✨ Why Pixi

Pyxel contributors work across Linux, macOS, and Windows, often with complex scientific dependencies. While uv, conda, and pip are already supported, contributors were missing a documented option for a modern, lockfile-based, cross-platform workflow.

Pixi fills this gap by providing:

• Reproducible environments via lock files
• Cross-platform consistency (Linux, macOS, Windows)
• No dependency on a global conda installation
• Clear separation between project and system environments

For contributors—especially those onboarding for the first time—this reduces friction and makes experimentation safer.

🔧 What changed

A new “Using pixi for development” section was added to the Pyxel Contribution Guide. The section:

• Explains what Pixi is and when to use it
• Positions Pixi as an alternative, not a replacement
• Provides minimal, copy-pasteable setup commands
• Reuses the official Pyxel environment YAML
• Keeps the focus on contributors, not tooling complexity

The documentation intentionally links to Pixi’s official site for advanced installation options, keeping Pyxel docs concise and maintainable.

📦 Pixi setup (as documented)

curl -fsSL https://pixi.sh/install.sh | sh
pixi self-update
        

git clone https://gitlab.com/esa/pyxel.git
cd pyxel
curl -O https://esa.gitlab.io/pyxel/doc/latest/pyxel-2.16-environment.yaml
pixi init --import pyxel-2.16-environment.yaml
pixi shell
        

pyxel-sim --version
        

Once inside the Pixi shell, contributors can work normally using the same Pyxel commands as other workflows.

🌱 Why this matters

Good contributor documentation isn’t just about correctness—it’s about accessibility and choice.

This change doesn’t enforce a new workflow. It simply gives contributors another supported path when existing setups don’t fit their system or needs.