# Solving environment: Stuck on Mac

**URL:** <https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/solving-environment-stuck-on-mac/16251>\
**Category:** JupyterLab\
**Tags:** jupyterlab, jupyterhub, how-to, help-wanted, notebook\
**Created:** [October 11, 2022, 5:17am UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/solving-environment-stuck-on-mac/16251 "2022-10-11T05:17:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![myrainbowandsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@myrainbowandsky](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/myrainbowandsky)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 5:17am UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/solving-environment-stuck-on-mac/16251/1 "2022-10-11T05:17:43Z")

</div>

I created a environment by `conda activate env` and then input

`conda install -c conda-forge jupyterlab`

then I am stuck by

```auto
Collecting package metadata (current_repodata.json): done

Solving environment: failed with initial frozen solve. Retrying with flexible solve.

Solving environment: failed with repodata from current_repodata.json, will retry with next repodata source.

Collecting package metadata (repodata.json): done

Solving environment: -

```

I can install other libraries, but am only stuck by jupyterlab

---

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**Author:** ![bollwyvl](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/bollwyvl/32/904_2.png) [@bollwyvl](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/bollwyvl)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 1:43pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/solving-environment-stuck-on-mac/16251/2 "2022-10-11T13:43:57Z")

</div>

Please try `mamba`: it is both faster, and gives better error messages when it fails.

Combine this with a (checked in) `environment.yml` that more full specifies what you need rather than iteratively re-solving. Whether creating or updating the `mamba env update` path is a good one to learn, as you only need to know one command.

Putting these together:

```yaml
# environment.yml
channels:
- conda-forge
- nodefaults
dependencies:
- jupyterlab
# not _required_, but it's best to have _something_ to pare down the solve
- python >=3.10,<3.11 

```

then:

```bash
mamba env update --file environment.yml --name my-env 

```

Finally, you can use [`conda-lock`](https://github.com/conda-incubator/conda-lock) to generate long-term reproducible environments, even for multiple platforms.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![myrainbowandsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@myrainbowandsky](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/myrainbowandsky)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/solving-environment-stuck-on-mac/16251/3 "2022-10-11T14:36:18Z")

</div>

I got this and was stuck by:

```auto
conda install mamba -n base -c conda-forge

Collecting package metadata (current_repodata.json): done

Solving environment: failed with initial frozen solve. Retrying with flexible solve.

Solving environment: \ 0^[failed with repodata from current_repodata.json, will retry with next repodata source.

Collecting package metadata (repodata.json): done

Solving environment: /

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bollwyvl](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/bollwyvl/32/904_2.png) [@bollwyvl](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/bollwyvl)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/solving-environment-stuck-on-mac/16251/4 "2022-10-11T14:40:28Z")

</div>

Then perhaps start with a brand new Mambaforge:

> **[Miniforge Releases](https://conda-forge.org/miniforge/)**
>
> Download page for latest and historical Miniforge releases

The very latest version [4.14.0-0](https://conda-forge.org/miniforge/#4.14.0-0) might be flaky, so a slightly older one might be better.