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miniforge vs Miniconda

Side-by-side comparison for macOS

miniforge

8.0
Developer Tools

Minimal installer for conda specific to conda-forge

Miniconda

8.0
Developer Tools

Minimal installer for conda

Metric miniforge Miniconda
Category Developer Tools Developer Tools
AI Score 8.0 8.0
30-day Installs 4.8K 6.7K
90-day Installs 13.9K 20.7K
365-day Installs 43.0K 80.8K
Version 26.3.2-0 py313_26.3.2-2
Auto-updates Yes Yes
Deprecated No No
GitHub Stars 9.4K 435
GitHub Forks 482 77
Open Issues 127 79
License NOASSERTION MIT
Language Shell TypeScript
Last GitHub Commit 1mo ago 2mo ago
First Seen Jan 8, 2021 Feb 4, 2016

Reviews

miniforge

Miniforge is a minimal installer for conda, specifically tailored for conda-forge, offering a streamlined way to access packages without the overhead of a full conda installation. It's ideal for users needing conda-forge packages without managing the broader conda ecosystem.

Miniforge installs conda from conda-forge in a lightweight manner.

Pros

  • + Minimal and focused installation for conda-forge users
  • + Active community and regular updates
  • + Auto-update feature keeps the installation current

Cons

  • - May lack some features of the full conda distribution
  • - Primarily suited for a specific user base

Miniconda

Miniconda is a lightweight alternative to Anaconda, offering a minimal installer for conda. It's ideal for developers and data scientists who prefer a streamlined environment without unnecessary packages.

Miniconda installs conda in a minimal manner, allowing users to create and manage isolated environments for their projects.

Pros

  • + Minimal installation footprint
  • + Supports conda package management
  • + Auto-updates keep the installation current
  • + Strong community and developer support
  • + Free and open-source

Cons

  • - Limited pre-installed packages compared to Anaconda
  • - May require manual setup for some tools