Addons on aibox

Overview

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Addons

aibox uses the Debian runtime image family (base-debian-v0.26.x for legacy releases, base-debian-runtime-v0.27.0+ after the image-tag cutover) with 31 composable addons that install language runtimes, tool bundles, documentation frameworks, and AI coding agents into your container.

Managing Addons

Via CLI

# See all available addons
aibox get addon

# Add an addon (updates aibox.toml and runs apply)
aibox set addon python

# Remove an addon
aibox delete addon python

# View addon details (tools, versions)
aibox describe addon rust

# Emit the machine-readable addon catalog index
aibox describe addon-catalog -o json

Via aibox.toml

[addons.python.tools]
python = { version = "3.14" }
uv = { version = "0.12.0" }

[addons.rust.tools]
rustc = { version = "1.97.1" }
clippy = {}
rustfmt = {}

[addons.node.tools]
node = { version = "26" }
pnpm = { version = "11.18.0" }

Each addon has default-enabled tools that are included automatically, and optional tools you can enable explicitly. Tools with version selection let you pick from curated, tested versions.

Language Runtimes

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Language Runtime Addons

Language runtimes install compilers, interpreters, and package managers into your container.

Python

[addons.python.tools]
python = { version = "3.14" } # 3.12, 3.13, 3.14
uv = { version = "0.12.0" } # 0.7, 0.11.10, 0.11.11, 0.11.15, 0.11.19, 0.11.26, 0.11.32, 0.12.0
# poetry = { version = "2.4.1" } # Optional: 1.8, 2.0, 2.4.1
# pdm = { version = "2.28.0" } # Optional: 2.22, 2.26.9, 2.27.0, 2.28.0

Installs Python, pip, venv, and uv (fast package manager). The base image pins uv to the curated default instead of following a floating latest image tag. Poetry and PDM are available but not enabled by default.

Tool Bundles

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Tool Bundle Addons

Tool bundles install infrastructure, orchestration, and cloud CLI tools.

Git UI

[addons.git-ui.tools]
gh = {} # GitHub CLI
lazygit = {} # Interactive Git TUI

The git-ui addon is optional. Select it when a project needs GitHub CLI automation or lazygit inside the container; omit it to avoid installing those tools. This aibox repo may enable it for maintenance workflows such as release checks and GitHub issue/release work, but downstream projects do not need it by default.

Documentation Frameworks

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Documentation Framework Addons

Documentation addons install static site generators and documentation tools.

Addon	Tool	Install Method
`docs-mkdocs`	MkDocs + Material theme	uv
`docs-zensical`	Zensical	uv
`docs-docusaurus`	Docusaurus	npm
`docs-starlight`	Starlight (Astro)	npm
`docs-mdbook`	mdBook	Binary download
`docs-hugo`	Hugo Extended	Binary download

Current curated pins are Docusaurus 3.10.1, Hugo 0.164.0, mdBook 0.5.4, MkDocs 1.6.1 with Material 9.7.7, and Zensical 0.0.52. Starlight remains scaffolded through the upstream create-starlight package.

Example

[addons.docs-docusaurus.tools]
docusaurus = {}

After aibox apply, the documentation tool is available inside the container. Initialize your docs project as usual (e.g., npx create-docusaurus@latest docs classic).

LaTeX Build and Preview

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

LaTeX Build and Preview

The latex addon supplies TeX Live, latexmk, bibliography tools, fonts, and common package groups. aibox adds a project-level build contract on top so humans and agents use the same engine, cache, output paths, and document names.

Configure documents

Enable the addon and declare one or more documents:

[addons.latex.tools]
texlive-core = {}
texlive-recommended = {}
texlive-fonts = {}
biber = {}

[latex]
engine = "lualatex"
cache_dir = ".latex-cache"
options = []

[[latex.documents]]
name = "overview"
source = "docs/overview/overview.tex"
output_dir = ".latex-cache/overview"
options = []
extra_dirs = []

[[latex.documents]]
name = "appendix"
source = "docs/appendix/appendix.tex"
output_dir = ".latex-cache/appendix"
options = ["-shell-escape"]
extra_dirs = ["figs"]

[latex.preview]
enabled = true
engine = "embedpdf"
bind = "127.0.0.1"
port = 8765
# document = "overview" # optional compatibility-route default
allow_public = false

Supported engines are lualatex, pdflatex, xelatex, and tectonic. Continuous watch mode uses latexmk, so tectonic configurations support one-shot builds only.