Software Installation

Anaconda on Cheaha

For additional general information on using Anaconda please see Anaconda Environments.

If you are using Jupyter Notebook, please see our section on Packages for Jupyter.

Loading Anaconda

Anaconda is installed on Cheaha as a family of modules, and does not need to be installed by Researchers. Instead, the most recent version of Anaconda installed on Cheaha may be loaded using the command module load Anaconda3. Other versions may be discovered using the command module avail Anaconda. We recommend always using the latest version.

Note

If you are using Open OnDemand Jupyter Notebook you do not need to use the module load command as part of creating the job.

Using Anaconda

Anaconda on Cheaha works like it does on any other system, once the module has been loaded, with a couple of important differences in the callouts below.

Note

The base environment is installed in a shared location and cannot be modified by researchers. Other environments are installed in your home directory by default.

Important

Only create environments on compute nodes. Anaconda environment creation consumes substantial resources and should not be run on the login node.

Warning

The Cheaha operating system has a version of Python installed. This version is used by python calls when Anaconda has not been loaded. This can cause unexpected errors. Be sure you've loaded the Anaconda environment you need before using Python.

Danger

Do not use conda init on Cheaha! Anaconda is managed as a module, including script setup. Using conda init at any point can cause hard-to-diagnose issues with Open OnDemand Interactive Jobs. Please see this ask.ci FAQ for how to undo what conda init does.

If the Anaconda software instructs you to use conda init while on Cheaha, please ignore it to avoid future issues with Open OnDemand.

For more information on usage with examples, see Anaconda Environments.

Speedups Using Mamba

Use of Mamba has been deprecated on Cheaha. On Cheaha, use module load Anaconda3 and the usual conda commands instead. The backend of conda has been set to use libmamba and is now equally performant.

Singularity Containers

Containers are a very useful resource for installing software without needing administrator permission. Please read the full documentation about singularity and containers on our main Singularity page.