Multi-platform Lockfiles for 2026Q1 (beta)

[danyeaw]

Checklist

• I added a descriptive title
• I searched open requests and couldn't find a duplicate

Type of feature request

General feature

What is the idea?

Enhance lockfile support in conda including:

1. Fix issues with current functionality
2. Make cross-platform lockfiles the default without having to pass in all the platforms
3. Improve command discovery through CLI --help
4. Autodetect file formats
5. Error messages
6. CLI refactors including aligning conda create and conda env create functionality

Why is this needed?

Conda should make reproducibility a default part of environment workflows. Lockfiles will be the standard way to capture the resolved state of an environment and recreate it reliably. Although the current functionality is a great foundation, we need to improve what is there to get to a state where users where lockfiles are automatically created and updated.

What should happen?

There will be a technical design added to this ticket.

Related to lockfile format

None

Lockfile Format Information (if requesting new format support)

No response

Implementation Considerations (for new lockfile formats)

No response

Sample Lockfile (optional, for format requests)

Use Case

No response

Priority and Impact

High priority

Additional Context

No response