Running here is not a plugin

Your machine is always the last place a task can run, and the local
cache is always asked first. So a dead remote cache never breaks a
build. Point one at a port nothing listens on:

// .vx/workspace.ts
import { defineWorkspace } from '@vzn/vx/config'
import { turboCache } from '@vzn/vx-migrate'

export default defineWorkspace({
  plugins: [turboCache({ url: 'http://127.0.0.1:9', token: 'demo' })],
})

$ vx run build --all
[vx] plugin '@vzn/vx-migrate': probe of 4 artifacts at http://127.0.0.1:9/v8/artifacts failed: ECONNREFUSED: Unable to connect. Is the computer able to access the url?

 ⏺︎     7ms success miss     packages/c#build
 ⏺︎    19ms success miss     packages/b#build
 ⏺︎    22ms success miss     packages/a#build
 ⏺︎    17ms success miss     packages/d#build
[vx] plugin '@vzn/vx-migrate': 4 more requests failed the same way: ECONNREFUSED: Unable to connect. Is the computer able to access the url?
  …
  tasks     4 success · 4 total
  cache     remote 4✗
$ echo $?
0

$ vx run build --all
  …
  tasks     4 success · 4 total
  cache     local 4✓
  time      20ms

The remote is down. The run is green and warns once. The second run
hits the local cache.

Linux x64 · vx 0be0367 · 2026-10-23

Running here and caching here aren't plugins. They are built into
vx.

Two lists, one built-in end

You never declare them and can't remove them. With no plugins, vx run
build still works. A save reaches every remote.

The local artifacts live in ~/.vx/<id>/cache, shared by every checkout
(storage).

A plugin may say no

Because this machine is always there, a plugin can turn a task down
without failing the run:

Case	Runs where
task with no cache block	here
persistent task, and what depends on it	here
sandboxed task, and what depends on it	here, sandboxed
remote cache errors or times out	miss on that layer, warning
REAPI server that only offers caching	executor declines, cache works

A remote worker has an empty tree, can't reach your laptop's ports and
has no sandbox, so those tasks stay.

vx run --dry prints where each task goes: @vx/reapi, @local, or
@noop for an exec.remote: 'only' task no remote takes.

Why not a default plugin

A default local plugin would leave a hole: once you add any plugin, the
default is gone unless you remember it, and a declined task has nowhere
to go.

As part of every list, no setup can leave a task with nowhere to run.

Everything else, like a remote cache, exists only if you
name it in the workspace file.

More at vznjs.github.io/vx.

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Originally published on the vx blog. vx is open-source (MIT) task orchestration with a build cache: vznjs.github.io/vx · GitHub.

_{Written with AI assistance.}