Getting Started with EasyData Environments

Let's say that you want to use EasyData to manage your environments reproducibly. Here's a tutorial outlining how you can get up and running managing your environments this way. Here's what we'll cover.

1. Create your repo (also called a project) based on an EasyData project template
   • Create a project using an EasyData cookie cutter template
   • Initialize your project as a git repo
2. Explore the default settings
   • Explore the default conda environment
   • Explore the default paths
3. Customize your conda environment
   • Updating the environment
   • Checking your updates back into the project repo
   • Deleting and recreating the environment
4. Customize your local settings (things you shouldn't check in to a repo)
   • Customize your local paths configuration
   • Customize your environment variables
   • Customizing your local config to include credentials

Create your EasyData repo

The best time to use an EasyData template is when you first create your project/repo. We will assume that you are starting your project from scratch.

Note: We recommend using EasyData to create every project you work with so that there is at least a 1:1 ratio between your conda environments and your projects. There are many issues with having more than one repo using the same conda environment, so whatever you do please don't use a monolithic environment to rule them all. For more on this idea see Tip #2 of Kjell's talk on building reproducible workflows.

Explore the default settings

Customize your conda environment

Customize your local settings