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This installer is in beta. If you encounter issues or have feedback, post to the Community Forum or contact Anaconda Support.
Miniconda’s beta installer for Windows in MSI (Microsoft Installer) format provides native integration with Windows management tools that enterprise environments commonly rely on, including:
  • Better support for enterprise deployment and fleet management (such as Intune or Group Policy)
  • Silent installation and configuration through msiexec
  • Standard uninstallation through Windows Settings

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Protected base environment

The MSI installer includes a protected base environment, which freezes the base conda environment to prevent accidental breakage. Instead of working directly in base, the installer creates a default working environment for your day-to-day package installations. This protects your conda installation from dependency conflicts that can be difficult to resolve. For information on managing packages in the protected base environment, including how to update conda and install plugins, see Protected base installers.

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What’s different about this installer?

The MSI installer provides the same core functionality as the EXE installer, but with some differences in directory structure and behavior.

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Directory structure

The MSI installer uses a nested directory structure that differs from the EXE installer in the following ways:
Miniconda3-PBE <CONDA-VERSION>
_installer
base
condabin
conda-meta
envs
Lib
Library
Scripts
_conda.exe
install.log
The base subdirectory is the base conda environment and contains the directories you would typically find at the top level of an EXE installation. Any additional environments you create are stored in base\envs. The standalone _conda.exe and the install log sit at the top level alongside the base directory.
If you have scripts or tools that hardcode your Miniconda install path, you might need to update them to account for the new directory name (Miniconda3-PBE <CONDA-VERSION> instead of Miniconda3). The version number in the path might change with a new installer release, if the installer’s default version of conda is updated. You can avoid version-dependent paths by specifying a custom install directory with the INSTALLFOLDER property during silent installation.You might also need to account for the new base subdirectory in your scripts or tools. For example, if you previously referenced Miniconda3\Scripts\conda.exe, you would now reference Miniconda3-PBE <CONDA-VERSION>\base\Scripts\conda.exe.

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Install options

The MSI installer is available for 64-bit Windows (x86_64 and Arm64). You can install using the graphical user interface (GUI) installer or from the command line (shell).

Graphical install

Install using the graphical user interface

Shell install

Install from the command line

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Silent installation

The MSI installer uses msiexec for silent installations instead of the /S flag used by the EXE installer. See Silent installation for details.

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Enterprise deployment

The MSI format enables deployment through endpoint management tools like Microsoft Intune, SCCM, and Group Policy. See Enterprise deployment for install commands, detection rules, and other details your IT admin needs.

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Uninstallation

Unlike the EXE installer, MSI packages can be uninstalled through Windows Settings (Settings > Apps) or by double-clicking the .msi file and selecting Remove. See Uninstalling Miniconda (MSI) for all available methods, including command-line uninstallation.