is it possible to upgrade python version of a conda env and specifically of the base env

Question

Suppose I want to

• backup the base env by cloning it,
• and then upgrade Python version of the base env from, say, 3.7.x to 3.10.x.

Is it possible? If it is, how should I proceed?

Answer 1

Run

conda activate base
conda install python=3.10

Important notes

• Even though it is possible, this practice is not recommended by the official documentation:

It is not recommended, rather it is preferable to create a new environment. The resolver has to work very hard to determine exactly which packages to upgrade. But it is possible (...)

• Depending on how many packages there are —and how many conflicts—, the procedure might take a long while (after more than 2 hours I quit).

• Console output is quite limited: Although it shows progression while resolving the packages (it took 5 minutes for 444 packages), it does not show progression while resolving the conflicts it has identified, but

  • these words: Found conflicts! Looking for incompatible packages. This can take several minutes. Press CTRL-C to abort. (while resolving the conflicts actually took more than 2 hours, before I quit)
  • a spinning cursor,
  • only as many package names as the screen width can hold.