How to install conda

1. install xcode tools

run the following in the terminal

xcode-select —install

it will bring up a window, click "install" to proceed

2. Download and install miniforge

run the following commands in the terminal, one at a time

curl -fsSLo Miniforge3.sh https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge/releases/latest/download/Miniforge3-MacOSX-$(uname -m).sh

bash Miniforge3.sh

The second command will ask you several questions. Type "yes" when asked and otherwise accept the defaults.

After these commands are done, close your terminal window and restart it. When you do, you should see "(base)" somewhere

in the text before the space where you can write. (This text is called the command prompt.)

3. Make your first conda environment! A conda environment is a sandboxed environment where you can install packages/code in an

isolated fashion. You can have more than one environment locally. Any time you want to use an environment, it needs to be

activated.

Here is some example code to show you how it is done (the stuff after "#"s are comments, no need to run those)

conda create -n my-new-env-name python=3.8 jupyter notebook matplotlib scipy galsim numpy ipython nb_conda_kernels

# ^ this command runs for a while

# then you type

conda activate my-new-env-name

# finally you can do things like start a notebook like this

jupyter notebook

# ^this command will print out a web address and launch jupyter in your browser

# from the main jupyter screen, you can then launch a notebook by going to the new dropdown and selecting a kernel (the same as your conda env)

# you can also reopen notebooks you have already saved