Conda set LD_LIBRARY_PATH for env only

Question

I have an installation of miniconda3 where I have created a virtual environment called py35. I have some libraries that I only want to use from within this environment. hence they are under

 /.../miniconda3/envs/py35/libs

However they are not found from within the environment as LD_LIBRARY_PATH does not contain said folder. I now want to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include the /lib only when I am in the virtual environment.

I was thinking of modifying the activate script miniconda uses to start the environment but am not quite sure if this is standard practice or if there is an easier way to achieve this.

Answer 1

You can set environment variables when an environment is activated by editing the activate.d/env_vars.sh script. See here: https://conda.io/docs/user-guide/tasks/manage-environments.html#macos-and-linux

The key portions from that link are:

1. Locate the directory for the conda environment in your Terminal window, such as /home/jsmith/anaconda3/envs/analytics.

2. Enter that directory and create these subdirectories and files:

   cd /home/jsmith/anaconda3/envs/analytics
   mkdir -p ./etc/conda/activate.d
   mkdir -p ./etc/conda/deactivate.d
   touch ./etc/conda/activate.d/env_vars.sh
   touch ./etc/conda/deactivate.d/env_vars.sh
   

3. Edit ./etc/conda/activate.d/env_vars.sh as follows:

   #!/bin/sh
   
   export MY_KEY='secret-key-value'
   export MY_FILE=/path/to/my/file/
   

4. Edit ./etc/conda/deactivate.d/env_vars.sh as follows::

   #!/bin/sh
   
   unset MY_KEY
   unset MY_FILE
   

When you run conda activate analytics, the environment variables MY_KEY and MY_FILE are set to the values you wrote into the file. When you run conda deactivate, those variables are erased.