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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/pg83/ix/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Realms are named environments in the IX store — each realm is itself a package (stored under /ix/store/) containing symbolic links to all the packages installed into it. The ix mut command is the primary way to add packages to a realm, remove them, apply per-package or per-realm flags, and rebuild a realm with the latest available versions of its packages. An anchor symlink in /ix/realm/ always points to the current store entry for each realm, making it easy to put a realm on your PATH.

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Installing Packages

Pass a realm name followed by one or more package identifiers to ix mut. Package names use the namespace/name format (e.g. bin/sway, bin/epiphany). 
# Install sway in the gui realm
ix mut gui bin/sway

# Install to your personal realm (defaults to your username)
ix mut bin/zstd

# Add a browser to the gui realm
ix mut gui bin/epiphany
When no realm name is given, ix mut defaults to the realm whose name matches your current username (detected via getpass.getuser()).

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Removing Packages

Prefix a package name with - to remove it from a realm. You can combine removals and additions in a single command — IX processes them atomically as a single realm mutation. 
# Remove sway and install wayfire in one step
ix mut gui -bin/sway bin/wayfire
You can also explicitly mark a package for addition with +, though that is the default when no prefix is given.

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Per-Realm and Per-Package Flags

Flags are passed with the --name=value syntax and can be scoped to an individual package or to the entire realm. When a flag appears immediately after a package name it applies only to that package; when it appears after the realm name (before any package) it applies to every package in the realm. 
# Set mesa_driver for a specific package only
ix mut gui bin/sway --mesa_driver=radv

# Set mesa_driver for ALL packages in the gui realm
ix mut gui --mesa_driver=radv

# Remove a flag and reset it to the default (use - as the value)
ix mut system --mesa_driver=-
Realm-level flags are a convenient way to enforce a consistent hardware driver or feature variant across an entire graphics or desktop realm without repeating the flag on every individual package.

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Updating a Realm

Calling ix mut with only a realm name and no package list triggers a rebuild of every package already installed in that realm. This is the standard way to pick up upstream changes after pulling a newer version of the IX repository. 
ix mut gui

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Preview Before Switching: ix let

ix let accepts exactly the same arguments as ix mut but does not update the anchor symlink in /ix/realm/ when it finishes. The new realm store entry is built and left in place, letting you inspect its contents before committing to it. 
ix let gui bin/new-wm
This is useful for checking that a large dependency graph resolves correctly, or for staging a change that a second operator will later activate with ix mut.

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Listing Realms and Packages

ix list with no arguments prints the names of all realms that have anchor links in /ix/realm/. Passing one or more realm names prints the packages (with their flags) installed in each of those realms. 
# List all known realms
ix list

# List packages installed in the gui realm
ix list gui

# List packages installed in the system realm
ix list system

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Removing a Realm: ix purge

ix purge removes the anchor symlink for one or more realms from /ix/realm/. Once the anchor is gone the realm is no longer considered “in use” by the garbage collector. 
ix purge gui
ix purge only removes the anchor symlink — the underlying store entry and all its referenced packages remain on disk until you run ix gc. See the Garbage Collection guide for details.

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