[macOS] Disable Automatic Activation of the base Conda Environment

disable-base-conda-env.md

[macOS] Disable Automatic Activation of the base Conda Environment

After installing Anaconda on your macOS system, the base environment is automatically activated each time you open a Terminal window. To disable this behavior, follow these steps:

Steps to Prevent Automatic Activation

1. Open the Terminal
   After installing Anaconda, launch a Terminal window or Anaconda Navigator.

2. Check the .zshrc Configuration File
   In the Terminal, run the following command to check if Conda's initialization script is present in your .zshrc file:

   $ nano ~/.zshrc

   Look for the Conda initialization block, which typically appears as:

   # >>> conda initialize >>>
   # !! Contents within this block are managed by 'conda init' !!
   __conda_setup="$('/opt/anaconda3/bin/conda' 'shell.zsh' 'hook' 2> /dev/null)"
   if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
       eval "$__conda_setup"
   else
       if [ -f "/opt/anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh" ]; then
           . "/opt/anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh"
       else
           export PATH="/opt/anaconda3/bin:$PATH"
       fi
   fi
   unset __conda_setup
   # <<< conda initialize <<<

3. Disable Auto-Activation of the base Environment
   To prevent the base environment from automatically activating, execute the following command in the Terminal:

   $ conda config --set auto_activate_base false

4. Verify the Configuration
   You can confirm that the setting has been applied by checking the ~/.condarc file. A new line should have been added:

   channels:
     - defaults
     - https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main
     - https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r
   ssl_verify: true
   auto_activate_base: false

By following these steps, the base environment will no longer activate automatically whenever you open a new Terminal window.

Thank you! This has been an issue for years on my Mac.