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Pixi

Installed versions

Resource Version
Dardel/cpe24.11 0.55.0

General information

Instructions for using pixi at PDC

Pixi is a fast, modern, and reproducible package management tool for developers of all backgrounds.

  • Pixi helps developers manage dependencies and environments across languages (Python, C++, R, Rust, etc.) — similar to Conda or Poetry, but faster and more reproducible.
  • It’s built in Rust and optimized for quick installs and environment creation.
  • Uses a lockfile to ensure that the exact same package versions are installed on any machine.
  • Built on top of the Conda ecosystem, so it can use packages from Conda, Conda-Forge, and other compatible repositories.
  • Works seamlessly on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

More information is available at https://pixi.sh/

How to use pixi

pixi is available as a module and can be loaded by ml pixi Within pixi provided by PDC, you can either use the global environment or create your own local environment.

How to use the global environment.

A lot of software is directly available for you after loading the pixi module regardless of which folder you are currently in.

You can use...

$ pixi global list
...to get a list of all installed and, by PDC, maintained packages. You can run them by simply typing their executable. Example:
$ pixi global list
Global environments as specified in '/cfs/klemming/pdc/software/dardel/other/pixi/0.55.0/manifests/pixi-global.toml'
└── nano: 8.6 
    └─ exposes: nano, rnano
$ nano

As you do not have write permission in the globally installed version of pixi, if there are any software or updates you would like to use, please contact us.

How to use the local environment

One of the strength in pixi is that you can create several environment as they are needed for your projects. using ...

$ pixi init [name]
...creates the folder [name] and an environment within it. Just goto that folder and install the software you need. You can then use pixi add [software]and pixi run [executable] to install and run said software.

Example:

$ cd [name]
$ pixi init [name]
$ pixi add gromacs
✔ Added gromacs >=2025.3,<2026
$ pixi run gmx
If that software is not needed anymore use pixi remove [software]

The beauty of pixi is that you can create as many environments as needed.

Running the command pixi update will then update ALL the software you have in that environment.

Creating your own global environment

In case you would like to maintain your own global environment in pixi, you need to install pixi from scratch in your own $HOME folder. This can be achieved using command...

export PIXI_NO_PATH_UPDATE=1`
curl -fsSL https://pixi.sh/install.sh | bash
# Following 2 lines can be added to your .bashrc
export PIXI_HOME=./pixi
export $PATH=$PATH:$PIXI_HOME/bin