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Manage your conda environment
This page describes how to manage a conda environment in your
Vertex AI Workbench instance.
Overview
If you've added a conda environment to your Vertex AI Workbench instance,
it appears as a
kernel
in your instance's JupyterLab interface.
You might have added a conda environment to your instance to use a kernel
that isn't available in a default Vertex AI Workbench instance.
This page describes how to modify and delete that kernel.
Open JupyterLab
In the Google Cloud console, go to the Instances page.
Next to your Vertex AI Workbench instance's name,
click Open JupyterLab.
Your Vertex AI Workbench instance opens JupyterLab.
Modify a conda kernel
Vertex AI Workbench instances come with pre-installed frameworks such as PyTorch
and TensorFlow. If you need a different version, you can modify the
libraries by using pip in the relevant conda environment.
For example, if you want to upgrade PyTorch:
# Check the name of the conda environment for PyTorchcondaenvlist# Activate the environment for PyTorchcondaactivatepytorch# Display the PyTorch versionpython-c"import torch; print(torch.__version__)"# Make sure to use pip from the conda environment for PyTorch# This should be `/opt/conda/envs/pytorch/bin/pip`whichpip# Upgrade PyTorchpipinstall--upgradetorch
Delete a conda kernel
Some conda packages add default kernels to your environment when the packages
are installed. For example, when you install R, conda might also add a
python3 kernel. This can cause a duplication of kernels in your
environment. To avoid duplicated kernels, delete the default kernel
before you create a new kernel with the same name.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-25 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Manage the conda environment in your Vertex AI Workbench instance\n\nManage your conda environment\n=============================\n\nThis page describes how to manage a conda environment in your\nVertex AI Workbench instance.\n\nOverview\n--------\n\nIf you've added a conda environment to your Vertex AI Workbench instance,\nit appears as a\n[kernel](https://jupyterlab.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user/documents_kernels.html)\nin your instance's JupyterLab interface.\n\nYou might have added a conda environment to your instance to use a kernel\nthat isn't available in a default Vertex AI Workbench instance.\nThis page describes how to modify and delete that kernel.\n\nOpen JupyterLab\n---------------\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **Instances** page.\n\n [Go to Instances](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/workbench/instances)\n2. Next to your Vertex AI Workbench instance's name,\n click **Open JupyterLab**.\n\n Your Vertex AI Workbench instance opens JupyterLab.\n\nModify a conda kernel\n---------------------\n\nVertex AI Workbench instances come with pre-installed frameworks such as PyTorch\nand TensorFlow. If you need a different version, you can modify the\nlibraries by using pip in the relevant conda environment.\n\nFor example, if you want to upgrade PyTorch: \n\n```python\n# Check the name of the conda environment for PyTorch\nconda env list\n\n# Activate the environment for PyTorch\nconda activate pytorch\n\n# Display the PyTorch version\npython -c \"import torch; print(torch.__version__)\"\n\n# Make sure to use pip from the conda environment for PyTorch\n# This should be `/opt/conda/envs/pytorch/bin/pip`\nwhich pip\n\n# Upgrade PyTorch\npip install --upgrade torch\n```\n\nDelete a conda kernel\n---------------------\n\nSome conda packages add default kernels to your environment when the packages\nare installed. For example, when you install R, conda might also add a\n`python3` kernel. This can cause a duplication of kernels in your\nenvironment. To avoid duplicated kernels, delete the default kernel\nbefore you create a new kernel with the same name. \n\n```scdoc\nrm -rf /opt/conda/envs/CONDA_ENVIRONMENT_NAME/share/jupyter/kernels/python3\n```\n\nTroubleshoot\n------------\n\nTo diagnose and resolve issues related to managing a conda environment in\nyour Vertex AI Workbench instance, see [Troubleshooting\nVertex AI Workbench](/vertex-ai/docs/general/troubleshooting-workbench#instances).\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Learn more about [conda](https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/)."]]
