Get Started with IDE Environment Stacking (Tutorial)

Last updated 2026-05-26

At a Glance

As you iterate on research, environment packages accumulate—older versions pile up alongside newer ones, making the shared environment list difficult to navigate. To manage the clutter, teams sometimes move older environments to private folders, breaking any IDEs built with those environments. Conda/Pixi stacking solves this by arranging related environments into ordered stacks, keeping all versions organized and visible without removing them from shared access. Only the layer marked Top of Stack is active. The other layers in the stack are preserved for reference and can be promoted at any time. Stacks keep the relationships among environments visible and let you reorganize layers as your dependencies evolve.

To support reproducibility, the underlying environment stays intact even if you remove a layer or dissolve an entire stack. In the new Environment Packages hub, each collapsed stack displays the number of layers it contains. You can click the arrow to expand the stack, or click the ellipsis (...) to view actions like Move to a Different Stack or Remove from Stack.

Each layer includes the following details:

– Name
– Last modified info (email of the person who made the change and the date of the change)
– Status (such as Succeeded or Failed)
– Package manager tag Conda or Pixi)
– Any tags applied when the environment was created (for example, Conda-Pack-Build)
– Top of Stack tag if applicable

For details on the HISE environment workflow, see the links at the bottom of this page. If you have questions or need help, contact Support.

When to Use This Feature

Use this feature to group related Conda or Pixi environments (for example, you could create stacks representing different modalities, dependency configurations, or stages of an analysis pipeline):

Keep your package management history organized and visible in one place
Group newer Pixi environments with their older Conda equivalents
Search and sort layers by name, date, or status to see, for instance, which environments have succeeded and which have failed
As your research evolves, rearrange the stacks as needed by adding, moving, or removing layers, or promoting a new layer to the top of the stack. The underlying environments are preserved.

NOTE

To create a stack, you must choose two or more environments.

Instructions

Create a new stack

Environments are grouped for you automatically by [Austin to supply], but you can also create groups of your own. When you want to group an IDE environment with at least one other environment, follow these steps:

From the top navigation in HISE, select Research > Environment Packages.
Find the environment you want to use as the first layer in a stack, and click the ellipsis (...) to the right of the environment.
Select Create Stack with this Env Pack.
You must choose two or more environments to create a stack. On the Create New Stack page, in the Populate Stack section, define your stack:

A. To choose two or more layers to include in your stack, select the checkboxes.

B. To select all available layers, select the checkbox at the top of the stack. A dialog box indicates the number of selected layers.

C. To browse available environments, use the pagination controls at the bottom of the page:
After you make your selections, click Next.
On the Select Top of Stack page, click the radio button next to the environment you want to appear at the top of your stack.
Click Create Stack. You are returned to the Environments page, and the new stack appears on-screen at the top of the Environment Packages list.

Search or sort

To sort the environment names in ascending or descending alphabetical order, click the arrow next to Package Management Environment Name.
To sort in ascending or descending order by date, click the arrow next to Modified.
To drill down on a particular layer, click its name to open the EnvironmentDetails page. To create an IDER with that layer, click CREATE IDE.

To search for an existing environment, use the search box at the top of the Environment Packages window.

A. To show or hide deleted layers in your search results, toggle the eye icon at right.

B. To search by Name (or partial name), Date, or Status, such as Available or Initialized, enter a search term into the search field.

Add a standalone layer to an existing stack

Use the following steps to add an environment to an existing stack:

NOTE: The Add to Stack option is available only for standalone environments.

On the Environment Packages page, use the search box to find the environment you want to add to a stack.
Click Add to Stack.
On the Add to Stack page, click the radio button next to the stack you would like to add the environment to.
To confirm your selection, click ADD TO STACK. The new environment appears in the stack immediately as a new layer.

Set a layer as top of stack

You must be the environment creator to promote a different layer to the top of the stack. Use the following steps:

On the Environment Packages page, find the stack you want to work with, and expand the stack.

In the Package Management Environment Name column, find the layer you want to promote, and click the ellipsis (...) to the right of the layer.
Click Set as Top of Stack. No confirmation is necessary. The stack collapses automatically, and the specified environment moves to the top.
On the Environment Packages page. Click the icon to expand the stack. The Top of Stack badge now appears next to the layer you selected, and that environment has become the stack title.

Move to different stack

Follow these steps to move an environment created under one stack into a different stack:

On the Environment Packages page, find the stack you want to work with, and expand the stack.
Locate the layer you want to move, click the ellipsis (...), and choose Move to a Different Stack.
On the Move to Different Stack page, click the radio button next to the destination stack, and click ADD TO STACK. The layer is appended to the destination stack unchanged and appears there as a new layer. The layer is removed from the original stack, but the remaining environments are intact.

Remove from stack

When you remove an environment from a stack, the environment itself is preserved. Only its association with the stack is removed. Follow these steps to remove an environment:

On the Environment Packages page, find and expand the stack that contains the environment you want to remove.
Click the ellipsis (...) next to the layer you want to remove, and choose Remove from Stack. No confirmation is required. If you remove the environment labeled Top of Stack, that label moves to the environment that's first in the list of remaining environments. You're returned to the Environment Packages page, and your new, smaller stack appears at the top of the list of stacks.

Dissolve a stack

Follow these steps when you no longer want to link a group of environments as a stack, but you want to keep the environments themselves:

On the Environment Packages page, find the stack you want to dissolve, and click the ellipsis (...) to the right of the stack.
From the drop-down menu, select Dissolve Environment Stack.
To confirm your selection, in the Dissolve Entire Stack? dialog box, select DISSOLVE STACK. The stack is removed, and each former layer becomes an independent environment. All environments are preseved.

Display stack layers

In the Environments section, find the stack you’re interested in. Click the arrow at left to expand the stack.
In the expanded stack, the layers appear as a vertical list. The active environment is marked with a Top of Stack badge.

Related Resources

Convert a Conda IDE to a Pixi Environment (Tutorial)

Save a Custom Conda Environment (Tutorial)

Save a Custom Pixi Environment (Tutorial)

Use HISE IDE Packages