# How to start Julia REPL in VS CODE (Insiders) in specified conda environment?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-start-julia-repl-in-vs-code-insiders-in-specified-conda-environment/63505>\
**Category:** VS Code\
**Tags:** pycall, pythoncall, conda\
**Created:** [June 24, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-start-julia-repl-in-vs-code-insiders-in-specified-conda-environment/63505 "2021-06-24T16:30:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 8

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**Author:** ![j\_u](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/j_u/32/219081_2.png) [@j\_u](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/j_u)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-start-julia-repl-in-vs-code-insiders-in-specified-conda-environment/63505/8 "2021-10-19T18:30:38Z")

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> This setup is imho more flexible and better reproducable than using the default Conda env from Julia.

As I understand it you are suggesting using global Conda (not Conda that comes with Julia) to manage environments and Python packages which as I understand is different than mostly recommended use of Conda that comes with Julia. As I understand it your suggestions might also provide a way to execute the code directly from VS Code with the use of i.e. `Alt+Enter` as well as provide access to Julia versions that are not present at conda / conda-forge.

Based on this understanding I tried to implement your suggestion. I created new Conda environment “julia18” [“`conda create --name julia18`”] which is located at `/home/xxxxxx/.conda/envs/julia18`. I installed Julia from `julia-latest-linux64.tar.gz` official binaries. I tried two options in julia to set `ENV['PYTHON']`: one was `ENV["PYTHON"]=""` and the second `ENV["PYTHON"]="/home/xxxxxx/.conda/envs/julia18/bin/python"` and in both cases I added PyCall v1.92.3 [Updating `~/.julia/environments/v1.8/Project.toml.

When:

```julia
julia> using PyCall
[Info: Precompiling PyCall [438e738f-606a-5dbb-bf0a-cddfbfd45ab0]
ERROR: LoadError: IOError: open("/glob/development-tools/versions/[...]python/latest/condarc-julia.yml", 577, 33261): read-only file system (EROFS)
in expression starting at /home/xxxxxx/.julia/packages/Conda/sNGum/src/Conda.jl:1
ERROR: LoadError: Failed to precompile Conda [8f4d0f93-b110-5947-807f-2305c1781a2d] to /home/xxxxxx/.julia/compiled/v1.8/Conda/jl_2w0VUw.
in expression starting at /home/xxxxxx/.julia/packages/PyCall/BD546/src/PyCall.jl:1
ERROR: Failed to precompile PyCall [438e738f-606a-5dbb-bf0a-cddfbfd45ab0] to /home/xxxxxx/.julia/compiled/v1.8/PyCall/jl_WmUWT5.

```

I encountered errors as above. As I informed in my previous post my base environment is “read only”. I think it is a similar situation to descibed here: [https://github.com/JuliaPy/Conda.jl/issues/166](https://github.com/JuliaPy/Conda.jl/issues/166). It was more than a few months ago when I was setting up my environment, however, if I am recalling correctly this was one of the reasons that I decided to install Julia through conda in a separate conda environment. I took a look at my notes and I think those might be the steps I followed:

```julia
# Create julia env with python=3.8.5
conda create --name julia python=3.8.5

# OPTIONAL: Add conda-forge channel 
conda config --add channels conda-forge

# Install Julia 1.6.0
conda install -c mjohnson541 julia

# Start julia and
julia> ENV["PYTHON"]=""
(@v1.6) pkg> add PyCall
(@v1.6) pkg> add Conda
julia> using Conda
julia> Conda.add("choosen conda package name")
or 
use global Conda to add packages to Conda environment.

```

Should you have any comments or suggestions I would be happy to try them. Thank you once again.

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