Package Management Skills

Overview

This skill provides expertise in managing packages through Pixi as the central package manager, converting legacy npm/cargo commands to Pixi-wrapped equivalents, and resolving package conflicts.

Pixi-First Philosophy

Pixi is the primary package manager for this repository. It manages:

• Python packages via conda-forge and PyPI
• Node.js packages via pnpm (pnpm is a conda-forge package that Pixi installs and manages; pnpm then handles Node.js package installation)
• System tools via conda-forge (cmake, ninja, etc.)
• Rust toolchain is provided by Nix; Pixi wraps cargo commands to ensure consistent environment variables and paths

Why Pixi?

1. Reproducibility - Lock files ensure identical environments
2. Cross-platform - Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows
3. Environment isolation - Multiple environments for different use cases
4. Conda ecosystem - Access to conda-forge packages
5. Task runner - Define and run project tasks

Command Conversion Reference

npm → pixi pnpm

npm commands should be converted to use pnpm through Pixi:

# Package installation
npm install              → pixi run pnpm install
npm ci                   → pixi run pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
npm install <pkg>        → pixi run pnpm add <pkg>
npm install -D <pkg>     → pixi run pnpm add -D <pkg>
npm install -g <pkg>     → pixi run pnpm add -g <pkg>
npm uninstall <pkg>      → pixi run pnpm remove <pkg>

# Scripts
npm run <script>         → pixi run pnpm run <script>
npm test                 → pixi run pnpm test
npm start                → pixi run pnpm start
npm run build            → pixi run pnpm run build

# Package execution
npx <pkg>                → pixi run pnpm dlx <pkg>
npx create-react-app     → pixi run pnpm dlx create-react-app

# Information
npm list                 → pixi run pnpm list
npm outdated             → pixi run pnpm outdated
npm audit                → pixi run pnpm audit

yarn → pixi pnpm

yarn commands are also converted to pnpm through Pixi:

yarn install             → pixi run pnpm install
yarn add <pkg>           → pixi run pnpm add <pkg>
yarn add -D <pkg>        → pixi run pnpm add -D <pkg>
yarn remove <pkg>        → pixi run pnpm remove <pkg>
yarn run <script>        → pixi run pnpm run <script>
yarn dlx <pkg>           → pixi run pnpm dlx <pkg>

cargo → pixi cargo

Cargo commands should be wrapped with Pixi:

# Build
cargo build              → pixi run cargo build
cargo build --release    → pixi run cargo build --release
cargo build --target x   → pixi run cargo build --target x

# Test
cargo test               → pixi run cargo test
cargo test --lib         → pixi run cargo test --lib
cargo test -- --nocapture → pixi run cargo test -- --nocapture

# Run
cargo run                → pixi run cargo run
cargo run -- <args>      → pixi run cargo run -- <args>
cargo run --release      → pixi run cargo run --release

# Dependencies
cargo add <crate>        → pixi run cargo add <crate>
cargo remove <crate>     → pixi run cargo remove <crate>
cargo update             → pixi run cargo update

# Analysis
cargo tree               → pixi run cargo tree
cargo check              → pixi run cargo check
cargo clippy             → pixi run cargo clippy
cargo fmt                → pixi run cargo fmt

# Documentation
cargo doc                → pixi run cargo doc
cargo doc --open         → pixi run cargo doc --open

Environment Selection

Different tasks require different Pixi environments:

# Frontend/JavaScript development
pixi run -e js pnpm install
pixi run -e js pnpm run dev
pixi run -e js pnpm run build

# Python development (default environment)
pixi run python script.py
pixi run pytest tests/

# CUDA/GPU workloads
pixi run -e cuda python train.py
pixi run -e cuda python -c "import torch; print(torch.cuda.is_available())"

# ROS2 robotics (default environment includes ROS)
pixi run ros2 --help
pixi run colcon build

# AIOS Agent development
pixi run -e aios python -m cerebrum run agents/aios/my-agent

# LLMOps evaluation
pixi run -e llmops mlflow ui
pixi run -e llmops python -c "import trulens"

# Documentation
pixi run -e docs mkdocs serve
pixi run -e docs mkdocs build

Conflict Detection

Common Conflict Patterns

1. Version Coupling - PyTorch/torchvision/torchaudio must match

   # PyTorch 2.5.x requires:
   torchvision 0.20.x
   torchaudio 2.5.x
   

2. Python Version Constraints

   • AIOS requires Python 3.10-3.11 (Python 3.12+ removed pkgutil.ImpImporter and other importlib APIs that AIOS depends on)
   • Most other environments use Python 3.11.x

3. CUDA Version Mismatches

   • System CUDA vs PyTorch CUDA version must be compatible
   • Check with: pixi run -e cuda python -c "import torch; print(torch.version.cuda)"

4. Channel Conflicts

   • robostack-humble and pytorch channels have incompatible expectations
   • Use separate solve-groups in pixi.toml

Conflict Resolution Commands

# Check for conflicts in Pixi
pixi list                    # List all packages
pixi outdated                # Show outdated packages
pixi run pnpm list           # List Node.js packages
pixi run cargo tree          # Show Rust dependency tree

# Update lock files
pixi update                  # Update Pixi lock
pixi run pnpm update         # Update pnpm lock
pixi run cargo update        # Update Cargo lock

# Verify environments
pixi run pytest              # Test Python
pixi run -e js pnpm test     # Test Node.js
pixi run cargo test          # Test Rust

Pixi Task Definitions

Define reusable tasks in pixi.toml:

[tasks]
# Frontend tasks
frontend-install = "pnpm -C frontend install"
frontend-dev = "pnpm -C frontend dev"
frontend-build = "pnpm -C frontend build"
frontend-check = "pnpm -C frontend check"
frontend-format = "pnpm -C frontend format"

# Rust tasks (if needed)
rust-build = { cmd = "cargo build", cwd = "rust" }
rust-test = { cmd = "cargo test", cwd = "rust" }
rust-release = { cmd = "cargo build --release", cwd = "rust" }

# Python tasks
python-test = "pytest test/ -v"
python-lint = "ruff check ."
python-format = "ruff format ."

Best Practices

Do

• ✅ Always use pixi run to execute commands
• ✅ Use the appropriate environment (-e <env>) for each task
• ✅ Define reusable tasks in pixi.toml
• ✅ Keep lock files in sync (pixi.lock, pnpm-lock.yaml)
• ✅ Use pnpm instead of npm for Node.js packages
• ✅ Check for conflicts before major dependency updates

Don't

• ❌ Use bare npm, yarn, or cargo commands
• ❌ Install Node.js packages globally with npm
• ❌ Mix Python environments (use -e <env>)
• ❌ Commit package-lock.json (use pnpm-lock.yaml)
• ❌ Ignore version coupling requirements

Troubleshooting

"Command not found" in Pixi

# Ensure you're in a Pixi environment
pixi shell                   # Enter shell
# Or use pixi run explicitly
pixi run <command>

Node.js package issues

# Clear pnpm cache and reinstall
rm -rf node_modules pnpm-lock.yaml
pixi run pnpm install

Cargo/Rust issues

# The Rust toolchain comes from Nix (flake.nix devShell)
# When in a Nix shell, pixi run cargo commands use the Nix-provided toolchain
# This ensures consistent environment variables and paths

# Option 1: Use pixi run directly (if cargo is in PATH from Nix)
pixi run cargo build

# Option 2: Enter Nix shell first for complex builds
nix develop
# Then in the shell:
cargo build  # Uses Nix-provided cargo with Pixi environment vars

Environment conflicts

# Use a specific environment to isolate conflicts
pixi run -e cuda python script.py      # For CUDA
pixi run -e aios python script.py      # For AIOS
pixi run -e default python script.py   # For ROS2

Related Skills

• Nix Environment - Nix flakes and system packages
• DevOps - CI/CD pipeline configuration
• Rust Tooling - Rust development patterns

Related Documentation

• docs/CONFLICTS.md - Known conflict patterns
• docs/PYTHON-ENVIRONMENTS.md - Python environment details
• pixi.toml - Pixi configuration