I know pip
is a package manager for python packages. However, I saw the installation on IPython's website use conda
to install IPython.
Can I use pip
to install IPython? Why should I use conda
as another python package manager when I already have pip
?
What is the difference between pip
and conda
?
Best Answer
Quoting from the Conda blog:
So Conda is a packaging tool and installer that aims to do more than what
pip
does; handle library dependencies outside of the Python packages as well as the Python packages themselves. Conda also creates a virtual environment, likevirtualenv
does.As such, Conda should be compared to Buildout perhaps, another tool that lets you handle both Python and non-Python installation tasks.
Because Conda introduces a new packaging format, you cannot use
pip
and Conda interchangeably;pip
cannot install the Conda package format. You can use the two tools side by side (by installingpip
withconda install pip
) but they do not interoperate either.Since writing this answer, Anaconda has published a new page on Understanding Conda and Pip, which echoes this as well:
and further on