[FIXED] Should I trust conda or pip when checking libraries installed?

Issue

While I am in a conda environment, the 'conda list' and 'pip freeze' show different number of libraries. For example, 'tensorflow-gpu' is listed in 'pip freeze', but not in 'conda list'. If I want to use tensorflow-gpu in this environment, should I run pip install tensorflow-gpu to install it again, or not necessary?

Solution

I think when you are using the conda environment. The conda list is going to show all the general packages that shared by the same conda environment. And the reason why 'tensorflow-gpu' is listed in 'pip freeze', but not in 'conda list', is because you used pip install to installed 'tensorflow-gpu'(could be you or the IDE). In this case, 'tensorflow-gpu' is only exists under this python project I believe. Actually, there is an official document about this topic.

Issues may arise when using pip and conda together. When combining conda and pip, it is best to use an isolated conda environment. Only after conda has been used to install as many packages as possible should pip be used to install any remaining software. If modifications are needed to the environment, it is best to create a new environment rather than running conda after pip. When appropriate, conda and pip requirements should be stored in text files.

Use pip only after conda Install as many requirements as possible with conda then use pip.

Pip should be run with --upgrade-strategy only-if-needed (the default).

Do not use pip with the --user argument, avoid all users installs.

And here is the link.

Answered By - Zichzheng