If you need a package that requires a different version of Python, you do not need to switch to a different environment manager, because conda is also an environment manager. It was created for Python programs, but it can package and distribute software for any language.Ĭonda as a package manager helps you find and install packages.

You cannot, or, better, you shouldn't, use the system's installation in your virtual environment, as this would defy the purpose of having a virtual environment in the first place and could easily lead to a broken system.Conda is an open source package management system and environment management system.Ĭonda quickly installs, runs and updates packages and their dependencies.Ĭonda easily creates, saves, loads and switches between environments. So, in your case in which you wanted to use Python 3.8 in my_env, Python 3.8 would have to be downloaded again, since, as said before, the environment's Python version is independent of the main OS's version. In the case of Python specifically, this is one of the most common reasons that users end up with a broken system. It has the big advantage that all packages installed in it won't affect the ones that come preinstalled with the OS, so they can be handled (updated, downgraded, removed, etc.) separately, effectively eliminating breakages of the main system due to unsatisfied dependencies, etc. Using the commands conda activate my_env and conda install python=3.8 you first tell conda to activate the virtual environment named my_env and then install Python 3.8 in it.Ī virtual environment is an environment (think of it as a special folder) that is used to install Python (or another supported language), as well as packages and their dependencies, independently from the main OS.

What you observed is correct and is exactly how conda is supposed to work.

Conda latest version