quickstart

vx Quickstart

vx is a universal development tool manager that auto-installs runtimes on-demand. Use this skill when you need to:

• Run tools without manual runtime installation
• Manage multiple development toolchains (Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Java, etc.)
• Set up project development environments
• Execute commands in CI/CD without environment setup
• Enable AI agents to use any tool without configuration

Installation

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/loonghao/vx/main/install.sh | bash
vx --version

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell -c "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/loonghao/vx/main/install.ps1 | iex"

Basic Usage

Direct Execution

Just prefix any command with vx - tools are auto-installed on first use:

# Node.js tools
vx npx create-react-app my-app
vx node --version

# Python tools (via UV)
vx uvx ruff check .
vx python --version

# Go tools
vx go run main.go
vx go version

# Rust tools
vx cargo build --release
vx cargo --version

# Java tools
vx java -version
vx mvn clean install

Runtime Version Specification

# Specific version
vx node@20 --version
vx python@3.12 --version
vx go@1.21 version

# Latest version
vx node@latest --version
vx python@latest --version

Project Development Environment

Initialize Project

# Create vx.toml configuration
vx init

Manual Configuration

Create vx.toml:

[tools]
node = "20"
python = "3.12"
uv = "latest"
go = "1.21"

[scripts]
dev = "npm run dev"
test = "npm test"
lint = "uvx ruff check ."

Project Commands

# Install all project tools
vx setup

# Enter development shell with all tools
vx dev

# Run project scripts
vx run dev
vx run test
vx run lint

# Manage project tools
vx add bun
vx remove go
vx sync

Runtime Management

Install Runtimes

# Install specific version
vx install node@20
vx install python@3.12
vx install go@1.21

# Install latest
vx install node@latest

List and Search

# List all supported runtimes
vx list

# Search for runtimes
vx search node
vx search python

Version Management

# Switch versions
vx switch node@20
vx switch python@3.12

# Show current version
vx which node
vx which python

# Show available versions
vx versions node
vx versions python

Uninstall

vx uninstall node@20
vx uninstall python@3.12

Global Package Management

Install Packages

# Install global package
vx pkg install :ruff
vx pkg install :pre-commit
vx pkg install :black

Package Management

# List installed packages
vx pkg list

# Show package info
vx pkg info :ruff

# Uninstall package
vx pkg uninstall :ruff

Advanced Usage

Execute Specific Executable

# Execute specific executable from runtime
vx node@20::npm install
vx python@3.12::pip list

Execute Package

# Execute package directly
vx :ruff check .
vx :pre-commit run

Inject Companion Runtimes

# Inject additional runtimes for this invocation
vx --with python@3.12 node script.js

Development Shell Commands

# Launch shell with runtime environment
vx shell launch node@20 bash
vx shell launch python@3.12 zsh

# Run command in dev environment
vx dev -c "npm test"

Project Lock File

# Generate lock file for reproducibility
vx lock

# Check version constraints
vx check

Tips

• Use vx prefix for any tool - no manual installation needed
• Create vx.toml for team consistency and reproducible builds
• Use vx dev for integrated development environments
• Ideal for CI/CD - no runtime setup required
• Works with AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot)
• Supports shell integration and headless mode
• Zero configuration for basic usage
• Auto-detects and installs missing runtimes