Install with conda

Install the conda package into a dedicated server environment or into the environment containing the conda installation you want to expose.

With ccm, the server environment and the target conda installation can be separate. The server process owns its Python dependencies. --conda-exe selects the conda whose commands and plugins the server exposes.

The ccm and conda mcp launchers require conda-cli-mcp 0.2.0 or newer. The version constraints below prevent the incompatible 0.1.0 command from being installed with this guide.

Install from Anaconda.org

Create a dedicated server prefix from the jezdez channel on Anaconda.org and conda-forge.

POSIX

server_prefix="$HOME/.local/share/conda-cli-mcp"
conda create --yes --no-default-packages \
  --prefix "$server_prefix" \
  --override-channels \
  --channel jezdez \
  --channel conda-forge \
  "conda-cli-mcp>=0.2"
"$server_prefix/bin/ccm" --version

PowerShell

$serverPrefix = Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA "conda-cli-mcp"
conda create --yes --no-default-packages `
  --prefix $serverPrefix `
  --override-channels `
  --channel jezdez `
  --channel conda-forge `
  "conda-cli-mcp>=0.2"
& (Join-Path $serverPrefix "Scripts\ccm.exe") --version

Use the absolute ccm path directly as the MCP client command. Direct execution avoids the default output capture and extra process introduced by conda run.

Install with conda-global

Install ccm as an isolated PATH tool when conda-global is available:

conda global install "conda-cli-mcp>=0.2" --environment conda-cli-mcp --expose ccm --override-channels --channel jezdez --channel conda-forge
ccm --version

conda-global exposes the ccm console command through its trampoline. Its isolated tool environment is not part of the host conda interpreter, so this installation does not add conda mcp to the host conda.

Use the conda plugin command

When conda-cli-mcp is installed in conda’s own environment, it registers the conda mcp subcommand:

conda mcp --version

conda mcp targets the conda installation that loaded the plugin. You do not need to pass --conda-exe. External plugins, including this command, are unavailable when conda starts with --no-plugins.

Configure the MCP client

For a separate server environment, use the absolute path to ccm and point --conda-exe at the target conda installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conda": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/ccm",
      "args": ["--conda-exe", "/absolute/path/to/target/conda"]
    }
  }
}

For a same-environment installation such as a future conda-runtime bundle, use that conda executable and the mcp subcommand:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "conda": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/conda",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

On Windows, the conda executable must be conda.exe, not a .bat or .cmd wrapper.