ndx 1.0.1

ndx (native dotnet execute) is dnx for native tools packaged and distributed as NuGet packages. Same PACKAGE[@VERSION] identity, same restore flags, same global packages folder.

If you can dnx stop, you can ndx stop. dotnet dnx and dotnet tool exec are the same command; ndx speaks that protocol, including RID-specific Native AOT tools (stop, go, winget) and ordinary framework-dependent tools (dotnetsay).

A first run downloads into the NuGet cache. A later ndx tool@version starts the cached binary — no SDK, no restore.

Install

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/devlooped/ndx/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://github.com/devlooped/ndx/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

Alternatively (perhaps of debatable utility), you can install using the .NET SDK too: dotnet tool install -g ndx

Update

Self-update the installed binary (optional version, including downgrades):

ndx --update
ndx --update 0.1.0

Uninstall

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/devlooped/ndx/releases/latest/download/uninstall.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://github.com/devlooped/ndx/releases/latest/download/uninstall.ps1 | iex

Usage

ndx

Same shape as dnx / dotnet dnx / dotnet tool exec:

dnx stop -- --help
ndx stop -- --help

dnx stop@2.1.0 -- --help
ndx stop@2.1.0 -- --help

dnx dotnetsay@1.0.0 -- Hello
ndx dotnetsay@1.0.0 -- Hello

Pin a feed the same way (here the CI feed used for the timings below):

dnx --source https://kzu.blob.core.windows.net/nuget/index.json stop@2.1.0 -- --help
ndx --source https://kzu.blob.core.windows.net/nuget/index.json stop@2.1.0 -- --help

stop is a Native AOT RID tool. dotnetsay is a classic framework-dependent tool. Both are just NuGet packages; ndx picks the host RID and starts Runner=executable binaries directly, or dotnet exec for Runner=dotnet.

An exact version already in the cache (NUGET_PACKAGES, then nuget.config's globalPackagesFolder, then ~/.nuget/packages) is not downloaded again. A first tool@version run builds the nupkg URL from the service index (cached for the process) and lists versions only if that GET is 404. Packages written by dnx or dotnet restore are reused; packages written by ndx are visible to them.

Shared flags: --source, --add-source, --configfile, --version, --prerelease, --yes/-y, --allow-roll-forward, --verbosity/-v, --disable-parallel, --ignore-failed-sources, --no-http-cache, --interactive.

Evergreen

Unlike dnx, omitting the version is @* — not a one-shot latest. ndx my-agent and ndx my-agent@* are the same: start the latest match, and while that process is still running, watch the feed, download a newer matching version before stopping the child, then send SIGINT / Ctrl+C (and WM_CLOSE if the tool is a GUI) and restart.

@*-* includes prereleases. @1.* / @1.1.* pin a major or minor the GitHub Actions way (float the rest). A NuGet range like [1.0,2.0) works too. One-shot tools still exit as soon as the child exits; the watch loop only continues while the child is alive. Pin an exact version (tool@2.1.0) to disable it.

ndx my-agent
ndx my-agent@*
ndx my-agent@1.*
ndx my-agent@1.1.*
ndx my-agent@[1.0,2.0)

That's the point for anything that is supposed to keep running: a daemon, an agent, an MCP server, a watcher, a local gateway. You start it once. When a newer matching package lands on the feed, ndx stages the bits, asks the current process to exit cleanly, and starts the new one. No dotnet tool update -g, no unit file to bounce, no cron that reinstalls. The running process is always the latest version the range allows, so an agent picks up new tools and bugfixes, a daemon picks up a patched build, without anyone being there to restart it.

The poll interval defaults to 5 seconds and can be set in .netconfig:

[ndx]
    interval = 5

ndx walks from the working directory up, then ~/.netconfig. --verbosity quiet hides the Updating … line.

Startup time

Cold is empty-cache download → start; cached is start only (tool@version so neither runner resolves latest). linux-x64 (WSL2) is SDK 10.0.110; win-x64 is SDK 10.0.303.

Isolated NUGET_PACKAGES. stop / dotnetsay from https://kzu.blob.core.windows.net/nuget/index.json; winget from nuget.org. Cold is the median of 3 empty-cache runs. Cached is the median of 10 runs after one seed. stop invoked as -- --help; dotnetsay as -- ndx. winget is a TUI so it does not exit on its own: cold is winget (latest), cached is winget@0.13.2; each run waits until winget-tui is up, then ndx stop@2.1.0 signals that PID and the clock stops when the runner exits. dnx is the SDK script (dotnet dnx). winget timings are win-x64 SDK 11.0.100-preview.

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