Anaconda Distribution is a distribution consisting of several packages we can use for data analysis and data science.

Read: How to Become a Data Scientist – The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century

Anaconda has a package named Conda and a built-in environment manager. Moreover, it is preferred by those who work with data science because it creates environments that go well with different Python versions. 

In terms of size, Anaconda is giant. It will install several packages, and the Anaconda package manager is available if you want to install additional packages. 

Also, Conda and pip are available. People sometimes struggle installing Anaconda, which is not a big deal. Thus in this article, I will show you how to install Anaconda step by step.

Before we start, know that this article will show you how to install Anaconda on a Windows computer. However, the process remains the same even if you try installing it on a Mac or any other operating system. 

Related: Ansible Tutorial – Installing On Linux

Downloading Anaconda Distribution

Before installing, we need to download the installer from the official website of Anaconda, i.e., anaconda.com. Go to the following link.

https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual

Here, you will find the individual edition of Anaconda. Anaconda also provides different editions for commercial, team, enterprise, and professional services. You can look for this by clicking “Products” in the navigation bar. 

Scroll down, and you will find different versions for different operating systems. 

Download the version that suits your machine. As mentioned earlier, Anaconda is quite giant, nearly 500 Mb. Wait for the download to finish.

Installing Anaconda Distribution

After downloading the installer:

1. Locate it.
2. Run the Installer as an Administrator.
3. Right-click on the Installer.
4. Choose “Run as Administrator.”

It will open the installer.

Click on “Next” to start. First, the license agreement will appear. 

Read the license agreement (if you want) and click “I Agree.” Next, it will ask whom you wish to install.

Though you can choose any of the two options available, the recommended approach is to select “Just me” to avoid issues related to administrator privileges.

Choose the option and click “Next.” Now, the installer will ask for the destination folder where you want to install it. 

By default, it will install Anaconda in the C drive. You can change it if you want. Moreover, it also displays how much space it requires. Click “Next,” and it will show the advanced options.

Now, here we have two options. The recommended approach is to check the second option and leave the first option. We do not need to add it to the PATH; we can do it later if required. Check the second option because it will register Anaconda as the default Python 3.8, which is helpful.

Next, click “Install,” and the installation process will start.

Installation can take some time as Anaconda Distribution is quite giant. Wait for the installation to finish. After the installation, click on “Next.”

After clicking on “Next,” the installer may ask you to download PyCharm, which is optional. Click “Next” for the final step.

There are two options, and you can uncheck any of them or both if you want. Anaconda already exists. So, click on “Finish” to exit.

Testing the Installation

After installation is complete, let’s check if it was successful or not. To try this, we can open the Jupyter notebook and use the Anaconda navigator or Anaconda prompt. In this tutorial, we will use Anaconda prompt.

First, locate the Anaconda prompt. Once found, open it. Type the following command to open Jupyter and press enter.

jupyter notebook

The command will execute, and Jupyter will open in the browser. If this happens, then Anaconda is installed successfully.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we talked about how to download Anaconda Distribution, how to install it step by step, and finally, how to test whether everything went well or not. If you install Anaconda, follow this tutorial from the start to the end without skipping anything.