How to download and install Anaconda on Mac

Before you download

Anaconda Distribution is free for individuals and for organizations with fewer than 200 people. Larger organizations need a paid license. Current installers are for Apple Silicon only: Anaconda stopped building for Intel Macs in August 2025, and the older Intel installers stay in its archive without updates. You need macOS 12.1 or later and at least 5 GB of free space. There are three installers:

• Graphical installer (.pkg): the usual way, installs into /opt/anaconda3 for all users of the Mac.
• Command-line installer (.sh): installs into your home folder without administrator rights.
• Miniconda: a small installer with only conda and Python, to which you add the packages you need. It is on the same download page.

The download page asks you to register with your email address. You can click Skip to download instead and get the installers straight away.

How to install Anaconda

1. Download the graphical installer for Mac and open the .pkg in your Downloads folder.

2. Click Continue until you reach the license, then Continue and Agree.
3. Click Continue to install into /opt/anaconda3, then Install, and enter your Mac password.
4. When the installation finishes, Anaconda Navigator opens. Later, open it from Applications or Launchpad.

A .pkg installs with administrator rights, so download it only from anaconda.com.

What to set up after installing

Open a new Terminal window. (base) before the prompt means conda’s base environment is active. Check the install with:

• Environments. Give each project its own environment instead of installing everything into base, for example: conda create -n myproject python
• Package cache. conda keeps the packages it downloads, and they add up with every install. This removes the ones no environment uses: conda clean --all
• Terminal setup. The installer adds lines to your shell profile so that conda starts in every Terminal window.
• The installer. Move the .pkg from Downloads to the Trash once conda works: it takes almost a gigabyte.

If Anaconda won’t install or open

• «This package is incompatible with this version of macOS». The installer needs Apple Silicon and macOS 12.1 or later. Current Anaconda doesn’t install on Intel Macs.
• «command not found: conda». Open a new Terminal window. If it still fails, run this and open Terminal again: /opt/anaconda3/bin/conda init zsh
• A broken install. Remove Anaconda completely, its shell lines included, and install it again: see how to uninstall Anaconda on Mac.

Alternatives to Anaconda

• PythonPlain Python from python.org, small and simple.