conda vs conda-lock
conda
conda.ioconda-lock
conda.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | conda | conda-lock |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Python Package Managers | 7.8 (#12) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Authentication | Conda supports authenticated channels through authentication handler plugins, including token and HTTP basic authentication workflows. | It supports token-based and basic authentication for channels and documents environment-variable substitution for credentials. |
| pip integration | Conda documents using pip inside an active conda environment and notes that pip and conda package differences create compatibility limits. | It has experimental support for locking mixed conda and pip environments using a vendored copy of Poetry’s dependency solver. |
| Purpose | Conda provides package, dependency, and environment management for any language. | conda-lock is a lightweight library for generating fully reproducible lockfiles for conda environments. |
Plans
In their own words
conda-lock
conda-lock is a lightweight library for producing reproducible lockfiles for conda environments. It solves dependencies separately for each target platform, allowing installations from generated lockfiles to avoid running the conda solver. Inputs can come from environment.yml, conda-build meta.yaml, or pyproject.toml dependency specifications. Its default unified lockfile covers multiple platforms and can be rendered into other lockfile formats. Documented target examples include Linux, macOS, Windows, and additional Linux architectures. The project describes use alongside conda, mamba, pip, Docker, and pixi, and provides installation routes through pip, conda, and mamba; pipx or condax are recommended for isolated installation. Mixed conda-and-pip locking is experimental. Channel access supports token or basic authentication, with environment-variable substitution for credentials. The unified lockfile can omit raw credential-bearing channel URLs when it matches credential portions to environment variables, although rendered explicit lockfiles may contain substituted variables. Private pip repository support is limited to legacy PyPI repositories using basic authentication. The software is MIT-licensed and free.