Xmake Network

Xmake Network & Download Acceleration

When xrepo install, xmake require, or package fetches are slow or fail, xmake gives you several tools in increasing order of power: manual download dir → global proxy → proxy with host allow-list → pac.lua for full rule-based routing and URL mirroring.

All of these are configured with xmake g (global config) — settings persist across all projects on the machine.

1. Quickest win: manual download directory

If you already have the source tarballs (downloaded by hand, from a mirror, or shared across a team), drop them in a directory and point xmake at it:

xmake g --pkg_searchdirs="/download/packages"

Xmake will search this directory before hitting the network. To find out what filename to put there:

xmake require --info zlib
# -> searchnames: zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

Drop zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz into /download/packages/ and the next install uses it offline.

Good for: CI caches, air-gapped machines, shared team caches on a file server.

2. Global proxy

xmake g --proxy="http://127.0.0.1:7890"
xmake g --proxy="https://host:port"
xmake g --proxy="socks5://127.0.0.1:1086"

This proxies everything xmake downloads — git, curl, wget, HTTP packages. Unset with xmake g --proxy=.

Notes:

• The protocol is passed through to the underlying downloader. socks5:// only works for curl/git — wget does not support socks5, so packages that xmake fetches via wget may fail. Prefer http:// or https:// proxies for maximum compatibility.
• xmake g --help lists all network-related flags.

3. Proxy only for specific hosts

Global proxying slows down non-blocked traffic. Scope it down:

xmake g --proxy="http://127.0.0.1:7890" \
        --proxy_hosts="github.com,*.githubusercontent.com,gitlab.*,*.xmake.io"

Only matching hosts go through the proxy; everything else goes direct. * is a Lua pattern wildcard (more flexible than shell glob — any Lua pattern works).

Unset with xmake g --proxy_hosts=.

4. pac.lua — rule-based proxy + URL mirroring

For anything more complex than "proxy these hosts", use a pac.lua (proxy auto-config) file. Default location:

~/.xmake/pac.lua

Xmake automatically picks it up if --proxy is set and the file exists. Override the location with xmake g --proxy_pac=/abs/path/pac.lua.

main(url, host) — decide whether to proxy

Return true to route through the proxy, false or nothing to go direct:

-- ~/.xmake/pac.lua
function main(url, host)
    if host == "github.com" then
        return true
    end
    if host:find("githubusercontent.com", 1, true) then
        return true
    end
    if host:find("gitlab%.") then
        return true
    end
    -- everything else: direct
    return false
end

• Precedence: if both --proxy_hosts and pac.lua exist, --proxy_hosts wins. Remove --proxy_hosts if you want pac.lua to take over.
• The file is plain Lua — if, string patterns, and tables all work.

mirror(url) — rewrite URLs for acceleration

Available since v2.5.4. The function rewrites download URLs before xmake hits the network — use it to swap github.com for a mirror that is fast in your region:

-- ~/.xmake/pac.lua
function mirror(url)
    -- GitHub → a fast mirror (pick one that works for you)
    url = url:gsub("github%.com", "kkgithub.com")
    url = url:gsub("raw%.githubusercontent%.com", "raw.kkgithub.com")
    return url
end

After:

xrepo install libpng
# -> curl https://kkgithub.com/glennrp/libpng/archive/v1.6.37.zip ...

mirror and main coexist: mirror rewrites the URL, then main decides whether to proxy the rewritten host.

Combined example (recommended for China network)

-- ~/.xmake/pac.lua

-- Rewrite slow/blocked URLs to fast mirrors
function mirror(url)
    -- GitHub archives and raw content
    url = url:gsub("https://github%.com", "https://kkgithub.com")
    url = url:gsub("https://raw%.githubusercontent%.com", "https://raw.kkgithub.com")
    url = url:gsub("https://codeload%.github%.com", "https://codeload.kkgithub.com")
    return url
end

-- Fall back to proxy for hosts that have no good mirror
function main(url, host)
    local proxied = {
        ["sourceforge.net"] = true,
        ["www.sourceforge.net"] = true,
        ["download.qt.io"] = true,
    }
    if proxied[host] then
        return true
    end
    return false
end

With this file and xmake g --proxy="http://127.0.0.1:7890" set, GitHub traffic uses the fast mirror directly, SourceForge/Qt fall through to your local proxy, and everything else goes direct.

5. Repository mirror for xmake-repo itself

The recipe repository (xmake-repo, where add_requires resolves names) is cloned to ~/.xmake/repositories/xmake-repo. If cloning from GitHub is slow:

# Switch to the Gitee mirror of xmake-repo
xmake g --repositories="xmake-repo https://gitee.com/tboox/xmake-repo.git"

# Or Gitea/self-hosted mirror
xmake g --repositories="xmake-repo https://my-gitea.example.com/mirror/xmake-repo.git"

Verify / reset:

xmake repo --list
xmake repo --clean        # wipe cloned repos, forces re-clone next run
xmake repo --update       # update all configured repos now

6. Binary-package cache (fastest path for common deps)

Xmake supports binary package caches (precompiled archives). Many xmake-repo packages ship binaries — set this up to skip local compilation entirely for common deps:

xmake g --pkg_installdir=~/.xmake/packages        # default; installed packages

To force a package to try the precompiled binary:

xrepo install --precompiled fmt

In CI, cache ~/.xmake/packages and ~/.xmake/cache between runs for instant second builds.

7. Inspecting the network layer

xmake g --show                         # show all global config including proxy
xmake require --info <pkg>             # resolved URLs, searchdirs, searchnames
xmake require --force <pkg>            # rebuild/re-download
xmake -vD                              # verbose + diagnosis — shows actual download commands
XMAKE_PROFILE=trace xmake ...          # trace every subprocess (incl. curl/git)

If a download hangs, use XMAKE_PROFILE=stuck to see which URL xmake is blocked on — see xmake-troubleshooting.

Decision tree

Package downloads failing / slow?
│
├── Tarballs already on disk  → xmake g --pkg_searchdirs=...
│
├── One global proxy is fine  → xmake g --proxy=http://host:port
│
├── Only specific hosts blocked
│     └─ xmake g --proxy=... --proxy_hosts="github.com,*.githubusercontent.com,..."
│
├── Need per-URL rewriting / mirror acceleration
│     └─ write ~/.xmake/pac.lua with main()+mirror()
│
├── xmake-repo clone itself is slow
│     └─ xmake g --repositories="xmake-repo https://gitee.com/tboox/xmake-repo.git"
│
└── Nothing works / hang
      └─ XMAKE_PROFILE=stuck xmake ... → see xmake-troubleshooting

Pitfalls

• socks5:// + wget. Packages downloaded via wget break. Prefer http:// proxies, or install a SOCKS-to-HTTP bridge (e.g. privoxy).
• --proxy_hosts overrides pac.lua. If your main() isn't being called, check whether --proxy_hosts is set — it takes precedence.
• Lua patterns, not glob. *.github.com in --proxy_hosts is a Lua pattern; * matches zero-or-more of the previous character (usually fine for hosts, but not shell semantics). Test with xmake -vD if unsure.
• Stale cache hiding a fix. After changing proxy/mirror, xmake require --force <pkg> to re-download.
• Mirror rewrites break hash verification if the mirror serves different bytes. Only use mirrors that are exact byte-for-byte copies of upstream (kkgithub, ghfast.top, etc. are — random re-packagers are not).
• Forgetting to set the proxy globally for xmake-repo clones. The recipe repo is cloned with git, which also needs the proxy. git config --global http.proxy ... or set it in pac.lua via --proxy.

When to branch out

• Installing / fetching packages → xrepo-cli, xmake-packages
• Hang diagnosis during download → xmake-troubleshooting
• Private/internal package repos → xmake-private-packages