Feature request: pkgx backend

[W1M0R]

This feature request provides an alternative to #5408 (the devbox backend) and #5412 (the docker backend) for dealing with packages that have complicated build processes and that are not available on other mise backends.

A pkgx backend would enable mise users to install packages from the pkgx package registry.

As a mise-backend, it would be possible to add dnsmasq using something like:

[tools]
"pkgx:dnsmasq" = "2.91"

The backend (and mise shims) might invoke the pkgx cli, or potentially even use the Rust library.

With mise it could be executed as:

# mise could create a shim that uses pkgx to run the program
dnsmasq --version

# mise could determine that dnsmasq uses the pkgx backend and then use pkgx to run the program
mise x -- dnsmasq --version

This might be simpler than docker or devbox to integrate into mise due to the fact that both mise and pkgx use Rust.

A pkgx backend would contribute about 1,585 packages to the mise user base (although many of these packages probably already exist on other backends, so the true contribution is not known).

Related:

1. Roadmap 2024-2025 #3340 (reply in thread)

[syhol]

Very early days but: https://github.com/syhol/mise-pkgx-backend

[syhol]

dnsmasq almost works, mise use pkgx:thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq installs correctly but the binary is in sbin and I hardcode the path to ./bin. But calling $HOME/.local/share/mise/installs/pkgx-thekelleys-org-uk-dnsmasq/2.91.0/thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/v2/sbin/dnsmasq --version works!

[syhol]

I plan to support the short names (pkgx:dnsmasq) soon

[W1M0R]

Very exciting stuff!

[xeoneox]

this is very cool