feat: inline package manifests for `pixi global` by Hofer-Julian · Pull Request #6521 · prefix-dev/pixi

Hofer-Julian · 2026-07-03T12:25:14Z

Description

This PR implements inline package manifests in pixi global, enabling users to install tools from source repositories that don't contain pixi manifests by supplying the package definition via CLI flags or the global manifest.

It covers:

Manifest syntax: Reusing workspace inline-manifest syntax in pixi-global.toml under [envs.<env>.dependencies], with full package.* grammar support
CLI interface:
- --build-backend <MATCHSPEC> flag for the obvious case (e.g., pixi global install --git <url> --build-backend pixi-build-rust)
- Generic --package <DOTTED_KEY>=<TOML_VALUE> escape hatch for advanced configuration
Name inference: Automatic package naming by querying the build backend's outputs, with support for multi-output sources
Sync semantics: Spec-fingerprint tracking to detect when inline definitions or source specs change, ensuring pixi global sync properly rebuilds when needed
Platform safety: Hard error for cross-platform source builds
Precedence: Inline definitions override discovered manifests when both are present

ruben-arts · 2026-07-06T07:40:40Z

+  --package 'build.config.noarch=true'
+```
+
+- `--package <DOTTED_KEY>=<TOML_VALUE>`, repeatable, merges the value under


I think this makes sense but I worry about the ability to simply define that you want one package from a workspace. similar to --bin in cargo. Where I saw the cli looking like this:

pixi global install --git xxx/user/repo --package package_a

With that in mind would it make sense to rename this special key to --package-config or something like that?

No is a fine answer I just reserved that flag in my head already.

That is a good point. A few counterpoints why I still prefer --package:

in the manifest it's called [package]

other CLIs use --package in a different way, but in our case there's no overlap

you sometimes have to specify this flag multiple times, so making it longer will be annoying

…nitions Implements the `pixi global install --git <url> --build-backend <backend>` workflow fantasized in the Pixi Build blog post, plus the supporting manifest, sync and lifecycle semantics from the design doc. - Parse inline package definitions in `pixi-global.toml`, reusing the workspace inline-manifest grammar and parser (`[envs.*.dependencies]` entries may carry a `package` table). - Thread inline definitions through the solve, install and build-backend-metadata specs so backend discovery uses them instead of reading a manifest from the checkout. - Add `--build-backend` and repeatable `--package DOTTED_KEY=TOML_VALUE` flags on the shared `GlobalSpecs` (install + add), with a bare-string fallback and hard collision errors. - Record per-environment source fingerprints (pinned source + inline content hash) so `pixi global sync` rebuilds when a source spec or its inline definition changes; `update` keeps chasing moving references. - Hard-error when an environment with source dependencies targets a non-current platform. - Infer package names for git and path sources alike, dedupe backend output names before deciding ambiguity, suggest the exact names to re-run with, delete the dead `GitNotSupported` variant, and hint at `--build-backend` when a source has no discoverable manifest. - Document source dependencies in the global manifest reference. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016ZxLj1q9onVBH2BXgGh6iu

Rust unit tests for --build-backend/--package spec conversion and manifest overwrite, plus Python integration tests for the manifest-less build, name inference, and fingerprint-driven rebuild paths.

hunger · 2026-07-07T12:40:54Z

+        if !source_package_names.is_empty() {
+            let expected_fingerprints = source_fingerprints_for_environment(environment);
+            let recorded_fingerprints =
+                pixi_core::environment::read_environment_file(env_dir.path())


What happens when this is not readable? I read it as if that will consider the file as out of sync every time. Is it OK to just have a debug! to help diagnose this?

hunger · 2026-07-07T12:44:44Z

+                return Err(GlobalSpecsConversionError::InvalidBuildBackend {
+                    input: input.clone(),
+                    reason: "only a name and a version constraint are supported".to_string(),
+                });


That is a super elaborate way to check for name and version constraints:-)

hunger · 2026-07-07T12:49:05Z

+            self.parsed = match ParsedManifest::from_toml_str(&contents, root_directory) {
+                Ok(parsed) => parsed,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    return e.to_fancy(consts::GLOBAL_MANIFEST_DEFAULT_NAME, &contents, &self.path);


Can you do the checks before changing the self.document (e.g. in line 177)? It's just safer to do it in that order.

…ec check

Hofer-Julian changed the title ~~Design: Inline package manifests for pixi global~~ feat: inline package manifests for pixi global Jul 3, 2026

Hofer-Julian force-pushed the claude/pixi-global-command-design-tmdtf0 branch from 9a5eed8 to 0337e6f Compare July 3, 2026 13:45

ruben-arts reviewed Jul 6, 2026

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Hofer-Julian marked this pull request as draft July 6, 2026 07:42

claude and others added 2 commits July 6, 2026 12:13

Fix CI

767edaf

Hofer-Julian force-pushed the claude/pixi-global-command-design-tmdtf0 branch from c6f0f17 to 767edaf Compare July 6, 2026 12:16

test(global): tests for inline package definitions

082d4e2

Rust unit tests for --build-backend/--package spec conversion and manifest overwrite, plus Python integration tests for the manifest-less build, name inference, and fingerprint-driven rebuild paths.

Hofer-Julian force-pushed the claude/pixi-global-command-design-tmdtf0 branch from 3e0d57c to 082d4e2 Compare July 6, 2026 14:45

hunger reviewed Jul 7, 2026

View reviewed changes

Address review feedback for inline package definitions

284362f

Hofer-Julian force-pushed the claude/pixi-global-command-design-tmdtf0 branch from a400769 to 284362f Compare July 9, 2026 09:03

Address review feedback: log unreadable env file, simplify backend sp…

1df4635

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feat: inline package manifests for `pixi global`#6521

feat: inline package manifests for `pixi global`#6521
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Hofer-Julian commented Jul 3, 2026 •

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Hofer-Julian commented Jul 3, 2026 •

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