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You can install Anaconda Distribution on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or 22.04 LTS with Anaconda’s official Linux shell installer. For most users, the best option is a per-user installation in ~/anaconda3: it does not require sudo, and the same steps work on both Ubuntu releases. This guide covers 64-bit Intel/AMD PCs and includes the ARM64 alternative.

Before you install

Anaconda Distribution is a bundled Python distribution that includes Conda, Python, Anaconda Navigator and many data-science packages. Conda is the package and environment manager. If you want a smaller installation and prefer to add packages as needed, consider Miniconda. If you want conda-forge as the default source, consider Miniforge.

Anaconda’s stated Linux requirements include 64-bit x86_64 or aarch64, glibc 2.28 or newer, and at least 5 GB of disk space for Anaconda Distribution. Leave additional room for environments, package caches and your own files. Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 meet the stated baseline, but that does not guarantee every derivative or minimal image has all the libraries a particular application needs. See Anaconda’s Linux system requirements.

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Check your Ubuntu release, CPU architecture and home-directory space:

cat /etc/os-release
uname -m
df -h "$HOME"

For a standard 64-bit Intel or AMD computer, uname -m should report x86_64. For a supported 64-bit ARM system, it may report aarch64. Anaconda cautions that its Linux aarch64 builds may not suit some Raspberry Pi systems because they target server-class Neoverse N1/N2 processors. If the command reports something else, do not guess which installer to use.

If you need a downloader, install curl with Ubuntu’s package manager:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y curl

Using sudo here installs a system package. You do not need to run the Anaconda installer as root for the recommended home-directory installation.

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1. Download the installer for your architecture

Use Anaconda’s official Linux installation page or installer archive to confirm the current filename. Installer versions change. The commands below use 2026.07-1, the release shown on Anaconda’s Linux page when checked on August 18, 2026. Replace that version in the filename if the official page now shows a newer one.

For most Intel and AMD PCs (x86_64):

cd "$HOME"
curl -O https://repo.anaconda.com/archive/Anaconda3-2026.07-1-Linux-x86_64.sh

For a supported ARM64 machine (aarch64), use this command instead:

cd "$HOME"
curl -O https://repo.anaconda.com/archive/Anaconda3-2026.07-1-Linux-aarch64.sh

Do not run both commands. Choose the installer that matches the output from uname -m. You can also use wget in place of curl -O if it is installed. Download only from Anaconda’s official site or archive, not an unverified mirror.

2. Verify the download’s SHA-256 checksum

For x86_64, calculate the downloaded file’s hash:

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sha256sum ~/Anaconda3-2026.07-1-Linux-x86_64.sh

For aarch64, use:

sha256sum ~/Anaconda3-2026.07-1-Linux-aarch64.sh

Compare the full hash printed in your terminal with the SHA-256 value for the same filename and architecture in Anaconda’s archive. Running sha256sum alone is not verification; the values must match. If they differ, do not run the installer. Delete the download, check that you used the correct file, download it again from the official archive and compare once more. A match confirms the file corresponds to the published hash; it does not establish that the software is right for every use or licensing situation.

3. Run the interactive installer

Run the command matching the file you downloaded. For x86_64:

bash ~/Anaconda3-2026.07-1-Linux-x86_64.sh

For aarch64:

bash ~/Anaconda3-2026.07-1-Linux-aarch64.sh

Follow the prompts: press Enter to read the license, type yes to accept the Terms of Service, and accept the suggested installation path, normally /home/your-username/anaconda3. When asked whether to initialize Conda, choose yes if you want Conda available automatically in your shell. The installer updates your shell’s startup configuration to do this.

A per-user install in your home directory is the recommended default. Avoid sudo bash ...: running the installer as root can create root-owned files that your regular account cannot manage conveniently. Do not install over Ubuntu’s system Python or replace /usr/bin/python3.

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4. Reload your shell and check the installation

For Bash, open a new terminal or reload its configuration:

source ~/.bashrc

Then verify Conda, Python and the installed package list:

conda --version
python --version
conda list
which conda
which python

With the base environment active, which python should normally point to a location under your Anaconda installation, such as /home/your-username/anaconda3/bin/python. The prompt may show (base). Conda’s Linux installation guide also recommends conda list as a basic installation test.

5. Create an environment for a project

Keep project packages out of base where practical. Create and activate a separate environment, then install the tools you need:

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conda create -n myproject python=3.12 -y
conda activate myproject
conda install numpy pandas jupyterlab

python=3.12 is an example, not an Anaconda or Ubuntu requirement. Select a Python version compatible with your project. If you need a package that is not available through Conda, you can install it with pip after activating the environment:

python -m pip install package-name

For a record of the Conda packages you explicitly requested, export the environment history:

conda env export --from-history > environment.yml

Recreate it later with:

conda env create -f environment.yml

Use one environment per project or distinct workflow, and avoid casually mixing packages from multiple channels; channel selection and priority can affect which builds Conda chooses.

Optional: install without interactive prompts

Silent installation is useful for automation, CI or repeatable server setups, but it does not perform the interactive shell setup for you. Confirm the installer filename and checksum as above, then run:

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bash ./Anaconda3-2026.07-1-Linux-x86_64.sh -b -p "$HOME/anaconda3"
source "$HOME/anaconda3/bin/activate"
conda init bash
source ~/.bashrc

Here, -b selects batch mode and -p sets the installation prefix. The example is for x86_64; use the matching aarch64 installer on ARM64. Review Anaconda’s silent installation documentation before adapting these commands for deployment. To preview initialization changes before applying them, run conda init --all --dry-run.

Choose whether to start every terminal in (base)

Shell initialization makes the conda command available; it is separate from automatically activating the base environment. If you do not want (base) to appear in every new terminal, run:

conda config --set auto_activate_base false

You can still activate an environment when needed with conda activate myproject. To restore automatic base activation, run conda config --set auto_activate_base true.

Initialize the shell you actually use

The command and startup file depend on your shell. Do not source ~/.bashrc if you use a different shell.

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  • Bash: conda init bash, then source ~/.bashrc.
  • Zsh: conda init zsh, then source ~/.zshrc.
  • Fish: conda init fish. If Conda still is not found, consult the Conda Linux guide for Fish path setup.

conda init edits shell startup files. If you have custom configuration, make a backup first and inspect the proposed changes rather than treating initialization as a no-op.

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Troubleshooting

conda: command not found

First reopen the terminal or reload the right startup file, such as source ~/.bashrc for Bash. If initialization was skipped, use the full path to initialize Bash:

"$HOME/anaconda3/bin/conda" init bash
source ~/.bashrc

If your installation is in a different directory, substitute that path. As a temporary check, call Conda directly with "$HOME/anaconda3/bin/conda" --version. Common causes are a declined initialization prompt, the wrong shell being initialized, a terminal that has not reloaded its configuration, or a non-default installation path.

The installer will not run or reports an architecture error

Check uname -m and compare it with the installer suffix. Use Linux-x86_64.sh for x86_64 and Linux-aarch64.sh for supported ARM64. A wrong-architecture file may fail to run or produce an execution-format error. Remove the incorrect download and get the matching installer from the official archive.

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Permission denied

Check that you own the destination and that you are installing under your home directory. Do not work around ownership problems with sudo chmod -R 777; it can create security and file-ownership problems. If an earlier root-run installation left files behind, inspect their ownership and choose a clean user-owned installation directory.

Checksum mismatch or installer not found

A mismatch means the downloaded file does not match the published hash, so do not install it. For “file not found,” check the version, architecture and spelling in the filename, and confirm you are using the path where the download was saved. The version in this guide can become outdated; check Anaconda’s current installer page and archive.

Shell configuration conflicts

Before changing Bash’s configuration, you can make a backup and preview what initialization will change:

cp ~/.bashrc ~/.bashrc.backup
conda init --dry-run

If Conda initialized the wrong shell, reverse its changes with conda init --reverse, then initialize the shell you actually use. Inspect your startup file afterward, especially if it contains custom configuration.

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Navigator does not open

Anaconda Distribution includes Navigator, but its command-line installer working does not guarantee that the graphical application will launch on every system. Minimal Ubuntu installs, servers, containers and SSH sessions may lack display access or GUI libraries. On Ubuntu Server, a headless virtual machine or remote session, use Conda from the terminal and run tools such as JupyterLab as appropriate. On a desktop, consult the GUI dependency guidance in Anaconda’s Linux installation documentation rather than installing random libraries from unofficial instructions.

Running short on disk space

Anaconda lists 5 GB as the minimum for the distribution; environments, caches and datasets require more. Check usage with df -h "$HOME". To clear package caches and unused package artifacts, run conda clean --all. Review Conda’s confirmation prompt; this removes caches, not environments you are actively using.

Licensing note for organizations

Anaconda’s published terms make organizational size and repository access relevant. Its system requirements and legal information say organizations with 200 or more employees or contractors generally need a paid Business license, subject to exceptions. Rules can differ for academic and nonprofit research and can change, so this is not legal advice. Business users should check Anaconda’s current legal terms with their organization’s legal or procurement team before using the distribution or its repositories. The technical installation steps do not determine whether a particular use is permitted.

Uninstall Anaconda

Before removing files, confirm the installation path; the commands below assume the default ~/anaconda3 directory. For Bash, reverse Conda’s shell initialization and then remove the installation:

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conda init --reverse --all
rm -rf "$HOME/anaconda3"

Optionally remove Conda configuration and cached metadata:

rm -rf ~/.condarc ~/.conda ~/.continuum

These commands permanently delete files. Inspect the paths before running them, and check your shell startup files for any obsolete Conda initialization that remains. See the Conda Linux guide for further removal details.

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