Python Dependency Manager Companion

======================================= Configuring Temporary File Locations ======================================= Conda creates various temporary files during its operations. You can control where these temporary files are stored using standard operating system environment variables. Why configure temporary file locations? ======================================== You may need to configure temporary file locations when: * Default temporary directories have limited disk space * Default locations are read-only (common in containers, HPC environments, or restrictive permissions) * Compliance requirements mandate temporary files be stored in specific locations * Performance considerations (e.g., using faster storage for temporary operations) * Working in multi-user or shared computing environments Environment variables ===================== Conda respects the standard operating system environment variables for temporary file locations. Python's :py:mod:`tempfile` module (specifically :py:func:`tempfile.gettempdir`), which conda uses internally, checks these variables in the following order on **all platforms**: 1. ``TMPDIR`` 2. ``TEMP`` 3. ``TMP`` If none of these environment variables are set, Python falls back to platform-specific default locations: * **Windows**: ``C:\TEMP``, ``C:\TMP``, ``\TEMP``, ``\TMP`` (in that order) * **Unix/Linux/macOS**: ``/tmp``, ``/var/tmp``, ``/usr/tmp`` (in that order) * **All platforms**: As a last resort, the current working directory Setting temporary directories ============================== **Unix/Linux/macOS:** .. code-block:: bash # For current session export TMPDIR=/path/to/writable/tmp mkdir -p $TMPDIR # To make permanent, add to ~/.bashrc or equivalent shell profile file echo 'export TMPDIR=/path/to/writable/tmp' >> ~/.bashrc # For a single command TMPDIR=/path/to/writable/tmp conda install package_name **Windows:** .. code-block:: bat REM For current session (Command Prompt) set TEMP=C:\path\to\writable\tmp md %TEMP% .. code-block:: powershell # For current session (PowerShell) $env:TEMP = "C:\path\to\writable\tmp" New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $env:TEMP -Force # To make permanent, use the System Properties dialog: # - Edit the system environment variables or # - Edit environment variables for your account **Container/Docker environments:** In your ``Dockerfile`` or ``docker-compose.yml``: .. code-block:: dockerfile FROM continuumio/miniconda3 # Set temporary directory to a writable location with more space ENV TMPDIR=/opt/conda/tmp RUN mkdir -p /opt/conda/tmp Verifying temporary directory location ======================================= To check where conda will create temporary files, use ``conda info``: .. code-block:: bash conda info Look for the ``temporary directory`` line in the output, which shows the currently configured temporary directory location. Alternatively, you can check directly with Python: .. code-block:: bash python -c "import tempfile; print(tempfile.gettempdir())" This will show you the directory that Python (and therefore conda) will use for temporary files. See also ======== * :ref:`temp-file-errors` - Troubleshooting temporary file errors (permission denied, read-only filesystem, no space left on device) * :doc:`custom-env-and-pkg-locations` - Configure locations for environments and package cache * :doc:`settings` - Complete list of conda configuration settings