xrepo-env

Xrepo Virtual Environments

xrepo env gives you a virtual environment for native tools and libraries. You describe a set of packages, xrepo installs them, and then sets up PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH, PKG_CONFIG_PATH, and any package-specific env vars so those tools "just work" inside the env.

Think conda/venv, but for C/C++ dependencies and CLI tools (cmake, ninja, python, luajit, protoc, …), sourced from xmake-repo or any registered private repo.

There are three ways to use it, ordered from most ad-hoc to most persistent.

1. Ad-hoc environments (no config file)

Pass a comma-separated package list to -b/--bind and xrepo env auto-installs and activates them.

Interactive shell

xrepo env -b "python 3.x,luajit,cmake" shell
[python,luajit,cmake] $ python --version
Python 3.10.6
[python,luajit,cmake] $ cmake --version
cmake version 3.25.3
[python,luajit,cmake] $ xrepo env quit
$

• Missing packages are installed on demand (first entry may be slow; subsequent entries are instant).
• The prompt is prefixed with the active package list so you know where you are.
• xrepo env quit (or just exit) leaves the subshell.

One-shot command

Skip the subshell and run a single command inside the env:

xrepo env -b "python 3.x" python script.py
xrepo env -b "cmake,ninja" cmake -B build -G Ninja
xrepo env -b "protobuf" protoc --version
xrepo env -b "llvm 18.x" clang++ hello.cpp -o hello

Great for scripting / CI — no subshell juggling.

Version specs and configs

Same syntax as add_requires:

xrepo env -b "python 3.11.x,cmake >=3.25" shell
xrepo env -b "boost" -f "regex=true" shell         # package configs
xrepo env -b "llvm" -m debug shell                 # debug build

2. Project-level environments (./xmake.lua)

Drop an xmake.lua in a directory — xrepo env in that directory reads it automatically. This is the right choice when a project needs a reproducible set of tools per working tree, checked into git.