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Getting started

Installation

1. Install Nix

sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install) --daemon

curl -L https://github.com/NixOS/experimental-nix-installer/releases/download/0.27.0/nix-installer.sh | sh -s -- install

Experimental installer

We recommend using the above experimental installer. It can handle OS upgrades and has better support for Apple silicon.

If you'd like to stick with the official release installer, use: 

sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install)

Upgrade Bash

macOS ships with an ancient version of Bash due to licensing reasons.

We recommend installing a newer version from nixpkgs to avoid running into evaluation errors.

nix-env --install --attr bashInteractive -f https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tarball/nixpkgs-unstable

nix profile install nixpkgs#bashInteractive

sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install) --no-daemon

docker run -it nixos/nix

2. Install devenv

nix-env --install --attr devenv -f https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tarball/nixpkgs-unstable

nix profile install nixpkgs#devenv
configuration.nix
environment.systemPackages = [
  pkgs.devenv
];

3. Configure a GitHub access token (optional)

The Nix ecosystem is heavily dependent on GitHub for hosting and distributing source code, like the source for nixpkgs. This means that Nix will make a lot of un-authenticated requests to the GitHub API and you may encounter rate-limiting.

To avoid being rate-limited, we recommend providing Nix with a GitHub access token, which will greatly increase your API limits.

Create a new token with no extra permissions at https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new. Add the token to your ~/.config/nix/nix.conf:

access-tokens = github.com=<GITHUB_TOKEN>

Initial set up

Initialize a new developer environment with devenv init.

$ devenv init
• Creating .envrc
• Creating devenv.nix
• Creating devenv.yaml
• Creating .gitignore

Commands

  • devenv test builds your developer environment and makes sure that all checks pass. Useful to run in your continuous integration environment.
  • devenv shell activates your developer environment.
  • devenv search <NAME> searches packages matching NAME in Nixpkgs input.
  • devenv update updates and pins inputs from devenv.yaml into devenv.lock.
  • devenv gc deletes unused environments to save disk space.
  • devenv up starts processes.

Learn more

Updating

Update devenv CLI

nix-env --upgrade --attr devenv -f https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tarball/nixpkgs-unstable

nix profile upgrade devenv

Update nixpkgs to get the latest version of devenv.

For detailed upgrade instructions specific to your setup, please refer to the documentation for your particular system: NixOS, nix-darwin (for macOS), or home-manager, as applicable.

Update project inputs

Inputs, like nixpkgs and devenv modules, are downloaded and pinned in a devenv.lock lockfile.

These should be periodically updated with:

devenv update

Learn more about Inputs.