Checklist

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

What happened?

The CMD shell activation was modified in conda 25.3.0 to support users using Windows AppLocker with script restrictions enabled.

Xref conda/conda#13610
Xref conda/conda#14607

This change results in conda shell.cmd.exe activate * no longer producing a dynamic .bat script to be executed but rather produces an ini-style .env file to be consumed by the CONDA_ROOT\condabin\_conda_activate.bat.

To support conda 25.3.0+, menuinst's manual calls to conda shell.cmd.exe activate * need updating to properly handle activation, e.g.:

This change is likely the cause of the recent failures:

• https://github.com/conda/menuinst/actions/runs/14110630226/job/39528799895?pr=319

Conda Info

Conda Config

Conda list

Additional Context

No response