How to Install Anaconda Distribution on Linux System
Original post date: July 2019
This information is outdated, so review it before trying it. I will post an updated set of steps soon.
After months of delay, I finally got around to installing Anaconda Distribution 2.0. I postponed it due to the many errors that I faced. The Python course I am completing recommends (and uses) Jupyter notebook, and Jupyter notebook can be found along with the other packages that come with Anaconda. I did try installing Jupyter notebook separately, but I had no luck at it. So today I made up my mind to install Anaconda.
Head Over to Anaconda
I explored Anaconda’s website and searched for all of the resources they offered. I discovered there are two Anaconda products- Anaconda Distribution and Anaconda Enterprise. Anaconda Enterprise is for… enterprises. So allow me to share the important parts of the website (the subheadings are links):
Anaconda Documentation
Start with downloading the Anaconda Cheat Sheet. It briefly describes what is Anaconda Distribution and Miniconda (Miniconda does not come with the preinstalled-packages), what the system requirements are (have 3GB free space on the hard drive), and what packages are included (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-Learn, Jupyter Notebook, just to name a few). You can also download the conda cheat sheet.
Anaconda Distribution
Simply choose Linux as the OS, then the Python version. Let it download in Downloads.
Anaconda Installation
Scroll down this installation page and click on Installing on Linux. You can skip the prerequisites and step 2 (verifying data integrity with MD5 or SHA-256).
Step three states use the following command for Python 3.7 in the terminal.
bash ~/Downloads/Anaconda3-2019.03-Linux-x86_64.shBut you might have to change Anaconda3-2019.03-Linux-x86_64.sh, which is the filename of what you downloaded before. You see, when I downloaded my file, it was:
Anaconda3-2019.07-Linux-x86_64.shSo replace Anaconda3-2019.03-Linux-x86_64.sh in the command with your filename. Hit the enter key and accept the license agreement by typing “yes”. I continued and agreed with all defaults. In other words, I said yes to everything.
That’s all! Anaconda was successfully downloaded! All you have to do is enter source ~/.bashrc after the installation (use the same terminal window).
Opening Anaconda
Some people use the command anaconda-navigator, but not us (yeahh I had to make a Marvel reference…
). I use:
source ~/anaconda3/bin/activate root
anaconda-navigatoranaconda-navigator does not work for my laptop. I’m not quite sure why this command cannot be found.
Enjoy Using Anaconda
I hope your installation is successful! Unfortunately, I cannot answer any questions concerning errors. I am still learning. But don’t lose hope! I found the GitHub Community Forum members extremely eager to help. Their forum is well organized and the members are very professional and friendly, making your experience a positive one (At most times, right?). If not GitHub, try reaching out to your favorite forum.
Thank you for taking your precious time to read this. If you are interested in reading more of my random thoughts, or perhaps a more recent instructive article, check out my Medium page at Monique Faith Boodram. Cheers!
