Add packages — pixi

Add packages to the Pixi manifest and install them. Pixi only adds them if they can be solved together with the rest of the project's dependencies.

R package names are translated to conda names: "dplyr" becomes r-dplyr and "Rcpp" becomes r-rcpp (conda names are lowercase). Use a prefix to say where a package comes from:

"bioc::DESeq2": a Bioconductor package (bioconductor-deseq2 from the bioconda channel, which is added to the project if needed). Without the prefix, a package that isn't on conda-forge is looked for on bioconda too, so "DESeq2" works as well. Bioconductor's annotation and data packages, such as org.Hs.eg.db, download their data with an install script, which Pixi only runs in projects that allow it; pixi_add() offers to allow it.
"conda::gdal": a conda package that isn't an R package, used as is. Names containing - or _, such as "c-compiler", are also used as is.
"cran::dplyr": same as "dplyr".
"pypi::pydytuesday" (experimental): a Python package from PyPI, added with pixi add --pypi, for Python in the project (see use_pixi_python()).
"github::user/repo" (experimental): an R package on GitHub, which Pixi builds from source with its R build backend, pixi-build-r. Add @ref for a branch, tag or commit, as in "github::cran/praise@1.0.0"; pixi.lock records the exact commit either way. rpix writes it into pixi.toml, turns on Pixi's pixi-build preview, and pins the build to the project's R. Its dependencies come from conda-forge. It asks for pixi-build-r 0.2.0 or later, which adds the Rust, CMake, pkg-config and R's recommended packages a package needs; a project with packages as of a date before 2026-10-15 can't get it (see pixi_set_date()). rpix also adds what pixi-build-r doesn't: Java when SystemRequirements names it, and in a project for Windows, MSYS2's make, sed and coreutils, and MinGW's compilers in place of pixi-build-r's. See https://pixi.prefix.dev/latest/build/backends/pixi-build-r/. This may change, e.g. to use pixi add once it can set a build backend; see https://github.com/roaldarbol/rpix/issues/96. While Pixi builds, rpix shows a line rather than the build's log, unless the build fails.

In a project with several environments, Pixi doesn't install after adding or removing, so pixi_add() and pixi_remove() install the environment R runs in (or else the default one), when the change applies to it.

When it adds R (r-base) to the default feature, it also adds conda-ecosystem-user-package-isolation, unless it's there, to keep your personal R library out of the environment's R, as use_pixi() does.

Pixi's output is shown once it has added the packages, or if it fails in a way rpix can't handle, but not when rpix can, e.g. by looking on bioconda. To see Pixi's output and build logs as Pixi runs, set options(rpix.verbose = TRUE).

For more information, see https://pixi.prefix.dev/latest/reference/cli/pixi/add/.

Usage

pixi_add(
  packages,
  versions = NULL,
  channel = NULL,
  feature = NULL,
  platform = NULL,
  type = NULL,
  path = NULL,
  dry_run = FALSE
)

Arguments

packages: Package names. A version constraint can follow the name, as in "dplyr>=1.1".
versions: Optional. Version constraints, either one for all packages or one per package (use NA for no constraint). A version without an operator, such as "1.1", means 1.1.*. For a package from GitHub, it's a branch, tag or commit instead, as with @ref.
channel: Optional. A conda channel to install the packages from. It's added to the project's channels if it isn't there yet.
feature: Optional. The feature to add the packages to, rather than the default one. See pixi_add_environment().
platform: Optional. Only add the packages for this platform, such as "linux-64".
type: Optional. In a package, also add the packages to this field of DESCRIPTION, as usethis::use_package() does: "Imports", "Depends", "Suggests", "LinkingTo" or "Enhances" for R packages, or "SystemRequirements" for software outside R, given as conda packages ("conda::gdal"). A >= constraint becomes the minimum version there; other constraints only go in pixi.toml. A package from GitHub also goes in Remotes (unless it's CRAN's mirror, cran/). SystemRequirements gets conda-forge's names, such as gdal or pkg-config, added after what it says already, which stays as it is. DESCRIPTION changes once Pixi has added the packages, and feature still decides where they go in pixi.toml.
path: The project. Defaults to the project of the running Pixi environment, or the working directory.
dry_run: If TRUE, show the Pixi commands without running them.

Value

The commands (invisibly) if dry_run = TRUE, otherwise the result of the Pixi call (invisibly).

Examples

# A throwaway Pixi project in R's temporary folder, so the examples leave
# yours alone. With `dry_run = TRUE`, rpix shows the Pixi command it would run.
project <- file.path(tempdir(), "rpix-example")
dir.create(project, showWarnings = FALSE)
writeLines(
  c(
    "[workspace]",
    'name = "rpix-example"',
    'channels = ["conda-forge"]',
    'platforms = ["linux-64", "osx-arm64", "win-64"]',
    "",
    "[dependencies]",
    'r-base = "4.5.*"',
    'conda-ecosystem-user-package-isolation = "*"'
  ),
  file.path(project, "pixi.toml")
)

pixi_add("tibble", path = project, dry_run = TRUE)
#> ℹ Would run: `pixi add r-tibble --manifest-path /tmp/RtmpnAxAUJ/rpix-example/pixi.toml`
pixi_add(
  c("dplyr>=1.1", "bioc::DESeq2", "conda::gdal"),
  path = project,
  dry_run = TRUE
)
#> ℹ Would run: `pixi workspace channel add bioconda --no-install --manifest-path /tmp/RtmpnAxAUJ/rpix-example/pixi.toml`
#> ℹ Would run: `pixi add "r-dplyr>=1.1" bioconda::bioconductor-deseq2 gdal --manifest-path /tmp/RtmpnAxAUJ/rpix-example/pixi.toml`
pixi_add("dplyr", versions = "1.1", path = project, dry_run = TRUE)
#> ℹ Would run: `pixi add r-dplyr=1.1 --manifest-path /tmp/RtmpnAxAUJ/rpix-example/pixi.toml`