alai-index¶

alai-index builds and operates an alai index as a tree of files on disk. The tree can then be published to a web server, a bucket or anywhere else.

$ alai-index config --root my-index
$ alai-index add --root my-index ns-coll-1.0.0.tar.gz ns-dep-2.1.0.tar.gz
added ns.coll 1.0.0
added ns.dep 2.1.0
$ python -m http.server -d my-index

Building and managing the index never touches the network, so the caller fetches what a command reads into the tree and publishes what it writes. The one exception is galaxy-mirror, which downloads new versions from a Galaxy server to bring the index in line with it.

Installing¶

alai-index is published on PyPI. When it's used often, uv can install it as a tool so alai-index is on the PATH.

$ uv tool install alai-index

When it's only needed once, such as in a CI job, uvx runs it without installing it.

$ uvx alai-index config --root my-index

Running a command¶

Every command works on the index in the current directory unless --root gives another. The CLI reference lists every command and the options it takes.

By default, a command shows what it's doing on stderr as it does it and prints its warnings at the end. stdout is only ever the command's output. When the output is read by a program, --output-format json prints one JSON object instead, as Running it from a program describes.

When there are too many collections to fit on the command line, they can be put in a file with one on each line and passed as @FILE, such as alai-index generate-plugins @changed-collections.txt. Each line is read as one argument, exactly as it's written.

Where to go next¶

• The tree describes the files an index is made of, and which of them are the source of truth.
• Generating covers making the index files and the plugin index again from the artifacts.
• Mirroring a Galaxy server keeps an index in line with a private Galaxy server.
• Publishing covers uploading a changed tree, and backing it up and restoring it.