pixi remove

The pixi remove command removes dependencies from your workspace manifest and updates the lock file.

Usage

pixi remove [OPTIONS] <SPEC>...

Arguments

SPEC

string

required

The dependency to remove. Can be:

Package name: numpy
Multiple packages: numpy pandas scipy

Multiple packages can be specified.

Options

Dependency Type

--pypi

boolean

default:"false"

Remove a PyPI dependency instead of conda. Conflicts with --host and --build.

pixi remove --pypi requests
pixi remove --pypi flask boto3

--host

boolean

default:"false"

Remove a host dependency. Conflicts with --build and --pypi.

--build

boolean

default:"false"

Remove a build dependency. Conflicts with --host and --pypi.

pixi remove cmake --build
pixi remove python --host

Platform-Specific

--platform

string

Remove dependency for specific platform(s). Can be specified multiple times.Short flag: -p

pixi remove cuda --platform linux-64
pixi remove numpy --platform linux-64 --platform osx-arm64

Feature-Specific

--feature

string

default:"default"

Remove dependency from a specific feature.Short flag: -f

pixi remove pytest --feature test
pixi remove cuda --feature gpu

Update Options

Skip Installation

--no-install

boolean

default:"false"

Don’t reinstall the environment, only update the lock file.

pixi remove numpy --no-install

Lock File Usage

--frozen

boolean

default:"false"

Don’t update the lock file.Env: PIXI_FROZEN

--locked

boolean

default:"false"

Require lock file to be up-to-date.Env: PIXI_LOCKED

pixi remove numpy --frozen
pixi remove pandas --locked

Examples

Remove Single Package

pixi remove numpy

Before:

[dependencies]
python = "3.11.*"
numpy = ">=1.26.0,<2"
pandas = ">=2.0.0,<3"

After:

[dependencies]
python = "3.11.*"
pandas = ">=2.0.0,<3"

Remove Multiple Packages

pixi remove numpy pandas scipy

Remove PyPI Package

pixi remove --pypi requests

Before:

[pypi-dependencies]
requests = "*"
flask = ">=2.0.0"

After:

[pypi-dependencies]
flask = ">=2.0.0"

Remove from PyProject.toml

For pyproject.toml manifests, pixi remove --pypi removes from: Default feature: project.dependencies

pixi remove --pypi boto3

Before:

[project]
dependencies = [
  "boto3",
  "requests",
]

After:

[project]
dependencies = [
  "requests",
]

Named feature: dependency-groups or tool.pixi.pypi-dependencies

pixi remove --pypi boto3 --feature aws

Before:

[dependency-groups]
aws = [
  "boto3",
  "s3fs",
]

After:

[dependency-groups]
aws = [
  "s3fs",
]

Remove Platform-Specific Package

pixi remove cuda --platform linux-64

Before:

[target.linux-64.dependencies]
cuda = ">=12.0.0,<13"
numpy = ">=1.26.0,<2"

[dependencies]
python = "3.11.*"

After:

[target.linux-64.dependencies]
numpy = ">=1.26.0,<2"

[dependencies]
python = "3.11.*"

Remove from Feature

pixi remove pytest pytest-cov --feature test

Before:

[feature.test.dependencies]
pytest = ">=8.0.0,<9"
pytest-cov = ">=4.0.0,<5"
pytest-mock = "*"

After:

[feature.test.dependencies]
pytest-mock = "*"

Remove Build Dependency

pixi remove cmake --build

Before:

[build-dependencies]
cmake = ">=3.20"
make = "*"

After:

[build-dependencies]
make = "*"

Combining Options

Platform + Feature

pixi remove cuda --platform linux-64 --feature gpu

Removes cuda from the gpu feature on linux-64 platform only.

Multiple Platforms

pixi remove numpy --platform linux-64 --platform osx-arm64

Removes numpy from both specified platforms.

PyPI + Feature

pixi remove --pypi pytest --feature test

Removes PyPI pytest from the test feature.

Global Options

--manifest-path

string

Path to pixi.toml, pyproject.toml, or workspace directory.Short flag: -m

pixi remove numpy --manifest-path /path/to/project

Behavior Details

Dependency Detection

Pixi automatically detects where the dependency is defined:

Default dependencies ([dependencies])
Platform-specific dependencies ([target.<platform>.dependencies])
Feature dependencies ([feature.<name>.dependencies])
PyPI dependencies ([pypi-dependencies])
Build/host dependencies

Removing Unused Dependencies

Removing a package doesn’t remove its dependencies. Use pixi update to clean up:

pixi remove numpy
pixi update  # Removes numpy's dependencies if no longer needed

Lock File Update

By default, pixi remove:

Removes package from manifest
Updates lock file
Reinstalls environment

Use --no-install to skip reinstallation:

pixi remove numpy --no-install
pixi install  # Reinstall later

Exit Status

0: Success
1: Package not found in specified location
1: Lock file update failed
1: Installation failed

Troubleshooting

Package Not Found

Error: package 'numpy' not found in dependencies Solutions:

Check if package exists:

pixi list | grep numpy

Check feature/platform:

# Package in feature
pixi remove numpy --feature ml

# Package in platform
pixi remove numpy --platform linux-64

Check if it’s a PyPI package:

pixi remove --pypi numpy

Dependency Still Required

Warning: Other packages may still depend on the removed package. Solution: Check dependencies:

pixi tree | grep numpy

The package will remain in the lock file if other packages need it.

Lock File Out of Sync

Error: lock file is out of sync Solution:

# Update lock file first
pixi install

# Then remove
pixi remove numpy

Removing from Wrong Location

If removing doesn’t work, the package might be in:

Different feature: Try --feature <name>
Different platform: Try --platform <platform>
PyPI section: Try --pypi
Build section: Try --build

Inspect manifest to find exact location:

cat pixi.toml | grep -A 5 numpy

Common Workflows

Clean Up Test Dependencies

pixi remove pytest pytest-cov pytest-mock --feature test

Remove Platform-Specific CUDA

pixi remove cuda cudatoolkit --platform linux-64

Remove All PyPI Dev Tools

pixi remove --pypi black flake8 mypy --feature dev

Switch from Conda to PyPI Package

# Remove conda version
pixi remove numpy

# Add PyPI version
pixi add --pypi numpy

Workspace Commands

Environment Commands

Global Commands

Build Commands

Other Commands

Documentation Index

​Usage

​Arguments

​Options

​Dependency Type

​Platform-Specific

​Feature-Specific

​Update Options

​Skip Installation

​Lock File Usage

​Examples

​Remove Single Package

​Remove Multiple Packages

​Remove PyPI Package

​Remove from PyProject.toml

​Remove Platform-Specific Package

​Remove from Feature

​Remove Build Dependency

​Combining Options

​Platform + Feature

​Multiple Platforms

​PyPI + Feature

​Global Options

​Behavior Details

​Dependency Detection

​Removing Unused Dependencies

​Lock File Update

​Exit Status

​Troubleshooting

​Package Not Found

​Dependency Still Required

​Lock File Out of Sync

​Removing from Wrong Location

​Common Workflows

​Clean Up Test Dependencies

​Remove Platform-Specific CUDA

​Remove All PyPI Dev Tools

​Switch from Conda to PyPI Package

​See Also

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Usage

Arguments

Options

Dependency Type

Platform-Specific

Feature-Specific

Update Options

Skip Installation

Lock File Usage

Examples

Remove Single Package

Remove Multiple Packages

Remove PyPI Package

Remove from PyProject.toml

Remove Platform-Specific Package

Remove from Feature

Remove Build Dependency

Combining Options

Platform + Feature

Multiple Platforms

PyPI + Feature

Global Options

Behavior Details

Dependency Detection

Removing Unused Dependencies

Lock File Update

Exit Status

Troubleshooting

Package Not Found

Dependency Still Required

Lock File Out of Sync

Removing from Wrong Location

Common Workflows

Clean Up Test Dependencies

Remove Platform-Specific CUDA

Remove All PyPI Dev Tools

Switch from Conda to PyPI Package

See Also