirroring of any anaconda hosted channels, this includes free channels like conda-forge

Important

repo.anaconda.com is meanwhile being blocked.

Updating or creating miniconda based installations and environments might attempt to use repo.anaconda.com - and will fail. To avoid such problems make sure that ~/.condarc contains something like

# avoids problems
auto_activate_base: false

# add channels as needed. Make sure NOT to include any of anaconda,r,main,default,msys2
channels:
  - conda-forge

# avoid logins 
add_anaconda_token: false

Please note: many github repositories propose to use the anaconda installer in installation instructions. setup-files often enable anaconda repositories. Don't follow the instructions but rather use miniforge and carefully inspect setup-files like yaml-files declaring channels and dependencies!

Please note: free channels like conda-forge are also hosted by Anaconda Inc..

Recommendation

  • use conda or mamba as the package manager. we recommend mamba
  • use miniforge as installer.
  • replace miniconda/anaconda installations and recreate your environment based on miniforge or the existing mamba installations
  • anaconda and miniconda are protected, don't use them in any context; use conda/mamba and miniforge instead.