pixi global update

Update global environments to their latest versions

The pixi global update command updates packages in global environments to their latest compatible versions, maintaining executable exposures.

Usage

pixi global update [OPTIONS] [ENVIRONMENT]...

Arguments

ENVIRONMENT · string

Name(s) of environment(s) to update. If not specified, updates all environments.

Multiple environments can be specified.

pixi global update python311
pixi global update tools dev-tools
pixi global update  # Updates all environments

Behavior

Updating All Environments

When no environments are specified:

pixi global update

This will:

1. Prune old/unused environments and completions
2. Update all environments to latest package versions
3. Maintain all executable exposures
4. Update shell completions

Updating Specific Environments

When environments are specified:

pixi global update python311 tools

This will:

1. Update packages in specified environments only
2. Preserve executable exposure configurations
3. Update completions for affected environments

Exposure Preservation

The update command intelligently maintains executable exposures:

• If all executables were auto-exposed, new executables are also exposed
• If only specific executables were exposed, the same subset is maintained

Update Process

For each environment:

1. Check if environment is in sync
2. Detect currently exposed executables
3. Install latest package versions
4. Sync executable exposures (preserving exposure strategy)
5. Update shortcuts and completions

Examples

Update All Environments

pixi global update

Example output:

✅ Pruned old environments
✅ Updated environment python311
   • python 3.11.7 -> 3.11.8
   • pip 23.3.1 -> 24.0
✅ Updated environment tools
   • ruff 0.1.9 -> 0.2.0
   • black 24.1.0 -> 24.1.1
✅ Updated completions

Update Single Environment

pixi global update python311

Updates only the python311 environment.

Update Multiple Specific Environments

pixi global update tools dev-tools test-env

Updates three environments, leaving others unchanged.

Update with Dry Run

# List what would be updated (check with list first)
pixi global list
pixi global update

State Changes Reported

After successful update, pixi reports:

• Package version changes
• Newly exposed executables
• Updated completions

Example output:

✅ Updated environment python311
   • numpy 1.26.0 -> 1.26.4
   • pandas 2.1.3 -> 2.2.0
✅ Exposed new executable: pandas-profiler
✅ Updated completions for pandas-profiler

Comparison with Related Commands

update vs upgrade

• pixi global update: Updates packages within version constraints from manifest
• pixi global upgrade: (Deprecated) Use pixi global update instead

update vs install

• pixi global update: Updates existing environments
• pixi global install: Creates or reinstalls environments

update vs sync

• pixi global update: Installs latest versions, modifying lock
• pixi global sync: Installs exact versions from manifest/lock without updating

When to Use Update

Regular Maintenance

Update all environments periodically:

# Weekly or monthly
pixi global update

After Manifest Changes

After manually editing the global manifest:

pixi global edit
# ... make changes ...
pixi global update

Security Updates

Get latest security patches:

pixi global update

New Features

Update specific tools to get new features:

pixi global update tools

Exposure Strategy Detection

Auto-Expose All

If all executables were previously exposed:

# Before update: ruff and black exposed
# After update: ruff, black, and new-tool all exposed
pixi global update tools

Manual Exposure

If only specific executables were exposed:

# Before update: only pytest exposed (not pytest-cov)
# After update: still only pytest exposed
pixi global update test-env

To expose new executables after update:

pixi global expose add --environment test-env pytest-cov

Pruning Old Environments

When updating all environments, pixi automatically:

• Removes environments not in the manifest
• Cleans up orphaned completion files (Unix)
• Removes unused directories

pixi global update  # Includes pruning

Example output:

✅ Pruned environment old-python
✅ Removed orphaned completions

Update Failures

If an update fails, pixi reverts the environment to its previous state.

Example:

✅ Updated environment python311
❌ Failed to update environment tools: version conflict
   Reverting tools to previous state...
✅ Reverted environment tools

The error doesn’t affect other environments:

# python311 remains updated
# tools reverted to previous state

Troubleshooting

Version Conflicts

Error: cannot satisfy version constraints

Solution: Check dependencies in manifest:

pixi global edit
# Review and adjust version constraints
pixi global update

Package Not Found

Error: package 'xyz' not found

Solution: Package may have been removed or renamed:

pixi search package-name
pixi global edit  # Update package name
pixi global update

Environment Out of Sync

Warning: environment not in sync

The update command automatically syncs before updating:

pixi global update myenv
# Syncs if needed, then updates

Exposure Changes

Unexpected executables exposed/removed:

Check exposure strategy:

pixi global list
# Manually adjust exposures
pixi global expose add --environment myenv missing-tool
pixi global expose remove unwanted-tool

Update Taking Too Long

Update specific environments instead of all:

# Instead of
pixi global update

# Try
pixi global update frequently-used-env

Advanced Usage

Update Before Running

Ensure tools are up-to-date before use:

pixi global update tools && ruff check .

Selective Updates

Update only production environments:

pixi global update prod staging

Keep development environments on specific versions:

# Don't update dev environments
# Update only prod
pixi global update prod

Update and Test

pixi global update python311
python3.11 --version
pip3.11 list

Batch Update Script

#!/bin/bash
echo "Updating all global environments..."
pixi global update
echo "Verifying installations..."
pixi global list

Performance Considerations

Updating specific environments is faster than updating all:

# Faster - updates only one environment
pixi global update tools

# Slower - updates all environments
pixi global update

Config Options

--tls-no-verify · boolean

Disable TLS certificate verification.

--auth-file · string

Path to authentication file.

pixi global update --tls-no-verify

Best Practices

Regular Updates

Schedule regular updates:

# Weekly
pixi global update

# Or use a cron job
0 0 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/pixi global update

Review Changes

Check what changed after update:

pixi global list > before.txt
pixi global update
pixi global list > after.txt
diff before.txt after.txt

Pin Critical Versions

For stability-critical environments, pin versions:

pixi global edit

[envs.prod.dependencies]
python = "==3.11.8"  # Pin exact version
numpy = ">=1.26,<1.27"  # Allow minor updates

Test After Update

Verify critical tools work after update:

pixi global update python311
python3.11 -c "import numpy; print(numpy.__version__)"

Environment Variables

No environment variables affect pixi global update.

Exit Codes

• 0: All environments updated successfully
• 1: One or more environments failed to update

See Also

• pixi global install - Install global environments
• pixi global sync - Sync environments without updating
• pixi global list - View current environment versions
• pixi global upgrade - (Deprecated, use update instead)
• pixi global upgrade-all - (Deprecated, use update instead)