About conda plugins#

conda’s plugin system lets anyone extend conda with new functionality. Plugins are regular Python packages that declare entry points under [project.entry-points.conda] in their pyproject.toml.

What plugins can do#

Plugins can hook into many parts of conda’s lifecycle via plugin hooks. Each hook has its own documentation page in the conda developer guide:

Auth handlers: Handle channel authentication and credential storage.
Environment exporters: Export environments in custom formats.
Environment specifiers: Provide alternative environment specification formats.
Error hints: Add contextual hints when conda reports an expected error.
Exception observers: Observe unexpected exceptions for external reporting or diagnostics.
Health checks: Run diagnostic checks on environments.
Package extractors: Extract packages from custom archive formats.
Pre-commands / Post-commands: Run code before or after built-in conda commands.
Pre-solves / Post-solves: Inspect requested specifications before a solve or records after it.
Pre-transactions / Post-transactions: Hook into environment transactions (installs, updates, removes).
PrefixData loaders: Customize how installed package metadata is read.
Reporter backends: Provide custom output formats for conda commands.
Request and session headers: Inject HTTP headers into individual channel requests or client sessions.
Settings: Register custom configuration options.
Solvers: Provide alternative dependency resolution backends.
Subcommands: Add new conda <name> CLI commands.
Virtual packages: Provide virtual package information to the solver.

For the full API reference, see the Plugin API docs.