Install On Linux

Install Miniconda Python

  1. To get started you need to download the correct version of the linux miniconda installer for your operating system.

    1. If your computer has a 64-bit operating system (most likely) use the link https://repo.continuum.io/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh If your system has a 32-bit operating system (unlikely) use the link https://repo.continuum.io/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86.sh If you are unsure of which system you are running, see Detecting 64-bits versus 32-bits Linux Systems.

    2. Wait for it to download. It will place a file called Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh (64-bit) or Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86.sh (32-bit) in your downloads folder. On my computer using Firefox this is ~/Downloads

  2. Open at Terminal window. If you don’t know how to do this click * Applications -> Terminal* or search for “Terminal” in the Ubuntu dock search

  3. Within Terminal change directories into the folder where your downloaded file lives, i.e.

    cd ~/Downloads

  4. Now run the bash “shell” program to install Miniconda

    bash Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh

  5. Scroll through the license (press the space bar to move through quickly), type ‘yes’ to approve the terms, and then accept all the installation defaults.

  6. Close the Terminal program. Then, restart it.

  7. Within Terminal type:

    conda install pillow

    1. Enter y at the Proceed prompt.

    2. When the installation completes, close the Terminal window.

Install Spyder IDE and Connect It to Miniconda Python

The second half of the installation is the Spyder IDE development environment. This is the software that you use to write, edit and test your Python programs. Spyder IDE calls Python to actually run the program. Spyder is included by default in the Anaconda Python distribution, which comes with everything you need to get started in an all-in-one package.

However, with Miniconda, we have to download and install Spyder IDE.

  1. Open a Terminal window.

  2. Type the following command:

    $ conda install spyder

    1. This will take some time to download.

    2. When the following prompt appears:

      Proceed ([y]/n)?

    3. Type y, and hit enter.

  3. Once the download is finished, type the following command to know the location of Spyder:

    $ which spyder

    It is usually installed in the bin folder within miniconda3

  4. To start Spyder, go to a terminal window and enter

    $ spyder

Detecting 64-bits versus 32-bits Linux Systems

To determine if you are running 64- or 32-bit Linux, simply open up a Terminal window and type:

uname -m

This will either output “i686” (or something not “x86_64”) for 32-bit or “x86_64” for 64-bit