VX Best Practices

General Principles

1. Always Use vx Prefix

In vx-managed projects, always prefix tool commands with vx:

# ✅ Correct
vx npm install
vx cargo build
vx just test

# ❌ Wrong (might use system tools)
npm install
cargo build
just test

2. Prefer Project-Level Configuration

Use vx.toml to ensure consistency across team members:

# ✅ Correct - defined in vx.toml
vx sync

# ❌ Wrong - manual installation
vx install node@22

3. Commit Lock Files

Always commit vx.lock to ensure reproducible builds:

git add vx.lock
git commit -m "chore: update dependencies"

Project Setup

Initial Setup

# 1. Initialize project
vx init

# 2. Add required tools
vx add node@22
vx add go
vx add just

# 3. Generate lock file
vx lock

# 4. Commit configuration
git add vx.toml vx.lock

Team Onboarding

New team members only need to run:

# Clone repository
git clone <repo>
cd <repo>

# One command setup
vx setup

CI/CD Configuration

Use the vx GitHub Action:

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
- uses: loonghao/vx@main
  with:
    setup: 'true'
    cache: 'true'

Version Management

Version Selection Strategy

Avoid Over-Specification

# ✅ Good - flexible for patch updates
[tools]
node = "22"
go = "1.22"

# ❌ Bad - too rigid for development
[tools]
node = "22.0.0"    # Blocks security patches
go = "1.22.0"      # Requires update for each patch

LTS for Production

# Use LTS versions for stability
[tools]
node = "lts"        # Auto-updates to latest LTS

Scripts Organization

Naming Conventions

[scripts]
# Standard scripts (run with: vx run <name>)
dev = "npm run dev"
test = "npm run test"
build = "npm run build"
lint = "npm run lint"

# Colon-separated variants (run with: vx run test:watch)
test:watch = "npm run test -- --watch"
test:coverage = "npm run test -- --coverage"
build:prod = "npm run build -- --mode production"

# CI-specific scripts
ci = "just ci"
ci:test = "cargo test --all-features"

Script Dependencies

# Scripts can depend on specific tools
[scripts]
lint = "eslint . && cargo clippy"  # Uses node and rust
build = "go build ./..."           # Uses go

Environment Variables

Project-Level Defaults

[env]
NODE_ENV = "development"
DEBUG = "app:*"

# Required variables (vx will warn if missing)
API_KEY = { env = "API_KEY", required = true }

# Default values
PORT = { default = "3000" }

Secrets Management

Never commit secrets. Use environment variables:

# .env (add to .gitignore)
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://...
API_KEY=secret123

# Reference in vx.toml
[env]
DATABASE_URL = { env = "DATABASE_URL" }

Performance Optimization

Cache Configuration

[cache]
# Enable aggressive caching
enabled = true
ttl = 86400  # 24 hours

# Cache location
dir = "~/.vx/cache"

Pre-install Common Tools

# In project setup, pre-install tools
vx sync --parallel

Use Offline Mode

# When network is unreliable
vx sync --offline

Cross-Platform Considerations

Platform-Specific Tools

[tools]
# Cross-platform tools first
node = "22"
uv = "latest"

# Platform-specific
[tools.msvc]
version = "14.42"
os = ["windows"]

[tools.brew]
version = "latest"
os = ["macos", "linux"]

Cross-Platform Scripts

# Use tools that work everywhere
[scripts]
build = "just build"     # just is cross-platform
test = "cargo test"      # cargo is cross-platform

# Avoid platform-specific commands
# ❌ build = "make build"  # Unix only

Security Best Practices

Verify Checksums

vx automatically verifies checksums. For additional security:

# Verify installation
vx install node@22 --verify

Minimal Permissions

# Install as regular user, not root
# ❌ sudo vx install node

# vx manages user-level installations
vx install node

Audit Dependencies

# Audit installed tools
vx audit

# Check for vulnerabilities
vx npm audit

Team Workflows

Adding New Tools

# 1. Add to vx.toml
vx add python@3.12

# 2. Update lock file
vx lock

# 3. Commit changes
git add vx.toml vx.lock
git commit -m "feat: add python 3.12"

Updating Tools

# 1. Check for updates
vx outdated

# 2. Update specific tool
vx update node

# 3. Update all tools
vx update --all

# 4. Commit lock file changes
git add vx.lock

Removing Tools

# 1. Remove from vx.toml
vx remove tool-name

# 2. Clean up installation
vx sync --clean

# 3. Commit changes
git add vx.toml vx.lock

Monitoring & Maintenance

Regular Checks

# Weekly: Check for updates
vx outdated

# Monthly: Clean cache
vx cache clean

# After issues: Run diagnostics
vx doctor

Health Check Script

[scripts]
doctor = "vx doctor"
check = "vx check"
audit = "vx npm audit && cargo audit"

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

1. Manual Tool Installation

# ❌ Don't manually install tools in vx projects
npm install -g node  # Conflicts with vx

# ✅ Let vx manage tools
vx npm install

2. Ignoring Lock Files

# ❌ Don't ignore vx.lock
git rm --cached vx.lock

# ✅ Always commit lock files
git add vx.lock

3. Global vx.toml

# ❌ Don't rely on global configuration
~/.vx/vx.toml

# ✅ Use project-level configuration
./vx.toml

4. Hardcoded Paths

# ❌ Don't hardcode absolute paths
[env]
TOOL_PATH = "/Users/alice/.vx/tools/node"

# ✅ Use vx variables
[env]
TOOL_PATH = "${VX_ROOT}/tools/node"

Migration Guide

From nvm/fnm → vx

# 1. Export current versions
node --version > .nvmrc

# 2. Create vx.toml
vx init

# 3. Add node version
vx add node@$(cat .nvmrc | tr -d 'v')

# 4. Remove nvm
rm -rf ~/.nvm

From pyenv → vx

# 1. Check current Python version
python --version

# 2. Create vx.toml
vx init

# 3. Add uv (recommended Python manager)
vx add uv

# 4. Remove pyenv
rm -rf ~/.pyenv