> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.jetify.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use Devbox as your Primary Package Manager

> In addition to managing isolated development environments, you can use Devbox as a general package manager. Devbox Global allows you to add packages to a global `devbox.json.` This is useful for installing a standard set of tools you want to use across multiple Devbox Projects.

For example — if you use ripgrep as your preferred search tool, you can add it to your global Devbox
profile with `devbox global add ripgrep`. Now whenever you start a Devbox shell, you will have
ripgrep available, even if it's not in the project's devbox.json.

<Frame caption="Installing Packages with Devbox Global">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/jetify/l9lrcxYWzBSUFIHM/docs/devbox/devbox-global/devbox-global-package-manager.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=l9lrcxYWzBSUFIHM&q=85&s=604c99a3e9e82c815b473a47ef44ac7b" alt="Devbox global package manager" width="700" height="538" data-path="docs/devbox/devbox-global/devbox-global-package-manager.svg" />
</Frame>

You can also use `devbox global` to replace package managers like `brew` and `apt` by adding the
global profile to your path. Because Devbox uses Nix to install packages, you can sync your global
config to install the same packages on any machine.

Devbox saves your global config in a `devbox.json` file in your home directory. This file can be
shared with other users or checked into source control to synchronize it across machines.

## Adding and Managing Global Packages[​](#adding-and-managing-global-packages "Direct link to Adding and Managing Global Packages")

You can install a package using `devbox global add [<package>]`, where the package names should be a
list of [Nix Packages](https://search.nixos.org/packages) you want to install.

For example, if we wanted to install ripgrep, vim, and git to our global profile, we could run:

```bash theme={null}
devbox global add ripgrep vim git

# Output:
ripgrep is now installed
vim is now installed
git is now installed
```

Once installed, the packages will be available whenever you start a Devbox Shell, even if it's not
included in the project's `devbox.json`.

To view a full list of global packages, you can run `devbox global list`:

```bash theme={null}
devbox global list

# Output:
* ripgrep
* vim
* git
```

To remove a global package, use:

```bash theme={null}
devbox global rm ripgrep

# Output:
removing 'github:NixOS/nixpkgs/ripgrep'
```

## Using Global Packages in your Host Shell[​](#using-global-packages-in-your-host-shell "Direct link to Using Global Packages in your Host Shell")

If you want to make your global packages available in your host shell, you can add them to your
shell PATH. Running `devbox global shellenv` will print the command necessary to source the
packages.

### Add Global Packages to your Current Host Shell[​](#add-global-packages-to-your-current-host-shell "Direct link to Add Global Packages to your Current Host Shell")

To temporarily add the global packages to your current shell, run:

```bash theme={null}
. <(devbox global shellenv --init-hook)
```

You can also add a hook to your shell's config to make them available whenever you launch your
shell:

### Bash[​](#bash "Direct link to Bash")

Add the following command to your `~/.bashrc` file:

```bash theme={null}
eval "$(devbox global shellenv --init-hook)"
```

Make sure to add this hook before any other hooks that use your global packages.

### Zsh[​](#zsh "Direct link to Zsh")

Add the following command to your `~/.zshrc` file:

```bash theme={null}
eval "$(devbox global shellenv --init-hook)"
```

### Fish[​](#fish "Direct link to Fish")

Add the following command to your `~/.config/fish/config.fish` file:

```bash theme={null}
devbox global shellenv --init-hook | source
```

## Sharing Your Global Config with Git[​](#sharing-your-global-config-with-git "Direct link to Sharing Your Global Config with Git")

You can use Git to synchronize your `devbox global` config across multiple machines using
`devbox global push <remote>` and `devbox global pull <remote>`.

Your global `devbox.json` and any other files in the Git remote will be stored in
`$XDG_DATA_HOME/devbox/global/default`. If `$XDG_DATA_HOME` is not set, it will default to
`~/.local/share/devbox/global/default`. You can view the current global directory by running
`devbox global path`.

## Next Steps[​](#next-steps "Direct link to Next Steps")

### Learn more about Devbox[​](#learn-more-about-devbox "Direct link to Learn more about Devbox")

* **[Getting Started](/docs/devbox/quickstart/):** Learn how to install Devbox and create your first
  Devbox Shell.
* **[Devbox Scripts](/docs/devbox/guides/scripts/):** Automate setup steps and configuration for
  your shell using Devbox Scripts.
* **[Configuration Guide](/docs/devbox/configuration/):** Learn how to configure your shell and dev
  environment with `devbox.json`.
* **[Browse Examples](https://github.com/jetify-com/devbox-examples):** You can see how to create a
  development environment for your favorite tools or languages by browsing the Devbox Examples repo.
* **[Using Flakes with Devbox](/docs/devbox/guides/using-flakes/):** Learn how to install packages
  from Nix Flakes.

### Use Devbox with your IDE[​](#use-devbox-with-your-ide "Direct link to Use Devbox with your IDE")

* **[Direnv Integration](/docs/devbox/ide-configuration/direnv/):** Devbox can integrate with
  [direnv](https://direnv.net/) to automatically activate your shell and packages when you navigate
  to your project.
* **[Devbox for Visual Studio Code](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=jetpack-io.devbox):**
  Install our VS Code extension to speed up common Devbox workflows or to use Devbox in a
  devcontainer.

### Get Involved[​](#get-involved "Direct link to Get Involved")

* **[Join our Discord Community](https://discord.gg/jetify):** Chat with the development team and
  our growing community of Devbox users.
* **[Visit us on Github](https://github.com/jetify-com/devbox):** File issues and provide feedback,
  or even open a PR to contribute to Devbox or our Docs.

[Edit this page](https://github.com/jetify-com/docs/tree/main/docs/devbox/devbox-global/index.mdx)