New Anaconda Terms Of Service (TOS)

[21010]

Anaconda changed its Terms Of Service (TOS), requiring a Business or Enterprise license from organizations with 200 or more employees. It means the usage of repo.anaconda.com and repo.anaconda.cloud requires a commercial license.
Could you please clarify how this affects the usage of RCC?

[simonmeggle]

Which channels are you using?
I understand that community channels like conda-forge are not affected by this.

https://www.anaconda.com/pricing/terms-of-service-faqs

Do I have to pay if I use Miniconda?
Because Miniconda is a minimal Anaconda distribution installer that points to the Anaconda repositories by default, the need to pay depends on the package channels you use. If you use the default channel (named “defaults” and points to the Anaconda Repository) and your company has 200 or more employees, you need to purchase a license.
However, if you use community-maintained package channels on anaconda.org (like conda-forge and bioconda) as your preferred channel, you don’t need a license.

Do commercial fees apply to conda-forge?
No. Our commercial fees do not apply to the user-uploaded packages at anaconda.org, which includes conda-forge. We do not build these packages. We host them as a free service to the community – something we’ve done for over 10 years. While commercial fees don’t apply, our Terms of Service do still apply to conda-forge, as they do for any third-party content we host, which is typically the case when an internet service provider hosts third-party content. For example, by using anaconda.org, users agree not to share content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, offensive, invades another’s privacy, or promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any individual or group.

cat conda.yaml
channels:
  - conda-forge    # <----
...

[21010]

Thanks. I use the default rcc setup which is conda-forge repository. Is that mean RCC does not connect to anaconda.com at any point? czw., 5 gru 2024, 14:10 użytkownik Simon Meggle ***@***.***> napisał:

…

Which channels are you using? I understand that community channels like conda-forge are not affected by this. https://www.anaconda.com/pricing/terms-of-service-faqs Do I have to pay if I use Miniconda? Because Miniconda is a minimal Anaconda distribution installer that points to the Anaconda repositories by default, the need to pay depends on the package channels you use. If you use the default channel (named “defaults” and points to the Anaconda Repository) and your company has 200 or more employees, you need to purchase a license. However, if you use community-maintained package channels on anaconda.org (like *conda-forge* and bioconda) as your preferred channel, you don’t need a license. Do commercial fees apply to conda-forge? No. Our commercial fees do not apply to the user-uploaded packages at anaconda.org, which includes conda-forge. We do not build these packages. We host them as a free service to the community – something we’ve done for over 10 years. While commercial fees don’t apply, our Terms of Service do still apply to conda-forge, as they do for any third-party content we host, which is typically the case when an internet service provider hosts third-party content. For example, by using anaconda.org, users agree not to share content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, offensive, invades another’s privacy, or promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any individual or group. cat conda.yaml channels: - conda-forge # <---- ... — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADCMCAQY5AWRD7VSNNMNHK32EBGGBAVCNFSM6AAAAABS73C6DCVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDKMRQGI4DMOJWGU> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[simonmeggle]

It does.
But as long as the community-maintained channels are used (like conda-forge, see the FAQ), I do not see a need for a license.

[21010]

I guess rcc connects with Anaconda.org not anaconda.com. Right? czw., 5 gru 2024, 14:32 użytkownik Simon Meggle ***@***.***> napisał:

…

It does. But as long as the *community*-maintained channels are used (like *conda-forge*, see the FAQ), I do not see a need for a license. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADCMCAR5B4OKJYL5JSKSGIT2EBIXBAVCNFSM6AAAAABS73C6DCVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDKMRQGMZTONZTHE> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[simonmeggle]

Wireshark says so :-)

[joshyorko]

Sorry im late to the party:

Hey @21010 @simonmeggle,

Great discussion here. Let me clarify how RCC handles conda channels and the Anaconda TOS situation.

TL;DR: You're Fine with conda-forge

RCC uses conda.anaconda.org (NOT repo.anaconda.com) to fetch packages. When your conda.yaml specifies conda-forge as the channel, you're downloading from the community-maintained conda-forge channel hosted on anaconda.org - which is free and not subject to the commercial TOS.

How It Works

1. RCC's default endpoint: https://conda.anaconda.org/
2. Your conda.yaml channel: conda-forge
3. Resulting URL: https://conda.anaconda.org/conda-forge/...

This is the community-hosted channel, not the commercial "defaults" channel that requires a license.

The Important Distinction

Channel	URL	License Required?
defaults	repo.anaconda.com	Yes (200+ employees)
conda-forge	conda.anaconda.org/conda-forge	No
bioconda	conda.anaconda.org/bioconda	No

RCC templates default to conda-forge, so you're already using the free community channel.

Verify Your Setup

Check your conda.yaml:

channels:
  - conda-forge    # This is FREE - community maintained
  # - defaults     # AVOID this - requires commercial license for 200+ employees

RCC will actually warn you if you use defaults:

Warning: Try to avoid defaults channel, and prefer using conda-forge instead.

If You Want Full Control

In my community fork, you can override the conda endpoint entirely:

Option 1: Environment Variable

export RCC_ENDPOINT_CONDA="https://your-internal-mirror.com/"

Option 2: settings.yaml

endpoints:
  conda: https://your-internal-conda-mirror.com/

This lets you point to an internal mirror if your organization requires it.

---

Why Use My Fork?

My community fork at github.com/joshyorko/rcc includes:

• Telemetry disabled by default (no calls to robocorp.com)
• All endpoints configurable via env vars or settings.yaml
• Active maintenance with community contributions
• Same conda-forge defaults as upstream

Download the latest: github.com/joshyorko/rcc/releases/latest

---

Summary

• Using conda-forge channel = FREE, no license needed
• RCC fetches from conda.anaconda.org, not repo.anaconda.com
• Anaconda's commercial TOS only applies to the defaults channel
• RCC warns you if you accidentally use defaults

You're good to go. Let me know if you have other questions!