← Back to Blog

Can't Upgrade Anaconda Base to Python 3.8? Here's How

Python is the go-to language for many data scientists due to its simplicity and the vast number of libraries available for data analysis and machine learning. Anaconda is a popular Python distribution that simplifies package management and deployment. However, upgrading your Anaconda base to Python 3.8 can be a bit tricky. This blog post will guide you through the process.
By Saturn Cloud | | Miscellaneous

Can’t Upgrade Anaconda Base to Python 3.8? Here’s How

Python is the go-to language for many data scientists due to its simplicity and the vast number of libraries available for data analysis and machine learning. Anaconda is a popular Python distribution that simplifies package management and deployment. However, upgrading your Anaconda base to Python 3.8 can be a bit tricky. This blog post will guide you through the process.

Why Upgrade to Python 3.8?

Python 3.8 comes with several new features and optimizations, including assignment expressions (the walrus operator :=), positional-only parameters, and more precise types. These features can make your code cleaner and more efficient. If you’re using an older version of Python, you’re missing out on these improvements.

Understanding the Issue

Anaconda is designed to isolate environments to avoid conflicts between packages and dependencies. The base environment is the default environment that’s active when you start Anaconda. Upgrading the Python version in the base environment can cause issues because many packages you installed may not be compatible with the new version.

Step-by-Step Guide to Upgrade Anaconda Base to Python 3.8

Here’s a step-by-step guide to safely upgrade your Anaconda base to Python 3.8.

Step 1: Update Anaconda

First, make sure your Anaconda distribution is up-to-date. Open your terminal or Anaconda Prompt and run:

conda update anaconda

Step 2: Create a New Environment

Instead of upgrading Python in the base environment, create a new environment with Python 3.8. This way, you can switch between Python versions without causing conflicts. Run:

conda create -n py38 python=3.8 anaconda

This command creates a new environment named “py38” with Python 3.8.

Step 3: Activate the New Environment

To use the new environment, you need to activate it. Run:

conda activate py38

Now, your prompt should change to show that you’re in the “py38” environment.

Step 4: Install Additional Packages

You can now install additional packages in this environment without affecting your base environment. For example, to install numpy, run:

conda install numpy

Step 5: Switch Back to the Base Environment

When you’re done, you can switch back to the base environment by running:

conda deactivate

Conclusion

Upgrading your Anaconda base to Python 3.8 is as simple as creating a new environment with Python 3.8. This approach lets you use Python 3.8’s new features while avoiding conflicts with your base environment.

Remember, the key to managing Python versions with Anaconda is to use separate environments for different projects. This way, you can have different versions of Python and different packages installed in each environment, avoiding conflicts and ensuring reproducibility.

Keywords

  • Upgrade Anaconda base to Python 3.8
  • Python 3.8 new features
  • Anaconda environments
  • Python version management
  • Anaconda package conflicts

Meta Description

Learn how to upgrade your Anaconda base to Python 3.8 without causing conflicts. This guide provides a step-by-step process to create a new environment with Python 3.8 in Anaconda.

About Saturn Cloud

Saturn Cloud is your all-in-one solution for data science & ML development, deployment, and data pipelines in the cloud. Spin up a notebook with 4TB of RAM, add a GPU, connect to a distributed cluster of workers, and more. Join today and get 150 hours of free compute per month.

Try Saturn Cloud Now