Because it's 
aca # Activates env named in environment.yml of current dir
aca myenv.yml # The above, but from the file you specify
aca myenv # Regular conda activate behaviorA shell function for bash or zsh that makes conda environments activate themselves just by looking at your current folder's environment.yml file.
- If you don't have one, make
environment.ymland includename: <my_env_name> - Copy this chunk of code:
auto-conda-activate() {
# Automatically detect and use the right shell hook
case "$SHELL" in
*/zsh) eval "$(conda shell.zsh hook 2> /dev/null)" ;;
*/bash) eval "$(conda shell.bash hook 2> /dev/null)" ;;
*) echo "Unsupported shell $SHELL"; return 1 ;;
esac
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
if ENV_FILE=$(ls environment.y{a,}ml 2>/dev/null | head -1); then
if [ ! -r "$ENV_FILE" ]; then
echo "Cannot read $ENV_FILE"
return 1
fi
ENV_NAME=$(awk '/^name:/ {print $2}' "$ENV_FILE")
if [ -z "$ENV_NAME" ]; then
echo "No environment name found in $ENV_FILE"
return 1
fi
conda activate "$ENV_NAME"
else
conda activate
fi
elif [ -f "$1" ]; then
if [ ! -r "$1" ]; then
echo "Cannot read $1"
return 1
fi
ENV_NAME=$(awk '/^name:/ {print $2}' "$1")
if [ -z "$ENV_NAME" ]; then
echo "No environment name found in $1"
return 1
fi
conda activate "$ENV_NAME"
else
conda activate "$@"
fi
}
alias 'aca'='auto-conda-activate'- Find your shell's config file (
~/.zshrcor~/.bashrc) - Paste at bottom
- Source your config (
source ~/.bashrcorsource ~/.zshrc) or start a new terminal - That's it.
- Auto-detects bash/zsh - no manual configuration needed
- Finds
environment.ymlorenvironment.yamlautomatically - Includes checks for file permissions and that the
.ymlfile has aname:entry - Three-letter alias (
aca) because life's too short - Still works with regular
conda activate myenvstyle commands - Zero dependencies (except, you know, conda... and awk... and a shell...)
Q: Why can't you just look in your environment.yml for the name and type conda activate blahblahblah1422341bfinal?
A: Nothing, if you enjoy remembering all your bad env names and typing 20+ characters instead of 3 all the time.
Q: Why not auto-activate or deactivate when entering and leaving the directory?
A: Because sometimes I'm a multi-directory-single-environment agent of chaos, and also because I don't want to mess with my cd command.
Q: Why not use a dedicated config file instead of defaulting to environment.yml?
A: You can absolutely maintain a dedicated config file, such as .conda_env.yml. Just make sure it includes a single name: <env_name>, then activate it with aca .conda_env.yml. This approach can be helpful if you have multiple environments for the project and want to comment out or switch between different environment options without cluttering your sacred environment.yml. For example:
# .conda_env.yml
# name: bad_name1 # Initial environment as per instructions
name: bad_name2 # Fixed a thing that the instructions didn't mention -_-