Short answer
It lives inside that editor. Pixel runs from the shell, so every agent gets the same index, and it stays in .pixel/ at your repository root.
Side by side
Not benchmarked. No figure: how Pixel and an editor's index work, side by side. Nothing on this page is a measurement.
| Measure | Pixel | Editor index |
|---|---|---|
| Who can query it | Any agent with a shell | That editor and its agent |
| Where it lives | .pixel/ at the repository root | Inside the editor |
| Setup | pixel install | None |
Where an editor's index wins
It is already there, with nothing to install or wire.
How they differ
An editor, or an AI editor, indexes the repository for its own search and its own agent, and keeps that index to itself. Pixel’s index is a directory, .pixel/, behind a command line: any agent with a shell queries the same one, and pixel install wires it into each agent’s instructions.
Choosing
Stay with the editor’s index if one editor and its agent are all you use. Add Pixel when several agents, terminals or teammates work on the same repository and should get the same answers.