Changelog#

26.5.2.post3 (2026-06-15)#

Runtime#

  • Add conda-exec >=0.3.0 to the default runtime package set.

  • Raise the default runtime package floors to conda-completion >=0.3.0 and conda-workspaces >=0.7.0.

26.5.2.post2 (2026-06-11)#

Distribution#

  • Build CI and release artifacts with conda-ship 0.3.0.

  • Document conda-ship 0.3.0 runtime metadata, completion, and Windows ARM64 support boundaries.

26.5.2.post1 (2026-06-03)#

Distribution#

  • Rebuild the PyPI wheels with single manylinux2014 platform tags for Linux, so PyPI accepts the linux-64 and linux-aarch64 wheel uploads.

26.5.2 (2026-06-03)#

Versioning#

  • conda-express now follows the conda runtime version. The 26.5.2 release bootstraps conda 26.5.2.

  • conda-express-only rebuilds should use post-release versions such as 26.5.2.post1.

Runtime#

  • Pin the runtime conda package exactly to 26.5.2 across linux-64, linux-aarch64, osx-64, osx-arm64, and win-64.

  • Keep the managed runtime prefix at ~/.conda/express and keep the base prefix protected with the CEP 22 frozen marker after bootstrap.

  • Include conda-completion >=0.2.0 and conda-workspaces >=0.5.0 in the default runtime package set, alongside conda-rattler-solver, conda-spawn, conda-pypi, conda-self, and conda-global.

Distribution#

  • Build the published cx and cxz runtime binaries with conda-ship instead of the old repository-local Rust builder.

  • Build with conda-ship 0.2.1 and derive the generated runtime version from project metadata, so release tags drive both the Python package version and the stamped binary version.

  • Keep conda-express focused on the cx / cxz distribution. Custom runtime builds now belong in conda-ship.

  • Continue publishing GitHub Release artifacts, installer scripts, Docker images, the Homebrew tap formula, and PyPI wheels.

  • Stop publishing new crates.io releases.

  • Attest release artifacts before publishing the immutable GitHub Release.

Upgrade Notes#

  • Early cx releases used ~/.cx; current releases use ~/.conda/express. Upgrading the binary does not migrate that old prefix. Keep ~/.cx until you have recreated or archived any environments you still need, then remove it manually.

  • If an old Cargo-installed cx is still earlier on PATH, remove it and install cx through one of the current distribution channels.

Installer Scripts#

  • Pass CX_BUNDLE and CX_OFFLINE through to cx bootstrap during installer bootstrapping, so scripted offline installs use the documented bundle and network settings.

Documentation#

  • Rework the docs around conda-express as a distribution built with conda-ship, with conda-ship linked as the tool for custom runtimes.

  • Add focused guides for installer-style conda distributions, offline and air-gapped use, release artifact verification, and upgrading from early cx releases.

0.6.0 (2026-05-06)#

Features#

  • Slim build.rs — Replace the 440-line build.rs with a small script that copies pre-generated cx.lock and payload.tar.zst to $OUT_DIR, reducing duplicate build-dependency compilation.

  • cx-build crate — Add an internal build tool with prepare, payload, and configure subcommands for deriving cx.lock, downloading package archives, and configuring custom builds.

  • cx-env Pixi feature — Define the bootstrap package set as a Pixi environment so pixi lock solves dependencies instead of build.rs.

  • conda-global — Added to the default package set alongside existing conda plugins.

  • conda-workspaces >=0.4.0 — Added to the default package set with version pin.

  • sccache — Local and CI build caching via RUSTC_WRAPPER=sccache.

Fixes#

  • Stop self-deleting the cx binary on cx uninstall — now prints a hint for the user to remove it manually.

  • Clean subenvironment artifacts (envs, pkgs cache) on uninstall.

  • Precompile Python bytecode after bootstrap to avoid first-run .pyc compilation delays.

  • Remove unused default_channels from generated .condarc.

  • Pin reqwest-middleware and sha2 versions to match rattler’s transitive requirements.

  • Fix getrandom 0.3 usage in cx-wasm to match ahash’s transitive dependency.

  • Fix JupyterLite yarn.lock TypeScript compatibility patch hash.

Build#

  • Move exclude filtering from runtime to build time; the cx binary trusts its pre-filtered cx.lock.

  • Remove --exclude and --no-exclude from cx bootstrap.

  • Update action.yml to use the cx-build configure, pixi lock, cx-build prepare, and cargo build pipeline.

  • Rename the xtask crate to cx-build.

Docs#

  • Updated DESIGN.md, README.md, docs/configuration.md, and docs/index.md to reflect cx-build rename, conda-global addition, and updated version pins.

  • Updated stale size and package count figures across all docs: lockfile 39 KB → ~130 KB, package counts 86/113 → ~95/~125, py-rattler wheel sizes ~28-31 MB → 13-33 MB.

  • Embedded remaining demo GIFs in docs and README.

  • Added VHS demos for conda-workspaces, quickstart, status, and passthrough.

  • Documented conda-workspaces in features, README, and index pages.

CI#

  • Allow Codecov upload to fail on PRs.

  • Add CHANGELOG.md and PLAN.md to docs CI paths filter; drop release trigger from docs workflow.

  • Only deploy GitHub Pages from main branch.

  • Add Dependabot configuration for GitHub Actions, Cargo, npm, and pip.

  • Fix CX_EMBED_PAYLOAD env var for Windows PowerShell compatibility.

  • Scope cargo publish to the conda-express crate only.

  • Make Trivy CVE scan non-blocking for upstream base image vulnerabilities.

  • Enable sccache GitHub Actions cache backend for persistent build caching.

Dependencies#

  • Bump rattler ecosystem and other Rust dependencies.

  • Bump npm dependencies in cx-jupyterlite.

  • Bump GitHub Actions to latest versions.

0.5.3 (2026-03-31)#

Fixes#

  • Add channels: [conda-forge] to the generated .condarc. conda 25.x requires channels to be set explicitly — default_channels alone is not sufficient, causing NoChannelsConfiguredError on commands like conda create.

Docs#

  • Fix features.md ASCII diagram: payload size was unlabeled, cx binary label was duplicated in the cxz column.

  • Add air-gapped/cxz card to index.md landing page and mention cxz in the intro.

  • Add cxz context to background.md rationale sections.

  • Add cxz binaries to quickstart.md release download table.

  • Add cxz tip to installer.md offline options.

0.5.2 (2026-03-30)#

Fixes#

  • Fix file ownership in Dockerfile.cxz: use --chown=nonroot:nonroot when copying the bootstrapped prefix so the nonroot user in the distroless image can read conda-meta/ files.

0.5.1 (2026-03-30)#

Fixes#

  • Allow cxz binaries through docker/.dockerignore so the docker-cxz-images release job can copy them into the build context.

Docs#

  • Update binary size estimates across all documentation to match actual 0.5.0 release artifacts: cx 7-11 MB (platform-dependent), cxz 50-95 MB, payload increase 40-85 MB.

0.5.0 (2026-03-30)#

Features#

  • Offline bootstrap — New --payload DIR and --offline flags for cx bootstrap enable fully air-gapped installations from pre-downloaded .conda / .tar.bz2 archives. Also available via CX_PAYLOAD and CX_OFFLINE environment variables for use in native installer post-install scripts (macOS PKG, Windows MSI) and CI pipelines.

  • Self-contained binary (cxz) — Build with CX_EMBED_PAYLOAD=1 to bundle all locked package archives directly into the binary. One 50-95 MB file (varies by platform), zero network access — drop it anywhere and run cxz bootstrap. Auto-detects the embedded payload at runtime; all other cx flags and subcommands work identically.

  • Docker cxz image — Pre-bootstrapped multi-arch Docker image built on gcr.io/distroless/cc-debian12:nonroot, published alongside the existing cx image on GHCR.

  • GitHub Action embed-payload input — Build cxz binaries via the Action or reusable workflow with embed-payload: "true".

  • Release profile optimizations — lto = "fat", codegen-units = 1, opt-level = "z" reduce the cx binary from ~17 MB to 7-11 MB (varies by platform).

Improvements#

  • SHA256 verification of all packages downloaded during cxz build, with automatic re-download on checksum mismatch.

  • Embedded payload temp directory is cleaned up after extraction.

  • New lockfile_records() helper deduplicates lockfile parsing across from_lockfile, from_lockfile_with_payload, and from_lockfile_offline.

  • cx status shows cxz as the binary name and embedded payload size when applicable.

  • Use idiomatic &Path instead of &PathBuf in build script function signatures.

Tests#

  • Parameterized CX_OFFLINE env var parsing tests (7 truthy/falsy cases).

  • CX_PAYLOAD env var forwarding test.

  • cx status binary name and version output test.

  • --offline --no-lock rejection and bad --payload directory tests.

  • Online-gated integration tests for full offline and payload bootstrap workflows.

Docs#

  • CLI reference for --payload, --offline, and cxz bootstrap examples.

  • Configuration reference for CX_PAYLOAD, CX_OFFLINE, and CX_EMBED_PAYLOAD.

  • Features page with cxz section and ASCII architecture diagram.

  • Custom builds guide for building cxz locally, via GitHub Action, and via reusable workflow.

  • Docker quickstart tab for the pre-bootstrapped cxz image.

CI#

  • cxz build and smoke test in CI (Linux x86_64).

  • Release workflow: cxz build matrix (Linux, macOS, Windows), pre-bootstrapped Docker image build and push.

0.4.1 (2026-03-30)#

Fixes#

  • cx create / cx env create — Avoid piping conda stdout when stdin is a TTY and -y / --yes is not set. Conda prints confirmation prompts to stdout without a trailing newline, then reads stdin; line-oriented output filtering blocked the prompt and made input appear swallowed. Activation-hint filtering still runs for non-interactive use (-y / --yes) or when stdin is not a terminal.

  • Add unix integration test reproducing conda’s stdout/stdin prompt pattern (BufRead::read_line and lines()).

Tests#

  • Uninstall integration tests — Use explicit --prefix for the interactive uninstall test on Windows (dirs 6 resolves home via known-folder profile, not HOME / USERPROFILE). Parametrize status vs uninstall missing-prefix cases with rstest; add a unix-only test for default prefix when HOME points at a synthetic layout.

0.4.0 (2026-03-31)#

The browser/WebAssembly features from this historical release now live in conda-wasm. See the conda-wasm changelog for the moved cx-wasm, conda-emscripten, cx-jupyterlite, cx-wasm-kernel, and JupyterLite demo history.

Features#

  • Docker — minimal multi-arch images on GHCR for cx in containers.

0.3.1 (2026-03-06)#

Fixes#

  • Fix crates.io publish — build.rs writes lockfiles during compilation, which cargo publish --verify rejects. Skip verification since builds are already validated by CI.

  • Fix build.yml reusable workflow validation error on push events — pin action reference to @main instead of dynamic inputs.ref in the uses: field.

0.3.0 (2026-03-06)#

No changelog entry was added for this release.

0.2.0#

Features#

  • Add cx uninstall subcommand — removes the conda prefix, all named environments, the cx binary, and PATH entries from shell profiles. Requires interactive confirmation (or --yes to skip).

  • Add reusable GitHub Action (action.yml) for building custom cx binaries with configurable packages. Use uses: jezdez/conda-express@main with packages, channels, and exclude inputs.

  • Add reusable workflow (.github/workflows/build.yml) that builds custom cx binaries for all 5 platforms via workflow_call.

  • Support build-time environment variable overrides (CX_PACKAGES, CX_CHANNELS, CX_EXCLUDE) in build.rs for custom builds without editing pixi.toml.

  • Add Homebrew formula (Formula/cx.rb) as a same-repo tap. Install with brew tap jezdez/conda-express https://github.com/jezdez/conda-express followed by brew install jezdez/conda-express/cx.

  • Homebrew is now the recommended installation method for macOS and Linux; shell scripts are repositioned as an alternative for CI and Windows.

  • Release workflow automatically updates the Homebrew formula with new version and checksums on each tag push.

Fixes#

  • Fix Homebrew formula update in release workflow — shell variables were not expanded inside the single-quoted Python heredoc, resulting in placeholder checksums.

Documentation#

  • Restructure docs following the Diataxis framework (tutorials, how-to guides, reference, explanation).

  • Add GitHub Action reference page (docs/reference/github-action.md).

  • Add custom builds how-to guide (docs/guides/custom-builds.md).

  • Add sphinx-design enhancements: badges on Action inputs, dropdowns for CLI output examples, octicon icons on landing page cards.

  • Consolidate installation tabs (merge PyPI and crates.io into one tab).

0.1.7#

Internal#

  • Fix release workflow to fall back to gh release upload when release already exists

0.1.6#

Fixes#

  • Fix PyPI wheel versioning — use dynamic version from Cargo.toml instead of a hardcoded version in pyproject.toml

  • Remove Windows ARM64 (aarch64-pc-windows-msvc) target (conda not available on conda-forge for win-arm64)

0.1.5#

Features#

  • Use clap’s built-in help system for cx help and cx --help instead of hand-crafted output — cx help bootstrap now works automatically

  • Add cx shell as a proper clap subcommand (alias for conda spawn)

  • Replace misleading conda activate hints after cx create / cx env create with cx shell guidance via output filtering

  • Rename cx info to cx status so cx info passes through to conda info

  • Add get-cx.sh (macOS/Linux) and get-cx.ps1 (Windows) installer scripts served from GitHub Pages

Documentation#

  • Add installer reference page (docs/reference/installer.md)

  • Improve GitHub Releases install instructions with platform tables and one-liner commands

  • Add installer script as the recommended installation method

  • Fix binary size references (~10 MB → ~17 MB)

  • Fix copyright year to 2026

  • Correct GitHub URLs and workflow references throughout

Internal#

  • Extract ensure_bootstrapped() helper to deduplicate auto-bootstrap logic

  • Move installer scripts to scripts/ directory

  • Serve installer scripts from GitHub Pages instead of raw.githubusercontent

  • Move changelog to repo root with symlink into docs

  • Add rust-cache to wheel and crates.io publish jobs

0.1.3#

Changes#

  • Consolidated release, PyPI, and crates.io publishing into a single workflow triggered on tag push

  • Fixed GitHub Release asset upload (immutable releases compatibility)

  • Fixed manylinux compliance for Linux PyPI wheels

  • Fixed Windows checksum generation (sha256sum instead of shasum)

0.1.2#

First published release.

Features#

  • Single-binary conda bootstrapper powered by rattler

  • Compile-time lockfile (rattler-lock v6) for deterministic bootstraps

  • Post-solve exclusion of conda-libmamba-solver and 27 native dependencies

  • conda-rattler-solver as default solver

  • conda-spawn activation model with cx shell alias

  • Disabled activate, deactivate, and init commands

  • Auto-bootstrap on first conda command

  • CEP 22 frozen base prefix protection

  • PyPI distribution via maturin platform wheels (pip install conda-express)

  • crates.io distribution (cargo install conda-express)

  • Trusted publishing (OIDC) for both PyPI and crates.io

  • Sphinx documentation with conda-sphinx-theme, published to GitHub Pages

CI/CD#

  • Multi-platform builds: linux-x64, linux-aarch64, macos-x64, macos-arm64, windows-x64

  • All GitHub Actions pinned to commit SHAs

  • Swatinem/rust-cache for faster CI builds

  • Checked-in cx.lock eliminates network solve in CI

  • Thin LTO and parallel codegen for faster release builds

  • GitHub Pages deployment for documentation