mip - package/build CLI

mip (short for “Minimal in-process”) is the Minimal package/build CLI. It reads a project’s minimal.toml, builds packages in clean rooms, runs tasks in sandboxes, and manages the content-addressed local cache.

Advanced tool. mip is Linux-only and aimed at advanced users driving the package/build plane directly. Most workflows are better served by the min session CLI.

Generated from --help at d9f20165.

Global flags

These apply to every subcommand.

FlagShortDescription
--repo-dir <PATH>-CUse the given directory as the repository root instead of searching from the current working directory
--minimal-dir <PATH>Override the base directory used for operations (default: ~/.cache/minimal)
--no-cacheIgnore locally-available binary artifacts (results in rebuilds unless present in a remote cache)
--no-fetchDo not fetch binary artifacts from the internet
--offlineUse only what’s already in the local cache for sources, VCS checkouts, and the remote artifact cache; fail with a clear error on cache miss instead of attempting any network call. Implies the remote-artifact-cache half of --no-fetch; orthogonal to --no-cache/--rebuild
--num-parallel-builds <N>-nConfigure the number of parallel builds

Commands

run

Runs a task, such as one specified in minimal.toml. (Linux only)

mip run [OPTIONS] <task_name> [task_args]...
mip run [OPTIONS] --upstream <upstream> --task-spec <task_spec> [task_args]...
Argument / flagDescription
<task_name>Name of the task to run (from minimal.toml)
[task_args]...Additional arguments to pass to the task
--upstream <JSON>JSON stanza specifying the software supply chain; must be used with --task-spec
--task-spec <JSON>JSON stanza specifying a task inline; must be used with --upstream

update

mip update

Refreshes local checkouts of upstream packages and the standard library.

add

mip add <--runtime|--build|--task <TASK>> <PACKAGES>...

Add a new tool or dependency. Exactly one placement flag is required:

FlagDescription
--runtimeAdd as a runtime dependency: your program needs this package anywhere it runs
--buildAdd as a build dependency: your program needs this package to build
--task <TASK>Add to a task’s package list

init

mip init [-y|--yes]

Automatically initialize minimal configuration based on your source tree. --yes skips confirmation and writes configuration based on auto-detection.

status

mip status

Shows the status of Minimal in this codebase.

materialize

mip materialize --output <OUTPUT> [--arch <ARCH>] <OUTPUT_NAME>

Materializes an output specified in an [outputs.<name>] section of minimal.toml.

FlagShortDescription
--output <PATH>-o(required) The output file to write
--arch <ARCH>Override the architecture used when building the output (e.g. amd64, arm64); takes precedence over the arch field in minimal.toml and the host default

Supported output types include oci-image, a Linux OCI image archive containing the configured packages, suitable for docker load or pushing to a registry.

package (aliases: pkg, packages)

Package-level operations. Takes a subcommand; see package build and package dep below.

package build

mip package build [OPTIONS] [PACKAGES]...

Builds the specified package(s) in a clean room, making them available in the local cache.

FlagShortDescription
--verbose-vLog stdout/stderr during the build
--rebuildAlways build the specified packages, even if they are already available

package dep

mip package dep [OPTIONS] [PACKAGES]...

Generates Graphviz source code of the dependency graph, e.g. mip package dep --input-deps-depth=0 | dot -Tpng > deps.png.

FlagShortDefaultDescription
--excludes <PKGS>-ePackages left out of the graph and not traversed
--build-spec-deps <BOOL>trueInclude build spec build_deps (does not affect runtime deps)
--source-deps <BOOL>falseInclude source code build_deps
--local-deps <BOOL>falseInclude local (build.sh) input deps
--needs <BOOL>falseInclude “Needs” nodes and edges
--provides <BOOL>falseInclude “Provides” edges and “Needs” nodes
--bootstrap <BOOL>falseInclude replace-on-cycle/prebuilts/bootstrap
--subtrees-only <BOOL>falseRequire non-zero subtree deps for runtime/input deps
--input-deps-depth <N>-1How deeply input dependencies are followed (-1 = all)
--runtime-deps-depth <N>-1How deeply runtime dependencies are followed (-1 = all)
--prune-edgeless <BOOL>falseDiscard graph nodes with no edges
--output-format <FMT>dotOutput format: dot or mermaid

cache clean

mip cache clean [--older-than <DURATION>]

Removes stale entries from the local cache: cached build artifacts whose last recorded use is older than the cutoff, or that have no recorded use at all. Packages needed by the current project’s tasks and stack are always kept. Also removes sandbox, task, and temporary build directories whose owning process is no longer running.

--older-than takes a whole number of days, hours, or minutes (e.g. 30d, 12h, 45m); the default is 14d.

check

mip check [OPTIONS] [FILTER_NAMES]...

Validates minimal configuration including packages, stacks, and profiles.

FlagShortDescription
--fix-fAttempt to fix any issues
--packagesCheck packages defined in the codebase
--stacksCheck stacks defined in the codebase
--profilesCheck profiles defined in the codebase
--skip-checkers <NAMES>-sChecker names to skip, comma-separated

If no type flags are specified, all types are checked. If filter names are given, any package, stack, or profile matching a name is checked.

completions

mip completions <SHELL>

Generates a shell tab-completion script for mip. Supported shells: bash, zsh, elvish, fish. Usage: source <(mip completions bash).

Environment variables

VariableDescription
RUST_LOGControls logging level (default: info)

Hidden commands

Additional unsupported/internal commands are hidden behind the MINIMAL_SCIENCE_MODE environment variable. They are experimental, carry no stability or consistency guarantees, and are not documented here.