Specifications File

This file is similar to the environment.yml file in conda.

However, the big difference is, it only tracks the dependencies that the user sepcifies at the command line. and not its dependencies.

Info

An exhaustive description of the pacakges and its dependencies is in the lock file.

Format

The specifications file format is similar to conda environment specifications files. This is primarily done to maintain compatibility with conda.

In other words, you can use this specifications file generated by ezconda with conda.

It specifies the packages (and not their dependencies) and channels of interest -

mlproj.yml

# name of the environment
name: mlproj

# channels to search
channels:
    - defaults
    - conda-forge

# packages to install
packages:
    - python=3.8
    - numpy>=1.17
    - pandas

Note

You do not need to add or remove packages manually from the environment.yml file.

This is done automatically when you install/remove packages using ezconda. See user guide for more details.

User Specified Packages

If a user installs pandas via the command line, the specifications file will only list pandas and not all the specific dependencies of pandas for that specific architecture.

This ensures that specifications file is platform independent whereas the lock file is platform specific.

$ ezconda install -n mlproj pandas

// Adds (only) pandas to mlproj.yml specifications file

mlproj.yml

# name of the environment
name: mlproj

# channels to search
channels:
    - defaults

# packages to install
packages:
    - pandas