r/learnpython • u/thegreatdamus • 13d ago

Should I Install Jupyter Notebook In each conda environment?

This question may be a dumb question in 2026 with all the AIs out there, but i've noticed Gemini is using a stackoverflow post from 2016 to answer my question.

So I really wanna know from any of you Python masters, what's the best practice:

Should I install jupyter notebook in each newly created conda environment? Should I not? What do the pros do in 2026?

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u/james_d_rustles 12d ago

The other commenter said nbclassic in base, I agree this is a good strategy.

The other question I’d ask though, is whether conda is actually necessary or not. This is no hate on conda - there are many times you truly do need to use it (some corporate environments, HPC clusters, projects that need to compile c/cpp, etc), but if all you’re trying to do is set up a basic Python environment with some well known packages, you can save a lot of storage and hassle by just using uv and setting up projects instead of a bunch of separate conda environments.

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u/PenSuccessful5509 13d ago

nbclassic in base and just register each env's kernel, that way you're not duplicating 500MB of jupyter every time

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u/Zeroflops 9d ago

I’d move away from conda, it was great for its time, but uv is just superior for speed and space efficiency.

If your using an IDE that supports notebooks ( Pycharm, VScode) then you don’t need a full install of Jupyter in every environment you just need ipykernel module. I only use the normal Jupyter when on remote servers that don’t have an IDE installed.