The Styx Book

Welcome to the Styx ecosystem - where command-line tools become type-safe programming interfaces.

What is Styx?

Styx is a compiler that transforms structured tool descriptions into type-safe language bindings for Python, TypeScript, and R. While originally developed for neuroimaging research, Styx works with any command-line tool that can be described in a structured format.

At its core, Styx allows you to:

• Write once, use anywhere - Define tool interfaces once, use them in multiple languages
• Catch errors early - Leverage type checking to prevent runtime errors
• Focus on your work - Forget complex command-line arguments and focus on your actual research

Quick Overview

The Styx ecosystem consists of:

• Styx Compiler - Generates language bindings from structured tool descriptions
• NiWrap - A collection of tool descriptions for popular neuroimaging software
• Boutiques - The current frontend format for describing tools

Getting Started

New to Styx? Head to the Getting Started section to learn the basics.

Already familiar and want to do more? Check out:

• Examples for real-world usage patterns
• Advanced Concepts for custom deployment options
• Contributing to help improve the ecosystem

When to Use Styx

Styx is particularly valuable when:

• You're building reproducible research workflows
• You're developing tools that should be accessible across programming languages
• You want to provide consistent interfaces to complex command-line tools
• You need type safety when working with command-line utilities

Citation

If Styx helps your research, please cite:

@software{styx,
  author = {The Styx Contributors},
  title = {Styx: Type-safe command-line tool bindings},
  url = {https://github.com/styx-api/styx},
  year = {2023}
}