Anaconda:

Conda creates language-agnostic environments natively whereas pip relies on virtualenv to manage only Python environments Though it is recommended to always use conda packages, conda also includes pip, so you don’t have to choose between the two. For example, to install a python package that does not have a conda package, but is available through pip.

You can also use pip within your conda environment:

conda install pip
pip <pip command>

or

conda install -n testenv pip
source activate testenv
pip <pip command>

You can also add pip to default packages of any environment so it is present each time so you don't have to follow the above snippet.

Answer from Duc Filan on Stack Overflow
🌐
Homebrew
formulae.brew.sh › cask › miniconda
Homebrew Formulae: miniconda
brew install --cask miniconda · Name: Miniconda · Minimal installer for conda · https://www.anaconda.com/docs/getting-started/miniconda/main · Development: Pull requests · Cask JSON API: /api/cask/miniconda.json · Cask code: miniconda.rb ...
🌐
Medium
njfberg.medium.com › macbook-setup-for-a-ml-engineer-using-homebrew-6ba183773d19
MacBook setup for a ML Engineer Using Homebrew | by Niels van den Berg | Medium
January 12, 2022 - Install via brew install --cask miniconda, afterwards configure it to work with the macOS zsh: conda init zsh
Discussions

brew cask install miniconda: PATH of all binaries not set
General troubleshooting steps I understand that if I ignore these instructions, my issue may be closed without review. I have retried my command with --force. I ran brew update-reset && bre... More on github.com
🌐 github.com
9
July 19, 2019
brew cask upgrade (miniconda) deletes environments
Having additional scripts in your path can confuse software installed via Homebrew if the config script overrides a system or Homebrew provided script of the same name. We found the following "config" scripts: /usr/local/miniconda3/bin/python3.7-config /usr/local/miniconda3/bin/python3.7m-config ... More on github.com
🌐 github.com
5
January 8, 2019
Miniforge on Mac: Manual vs Homebrew Install?
i dont use miniforge and thus didnt install it on its own or with brew but do use brew intensively: brew is great for installing stuff and i basically only use it to install but: -its sometimes bugged and if you dont know your way around the command line you might have some trouble updating -removing software is also sometimes buggy with „sometimes“ i mean like 5% of times. also if you plan to use separate admin and user accounts you have to do some setup. summary: if you are a beginner go with standalone. if you are advanced use brew. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/macosprogramming
3
1
June 18, 2025
After homebrew installation and using it to install miniconda on Monterey MacOS, conda is not found.(Q1) How to resolve? (Q2) How to remove miniconda? - Stack Overflow
Using: MacOS Monterey v12.2, Apple M1 Pro chip. After installation of homebrew and using it to install miniconda with this command 'brew install --cask miniconda' on the mac terminal, it states that More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
Top answer
1 of 3
3

Anaconda:

Conda creates language-agnostic environments natively whereas pip relies on virtualenv to manage only Python environments Though it is recommended to always use conda packages, conda also includes pip, so you don’t have to choose between the two. For example, to install a python package that does not have a conda package, but is available through pip.

You can also use pip within your conda environment:

conda install pip
pip <pip command>

or

conda install -n testenv pip
source activate testenv
pip <pip command>

You can also add pip to default packages of any environment so it is present each time so you don't have to follow the above snippet.

2 of 3
3

As of 2019, Amit Singh's comment is slightly out of date (and the link is broken). I had the same issue previously, but needed to install conda to work on a specific project with a collaborator. I did this using miniconda, but it should work with Anaconda as well.

After installing conda, this is added to ~/.bash_profile (or .bashrc):

added by Miniconda3 4.5.12 installer
>>> conda init >>>
!! Contents within this block are managed by 'conda init' !!
__conda_setup="$(CONDA_REPORT_ERRORS=false '/Users/<user>/miniconda3/bin/conda' shell.bash hook 2> /dev/null)"
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    \eval "$__conda_setup"
else
    if [ -f "/Users/<user>/miniconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh" ]; then
        . "/Users/<user>/miniconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh"
        CONDA_CHANGEPS1=false conda activate base
    else
        \export PATH="/Users/<user>/miniconda3/bin:$PATH"
    fi
fi
unset __conda_setup
<<< conda init <<<

It basically automatically activates a base conda environment and puts you in it when you start a new shell. This adds conda's python, and other software, to your path. Any tools looking for system/homebrew install programs such as python will get the conda versions instead if they exist. This can create problems if you are trying to use the homebrew versions of things.

This whole block can be safely deleted. Instead, add:

. /Users/<user>/miniconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh

to you ~./bash_profile. This calls a script which creates bash functions for conda, conda activate, and conda deactivate and sets some environment variables. Importantly, it doesn't active the base environment (the default, global conda environment) or change your path.

You can now create a conda environment for your project and install whatever you need into that:

conda create -n my_project python R jupyter # Whatever packages you need
conda activate my_project
# do some stuff
conda deactivate # leave the environment
# do unrelated stuff without issues

If you do want to use the default (root) environment, it can be activated like any other:

conda activate root
# do some stuff
conda deactivate

I hope that helps!

🌐
Anaconda
anaconda.com › docs › getting-started › miniconda › install › overview
Installing Miniconda - Anaconda
April 7, 2026 - Miniconda is a minimal installer for conda that includes only conda, Python, and a small number of essential packages. It provides a lightweight way to get started with conda package and environment management.
🌐
GitHub
github.com › Homebrew › homebrew-cask › issues › 66490
brew cask install miniconda: PATH of all binaries not set · Issue #66490 · Homebrew/homebrew-cask
July 19, 2019 - There is no alias provided either and thus adding "/usr/local/Caskroom/miniconda/4.6.14/miniconda3/bin" to the PATH will break at the next update of miniconda (e.g.
Author   Homebrew
🌐
Dtu
pythonsupport.dtu.dk › install › macos › homebrew.html
— Homebrew Installation
Add Homebrew to the PATH by copying, pasting and running the code that Homebrew displays in the Terminal (look at the picture below for guidance). Press Enter once you have pasted the code.
Find elsewhere
🌐
GitHub
github.com › Homebrew › homebrew-cask › issues › 57162
Issue · Homebrew/homebrew-cask
January 8, 2019 - ==> Starting upgrade for Cask miniconda ==> Running uninstall process for miniconda; your password may be necessary ==> Removing files: /usr/local/miniconda3 Password: cp -p /Users/phi/Library/Caches/Homebrew/downloads/c9915b9843dbd3f4d5975e171a8c8f83e49c56518c067908df2e20253ef0b63d--Miniconda3-4.5.12-MacOSX-x86_64.sh /usr/local/Caskroom/miniconda/4.5.12/Miniconda3-4.5.12-MacOSX-x86_64.sh ==> Running installer script 'Miniconda3-4.5.12-MacOSX-x86_64.sh' PREFIX=/usr/local/miniconda3 installing: python-3.7.1-haf84260_7 ...
Author   Homebrew
🌐
Homebrew
formulae.brew.sh › cask
Homebrew Formulae: homebrew-cask
This is a listing of all casks available from the cask tap via the Homebrew package manager for macOS.
🌐
Tinz Twins Hub
tinztwinshub.com › data-science › miniconda-on-apple-silicon-macbook
Using Miniconda x86_64 & Apple Silicon Side-by-Side on Your Mac - Tinz Twins Hub
December 7, 2024 - Let’s start with the installation process! ... Mac with ARM chip (M Series), We use a MacBook Pro 16-inch (2024) with an Apple M4 Max chip. ... Homebrew is a package manager for macOS and Linux.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › brew, conda and environments in general
r/learnpython on Reddit: Brew, conda and environments in general
June 30, 2021 -

Hi pythonistas :)!

I recently done a reboot to my mac and I started setting up my workspace from scratch.

was wondering what is the better way to go about this:

- python from brew (default path)

- conda or any other virtual env (I generally pref conda for DS work)

- both?

The problem is whenever I'm not running a virtual environment some tools (mostly n/vim plugins) I use in the terminal tend to break due to the fact default python on the mac is python2 and they rely on python 3.

Will it cause issues if I had the brew python in the path by default?

Hope to get some aid here, Thanks for the read :D!

🌐
Homebrew
formulae.brew.sh › cask › miniforge
Homebrew Formulae: miniforge
Minimal installer for conda specific to conda-forge · https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/macbook › anaconda, miniconda or miniforge for data science projects?
r/macbook on Reddit: Anaconda, Miniconda or Miniforge for data science projects?
November 5, 2021 -

I am a data scientist, started to using M1 Macbook Air. Want to install Python and ML packages. What do you suggest for installling python and packages ? What is your experience with them ?

Top answer
1 of 4
3
Use homebrew as your Macs package manager. From there you can install python or anaconda. I use homebrew to install and update almost everything on my Mac. Want to download viscode? just run: brew install --cask visual-studio-code and you got vscode. Go to brew.sh and follow the instructions on how to install it, then you can search for every package that is available there aswell or run: brew search your-package-name As for handling python packages I use pip and in the beginning it was veryyy complicated to get numpy and scikit-learn and all the DS packages to install on M1 but I believe it is working now and that even tensorflow have come up with an update. Otherwise it is a pain in the ass and took me a long while browsing through GitHub comments to get it installed. Though you can choose with homebrew if you want to install arm or Intel binary and as such if you choose to install python with Intel binary you won’t have any installation problems with packages buuut you will lose some performance under Rosetta. I chose to take the hard route and only run native code on my M1 but it has resulted in a lot of pain and time loss for certain workflows. /aspiring quantitative scientist who is reading a master in mathematical statistics who uses R and only dabbles in python sometimes.
2 of 4
2
I am not a DS but I installed Python on my Mac. Anaconda is great but it downloads a bunch of modules that you may or may not ever need so you waste a lot of space. So I went with Miniconda and downloaded the packages I needed manually which is relatively easy.
🌐
Conda
docs.conda.io
Conda Documentation — conda-docs documentation
Miniconda is an installer by Anaconda that comes preconfigured for use with the Anaconda Repository. See the notes about Anaconda’s Terms of Service. Windows x86_64 · macOS arm64 (Apple Silicon) macOS x86_64 (Intel) Linux x86_64 (amd64) Linux aarch64 (arm64) Or with Homebrew: brew install miniconda ·
🌐
GitHub
github.com › zed-industries › zed › discussions › 19702
Quick Homebrew + miniconda python environment specification and REPL kernel creation: guide + scripts · zed-industries/zed · Discussion #19702
#!/bin/zsh # Check if an argument was provided if [ -z "$1" ]; then echo "You must provide a virtual environment name." exit 1 fi # Set the virtual environment name VENV_NAME=$1 # Create the JSON content JSON_CONTENT=$(cat <<EOF { "venvPath": "/opt/homebrew/Caskroom/miniconda/base/envs", "venv": "$VENV_NAME" } EOF ) # Write to pyrightconfig.json in the current directory echo "$JSON_CONTENT" > pyrightconfig.json # Output success message echo "pyrightconfig.json created with venv set to $VENV_NAME."
Author   zed-industries
🌐
Servicenowservices
fermi.servicenowservices.com › kb_view.do
ServiceNow Service Management
Anaconda and Miniconda have restrictive licensing requirements that make them inappropriate for use at Fermilab. Some alternatives work just as well and are fully free. ... Miniforge provides an installation of conda for Windows, Linux, and macOS. For all platforms, the user-level installation seems best for many users. That is what is described here. On MacOS, Homebrew ...