main channel. Anaconda might modify these requirements to align with industry standards and enable performance improvements. Changes will be communicated in advance through this page and our official communication channels.
Current CPU baseline
Platform
Minimum Requirement Baseline
Win-64
N/A
osx-arm64
M1
Linux-64
x86-64-v1
Linux-aarch64
ARMv8.0-A
- Minimum Requirement Baseline
- The CPU instruction set that Anaconda packages are compiled to support today. Packages built for a given baseline will run on any processor that supports that instruction set or later, but might not function on older processors that lack the required instructions.
- Windows CPU Nuances
- Windows packages are built differently than Linux. The Visual Studio compiler defaults to SSE2 (similar to x86-64-v1) when packages don’t specify otherwise, but Anaconda does not set a baseline at the compiler level like we do for Linux. Individual packages specify higher requirements—some already require SSE4.2 or other x86-64-v2 instructions based on their upstream build configurations. Anaconda recommends using a system with x86-64-v2 support for reliable compatibility with packages and because Windows 11 version 24H2 and later require x86-64-v2 to run.
Planned CPU baseline updates
Platform
New Minimum Requirement Baseline
Effective Date
Win-64
No change planned
N/A
osx-arm64
No Change planned
N/A
Linux-64
x86-64-v2
2026-05-01
Linux-aarch64
No change planned
N/A
- New Minimum Requirement Baseline
- The CPU instruction set that Anaconda will transition new package builds to support.
- Effective Date
- The date when Anaconda begins transitioning packages to the specified baseline. Individual packages will move to the new baseline as they are rebuilt after this date. Packages built before this date remain available and continue to work on older hardware.
What minimum CPU baselines mean
- For new packages (built after effective date)
- Packages might include optimizations that require the specified instruction sets. These packages will not function on processors that lack the required instructions. Attempting to run incompatible packages will result in “illegal instruction” errors.
- For existing packages (built before effective date)
- All previously published packages remain available and continue to work on older hardware. No packages are removed or modified via this policy.
The minimum requirement baseline represents Anaconda’s default compiler target. Individual packages might include optimizations beyond the baseline due to upstream build configurations or runtime CPU detection. While the vast majority of packages conform to the stated baseline, Anaconda cannot guarantee that every package will run on hardware that only meets the minimum requirement. If you run into an issue, please post on the Anaconda forum or file a support ticket and we will investigate.