Create from `environment.yml`#

This tutorial creates a regular named conda environment from a project-root environment.yml.

Before you start#

Complete the Quickstart. Open a local folder named conda-code-demo in VS Code and register it as a Python project.

Make sure no environment with that name already exists:

conda info --envs

Add the environment file#

Create environment.yml at the project root:

name: ignored-by-conda-code
dependencies:
  - python
  - pytest

The file follows CEP 24. Conda Code supplies the environment name itself, so the name in the file does not control the created environment. Conda uses the channels configured for the selected installation.

Create the environment#

Open the Python Environments view.
Start Quick Create for the project.
Select Conda Code if VS Code asks for an environment manager.

Conda Code finds the single project input and creates a named environment called conda-code-demo. If that name is already used, it adds a numeric suffix.

Inspect the result:

conda list --name conda-code-demo

The environment contains Python and pytest from the file.

Change the installed environment#

Open Manage Packages for the environment and install ruff.

conda list --name conda-code-demo ruff

The package is installed in the prefix. environment.yml is unchanged.

What happened#

Conda Code ran conda create --name conda-code-demo --file environment.yml from the project root. The file was a one-time creation input. The resulting environment is an ordinary named conda environment, so later package operations use regular conda commands.

Create from environment.yml#