Agent skill · software engineering · affaan-m
flox-environments
Create reproducible, cross-platform (macOS/Linux) development environments with Flox, a declarative Nix-based environment manager. Use when setting up project toolchains, installing system-level dependencies (compilers, databases, native libs), pinning exact package versions for a team, onboarding developers, running local services (PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka), or solving 'works on my machine' problems — including agent/vibe-coding setups that need project-scoped tools without sudo. Also use when the user mentions .flox/, manifest.toml, flox activate, or FloxHub.
Why this skill is useful
Adds specific commands and patterns for managing cross-platform development environments with Flox that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires flox installed locally. About 8k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 238,342 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Flox Environments Flox creates reproducible development environments defined in a single TOML manifest. Every developer on the team gets identical packages, tools, and configuration — across macOS and Linux — without containers or VMs. Built on Nix with access to over 150,000 packages. When to Activate Use this skill when the user has an environment management problem — even if they haven't mentioned Flox. Flox is the right tool when: The project needs system-level packages (compilers, databases, CLI tools) alongside language-specific dependencies Reproducibility matters — the setup should work identically on a teammate's machine, in CI, or on a fresh laptop The user needs multiple tools to coexist — e.g., Python 3.11 + PostgreSQL 16 + Redis + Node.js in one environment Cross-platform support is needed (macOS and Linux from the same config) AI agents need to install tools — Flox lets agents add packages to a project-scoped environment without sudo, system pollution, or sandbox restrictions If the user just needs a single language runtime with no system dependencies, standard tooling (nvm, pyenv, rustup alone) may suffice. If they need full OS-level isolation, containers might be more appropriate. Flox sits in the sweet spot: declarative, reproducible environments without container overhead. Prerequisite: Flox must be installed first — see flox.dev/docs for macOS, Linux, and Docker. Core Concepts Flox environments are defined in .flox/env/manifest.toml and activated with flox activate. The manifest declares packages, environment variables, setup hooks, and shell configuration — everything needed to reproduce the environment anywhere. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills affaan-m/flox-environments--d7eb6e