Focusing Our Future: Changes to Anaconda’s R Channel Support

For over a decade, Anaconda has been committed to supporting data scientists across multiple programming languages. Today, we’re announcing an important change to how we prioritize our resources: Effective September 30, 2025, Anaconda will deprecate the R channel and discontinue active maintenance.

This decision allows us to focus our engineering resources on delivering the best possible Python experience for the rapidly evolving AI and machine learning ecosystem.

What’s Changing

As of September 30, 2025:

  • Anaconda will stop building new R packages and updates
  • The R channel will be marked as deprecated
  • No new R versions, package updates, or security updates will be provided

Important: All existing R packages will remain available. Your current R environments will continue to function, and you can still download any R packages we’ve previously built.

Understanding this Decision

For more than a decade, R and Python have been the leading languages for statistical computing and data analysis. However, with the rapid evolution of AI and machine learning, Python has become the de facto standard for AI and machine learning workloads. The major frameworks driving modern AI—from large language models to computer visio—are predominantly Python-based. You can learn more about why Python is a better choice for AI and machine learning workflows and how Python will continue to dominate as AI evolves in our blog post, “Why is Python a Better Choice than R for Data Science and AI Workflows.”

Maintaining a modern, secure package distribution requires significant ongoing investment and as the Python ecosystem continues to expand rapidly with new AI and machine learning frameworks, we’ve chosen to concentrate our resources where they can benefit the most users. By focusing on Python, we can better serve the vast majority of our users and stay at the forefront of AI innovation.

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Your Options Moving Forward

Who Is Affected

Impacted

Not Affected

Installing R packages from Anaconda’s default channels including:

Already using conda-forge, Posit, or CRAN for R

Mirroring Anaconda’s R channels internally

Working exclusively with Python
 

Only using R in Excel through Anaconda Code

Continue Using Existing Packages

Your current setup will continue to work. All previously built R packages remain available for download. This is suitable if you don’t need the latest R features or packages. However, we encourage users to consider that packages without ongoing security updates and compatibility fixes may not meet the evolving needs of modern workflows. For production environments and active development, exploring current alternatives will ensure you have access to the latest features, performance improvements, and security updates.

Transition to Alternative Solutions

For users needing current R versions and packages, we recommend:

  • conda-forge: The community-maintained conda-forge channel provides R packages, though with different update schedules and package availability. For enterprise users, the Anaconda AI Platform offers conda-forge mirroring capabilities that bring these community packages into your organization with the governance, vulnerability matching, and access controls you need for production environments.
  • Native R installations: Using R directly from CRAN provides a current R experience
  • Posit (formerly RStudio): Purpose-built for R workflows with comprehensive support

Embrace Python for Data Science

Many R workflows have excellent Python equivalents. Our team and community are here to help if you’re considering transitioning to Python for your data science needs. For organizations looking to migrate their R workflows, our Professional Services team offers a Python Migration Kickstart engagement that converts your existing R code into Python.

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Looking Ahead

This decision isn’t about abandoning multi-language support—it’s about focusing where we can deliver the most value. We continuously evaluate the evolving needs of our users and the broader data science market to ensure we’re solving the problems that matter most. As technology and user requirements change, we remain open to revisiting our language support strategy in the future. For now, this focused approach allows us to better serve the AI and machine learning workflows that define modern data science.

Thank You

We’re grateful for the R community’s contributions to data science and to everyone who has used Anaconda for R workflows. While this change represents the end of active R maintenance, it marks the beginning of an even more focused and impactful chapter for Anaconda.

Our mission remains unchanged: We empower organizations and builders to solve and innovate with data, inspiring breakthroughs that shape the future. By concentrating our efforts, we can better serve this mission and help drive the future of AI and machine learning.

Need help? Reach out to your Anaconda representative or contact our Support Team.

We’re committed to supporting you through this transition.

FAQ

Why are you dropping R support now?

Our R channel hasn’t kept pace with the evolution of the R ecosystem. With the Anaconda R channel being out of date with the latest R developments, we recognize it’s time to guide users toward distributions that can provide the current, actively-maintained R ecosystem modern workflows require.

Your existing R environments will continue to work as they do today. All previously built R packages will remain available for download. You can continue using and installing any R packages we’ve already built.

We recommend evaluating your migration options. Consider transitioning to conda-forge (available through our AI Platform for enterprise governance), native R installations, or exploring Python alternatives with the help of our team. Reach out to one of our experts to explore your specific alternatives. 

No. Anaconda Code’s R in Excel functionality uses WebR technology and is not affected by this change. That feature will continue to support R.

Conda-forge maintains its own R packages independently. These remain available, and Anaconda Business customers can access them through the Anaconda AI Platform with added governance and security controls. Not a Business customer? Reach out to our sales team or upgrade your account today.

We continuously evaluate user needs and market demands. While we have no current plans to resume R channel maintenance, we remain open to revisiting this decision as our capabilities and the data science landscape evolve.