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Split nix-env and nix-store documentation per-subcommand

Browse source 
Documentation on "classic" commands with many sub-commands are
notoriously hard to discover due to lack of overview and anchor links.
Additionally the information on common options and environment variables
is not accessible offline in man pages, and therefore often overlooked
by readers.

With this change, each sub-command of nix-store and nix-env gets its
own page in the manual (listed in the table of contents), and each own
man page.

Also, man pages for each subcommand now (again) list common options
and environment variables. While this makes each page quite long and
some common parameters don't apply, this should still make it easier
to navigate as that additional information was not accessible on the
command line at all.

It is now possible to run 'nix-store --<subcommand> --help` to display
help pages for the given subcommand.

Co-authored-by: Valentin Gagarin <valentin.gagarin@tweag.io>
This commit is contained in:
Alexander Bantyev 2023-03-23 19:27:41 +04:00 committed by Valentin Gagarin
parent 84c2c09ec2
commit 36b059748d
52 changed files with 2171 additions and 1715 deletions
Show stats Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

27
doc/manual/local.mk
View file

@ -13,6 +13,13 @@ man-pages := $(foreach n, \
nix.conf.5 nix-daemon.8 \
, $(d)/$(n))
# man pages for subcommands
# convert from `$(d)/src/command-ref/nix-{1}/{2}.md` to `$(d)/nix-{1}-{2}.1`
# FIXME: unify with how nix3-cli man pages are generated
man-pages += $(foreach subcommand, \
$(filter-out %opt-common.md %env-common.md, $(wildcard $(d)/src/command-ref/nix-*/*.md)), \
$(d)/$(subst /,-,$(subst $(d)/src/command-ref/,,$(subst .md,.1,$(subcommand)))))
clean-files += $(d)/*.1 $(d)/*.5 $(d)/*.8
# Provide a dummy environment for nix, so that it will not access files outside the macOS sandbox.
@ -38,6 +45,26 @@ define process-includes
done < <(grep '{{#include' $(1))
endef
$(d)/nix-env-%.1: $(d)/src/command-ref/nix-env/%.md
@printf "Title: %s\n\n" "$(subst nix-env-,nix-env --,$$(basename "$@" .1))" > $^.tmp
$(render-subcommand)
$(d)/nix-store-%.1: $(d)/src/command-ref/nix-store/%.md
@printf -- 'Title: %s\n\n' "$(subst nix-store-,nix-store --,$$(basename "$@" .1))" > $^.tmp
$(render-subcommand)
# FIXME: there surely is some more deduplication to be achieved here with even darker Make magic
define render-subcommand
@cat $^ >> $^.tmp
@$(call process-includes,$^,$^.tmp)
$(trace-gen) lowdown -sT man --nroff-nolinks -M section=1 $^.tmp -o $@
@# fix up `lowdown`'s automatic escaping of `--`
@# https://github.com/kristapsdz/lowdown/blob/edca6ce6d5336efb147321a43c47a698de41bb7c/entity.c#L202
@sed -i 's/\e\[u2013\]/--/' $@
@rm $^.tmp
endef
$(d)/%.1: $(d)/src/command-ref/%.md
@printf "Title: %s\n\n" "$$(basename $@ .1)" > $^.tmp
@cat $^ >> $^.tmp

31
doc/manual/src/SUMMARY.md.in
View file

@ -47,7 +47,38 @@
- [nix-build](command-ref/nix-build.md)
- [nix-shell](command-ref/nix-shell.md)
- [nix-store](command-ref/nix-store.md)
- [nix-store --add-fixed](command-ref/nix-store/add-fixed.md)
- [nix-store --add](command-ref/nix-store/add.md)
- [nix-store --delete](command-ref/nix-store/delete.md)
- [nix-store --dump-db](command-ref/nix-store/dump-db.md)
- [nix-store --dump](command-ref/nix-store/dump.md)
- [nix-store --export](command-ref/nix-store/export.md)
- [nix-store --gc](command-ref/nix-store/gc.md)
- [nix-store --generate-binary-cache-key](command-ref/nix-store/generate-binary-cache-key.md)
- [nix-store --import](command-ref/nix-store/import.md)
- [nix-store --load-db](command-ref/nix-store/load-db.md)
- [nix-store --optimise](command-ref/nix-store/optimise.md)
- [nix-store --print-env](command-ref/nix-store/print-env.md)
- [nix-store --query](command-ref/nix-store/query.md)
- [nix-store --read-log](command-ref/nix-store/read-log.md)
- [nix-store --realise](command-ref/nix-store/realise.md)
- [nix-store --repair-path](command-ref/nix-store/repair-path.md)
- [nix-store --restore](command-ref/nix-store/restore.md)
- [nix-store --serve](command-ref/nix-store/serve.md)
- [nix-store --verify-path](command-ref/nix-store/verify-path.md)
- [nix-store --verify](command-ref/nix-store/verify.md)
- [nix-env](command-ref/nix-env.md)
- [nix-env --delete-generations](command-ref/nix-env/delete-generations.md)
- [nix-env --install](command-ref/nix-env/install.md)
- [nix-env --list-generations](command-ref/nix-env/list-generations.md)
- [nix-env --query](command-ref/nix-env/query.md)
- [nix-env --rollback](command-ref/nix-env/rollback.md)
- [nix-env --set-flag](command-ref/nix-env/set-flag.md)
- [nix-env --set](command-ref/nix-env/set.md)
- [nix-env --switch-generation](command-ref/nix-env/switch-generation.md)
- [nix-env --switch-profile](command-ref/nix-env/switch-profile.md)
- [nix-env --uninstall](command-ref/nix-env/uninstall.md)
- [nix-env --upgrade](command-ref/nix-env/upgrade.md)
- [Utilities](command-ref/utilities.md)
- [nix-channel](command-ref/nix-channel.md)
- [nix-collect-garbage](command-ref/nix-collect-garbage.md)

40
doc/manual/src/command-ref/env-common.md
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@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
Most Nix commands interpret the following environment variables:
- [`IN_NIX_SHELL`]{#env-IN_NIX_SHELL}\
- <span id="env-IN_NIX_SHELL">[`IN_NIX_SHELL`](#env-IN_NIX_SHELL)</span>\
Indicator that tells if the current environment was set up by
`nix-shell`. It can have the values `pure` or `impure`.
- [`NIX_PATH`]{#env-NIX_PATH}\
- <span id="env-NIX_PATH">[`NIX_PATH`](#env-NIX_PATH)</span>\
A colon-separated list of directories used to look up the location of Nix
expressions using [paths](../language/values.md#type-path)
expressions using [paths](@docroot@/language/values.md#type-path)
enclosed in angle brackets (i.e., `<path>`),
e.g. `/home/eelco/Dev:/etc/nixos`. It can be extended using the
[`-I` option](./opt-common.md#opt-I).
[`-I` option](@docroot@/command-ref/opt-common.md#opt-I).
If `NIX_PATH` is not set at all, Nix will fall back to the following list in [impure](./conf-file.md#conf-pure-eval) and [unrestricted](./conf-file.md#conf-restrict-eval) evaluation mode:
If `NIX_PATH` is not set at all, Nix will fall back to the following list in [impure](@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-pure-eval) and [unrestricted](@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-restrict-eval) evaluation mode:
1. `$HOME/.nix-defexpr/channels`
2. `nixpkgs=/nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/root/channels/nixpkgs`
@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Most Nix commands interpret the following environment variables:
error: file 'nixpkgs' was not found in the Nix search path
- [`NIX_IGNORE_SYMLINK_STORE`]{#env-NIX_IGNORE_SYMLINK_STORE}\
- <span id="env-NIX_IGNORE_SYMLINK_STORE">[`NIX_IGNORE_SYMLINK_STORE`](#env-NIX_IGNORE_SYMLINK_STORE)</span>\
Normally, the Nix store directory (typically `/nix/store`) is not
allowed to contain any symlink components. This is to prevent
“impure” builds. Builders sometimes “canonicalise” paths by
@ -46,58 +46,58 @@ Most Nix commands interpret the following environment variables:
Consult the mount 8 manual page for details.
- [`NIX_STORE_DIR`]{#env-NIX_STORE_DIR}\
- <span id="env-NIX_STORE_DIR">[`NIX_STORE_DIR`](#env-NIX_STORE_DIR)</span>\
Overrides the location of the Nix store (default `prefix/store`).
- [`NIX_DATA_DIR`]{#env-NIX_DATA_DIR}\
- <span id="env-NIX_DATA_DIR">[`NIX_DATA_DIR`](#env-NIX_DATA_DIR)</span>\
Overrides the location of the Nix static data directory (default
`prefix/share`).
- [`NIX_LOG_DIR`]{#env-NIX_LOG_DIR}\
- <span id="env-NIX_LOG_DIR">[`NIX_LOG_DIR`](#env-NIX_LOG_DIR)</span>\
Overrides the location of the Nix log directory (default
`prefix/var/log/nix`).
- [`NIX_STATE_DIR`]{#env-NIX_STATE_DIR}\
- <span id="env-NIX_STATE_DIR">[`NIX_STATE_DIR`](#env-NIX_STATE_DIR)</span>\
Overrides the location of the Nix state directory (default
`prefix/var/nix`).
- [`NIX_CONF_DIR`]{#env-NIX_CONF_DIR}\
- <span id="env-NIX_CONF_DIR">[`NIX_CONF_DIR`](#env-NIX_CONF_DIR)</span>\
Overrides the location of the system Nix configuration directory
(default `prefix/etc/nix`).
- [`NIX_CONFIG`]{#env-NIX_CONFIG}\
- <span id="env-NIX_CONFIG">[`NIX_CONFIG`](#env-NIX_CONFIG)</span>\
Applies settings from Nix configuration from the environment.
The content is treated as if it was read from a Nix configuration file.
Settings are separated by the newline character.
- [`NIX_USER_CONF_FILES`]{#env-NIX_USER_CONF_FILES}\
- <span id="env-NIX_USER_CONF_FILES">[`NIX_USER_CONF_FILES`](#env-NIX_USER_CONF_FILES)</span>\
Overrides the location of the user Nix configuration files to load
from (defaults to the XDG spec locations). The variable is treated
as a list separated by the `:` token.
- [`TMPDIR`]{#env-TMPDIR}\
- <span id="env-TMPDIR">[`TMPDIR`](#env-TMPDIR)</span>\
Use the specified directory to store temporary files. In particular,
this includes temporary build directories; these can take up
substantial amounts of disk space. The default is `/tmp`.
- [`NIX_REMOTE`]{#env-NIX_REMOTE}\
- <span id="env-NIX_REMOTE">[`NIX_REMOTE`](#env-NIX_REMOTE)</span>\
This variable should be set to `daemon` if you want to use the Nix
daemon to execute Nix operations. This is necessary in [multi-user
Nix installations](../installation/multi-user.md). If the Nix
Nix installations](@docroot@/installation/multi-user.md). If the Nix
daemon's Unix socket is at some non-standard path, this variable
should be set to `unix://path/to/socket`. Otherwise, it should be
left unset.
- [`NIX_SHOW_STATS`]{#env-NIX_SHOW_STATS}\
- <span id="env-NIX_SHOW_STATS">[`NIX_SHOW_STATS`](#env-NIX_SHOW_STATS)</span>\
If set to `1`, Nix will print some evaluation statistics, such as
the number of values allocated.
- [`NIX_COUNT_CALLS`]{#env-NIX_COUNT_CALLS}\
- <span id="env-NIX_COUNT_CALLS">[`NIX_COUNT_CALLS`](#env-NIX_COUNT_CALLS)</span>\
If set to `1`, Nix will print how often functions were called during
Nix expression evaluation. This is useful for profiling your Nix
expressions.
- [`GC_INITIAL_HEAP_SIZE`]{#env-GC_INITIAL_HEAP_SIZE}\
- <span id="env-GC_INITIAL_HEAP_SIZE">[`GC_INITIAL_HEAP_SIZE`](#env-GC_INITIAL_HEAP_SIZE)</span>\
If Nix has been configured to use the Boehm garbage collector, this
variable sets the initial size of the heap in bytes. It defaults to
384 MiB. Setting it to a low value reduces memory consumption, but
@ -114,4 +114,4 @@ New Nix commands conform to the [XDG Base Directory Specification], and use the
Classic Nix commands can also be made to follow this standard using the [`use-xdg-base-directories`] configuration option.
[XDG Base Directory Specification]: https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html
[`use-xdg-base-directories`]: ../command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-use-xdg-base-directories
[`use-xdg-base-directories`]: @docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-use-xdg-base-directories

11
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-build.md
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@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ directory containing at least a file named `default.nix`.
`nix-build` is essentially a wrapper around
[`nix-instantiate`](nix-instantiate.md) (to translate a high-level Nix
expression to a low-level [store derivation]) and [`nix-store
--realise`](nix-store.md#operation---realise) (to build the store
--realise`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-store/realise.md) (to build the store
derivation).
[store derivation]: ../glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation
@ -51,9 +51,8 @@ derivation).
# Options
All options not listed here are passed to `nix-store
--realise`, except for `--arg` and `--attr` / `-A` which are passed to
`nix-instantiate`.
All options not listed here are passed to `nix-store --realise`,
except for `--arg` and `--attr` / `-A` which are passed to `nix-instantiate`.
- <span id="opt-no-out-link">[`--no-out-link`](#opt-no-out-link)<span>
@ -70,7 +69,9 @@ All options not listed here are passed to `nix-store
Change the name of the symlink to the output path created from
`result` to *outlink*.
The following common options are supported:
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
# Examples

4
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-channel.md
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@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ Note that `--add` does not automatically perform an update.
The list of subscribed channels is stored in `~/.nix-channels`.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
# Examples
To subscribe to the Nixpkgs channel and install the GNU Hello package:

6
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-collect-garbage.md
View file

@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
# Description
The command `nix-collect-garbage` is mostly an alias of [`nix-store
--gc`](nix-store.md#operation---gc), that is, it deletes all
--gc`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-store/gc.md), that is, it deletes all
unreachable paths in the Nix store to clean up your system. However,
it provides two additional options: `-d` (`--delete-old`), which
deletes all old generations of all profiles in `/nix/var/nix/profiles`
@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ and `--delete-older-than` *period*, where period is a value such as
of days in all profiles in `/nix/var/nix/profiles` (except for the
generations that were active at that point in time).
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
# Example
To delete from the Nix store everything that is not used by the current

4
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-copy-closure.md
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@ -63,12 +63,16 @@ authentication, you can avoid typing the passphrase with `ssh-agent`.
- `-v`\
Show verbose output.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
# Environment variables
- `NIX_SSHOPTS`\
Additional options to be passed to `ssh` on the command
line.
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
# Examples
Copy Firefox with all its dependencies to a remote machine:

816
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-env.md
View file

@ -4,15 +4,14 @@
# Synopsis
`nix-env`
`nix-env` *operation* [*options*] [*arguments…*]
[`--option` *name* *value*]
[`--arg` *name* *value*]
[`--argstr` *name* *value*]
[{`--file` | `-f`} *path*]
[{`--profile` | `-p`} *path(]
[{`--profile` | `-p`} *path*]
[`--system-filter` *system*]
[`--dry-run`]
*operation* [*options…*] [*arguments…*]
# Description
@ -24,7 +23,29 @@ environments: different users can have different environments, and
individual users can switch between different environments.
`nix-env` takes exactly one *operation* flag which indicates the
subcommand to be performed. These are documented below.
subcommand to be performed. The following operations are available:
- [`--install`](./nix-env/install.md)
- [`--upgrade`](./nix-env/upgrade.md)
- [`--uninstall`](./nix-env/uninstall.md)
- [`--set`](./nix-env/set.md)
- [`--set-flag`](./nix-env/set-flag.md)
- [`--query`](./nix-env/query.md)
- [`--switch-profile`](./nix-env/switch-profile.md)
- [`--list-generations`](./nix-env/list-generations.md)
- [`--delete-generations`](./nix-env/delete-generations.md)
- [`--switch-generation`](./nix-env/switch-generation.md)
- [`--rollback`](./nix-env/rollback.md)
These pages can be viewed offline:
- `man nix-env-<operation>`.
Example: `man nix-env-install`
- `nix-env --help --<operation>`
Example: `nix-env --help --install`
# Selectors
@ -60,46 +81,6 @@ match. Here are some examples:
Matches any package name containing the strings `firefox` or
`chromium`.
# Common options
This section lists the options that are common to all operations. These
options are allowed for every subcommand, though they may not always
have an effect.
- `--file` / `-f` *path*\
Specifies the Nix expression (designated below as the *active Nix
expression*) used by the `--install`, `--upgrade`, and `--query
--available` operations to obtain derivations. The default is
`~/.nix-defexpr`.
If the argument starts with `http://` or `https://`, it is
interpreted as the URL of a tarball that will be downloaded and
unpacked to a temporary location. The tarball must include a single
top-level directory containing at least a file named `default.nix`.
- `--profile` / `-p` *path*\
Specifies the profile to be used by those operations that operate on
a profile (designated below as the *active profile*). A profile is a
sequence of user environments called *generations*, one of which is
the *current generation*.
- `--dry-run`\
For the `--install`, `--upgrade`, `--uninstall`,
`--switch-generation`, `--delete-generations` and `--rollback`
operations, this flag will cause `nix-env` to print what *would* be
done if this flag had not been specified, without actually doing it.
`--dry-run` also prints out which paths will be
[substituted](../glossary.md) (i.e., downloaded) and which paths
will be built from source (because no substitute is available).
- `--system-filter` *system*\
By default, operations such as `--query
--available` show derivations matching any platform. This option
allows you to use derivations for the specified platform *system*.
<!-- end list -->
# Files
- `~/.nix-defexpr`\
@ -145,750 +126,3 @@ have an effect.
symlink points to `prefix/var/nix/profiles/default`. The `PATH`
environment variable should include `~/.nix-profile/bin` for the
user environment to be visible to the user.
# Operation `--install`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--install` | `-i`} *args…*
[{`--prebuilt-only` | `-b`}]
[{`--attr` | `-A`}]
[`--from-expression`] [`-E`]
[`--from-profile` *path*]
[`--preserve-installed` | `-P`]
[`--remove-all` | `-r`]
## Description
The install operation creates a new user environment, based on the
current generation of the active profile, to which a set of store paths
described by *args* is added. The arguments *args* map to store paths in
a number of possible ways:
- By default, *args* is a set of derivation names denoting derivations
in the active Nix expression. These are realised, and the resulting
output paths are installed. Currently installed derivations with a
name equal to the name of a derivation being added are removed
unless the option `--preserve-installed` is specified.
If there are multiple derivations matching a name in *args* that
have the same name (e.g., `gcc-3.3.6` and `gcc-4.1.1`), then the
derivation with the highest *priority* is used. A derivation can
define a priority by declaring the `meta.priority` attribute. This
attribute should be a number, with a higher value denoting a lower
priority. The default priority is `0`.
If there are multiple matching derivations with the same priority,
then the derivation with the highest version will be installed.
You can force the installation of multiple derivations with the same
name by being specific about the versions. For instance, `nix-env -i
gcc-3.3.6 gcc-4.1.1` will install both version of GCC (and will
probably cause a user environment conflict\!).
- If `--attr` (`-A`) is specified, the arguments are *attribute
paths* that select attributes from the top-level Nix
expression. This is faster than using derivation names and
unambiguous. To find out the attribute paths of available
packages, use `nix-env -qaP`.
- If `--from-profile` *path* is given, *args* is a set of names
denoting installed store paths in the profile *path*. This is an
easy way to copy user environment elements from one profile to
another.
- If `--from-expression` is given, *args* are Nix
[functions](../language/constructs.md#functions)
that are called with the active Nix expression as their single
argument. The derivations returned by those function calls are
installed. This allows derivations to be specified in an
unambiguous way, which is necessary if there are multiple
derivations with the same name.
- If *args* are [store derivation]s, then these are
[realised](nix-store.md#operation---realise), and the resulting output paths
are installed.
[store derivation]: ../glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation
- If *args* are store paths that are not store derivations, then these
are [realised](nix-store.md#operation---realise) and installed.
- By default all outputs are installed for each derivation. That can
be reduced by setting `meta.outputsToInstall`.
## Flags
- `--prebuilt-only` / `-b`\
Use only derivations for which a substitute is registered, i.e.,
there is a pre-built binary available that can be downloaded in lieu
of building the derivation. Thus, no packages will be built from
source.
- `--preserve-installed`; `-P`\
Do not remove derivations with a name matching one of the
derivations being installed. Usually, trying to have two versions of
the same package installed in the same generation of a profile will
lead to an error in building the generation, due to file name
clashes between the two versions. However, this is not the case for
all packages.
- `--remove-all`; `-r`\
Remove all previously installed packages first. This is equivalent
to running `nix-env -e '.*'` first, except that everything happens
in a single transaction.
## Examples
To install a package using a specific attribute path from the active Nix expression:
```console
$ nix-env -iA gcc40mips
installing `gcc-4.0.2'
$ nix-env -iA xorg.xorgserver
installing `xorg-server-1.2.0'
```
To install a specific version of `gcc` using the derivation name:
```console
$ nix-env --install gcc-3.3.2
installing `gcc-3.3.2'
uninstalling `gcc-3.1'
```
Using attribute path for selecting a package is preferred,
as it is much faster and there will not be multiple matches.
Note the previously installed version is removed, since
`--preserve-installed` was not specified.
To install an arbitrary version:
```console
$ nix-env --install gcc
installing `gcc-3.3.2'
```
To install all derivations in the Nix expression `foo.nix`:
```console
$ nix-env -f ~/foo.nix -i '.*'
```
To copy the store path with symbolic name `gcc` from another profile:
```console
$ nix-env -i --from-profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/foo gcc
```
To install a specific [store derivation] (typically created by
`nix-instantiate`):
```console
$ nix-env -i /nix/store/fibjb1bfbpm5mrsxc4mh2d8n37sxh91i-gcc-3.4.3.drv
```
To install a specific output path:
```console
$ nix-env -i /nix/store/y3cgx0xj1p4iv9x0pnnmdhr8iyg741vk-gcc-3.4.3
```
To install from a Nix expression specified on the command-line:
```console
$ nix-env -f ./foo.nix -i -E \
'f: (f {system = "i686-linux";}).subversionWithJava'
```
I.e., this evaluates to `(f: (f {system =
"i686-linux";}).subversionWithJava) (import ./foo.nix)`, thus selecting
the `subversionWithJava` attribute from the set returned by calling the
function defined in `./foo.nix`.
A dry-run tells you which paths will be downloaded or built from source:
```console
$ nix-env -f '<nixpkgs>' -iA hello --dry-run
(dry run; not doing anything)
installing ‘hello-2.10’
this path will be fetched (0.04 MiB download, 0.19 MiB unpacked):
/nix/store/wkhdf9jinag5750mqlax6z2zbwhqb76n-hello-2.10
...
```
To install Firefox from the latest revision in the Nixpkgs/NixOS 14.12
channel:
```console
$ nix-env -f https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/nixos-14.12.tar.gz -iA firefox
```
# Operation `--upgrade`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--upgrade` | `-u`} *args*
[`--lt` | `--leq` | `--eq` | `--always`]
[{`--prebuilt-only` | `-b`}]
[{`--attr` | `-A`}]
[`--from-expression`] [`-E`]
[`--from-profile` *path*]
[`--preserve-installed` | `-P`]
## Description
The upgrade operation creates a new user environment, based on the
current generation of the active profile, in which all store paths are
replaced for which there are newer versions in the set of paths
described by *args*. Paths for which there are no newer versions are
left untouched; this is not an error. It is also not an error if an
element of *args* matches no installed derivations.
For a description of how *args* is mapped to a set of store paths, see
[`--install`](#operation---install). If *args* describes multiple
store paths with the same symbolic name, only the one with the highest
version is installed.
## Flags
- `--lt`\
Only upgrade a derivation to newer versions. This is the default.
- `--leq`\
In addition to upgrading to newer versions, also “upgrade” to
derivations that have the same version. Version are not a unique
identification of a derivation, so there may be many derivations
that have the same version. This flag may be useful to force
“synchronisation” between the installed and available derivations.
- `--eq`\
*Only* “upgrade” to derivations that have the same version. This may
not seem very useful, but it actually is, e.g., when there is a new
release of Nixpkgs and you want to replace installed applications
with the same versions built against newer dependencies (to reduce
the number of dependencies floating around on your system).
- `--always`\
In addition to upgrading to newer versions, also “upgrade” to
derivations that have the same or a lower version. I.e., derivations
may actually be downgraded depending on what is available in the
active Nix expression.
For the other flags, see `--install`.
## Examples
```console
$ nix-env --upgrade -A nixpkgs.gcc
upgrading `gcc-3.3.1' to `gcc-3.4'
```
When there are no updates available, nothing will happen:
```console
$ nix-env --upgrade -A nixpkgs.pan
```
Using `-A` is preferred when possible, as it is faster and unambiguous but
it is also possible to upgrade to a specific version by matching the derivation name:
```console
$ nix-env -u gcc-3.3.2 --always
upgrading `gcc-3.4' to `gcc-3.3.2'
```
To try to upgrade everything
(matching packages based on the part of the derivation name without version):
```console
$ nix-env -u
upgrading `hello-2.1.2' to `hello-2.1.3'
upgrading `mozilla-1.2' to `mozilla-1.4'
```
## Versions
The upgrade operation determines whether a derivation `y` is an upgrade
of a derivation `x` by looking at their respective `name` attributes.
The names (e.g., `gcc-3.3.1` are split into two parts: the package name
(`gcc`), and the version (`3.3.1`). The version part starts after the
first dash not followed by a letter. `y` is considered an upgrade of `x`
if their package names match, and the version of `y` is higher than that
of `x`.
The versions are compared by splitting them into contiguous components
of numbers and letters. E.g., `3.3.1pre5` is split into `[3, 3, 1,
"pre", 5]`. These lists are then compared lexicographically (from left
to right). Corresponding components `a` and `b` are compared as follows.
If they are both numbers, integer comparison is used. If `a` is an empty
string and `b` is a number, `a` is considered less than `b`. The special
string component `pre` (for *pre-release*) is considered to be less than
other components. String components are considered less than number
components. Otherwise, they are compared lexicographically (i.e., using
case-sensitive string comparison).
This is illustrated by the following examples:
1.0 < 2.3
2.1 < 2.3
2.3 = 2.3
2.5 > 2.3
3.1 > 2.3
2.3.1 > 2.3
2.3.1 > 2.3a
2.3pre1 < 2.3
2.3pre3 < 2.3pre12
2.3a < 2.3c
2.3pre1 < 2.3c
2.3pre1 < 2.3q
# Operation `--uninstall`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--uninstall` | `-e`} *drvnames…*
## Description
The uninstall operation creates a new user environment, based on the
current generation of the active profile, from which the store paths
designated by the symbolic names *drvnames* are removed.
## Examples
```console
$ nix-env --uninstall gcc
$ nix-env -e '.*' (remove everything)
```
# Operation `--set`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` `--set` *drvname*
## Description
The `--set` operation modifies the current generation of a profile so
that it contains exactly the specified derivation, and nothing else.
## Examples
The following updates a profile such that its current generation will
contain just Firefox:
```console
$ nix-env -p /nix/var/nix/profiles/browser --set firefox
```
# Operation `--set-flag`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` `--set-flag` *name* *value* *drvnames*
## Description
The `--set-flag` operation allows meta attributes of installed packages
to be modified. There are several attributes that can be usefully
modified, because they affect the behaviour of `nix-env` or the user
environment build script:
- `priority` can be changed to resolve filename clashes. The user
environment build script uses the `meta.priority` attribute of
derivations to resolve filename collisions between packages. Lower
priority values denote a higher priority. For instance, the GCC
wrapper package and the Binutils package in Nixpkgs both have a file
`bin/ld`, so previously if you tried to install both you would get a
collision. Now, on the other hand, the GCC wrapper declares a higher
priority than Binutils, so the former’s `bin/ld` is symlinked in the
user environment.
- `keep` can be set to `true` to prevent the package from being
upgraded or replaced. This is useful if you want to hang on to an
older version of a package.
- `active` can be set to `false` to “disable” the package. That is, no
symlinks will be generated to the files of the package, but it
remains part of the profile (so it won’t be garbage-collected). It
can be set back to `true` to re-enable the package.
## Examples
To prevent the currently installed Firefox from being upgraded:
```console
$ nix-env --set-flag keep true firefox
```
After this, `nix-env -u` will ignore Firefox.
To disable the currently installed Firefox, then install a new Firefox
while the old remains part of the profile:
```console
$ nix-env -q
firefox-2.0.0.9 (the current one)
$ nix-env --preserve-installed -i firefox-2.0.0.11
installing `firefox-2.0.0.11'
building path(s) `/nix/store/myy0y59q3ig70dgq37jqwg1j0rsapzsl-user-environment'
collision between `/nix/store/...-firefox-2.0.0.11/bin/firefox'
and `/nix/store/...-firefox-2.0.0.9/bin/firefox'.
(i.e., can’t have two active at the same time)
$ nix-env --set-flag active false firefox
setting flag on `firefox-2.0.0.9'
$ nix-env --preserve-installed -i firefox-2.0.0.11
installing `firefox-2.0.0.11'
$ nix-env -q
firefox-2.0.0.11 (the enabled one)
firefox-2.0.0.9 (the disabled one)
```
To make files from `binutils` take precedence over files from `gcc`:
```console
$ nix-env --set-flag priority 5 binutils
$ nix-env --set-flag priority 10 gcc
```
# Operation `--query`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--query` | `-q`} *names…*
[`--installed` | `--available` | `-a`]
[{`--status` | `-s`}]
[{`--attr-path` | `-P`}]
[`--no-name`]
[{`--compare-versions` | `-c`}]
[`--system`]
[`--drv-path`]
[`--out-path`]
[`--description`]
[`--meta`]
[`--xml`]
[`--json`]
[{`--prebuilt-only` | `-b`}]
[{`--attr` | `-A`} *attribute-path*]
## Description
The query operation displays information about either the store paths
that are installed in the current generation of the active profile
(`--installed`), or the derivations that are available for installation
in the active Nix expression (`--available`). It only prints information
about derivations whose symbolic name matches one of *names*.
The derivations are sorted by their `name` attributes.
## Source selection
The following flags specify the set of things on which the query
operates.
- `--installed`\
The query operates on the store paths that are installed in the
current generation of the active profile. This is the default.
- `--available`; `-a`\
The query operates on the derivations that are available in the
active Nix expression.
## Queries
The following flags specify what information to display about the
selected derivations. Multiple flags may be specified, in which case the
information is shown in the order given here. Note that the name of the
derivation is shown unless `--no-name` is specified.
- `--xml`\
Print the result in an XML representation suitable for automatic
processing by other tools. The root element is called `items`, which
contains a `item` element for each available or installed
derivation. The fields discussed below are all stored in attributes
of the `item` elements.
- `--json`\
Print the result in a JSON representation suitable for automatic
processing by other tools.
- `--prebuilt-only` / `-b`\
Show only derivations for which a substitute is registered, i.e.,
there is a pre-built binary available that can be downloaded in lieu
of building the derivation. Thus, this shows all packages that
probably can be installed quickly.
- `--status`; `-s`\
Print the *status* of the derivation. The status consists of three
characters. The first is `I` or `-`, indicating whether the
derivation is currently installed in the current generation of the
active profile. This is by definition the case for `--installed`,
but not for `--available`. The second is `P` or `-`, indicating
whether the derivation is present on the system. This indicates
whether installation of an available derivation will require the
derivation to be built. The third is `S` or `-`, indicating whether
a substitute is available for the derivation.
- `--attr-path`; `-P`\
Print the *attribute path* of the derivation, which can be used to
unambiguously select it using the `--attr` option available in
commands that install derivations like `nix-env --install`. This
option only works together with `--available`
- `--no-name`\
Suppress printing of the `name` attribute of each derivation.
- `--compare-versions` / `-c`\
Compare installed versions to available versions, or vice versa (if
`--available` is given). This is useful for quickly seeing whether
upgrades for installed packages are available in a Nix expression. A
column is added with the following meaning:
- `<` *version*\
A newer version of the package is available or installed.
- `=` *version*\
At most the same version of the package is available or
installed.
- `>` *version*\
Only older versions of the package are available or installed.
- `- ?`\
No version of the package is available or installed.
- `--system`\
Print the `system` attribute of the derivation.
- `--drv-path`\
Print the path of the [store derivation].
- `--out-path`\
Print the output path of the derivation.
- `--description`\
Print a short (one-line) description of the derivation, if
available. The description is taken from the `meta.description`
attribute of the derivation.
- `--meta`\
Print all of the meta-attributes of the derivation. This option is
only available with `--xml` or `--json`.
## Examples
To show installed packages:
```console
$ nix-env -q
bison-1.875c
docbook-xml-4.2
firefox-1.0.4
MPlayer-1.0pre7
ORBit2-2.8.3
…
```
To show available packages:
```console
$ nix-env -qa
firefox-1.0.7
GConf-2.4.0.1
MPlayer-1.0pre7
ORBit2-2.8.3
…
```
To show the status of available packages:
```console
$ nix-env -qas
-P- firefox-1.0.7 (not installed but present)
--S GConf-2.4.0.1 (not present, but there is a substitute for fast installation)
--S MPlayer-1.0pre3 (i.e., this is not the installed MPlayer, even though the version is the same!)
IP- ORBit2-2.8.3 (installed and by definition present)
…
```
To show available packages in the Nix expression `foo.nix`:
```console
$ nix-env -f ./foo.nix -qa
foo-1.2.3
```
To compare installed versions to what’s available:
```console
$ nix-env -qc
...
acrobat-reader-7.0 - ? (package is not available at all)
autoconf-2.59 = 2.59 (same version)
firefox-1.0.4 < 1.0.7 (a more recent version is available)
...
```
To show all packages with “`zip`” in the name:
```console
$ nix-env -qa '.*zip.*'
bzip2-1.0.6
gzip-1.6
zip-3.0
…
```
To show all packages with “`firefox`” or “`chromium`” in the name:
```console
$ nix-env -qa '.*(firefox|chromium).*'
chromium-37.0.2062.94
chromium-beta-38.0.2125.24
firefox-32.0.3
firefox-with-plugins-13.0.1
…
```
To show all packages in the latest revision of the Nixpkgs repository:
```console
$ nix-env -f https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/master.tar.gz -qa
```
# Operation `--switch-profile`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--switch-profile` | `-S`} *path*
## Description
This operation makes *path* the current profile for the user. That is,
the symlink `~/.nix-profile` is made to point to *path*.
## Examples
```console
$ nix-env -S ~/my-profile
```
# Operation `--list-generations`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` `--list-generations`
## Description
This operation print a list of all the currently existing generations
for the active profile. These may be switched to using the
`--switch-generation` operation. It also prints the creation date of the
generation, and indicates the current generation.
## Examples
```console
$ nix-env --list-generations
95 2004-02-06 11:48:24
96 2004-02-06 11:49:01
97 2004-02-06 16:22:45
98 2004-02-06 16:24:33 (current)
```
# Operation `--delete-generations`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` `--delete-generations` *generations*
## Description
This operation deletes the specified generations of the current profile.
The generations can be a list of generation numbers, the special value
`old` to delete all non-current generations, a value such as `30d` to
delete all generations older than the specified number of days (except
for the generation that was active at that point in time), or a value
such as `+5` to keep the last `5` generations ignoring any newer than
current, e.g., if `30` is the current generation `+5` will delete
generation `25` and all older generations. Periodically deleting old
generations is important to make garbage collection effective.
## Examples
```console
$ nix-env --delete-generations 3 4 8
```
```console
$ nix-env --delete-generations +5
```
```console
$ nix-env --delete-generations 30d
```
```console
$ nix-env -p other_profile --delete-generations old
```
# Operation `--switch-generation`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--switch-generation` | `-G`} *generation*
## Description
This operation makes generation number *generation* the current
generation of the active profile. That is, if the `profile` is the path
to the active profile, then the symlink `profile` is made to point to
`profile-generation-link`, which is in turn a symlink to the actual user
environment in the Nix store.
Switching will fail if the specified generation does not exist.
## Examples
```console
$ nix-env -G 42
switching from generation 50 to 42
```
# Operation `--rollback`
## Synopsis
`nix-env` `--rollback`
## Description
This operation switches to the “previous” generation of the active
profile, that is, the highest numbered generation lower than the current
generation, if it exists. It is just a convenience wrapper around
`--list-generations` and `--switch-generation`.
## Examples
```console
$ nix-env --rollback
switching from generation 92 to 91
```
```console
$ nix-env --rollback
error: no generation older than the current (91) exists
```
# Environment variables
- `NIX_PROFILE`\
Location of the Nix profile. Defaults to the target of the symlink
`~/.nix-profile`, if it exists, or `/nix/var/nix/profiles/default`
otherwise.

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# Name
`nix-env --delete-generations` - delete profile generations
# Synopsis
`nix-env` `--delete-generations` *generations*
# Description
This operation deletes the specified generations of the current profile.
The generations can be a list of generation numbers, the special value
`old` to delete all non-current generations, a value such as `30d` to
delete all generations older than the specified number of days (except
for the generation that was active at that point in time), or a value
such as `+5` to keep the last `5` generations ignoring any newer than
current, e.g., if `30` is the current generation `+5` will delete
generation `25` and all older generations. Periodically deleting old
generations is important to make garbage collection effective.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
```console
$ nix-env --delete-generations 3 4 8
```
```console
$ nix-env --delete-generations +5
```
```console
$ nix-env --delete-generations 30d
```
```console
$ nix-env -p other_profile --delete-generations old
```

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# Environment variables
- `NIX_PROFILE`\
Location of the Nix profile. Defaults to the target of the symlink
`~/.nix-profile`, if it exists, or `/nix/var/nix/profiles/default`
otherwise.

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# Name
`nix-env --install` - add packages to user environment
# Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--install` | `-i`} *args…*
[{`--prebuilt-only` | `-b`}]
[{`--attr` | `-A`}]
[`--from-expression`] [`-E`]
[`--from-profile` *path*]
[`--preserve-installed` | `-P`]
[`--remove-all` | `-r`]
# Description
The install operation creates a new user environment, based on the
current generation of the active profile, to which a set of store paths
described by *args* is added. The arguments *args* map to store paths in
a number of possible ways:
- By default, *args* is a set of derivation names denoting derivations
in the active Nix expression. These are realised, and the resulting
output paths are installed. Currently installed derivations with a
name equal to the name of a derivation being added are removed
unless the option `--preserve-installed` is specified.
If there are multiple derivations matching a name in *args* that
have the same name (e.g., `gcc-3.3.6` and `gcc-4.1.1`), then the
derivation with the highest *priority* is used. A derivation can
define a priority by declaring the `meta.priority` attribute. This
attribute should be a number, with a higher value denoting a lower
priority. The default priority is `0`.
If there are multiple matching derivations with the same priority,
then the derivation with the highest version will be installed.
You can force the installation of multiple derivations with the same
name by being specific about the versions. For instance, `nix-env -i
gcc-3.3.6 gcc-4.1.1` will install both version of GCC (and will
probably cause a user environment conflict\!).
- If `--attr` (`-A`) is specified, the arguments are *attribute
paths* that select attributes from the top-level Nix
expression. This is faster than using derivation names and
unambiguous. To find out the attribute paths of available
packages, use `nix-env -qaP`.
- If `--from-profile` *path* is given, *args* is a set of names
denoting installed store paths in the profile *path*. This is an
easy way to copy user environment elements from one profile to
another.
- If `--from-expression` is given, *args* are Nix
[functions](@docroot@/language/constructs.md#functions)
that are called with the active Nix expression as their single
argument. The derivations returned by those function calls are
installed. This allows derivations to be specified in an
unambiguous way, which is necessary if there are multiple
derivations with the same name.
- If *args* are [store derivations](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation), then these are
[realised](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-store/realise.md), and the resulting output paths
are installed.
- If *args* are store paths that are not store derivations, then these
are [realised](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-store/realise.md) and installed.
- By default all outputs are installed for each derivation. That can
be reduced by setting `meta.outputsToInstall`.
# Flags
- `--prebuilt-only` / `-b`\
Use only derivations for which a substitute is registered, i.e.,
there is a pre-built binary available that can be downloaded in lieu
of building the derivation. Thus, no packages will be built from
source.
- `--preserve-installed` / `-P`\
Do not remove derivations with a name matching one of the
derivations being installed. Usually, trying to have two versions of
the same package installed in the same generation of a profile will
lead to an error in building the generation, due to file name
clashes between the two versions. However, this is not the case for
all packages.
- `--remove-all` / `-r`\
Remove all previously installed packages first. This is equivalent
to running `nix-env -e '.*'` first, except that everything happens
in a single transaction.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
To install a package using a specific attribute path from the active Nix expression:
```console
$ nix-env -iA gcc40mips
installing `gcc-4.0.2'
$ nix-env -iA xorg.xorgserver
installing `xorg-server-1.2.0'
```
To install a specific version of `gcc` using the derivation name:
```console
$ nix-env --install gcc-3.3.2
installing `gcc-3.3.2'
uninstalling `gcc-3.1'
```
Using attribute path for selecting a package is preferred,
as it is much faster and there will not be multiple matches.
Note the previously installed version is removed, since
`--preserve-installed` was not specified.
To install an arbitrary version:
```console
$ nix-env --install gcc
installing `gcc-3.3.2'
```
To install all derivations in the Nix expression `foo.nix`:
```console
$ nix-env -f ~/foo.nix -i '.*'
```
To copy the store path with symbolic name `gcc` from another profile:
```console
$ nix-env -i --from-profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/foo gcc
```
To install a specific [store derivation] (typically created by
`nix-instantiate`):
```console
$ nix-env -i /nix/store/fibjb1bfbpm5mrsxc4mh2d8n37sxh91i-gcc-3.4.3.drv
```
To install a specific output path:
```console
$ nix-env -i /nix/store/y3cgx0xj1p4iv9x0pnnmdhr8iyg741vk-gcc-3.4.3
```
To install from a Nix expression specified on the command-line:
```console
$ nix-env -f ./foo.nix -i -E \
'f: (f {system = "i686-linux";}).subversionWithJava'
```
I.e., this evaluates to `(f: (f {system =
"i686-linux";}).subversionWithJava) (import ./foo.nix)`, thus selecting
the `subversionWithJava` attribute from the set returned by calling the
function defined in `./foo.nix`.
A dry-run tells you which paths will be downloaded or built from source:
```console
$ nix-env -f '<nixpkgs>' -iA hello --dry-run
(dry run; not doing anything)
installing ‘hello-2.10’
this path will be fetched (0.04 MiB download, 0.19 MiB unpacked):
/nix/store/wkhdf9jinag5750mqlax6z2zbwhqb76n-hello-2.10
...
```
To install Firefox from the latest revision in the Nixpkgs/NixOS 14.12
channel:
```console
$ nix-env -f https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/nixos-14.12.tar.gz -iA firefox
```

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# Name
`nix-env --list-generations` - list profile generations
# Synopsis
`nix-env` `--list-generations`
# Description
This operation print a list of all the currently existing generations
for the active profile. These may be switched to using the
`--switch-generation` operation. It also prints the creation date of the
generation, and indicates the current generation.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
```console
$ nix-env --list-generations
95 2004-02-06 11:48:24
96 2004-02-06 11:49:01
97 2004-02-06 16:22:45
98 2004-02-06 16:24:33 (current)
```

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# Options
The following options are allowed for all `nix-env` operations, but may not always have an effect.
- `--file` / `-f` *path*\
Specifies the Nix expression (designated below as the *active Nix
expression*) used by the `--install`, `--upgrade`, and `--query
--available` operations to obtain derivations. The default is
`~/.nix-defexpr`.
If the argument starts with `http://` or `https://`, it is
interpreted as the URL of a tarball that will be downloaded and
unpacked to a temporary location. The tarball must include a single
top-level directory containing at least a file named `default.nix`.
- `--profile` / `-p` *path*\
Specifies the profile to be used by those operations that operate on
a profile (designated below as the *active profile*). A profile is a
sequence of user environments called *generations*, one of which is
the *current generation*.
- `--dry-run`\
For the `--install`, `--upgrade`, `--uninstall`,
`--switch-generation`, `--delete-generations` and `--rollback`
operations, this flag will cause `nix-env` to print what *would* be
done if this flag had not been specified, without actually doing it.
`--dry-run` also prints out which paths will be
[substituted](@docroot@/glossary.md) (i.e., downloaded) and which paths
will be built from source (because no substitute is available).
- `--system-filter` *system*\
By default, operations such as `--query
--available` show derivations matching any platform. This option
allows you to use derivations for the specified platform *system*.

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# Name
`nix-env --query` - display information about packages
# Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--query` | `-q`} *names…*
[`--installed` | `--available` | `-a`]
[{`--status` | `-s`}]
[{`--attr-path` | `-P`}]
[`--no-name`]
[{`--compare-versions` | `-c`}]
[`--system`]
[`--drv-path`]
[`--out-path`]
[`--description`]
[`--meta`]
[`--xml`]
[`--json`]
[{`--prebuilt-only` | `-b`}]
[{`--attr` | `-A`} *attribute-path*]
# Description
The query operation displays information about either the store paths
that are installed in the current generation of the active profile
(`--installed`), or the derivations that are available for installation
in the active Nix expression (`--available`). It only prints information
about derivations whose symbolic name matches one of *names*.
The derivations are sorted by their `name` attributes.
# Source selection
The following flags specify the set of things on which the query
operates.
- `--installed`\
The query operates on the store paths that are installed in the
current generation of the active profile. This is the default.
- `--available`; `-a`\
The query operates on the derivations that are available in the
active Nix expression.
# Queries
The following flags specify what information to display about the
selected derivations. Multiple flags may be specified, in which case the
information is shown in the order given here. Note that the name of the
derivation is shown unless `--no-name` is specified.
- `--xml`\
Print the result in an XML representation suitable for automatic
processing by other tools. The root element is called `items`, which
contains a `item` element for each available or installed
derivation. The fields discussed below are all stored in attributes
of the `item` elements.
- `--json`\
Print the result in a JSON representation suitable for automatic
processing by other tools.
- `--prebuilt-only` / `-b`\
Show only derivations for which a substitute is registered, i.e.,
there is a pre-built binary available that can be downloaded in lieu
of building the derivation. Thus, this shows all packages that
probably can be installed quickly.
- `--status`; `-s`\
Print the *status* of the derivation. The status consists of three
characters. The first is `I` or `-`, indicating whether the
derivation is currently installed in the current generation of the
active profile. This is by definition the case for `--installed`,
but not for `--available`. The second is `P` or `-`, indicating
whether the derivation is present on the system. This indicates
whether installation of an available derivation will require the
derivation to be built. The third is `S` or `-`, indicating whether
a substitute is available for the derivation.
- `--attr-path`; `-P`\
Print the *attribute path* of the derivation, which can be used to
unambiguously select it using the `--attr` option available in
commands that install derivations like `nix-env --install`. This
option only works together with `--available`
- `--no-name`\
Suppress printing of the `name` attribute of each derivation.
- `--compare-versions` / `-c`\
Compare installed versions to available versions, or vice versa (if
`--available` is given). This is useful for quickly seeing whether
upgrades for installed packages are available in a Nix expression. A
column is added with the following meaning:
- `<` *version*\
A newer version of the package is available or installed.
- `=` *version*\
At most the same version of the package is available or
installed.
- `>` *version*\
Only older versions of the package are available or installed.
- `- ?`\
No version of the package is available or installed.
- `--system`\
Print the `system` attribute of the derivation.
- `--drv-path`\
Print the path of the [store derivation](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation).
- `--out-path`\
Print the output path of the derivation.
- `--description`\
Print a short (one-line) description of the derivation, if
available. The description is taken from the `meta.description`
attribute of the derivation.
- `--meta`\
Print all of the meta-attributes of the derivation. This option is
only available with `--xml` or `--json`.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
To show installed packages:
```console
$ nix-env -q
bison-1.875c
docbook-xml-4.2
firefox-1.0.4
MPlayer-1.0pre7
ORBit2-2.8.3
…
```
To show available packages:
```console
$ nix-env -qa
firefox-1.0.7
GConf-2.4.0.1
MPlayer-1.0pre7
ORBit2-2.8.3
…
```
To show the status of available packages:
```console
$ nix-env -qas
-P- firefox-1.0.7 (not installed but present)
--S GConf-2.4.0.1 (not present, but there is a substitute for fast installation)
--S MPlayer-1.0pre3 (i.e., this is not the installed MPlayer, even though the version is the same!)
IP- ORBit2-2.8.3 (installed and by definition present)
…
```
To show available packages in the Nix expression `foo.nix`:
```console
$ nix-env -f ./foo.nix -qa
foo-1.2.3
```
To compare installed versions to what’s available:
```console
$ nix-env -qc
...
acrobat-reader-7.0 - ? (package is not available at all)
autoconf-2.59 = 2.59 (same version)
firefox-1.0.4 < 1.0.7 (a more recent version is available)
...
```
To show all packages with “`zip`” in the name:
```console
$ nix-env -qa '.*zip.*'
bzip2-1.0.6
gzip-1.6
zip-3.0
…
```
To show all packages with “`firefox`” or “`chromium`” in the name:
```console
$ nix-env -qa '.*(firefox|chromium).*'
chromium-37.0.2062.94
chromium-beta-38.0.2125.24
firefox-32.0.3
firefox-with-plugins-13.0.1
…
```
To show all packages in the latest revision of the Nixpkgs repository:
```console
$ nix-env -f https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/master.tar.gz -qa
```

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# Name
`nix-env --rollback` - set user environment to previous generation
# Synopsis
`nix-env` `--rollback`
# Description
This operation switches to the “previous” generation of the active
profile, that is, the highest numbered generation lower than the current
generation, if it exists. It is just a convenience wrapper around
`--list-generations` and `--switch-generation`.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
```console
$ nix-env --rollback
switching from generation 92 to 91
```
```console
$ nix-env --rollback
error: no generation older than the current (91) exists
```

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# Name
`nix-env --set-flag` - modify meta attributes of installed packages
# Synopsis
`nix-env` `--set-flag` *name* *value* *drvnames*
# Description
The `--set-flag` operation allows meta attributes of installed packages
to be modified. There are several attributes that can be usefully
modified, because they affect the behaviour of `nix-env` or the user
environment build script:
- `priority` can be changed to resolve filename clashes. The user
environment build script uses the `meta.priority` attribute of
derivations to resolve filename collisions between packages. Lower
priority values denote a higher priority. For instance, the GCC
wrapper package and the Binutils package in Nixpkgs both have a file
`bin/ld`, so previously if you tried to install both you would get a
collision. Now, on the other hand, the GCC wrapper declares a higher
priority than Binutils, so the former’s `bin/ld` is symlinked in the
user environment.
- `keep` can be set to `true` to prevent the package from being
upgraded or replaced. This is useful if you want to hang on to an
older version of a package.
- `active` can be set to `false` to “disable” the package. That is, no
symlinks will be generated to the files of the package, but it
remains part of the profile (so it won’t be garbage-collected). It
can be set back to `true` to re-enable the package.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
To prevent the currently installed Firefox from being upgraded:
```console
$ nix-env --set-flag keep true firefox
```
After this, `nix-env -u` will ignore Firefox.
To disable the currently installed Firefox, then install a new Firefox
while the old remains part of the profile:
```console
$ nix-env -q
firefox-2.0.0.9 (the current one)
$ nix-env --preserve-installed -i firefox-2.0.0.11
installing `firefox-2.0.0.11'
building path(s) `/nix/store/myy0y59q3ig70dgq37jqwg1j0rsapzsl-user-environment'
collision between `/nix/store/...-firefox-2.0.0.11/bin/firefox'
and `/nix/store/...-firefox-2.0.0.9/bin/firefox'.
(i.e., can’t have two active at the same time)
$ nix-env --set-flag active false firefox
setting flag on `firefox-2.0.0.9'
$ nix-env --preserve-installed -i firefox-2.0.0.11
installing `firefox-2.0.0.11'
$ nix-env -q
firefox-2.0.0.11 (the enabled one)
firefox-2.0.0.9 (the disabled one)
```
To make files from `binutils` take precedence over files from `gcc`:
```console
$ nix-env --set-flag priority 5 binutils
$ nix-env --set-flag priority 10 gcc
```

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# Name
`nix-env --set` - set profile to contain a specified derivation
## Synopsis
`nix-env` `--set` *drvname*
## Description
The `--set` operation modifies the current generation of a profile so
that it contains exactly the specified derivation, and nothing else.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
## Examples
The following updates a profile such that its current generation will
contain just Firefox:
```console
$ nix-env -p /nix/var/nix/profiles/browser --set firefox
```

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# Name
`nix-env --switch-generation` - set user environment to given profile generation
# Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--switch-generation` | `-G`} *generation*
# Description
This operation makes generation number *generation* the current
generation of the active profile. That is, if the `profile` is the path
to the active profile, then the symlink `profile` is made to point to
`profile-generation-link`, which is in turn a symlink to the actual user
environment in the Nix store.
Switching will fail if the specified generation does not exist.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
```console
$ nix-env -G 42
switching from generation 50 to 42
```

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@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
# Name
`nix-env --switch-profile` - set user environment to given profile
# Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--switch-profile` | `-S`} *path*
# Description
This operation makes *path* the current profile for the user. That is,
the symlink `~/.nix-profile` is made to point to *path*.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
```console
$ nix-env -S ~/my-profile
```

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# Name
`nix-env --uninstall` - remove packages from user environment
# Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--uninstall` | `-e`} *drvnames…*
# Description
The uninstall operation creates a new user environment, based on the
current generation of the active profile, from which the store paths
designated by the symbolic names *drvnames* are removed.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
```console
$ nix-env --uninstall gcc
$ nix-env -e '.*' (remove everything)
```

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# Name
`nix-env --upgrade` - upgrade packages in user environment
# Synopsis
`nix-env` {`--upgrade` | `-u`} *args*
[`--lt` | `--leq` | `--eq` | `--always`]
[{`--prebuilt-only` | `-b`}]
[{`--attr` | `-A`}]
[`--from-expression`] [`-E`]
[`--from-profile` *path*]
[`--preserve-installed` | `-P`]
# Description
The upgrade operation creates a new user environment, based on the
current generation of the active profile, in which all store paths are
replaced for which there are newer versions in the set of paths
described by *args*. Paths for which there are no newer versions are
left untouched; this is not an error. It is also not an error if an
element of *args* matches no installed derivations.
For a description of how *args* is mapped to a set of store paths, see
[`--install`](#operation---install). If *args* describes multiple
store paths with the same symbolic name, only the one with the highest
version is installed.
# Flags
- `--lt`\
Only upgrade a derivation to newer versions. This is the default.
- `--leq`\
In addition to upgrading to newer versions, also “upgrade” to
derivations that have the same version. Version are not a unique
identification of a derivation, so there may be many derivations
that have the same version. This flag may be useful to force
“synchronisation” between the installed and available derivations.
- `--eq`\
*Only* “upgrade” to derivations that have the same version. This may
not seem very useful, but it actually is, e.g., when there is a new
release of Nixpkgs and you want to replace installed applications
with the same versions built against newer dependencies (to reduce
the number of dependencies floating around on your system).
- `--always`\
In addition to upgrading to newer versions, also “upgrade” to
derivations that have the same or a lower version. I.e., derivations
may actually be downgraded depending on what is available in the
active Nix expression.
- `--prebuilt-only` / `-b`\
Use only derivations for which a substitute is registered, i.e.,
there is a pre-built binary available that can be downloaded in lieu
of building the derivation. Thus, no packages will be built from
source.
- `--preserve-installed` / `-P`\
Do not remove derivations with a name matching one of the
derivations being installed. Usually, trying to have two versions of
the same package installed in the same generation of a profile will
lead to an error in building the generation, due to file name
clashes between the two versions. However, this is not the case for
all packages.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
```console
$ nix-env --upgrade -A nixpkgs.gcc
upgrading `gcc-3.3.1' to `gcc-3.4'
```
When there are no updates available, nothing will happen:
```console
$ nix-env --upgrade -A nixpkgs.pan
```
Using `-A` is preferred when possible, as it is faster and unambiguous but
it is also possible to upgrade to a specific version by matching the derivation name:
```console
$ nix-env -u gcc-3.3.2 --always
upgrading `gcc-3.4' to `gcc-3.3.2'
```
To try to upgrade everything
(matching packages based on the part of the derivation name without version):
```console
$ nix-env -u
upgrading `hello-2.1.2' to `hello-2.1.3'
upgrading `mozilla-1.2' to `mozilla-1.4'
```
# Versions
The upgrade operation determines whether a derivation `y` is an upgrade
of a derivation `x` by looking at their respective `name` attributes.
The names (e.g., `gcc-3.3.1` are split into two parts: the package name
(`gcc`), and the version (`3.3.1`). The version part starts after the
first dash not followed by a letter. `y` is considered an upgrade of `x`
if their package names match, and the version of `y` is higher than that
of `x`.
The versions are compared by splitting them into contiguous components
of numbers and letters. E.g., `3.3.1pre5` is split into `[3, 3, 1,
"pre", 5]`. These lists are then compared lexicographically (from left
to right). Corresponding components `a` and `b` are compared as follows.
If they are both numbers, integer comparison is used. If `a` is an empty
string and `b` is a number, `a` is considered less than `b`. The special
string component `pre` (for *pre-release*) is considered to be less than
other components. String components are considered less than number
components. Otherwise, they are compared lexicographically (i.e., using
case-sensitive string comparison).
This is illustrated by the following examples:
1.0 < 2.3
2.1 < 2.3
2.3 = 2.3
2.5 > 2.3
3.1 > 2.3
2.3.1 > 2.3
2.3.1 > 2.3a
2.3pre1 < 2.3
2.3pre3 < 2.3pre12
2.3a < 2.3c
2.3pre1 < 2.3c
2.3pre1 < 2.3q

2
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@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ The hash is computed over a *serialisation* of each path: a dump of
the file system tree rooted at the path. This allows directories and
symlinks to be hashed as well as regular files. The dump is in the
*NAR format* produced by [`nix-store
--dump`](nix-store.md#operation---dump). Thus, `nix-hash path`
--dump`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-store/dump.md). Thus, `nix-hash path`
yields the same cryptographic hash as `nix-store --dump path |
md5sum`.

4
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@ -76,7 +76,9 @@ standard input.
this option is not enabled, there may be uninstantiated store paths
in the final output.
<!-- end list -->
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
# Examples

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@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ All options not listed here are passed to `nix-store
When a `--pure` shell is started, keep the listed environment
variables.
The following common options are supported:
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
# Environment variables
@ -110,6 +110,8 @@ The following common options are supported:
`bash` found in `<nixpkgs>`, falling back to the `bash` found in
`PATH` if not found.
{{#include ./env-common.md}}
# Examples
To build the dependencies of the package Pan, and start an interactive

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@ -13,838 +13,35 @@
The command `nix-store` performs primitive operations on the Nix store.
You generally do not need to run this command manually.
`nix-store` takes exactly one *operation* flag which indicates the
subcommand to be performed. These are documented below.
# Common options
This section lists the options that are common to all operations. These
options are allowed for every subcommand, though they may not always
have an effect.
- <span id="opt-add-root">[`--add-root`](#opt-add-root)</span> *path*
Causes the result of a realisation (`--realise` and
`--force-realise`) to be registered as a root of the garbage
collector. *path* will be created as a symlink to the resulting
store path. In addition, a uniquely named symlink to *path* will
be created in `/nix/var/nix/gcroots/auto/`. For instance,
```console
$ nix-store --add-root /home/eelco/bla/result -r ...
$ ls -l /nix/var/nix/gcroots/auto
lrwxrwxrwx 1 ... 2005-03-13 21:10 dn54lcypm8f8... -> /home/eelco/bla/result
$ ls -l /home/eelco/bla/result
lrwxrwxrwx 1 ... 2005-03-13 21:10 /home/eelco/bla/result -> /nix/store/1r11343n6qd4...-f-spot-0.0.10
```
Thus, when `/home/eelco/bla/result` is removed, the GC root in the
`auto` directory becomes a dangling symlink and will be ignored by
the collector.
> **Warning**
>
> Note that it is not possible to move or rename GC roots, since
> the symlink in the `auto` directory will still point to the old
> location.
If there are multiple results, then multiple symlinks will be
created by sequentially numbering symlinks beyond the first one
(e.g., `foo`, `foo-2`, `foo-3`, and so on).
- <span id="opt-stdin">[`--stdin`](#opt-stdin)</span>
Read *paths…* from the standard input.
Useful for chaining nix-store commands.
# Operation `--realise`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` {`--realise` | `-r`} *paths…* [`--dry-run`]
## Description
The operation `--realise` essentially “builds” the specified store
paths. Realisation is a somewhat overloaded term:
- If the store path is a *derivation*, realisation ensures that the
output paths of the derivation are [valid] (i.e.,
the output path and its closure exist in the file system). This
can be done in several ways. First, it is possible that the
outputs are already valid, in which case we are done
immediately. Otherwise, there may be [substitutes]
that produce the outputs (e.g., by downloading them). Finally, the
outputs can be produced by running the build task described
by the derivation.
- If the store path is not a derivation, realisation ensures that the
specified path is valid (i.e., it and its closure exist in the file
system). If the path is already valid, we are done immediately.
Otherwise, the path and any missing paths in its closure may be
produced through substitutes. If there are no (successful)
substitutes, realisation fails.
[valid]: ../glossary.md#gloss-validity
[substitutes]: ../glossary.md#gloss-substitute
The output path of each derivation is printed on standard output. (For
non-derivations argument, the argument itself is printed.)
The following flags are available:
- `--dry-run`\
Print on standard error a description of what packages would be
built or downloaded, without actually performing the operation.
- `--ignore-unknown`\
If a non-derivation path does not have a substitute, then silently
ignore it.
- `--check`\
This option allows you to check whether a derivation is
deterministic. It rebuilds the specified derivation and checks
whether the result is bitwise-identical with the existing outputs,
printing an error if that’s not the case. The outputs of the
specified derivation must already exist. When used with `-K`, if an
output path is not identical to the corresponding output from the
previous build, the new output path is left in
`/nix/store/name.check.`
Special exit codes:
- `100`\
Generic build failure, the builder process returned with a non-zero
exit code.
- `101`\
Build timeout, the build was aborted because it did not complete
within the specified `timeout`.
- `102`\
Hash mismatch, the build output was rejected because it does not
match the [`outputHash` attribute of the
derivation](../language/advanced-attributes.md).
- `104`\
Not deterministic, the build succeeded in check mode but the
resulting output is not binary reproducible.
With the `--keep-going` flag it's possible for multiple failures to
occur, in this case the 1xx status codes are or combined using binary
or.
1100100
^^^^
|||`- timeout
||`-- output hash mismatch
|`--- build failure
`---- not deterministic
## Examples
This operation is typically used to build [store derivation]s produced by
[`nix-instantiate`](./nix-instantiate.md):
[store derivation]: ../glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation
```console
$ nix-store -r $(nix-instantiate ./test.nix)
/nix/store/31axcgrlbfsxzmfff1gyj1bf62hvkby2-aterm-2.3.1
```
This is essentially what [`nix-build`](nix-build.md) does.
To test whether a previously-built derivation is deterministic:
```console
$ nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A hello --check -K
```
Use [`--read-log`](#operation---read-log) to show the stderr and stdout of a build:
```console
$ nix-store --read-log $(nix-instantiate ./test.nix)
```
# Operation `--serve`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--serve` [`--write`]
## Description
The operation `--serve` provides access to the Nix store over stdin and
stdout, and is intended to be used as a means of providing Nix store
access to a restricted ssh user.
The following flags are available:
- `--write`\
Allow the connected client to request the realization of
derivations. In effect, this can be used to make the host act as a
remote builder.
## Examples
To turn a host into a build server, the `authorized_keys` file can be
used to provide build access to a given SSH public key:
```console
$ cat <<EOF >>/root/.ssh/authorized_keys
command="nice -n20 nix-store --serve --write" ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAA...
EOF
```
# Operation `--gc`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--gc` [`--print-roots` | `--print-live` | `--print-dead`] [`--max-freed` *bytes*]
## Description
Without additional flags, the operation `--gc` performs a garbage
collection on the Nix store. That is, all paths in the Nix store not
reachable via file system references from a set of “roots”, are deleted.
The following suboperations may be specified:
- `--print-roots`\
This operation prints on standard output the set of roots used by
the garbage collector.
- `--print-live`\
This operation prints on standard output the set of “live” store
paths, which are all the store paths reachable from the roots. Live
paths should never be deleted, since that would break consistency —
it would become possible that applications are installed that
reference things that are no longer present in the store.
- `--print-dead`\
This operation prints out on standard output the set of “dead” store
paths, which is just the opposite of the set of live paths: any path
in the store that is not live (with respect to the roots) is dead.
By default, all unreachable paths are deleted. The following options
control what gets deleted and in what order:
- `--max-freed` *bytes*\
Keep deleting paths until at least *bytes* bytes have been deleted,
then stop. The argument *bytes* can be followed by the
multiplicative suffix `K`, `M`, `G` or `T`, denoting KiB, MiB, GiB
or TiB units.
The behaviour of the collector is also influenced by the
`keep-outputs` and `keep-derivations` settings in the Nix
configuration file.
By default, the collector prints the total number of freed bytes when it
finishes (or when it is interrupted). With `--print-dead`, it prints the
number of bytes that would be freed.
## Examples
To delete all unreachable paths, just do:
```console
$ nix-store --gc
deleting `/nix/store/kq82idx6g0nyzsp2s14gfsc38npai7lf-cairo-1.0.4.tar.gz.drv'
...
8825586 bytes freed (8.42 MiB)
```
To delete at least 100 MiBs of unreachable paths:
```console
$ nix-store --gc --max-freed $((100 * 1024 * 1024))
```
# Operation `--delete`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--delete` [`--ignore-liveness`] *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--delete` deletes the store paths *paths* from the Nix
store, but only if it is safe to do so; that is, when the path is not
reachable from a root of the garbage collector. This means that you can
only delete paths that would also be deleted by `nix-store --gc`. Thus,
`--delete` is a more targeted version of `--gc`.
With the option `--ignore-liveness`, reachability from the roots is
ignored. However, the path still won’t be deleted if there are other
paths in the store that refer to it (i.e., depend on it).
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --delete /nix/store/zq0h41l75vlb4z45kzgjjmsjxvcv1qk7-mesa-6.4
0 bytes freed (0.00 MiB)
error: cannot delete path `/nix/store/zq0h41l75vlb4z45kzgjjmsjxvcv1qk7-mesa-6.4' since it is still alive
```
# Operation `--query`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` {`--query` | `-q`}
{`--outputs` | `--requisites` | `-R` | `--references` |
`--referrers` | `--referrers-closure` | `--deriver` | `-d` |
`--graph` | `--tree` | `--binding` *name* | `-b` *name* | `--hash` |
`--size` | `--roots`}
[`--use-output`] [`-u`] [`--force-realise`] [`-f`]
*paths…*
## Description
The operation `--query` displays information about [store path]s.
The queries are described below. At most one query can be
specified. The default query is `--outputs`.
The paths *paths* may also be symlinks from outside of the Nix store, to
the Nix store. In that case, the query is applied to the target of the
symlink.
## Common query options
- `--use-output`; `-u`\
For each argument to the query that is a [store derivation], apply the
query to the output path of the derivation instead.
- `--force-realise`; `-f`\
Realise each argument to the query first (see [`nix-store
--realise`](#operation---realise)).
## Queries
- `--outputs`\
Prints out the [output path]s of the store
derivations *paths*. These are the paths that will be produced when
the derivation is built.
- `--requisites`; `-R`\
Prints out the [closure] of the given *paths*.
This query has one option:
- `--include-outputs`
Also include the existing output paths of [store derivation]s,
and their closures.
This query can be used to implement various kinds of deployment. A
*source deployment* is obtained by distributing the closure of a
store derivation. A *binary deployment* is obtained by distributing
the closure of an output path. A *cache deployment* (combined
source/binary deployment, including binaries of build-time-only
dependencies) is obtained by distributing the closure of a store
derivation and specifying the option `--include-outputs`.
- `--references`\
Prints the set of [references]s of the store paths
*paths*, that is, their immediate dependencies. (For *all*
dependencies, use `--requisites`.)
[reference]: ../glossary.md#gloss-reference
- `--referrers`\
Prints the set of *referrers* of the store paths *paths*, that is,
the store paths currently existing in the Nix store that refer to
one of *paths*. Note that contrary to the references, the set of
referrers is not constant; it can change as store paths are added or
removed.
- `--referrers-closure`\
Prints the closure of the set of store paths *paths* under the
referrers relation; that is, all store paths that directly or
indirectly refer to one of *paths*. These are all the path currently
in the Nix store that are dependent on *paths*.
- `--deriver`; `-d`\
Prints the [deriver] of the store paths *paths*. If
the path has no deriver (e.g., if it is a source file), or if the
deriver is not known (e.g., in the case of a binary-only
deployment), the string `unknown-deriver` is printed.
[deriver]: ../glossary.md#gloss-deriver
- `--graph`\
Prints the references graph of the store paths *paths* in the format
of the `dot` tool of AT\&T's [Graphviz
package](http://www.graphviz.org/). This can be used to visualise
dependency graphs. To obtain a build-time dependency graph, apply
this to a store derivation. To obtain a runtime dependency graph,
apply it to an output path.
- `--tree`\
Prints the references graph of the store paths *paths* as a nested
ASCII tree. References are ordered by descending closure size; this
tends to flatten the tree, making it more readable. The query only
recurses into a store path when it is first encountered; this
prevents a blowup of the tree representation of the graph.
- `--graphml`\
Prints the references graph of the store paths *paths* in the
[GraphML](http://graphml.graphdrawing.org/) file format. This can be
used to visualise dependency graphs. To obtain a build-time
dependency graph, apply this to a [store derivation]. To obtain a
runtime dependency graph, apply it to an output path.
- `--binding` *name*; `-b` *name*\
Prints the value of the attribute *name* (i.e., environment
variable) of the [store derivation]s *paths*. It is an error for a
derivation to not have the specified attribute.
- `--hash`\
Prints the SHA-256 hash of the contents of the store paths *paths*
(that is, the hash of the output of `nix-store --dump` on the given
paths). Since the hash is stored in the Nix database, this is a fast
operation.
- `--size`\
Prints the size in bytes of the contents of the store paths *paths*
— to be precise, the size of the output of `nix-store --dump` on
the given paths. Note that the actual disk space required by the
store paths may be higher, especially on filesystems with large
cluster sizes.
- `--roots`\
Prints the garbage collector roots that point, directly or
indirectly, at the store paths *paths*.
## Examples
Print the closure (runtime dependencies) of the `svn` program in the
current user environment:
```console
$ nix-store -qR $(which svn)
/nix/store/5mbglq5ldqld8sj57273aljwkfvj22mc-subversion-1.1.4
/nix/store/9lz9yc6zgmc0vlqmn2ipcpkjlmbi51vv-glibc-2.3.4
...
```
Print the build-time dependencies of `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -qR $(nix-store -qd $(which svn))
/nix/store/02iizgn86m42q905rddvg4ja975bk2i4-grep-2.5.1.tar.bz2.drv
/nix/store/07a2bzxmzwz5hp58nf03pahrv2ygwgs3-gcc-wrapper.sh
/nix/store/0ma7c9wsbaxahwwl04gbw3fcd806ski4-glibc-2.3.4.drv
... lots of other paths ...
```
The difference with the previous example is that we ask the closure of
the derivation (`-qd`), not the closure of the output path that contains
`svn`.
Show the build-time dependencies as a tree:
```console
$ nix-store -q --tree $(nix-store -qd $(which svn))
/nix/store/7i5082kfb6yjbqdbiwdhhza0am2xvh6c-subversion-1.1.4.drv
+---/nix/store/d8afh10z72n8l1cr5w42366abiblgn54-builder.sh
+---/nix/store/fmzxmpjx2lh849ph0l36snfj9zdibw67-bash-3.0.drv
| +---/nix/store/570hmhmx3v57605cqg9yfvvyh0nnb8k8-bash
| +---/nix/store/p3srsbd8dx44v2pg6nbnszab5mcwx03v-builder.sh
...
```
Show all paths that depend on the same OpenSSL library as `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -q --referrers $(nix-store -q --binding openssl $(nix-store -qd $(which svn)))
/nix/store/23ny9l9wixx21632y2wi4p585qhva1q8-sylpheed-1.0.0
/nix/store/5mbglq5ldqld8sj57273aljwkfvj22mc-subversion-1.1.4
/nix/store/dpmvp969yhdqs7lm2r1a3gng7pyq6vy4-subversion-1.1.3
/nix/store/l51240xqsgg8a7yrbqdx1rfzyv6l26fx-lynx-2.8.5
```
Show all paths that directly or indirectly depend on the Glibc (C
library) used by `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -q --referrers-closure $(ldd $(which svn) | grep /libc.so | awk '{print $3}')
/nix/store/034a6h4vpz9kds5r6kzb9lhh81mscw43-libgnomeprintui-2.8.2
/nix/store/15l3yi0d45prm7a82pcrknxdh6nzmxza-gawk-3.1.4
...
```
Note that `ldd` is a command that prints out the dynamic libraries used
by an ELF executable.
Make a picture of the runtime dependency graph of the current user
environment:
```console
$ nix-store -q --graph ~/.nix-profile | dot -Tps > graph.ps
$ gv graph.ps
```
Show every garbage collector root that points to a store path that
depends on `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -q --roots $(which svn)
/nix/var/nix/profiles/default-81-link
/nix/var/nix/profiles/default-82-link
/home/eelco/.local/state/nix/profiles/profile-97-link
```
# Operation `--add`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--add` *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--add` adds the specified paths to the Nix store. It
prints the resulting paths in the Nix store on standard output.
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --add ./foo.c
/nix/store/m7lrha58ph6rcnv109yzx1nk1cj7k7zf-foo.c
```
# Operation `--add-fixed`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--add-fixed` [`--recursive`] *algorithm* *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--add-fixed` adds the specified paths to the Nix store.
Unlike `--add` paths are registered using the specified hashing
algorithm, resulting in the same output path as a fixed-output
derivation. This can be used for sources that are not available from a
public url or broke since the download expression was written.
This operation has the following options:
- `--recursive`\
Use recursive instead of flat hashing mode, used when adding
directories to the store.
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --add-fixed sha256 ./hello-2.10.tar.gz
/nix/store/3x7dwzq014bblazs7kq20p9hyzz0qh8g-hello-2.10.tar.gz
```
# Operation `--verify`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--verify` [`--check-contents`] [`--repair`]
## Description
The operation `--verify` verifies the internal consistency of the Nix
database, and the consistency between the Nix database and the Nix
store. Any inconsistencies encountered are automatically repaired.
Inconsistencies are generally the result of the Nix store or database
being modified by non-Nix tools, or of bugs in Nix itself.
This operation has the following options:
- `--check-contents`\
Checks that the contents of every valid store path has not been
altered by computing a SHA-256 hash of the contents and comparing it
with the hash stored in the Nix database at build time. Paths that
have been modified are printed out. For large stores,
`--check-contents` is obviously quite slow.
- `--repair`\
If any valid path is missing from the store, or (if
`--check-contents` is given) the contents of a valid path has been
modified, then try to repair the path by redownloading it. See
`nix-store --repair-path` for details.
# Operation `--verify-path`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--verify-path` *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--verify-path` compares the contents of the given store
paths to their cryptographic hashes stored in Nix’s database. For every
changed path, it prints a warning message. The exit status is 0 if no
path has changed, and 1 otherwise.
## Example
To verify the integrity of the `svn` command and all its dependencies:
```console
$ nix-store --verify-path $(nix-store -qR $(which svn))
```
# Operation `--repair-path`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--repair-path` *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--repair-path` attempts to “repair” the specified paths
by redownloading them using the available substituters. If no
substitutes are available, then repair is not possible.
> **Warning**
>
> During repair, there is a very small time window during which the old
> path (if it exists) is moved out of the way and replaced with the new
> path. If repair is interrupted in between, then the system may be left
> in a broken state (e.g., if the path contains a critical system
> component like the GNU C Library).
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --verify-path /nix/store/dj7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13
path `/nix/store/dj7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13' was modified!
expected hash `2db57715ae90b7e31ff1f2ecb8c12ec1cc43da920efcbe3b22763f36a1861588',
got `481c5aa5483ebc97c20457bb8bca24deea56550d3985cda0027f67fe54b808e4'
$ nix-store --repair-path /nix/store/dj7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13
fetching path `/nix/store/d7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13'...
…
```
# Operation `--dump`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--dump` *path*
## Description
The operation `--dump` produces a NAR (Nix ARchive) file containing the
contents of the file system tree rooted at *path*. The archive is
written to standard output.
A NAR archive is like a TAR or Zip archive, but it contains only the
information that Nix considers important. For instance, timestamps are
elided because all files in the Nix store have their timestamp set to 1
anyway. Likewise, all permissions are left out except for the execute
bit, because all files in the Nix store have 444 or 555 permission.
Also, a NAR archive is *canonical*, meaning that “equal” paths always
produce the same NAR archive. For instance, directory entries are
always sorted so that the actual on-disk order doesn’t influence the
result. This means that the cryptographic hash of a NAR dump of a
path is usable as a fingerprint of the contents of the path. Indeed,
the hashes of store paths stored in Nix’s database (see `nix-store -q
--hash`) are SHA-256 hashes of the NAR dump of each store path.
NAR archives support filenames of unlimited length and 64-bit file
sizes. They can contain regular files, directories, and symbolic links,
but not other types of files (such as device nodes).
A Nix archive can be unpacked using `nix-store
--restore`.
# Operation `--restore`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--restore` *path*
## Description
The operation `--restore` unpacks a NAR archive to *path*, which must
not already exist. The archive is read from standard input.
# Operation `--export`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--export` *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--export` writes a serialisation of the specified store
paths to standard output in a format that can be imported into another
Nix store with `nix-store --import`. This is like `nix-store
--dump`, except that the NAR archive produced by that command doesn’t
contain the necessary meta-information to allow it to be imported into
another Nix store (namely, the set of references of the path).
This command does not produce a *closure* of the specified paths, so if
a store path references other store paths that are missing in the target
Nix store, the import will fail. To copy a whole closure, do something
like:
```console
$ nix-store --export $(nix-store -qR paths) > out
```
To import the whole closure again, run:
```console
$ nix-store --import < out
```
# Operation `--import`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--import`
## Description
The operation `--import` reads a serialisation of a set of store paths
produced by `nix-store --export` from standard input and adds those
store paths to the Nix store. Paths that already exist in the Nix store
are ignored. If a path refers to another path that doesn’t exist in the
Nix store, the import fails.
# Operation `--optimise`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--optimise`
## Description
The operation `--optimise` reduces Nix store disk space usage by finding
identical files in the store and hard-linking them to each other. It
typically reduces the size of the store by something like 25-35%. Only
regular files and symlinks are hard-linked in this manner. Files are
considered identical when they have the same NAR archive serialisation:
that is, regular files must have the same contents and permission
(executable or non-executable), and symlinks must have the same
contents.
After completion, or when the command is interrupted, a report on the
achieved savings is printed on standard error.
Use `-vv` or `-vvv` to get some progress indication.
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --optimise
hashing files in `/nix/store/qhqx7l2f1kmwihc9bnxs7rc159hsxnf3-gcc-4.1.1'
...
541838819 bytes (516.74 MiB) freed by hard-linking 54143 files;
there are 114486 files with equal contents out of 215894 files in total
```
# Operation `--read-log`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` {`--read-log` | `-l`} *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--read-log` prints the build log of the specified store
paths on standard output. The build log is whatever the builder of a
derivation wrote to standard output and standard error. If a store path
is not a derivation, the deriver of the store path is used.
Build logs are kept in `/nix/var/log/nix/drvs`. However, there is no
guarantee that a build log is available for any particular store path.
For instance, if the path was downloaded as a pre-built binary through a
substitute, then the log is unavailable.
## Example
```console
$ nix-store -l $(which ktorrent)
building /nix/store/dhc73pvzpnzxhdgpimsd9sw39di66ph1-ktorrent-2.2.1
unpacking sources
unpacking source archive /nix/store/p8n1jpqs27mgkjw07pb5269717nzf5f8-ktorrent-2.2.1.tar.gz
ktorrent-2.2.1/
ktorrent-2.2.1/NEWS
...
```
# Operation `--dump-db`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--dump-db` [*paths…*]
## Description
The operation `--dump-db` writes a dump of the Nix database to standard
output. It can be loaded into an empty Nix store using `--load-db`. This
is useful for making backups and when migrating to different database
schemas.
By default, `--dump-db` will dump the entire Nix database. When one or
more store paths is passed, only the subset of the Nix database for
those store paths is dumped. As with `--export`, the user is responsible
for passing all the store paths for a closure. See `--export` for an
example.
# Operation `--load-db`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--load-db`
## Description
The operation `--load-db` reads a dump of the Nix database created by
`--dump-db` from standard input and loads it into the Nix database.
# Operation `--print-env`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--print-env` *drvpath*
## Description
The operation `--print-env` prints out the environment of a derivation
in a format that can be evaluated by a shell. The command line arguments
of the builder are placed in the variable `_args`.
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --print-env $(nix-instantiate '<nixpkgs>' -A firefox)
…
export src; src='/nix/store/plpj7qrwcz94z2psh6fchsi7s8yihc7k-firefox-12.0.source.tar.bz2'
export stdenv; stdenv='/nix/store/7c8asx3yfrg5dg1gzhzyq2236zfgibnn-stdenv'
export system; system='x86_64-linux'
export _args; _args='-e /nix/store/9krlzvny65gdc8s7kpb6lkx8cd02c25c-default-builder.sh'
```
# Operation `--generate-binary-cache-key`
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--generate-binary-cache-key` *key-name* *secret-key-file* *public-key-file*
## Description
This command generates an [Ed25519 key pair](http://ed25519.cr.yp.to/)
that can be used to create a signed binary cache. It takes three
mandatory parameters:
1. A key name, such as `cache.example.org-1`, that is used to look up
keys on the client when it verifies signatures. It can be anything,
but it’s suggested to use the host name of your cache (e.g.
`cache.example.org`) with a suffix denoting the number of the key
(to be incremented every time you need to revoke a key).
2. The file name where the secret key is to be stored.
3. The file name where the public key is to be stored.
`nix-store` takes exactly one *operation* flag which indicates the subcommand to be performed. The following operations are available:
- [`--realise`](./nix-store/realise.md)
- [`--serve`](./nix-store/serve.md)
- [`--gc`](./nix-store/gc.md)
- [`--delete`](./nix-store/delete.md)
- [`--query`](./nix-store/query.md)
- [`--add`](./nix-store/add.md)
- [`--add-fixed`](./nix-store/add-fixed.md)
- [`--verify`](./nix-store/verify.md)
- [`--verify-path`](./nix-store/verify-path.md)
- [`--repair-path`](./nix-store/repair-path.md)
- [`--dump`](./nix-store/dump.md)
- [`--restore`](./nix-store/restore.md)
- [`--export`](./nix-store/export.md)
- [`--import`](./nix-store/import.md)
- [`--optimise`](./nix-store/optimise.md)
- [`--read-log`](./nix-store/read-log.md)
- [`--dump-db`](./nix-store/dump-db.md)
- [`--load-db`](./nix-store/load-db.md)
- [`--print-env`](./nix-store/print-env.md)
- [`--generate-binary-cache-key`](./nix-store/generate-binary-cache-key.md)
These pages can be viewed offline:
- `man nix-store-<operation>`.
Example: `man nix-store-realise`
- `nix-store --help --<operation>`
Example: `nix-store --help --realise`

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# Name
`nix-store --add-fixed` - add paths to store using given hashing algorithm
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--add-fixed` [`--recursive`] *algorithm* *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--add-fixed` adds the specified paths to the Nix store.
Unlike `--add` paths are registered using the specified hashing
algorithm, resulting in the same output path as a fixed-output
derivation. This can be used for sources that are not available from a
public url or broke since the download expression was written.
This operation has the following options:
- `--recursive`\
Use recursive instead of flat hashing mode, used when adding
directories to the store.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --add-fixed sha256 ./hello-2.10.tar.gz
/nix/store/3x7dwzq014bblazs7kq20p9hyzz0qh8g-hello-2.10.tar.gz
```

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# Name
`nix-store --add` - add paths to Nix store
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--add` *paths…*
# Description
The operation `--add` adds the specified paths to the Nix store. It
prints the resulting paths in the Nix store on standard output.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Example
```console
$ nix-store --add ./foo.c
/nix/store/m7lrha58ph6rcnv109yzx1nk1cj7k7zf-foo.c
```

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# Name
`nix-store --delete` - delete store paths
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--delete` [`--ignore-liveness`] *paths…*
# Description
The operation `--delete` deletes the store paths *paths* from the Nix
store, but only if it is safe to do so; that is, when the path is not
reachable from a root of the garbage collector. This means that you can
only delete paths that would also be deleted by `nix-store --gc`. Thus,
`--delete` is a more targeted version of `--gc`.
With the option `--ignore-liveness`, reachability from the roots is
ignored. However, the path still won’t be deleted if there are other
paths in the store that refer to it (i.e., depend on it).
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Example
```console
$ nix-store --delete /nix/store/zq0h41l75vlb4z45kzgjjmsjxvcv1qk7-mesa-6.4
0 bytes freed (0.00 MiB)
error: cannot delete path `/nix/store/zq0h41l75vlb4z45kzgjjmsjxvcv1qk7-mesa-6.4' since it is still alive
```

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# Name
`nix-store --dump-db` - export Nix database
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--dump-db` [*paths…*]
# Description
The operation `--dump-db` writes a dump of the Nix database to standard
output. It can be loaded into an empty Nix store using `--load-db`. This
is useful for making backups and when migrating to different database
schemas.
By default, `--dump-db` will dump the entire Nix database. When one or
more store paths is passed, only the subset of the Nix database for
those store paths is dumped. As with `--export`, the user is responsible
for passing all the store paths for a closure. See `--export` for an
example.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}

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# Name
`nix-store --dump` - write a single path to a Nix Archive
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--dump` *path*
## Description
The operation `--dump` produces a NAR (Nix ARchive) file containing the
contents of the file system tree rooted at *path*. The archive is
written to standard output.
A NAR archive is like a TAR or Zip archive, but it contains only the
information that Nix considers important. For instance, timestamps are
elided because all files in the Nix store have their timestamp set to 0
anyway. Likewise, all permissions are left out except for the execute
bit, because all files in the Nix store have 444 or 555 permission.
Also, a NAR archive is *canonical*, meaning that “equal” paths always
produce the same NAR archive. For instance, directory entries are
always sorted so that the actual on-disk order doesn’t influence the
result. This means that the cryptographic hash of a NAR dump of a
path is usable as a fingerprint of the contents of the path. Indeed,
the hashes of store paths stored in Nix’s database (see `nix-store -q
--hash`) are SHA-256 hashes of the NAR dump of each store path.
NAR archives support filenames of unlimited length and 64-bit file
sizes. They can contain regular files, directories, and symbolic links,
but not other types of files (such as device nodes).
A Nix archive can be unpacked using `nix-store
--restore`.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}

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# Name
`nix-store --export` - export store paths to a Nix Archive
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--export` *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--export` writes a serialisation of the specified store
paths to standard output in a format that can be imported into another
Nix store with `nix-store --import`. This is like `nix-store
--dump`, except that the NAR archive produced by that command doesn’t
contain the necessary meta-information to allow it to be imported into
another Nix store (namely, the set of references of the path).
This command does not produce a *closure* of the specified paths, so if
a store path references other store paths that are missing in the target
Nix store, the import will fail.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
To copy a whole closure, do something
like:
```console
$ nix-store --export $(nix-store -qR paths) > out
```
To import the whole closure again, run:
```console
$ nix-store --import < out
```

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# Name
`nix-store --gc` - run garbage collection
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--gc` [`--print-roots` | `--print-live` | `--print-dead`] [`--max-freed` *bytes*]
# Description
Without additional flags, the operation `--gc` performs a garbage
collection on the Nix store. That is, all paths in the Nix store not
reachable via file system references from a set of “roots”, are deleted.
The following suboperations may be specified:
- `--print-roots`\
This operation prints on standard output the set of roots used by
the garbage collector.
- `--print-live`\
This operation prints on standard output the set of “live” store
paths, which are all the store paths reachable from the roots. Live
paths should never be deleted, since that would break consistency —
it would become possible that applications are installed that
reference things that are no longer present in the store.
- `--print-dead`\
This operation prints out on standard output the set of “dead” store
paths, which is just the opposite of the set of live paths: any path
in the store that is not live (with respect to the roots) is dead.
By default, all unreachable paths are deleted. The following options
control what gets deleted and in what order:
- `--max-freed` *bytes*\
Keep deleting paths until at least *bytes* bytes have been deleted,
then stop. The argument *bytes* can be followed by the
multiplicative suffix `K`, `M`, `G` or `T`, denoting KiB, MiB, GiB
or TiB units.
The behaviour of the collector is also influenced by the
`keep-outputs` and `keep-derivations` settings in the Nix
configuration file.
By default, the collector prints the total number of freed bytes when it
finishes (or when it is interrupted). With `--print-dead`, it prints the
number of bytes that would be freed.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
To delete all unreachable paths, just do:
```console
$ nix-store --gc
deleting `/nix/store/kq82idx6g0nyzsp2s14gfsc38npai7lf-cairo-1.0.4.tar.gz.drv'
...
8825586 bytes freed (8.42 MiB)
```
To delete at least 100 MiBs of unreachable paths:
```console
$ nix-store --gc --max-freed $((100 * 1024 * 1024))
```

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# Name
`nix-store --generate-binary-cache-key` - generate key pair to use for a binary cache
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--generate-binary-cache-key` *key-name* *secret-key-file* *public-key-file*
## Description
This command generates an [Ed25519 key pair](http://ed25519.cr.yp.to/)
that can be used to create a signed binary cache. It takes three
mandatory parameters:
1. A key name, such as `cache.example.org-1`, that is used to look up
keys on the client when it verifies signatures. It can be anything,
but it’s suggested to use the host name of your cache (e.g.
`cache.example.org`) with a suffix denoting the number of the key
(to be incremented every time you need to revoke a key).
2. The file name where the secret key is to be stored.
3. The file name where the public key is to be stored.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}

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# Name
`nix-store --import` - import Nix Archive into the store
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--import`
# Description
The operation `--import` reads a serialisation of a set of store paths
produced by `nix-store --export` from standard input and adds those
store paths to the Nix store. Paths that already exist in the Nix store
are ignored. If a path refers to another path that doesn’t exist in the
Nix store, the import fails.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}

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# Name
`nix-store --load-db` - import Nix database
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--load-db`
# Description
The operation `--load-db` reads a dump of the Nix database created by
`--dump-db` from standard input and loads it into the Nix database.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}

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# Options
The following options are allowed for all `nix-store` operations, but may not always have an effect.
- <span id="opt-add-root">[`--add-root`](#opt-add-root)</span> *path*
Causes the result of a realisation (`--realise` and
`--force-realise`) to be registered as a root of the garbage
collector. *path* will be created as a symlink to the resulting
store path. In addition, a uniquely named symlink to *path* will
be created in `/nix/var/nix/gcroots/auto/`. For instance,
```console
$ nix-store --add-root /home/eelco/bla/result -r ...
$ ls -l /nix/var/nix/gcroots/auto
lrwxrwxrwx 1 ... 2005-03-13 21:10 dn54lcypm8f8... -> /home/eelco/bla/result
$ ls -l /home/eelco/bla/result
lrwxrwxrwx 1 ... 2005-03-13 21:10 /home/eelco/bla/result -> /nix/store/1r11343n6qd4...-f-spot-0.0.10
```
Thus, when `/home/eelco/bla/result` is removed, the GC root in the
`auto` directory becomes a dangling symlink and will be ignored by
the collector.
> **Warning**
>
> Note that it is not possible to move or rename GC roots, since
> the symlink in the `auto` directory will still point to the old
> location.
If there are multiple results, then multiple symlinks will be
created by sequentially numbering symlinks beyond the first one
(e.g., `foo`, `foo-2`, `foo-3`, and so on).

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# Name
`nix-store --optimise` - reduce disk space usage
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--optimise`
## Description
The operation `--optimise` reduces Nix store disk space usage by finding
identical files in the store and hard-linking them to each other. It
typically reduces the size of the store by something like 25-35%. Only
regular files and symlinks are hard-linked in this manner. Files are
considered identical when they have the same NAR archive serialisation:
that is, regular files must have the same contents and permission
(executable or non-executable), and symlinks must have the same
contents.
After completion, or when the command is interrupted, a report on the
achieved savings is printed on standard error.
Use `-vv` or `-vvv` to get some progress indication.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --optimise
hashing files in `/nix/store/qhqx7l2f1kmwihc9bnxs7rc159hsxnf3-gcc-4.1.1'
...
541838819 bytes (516.74 MiB) freed by hard-linking 54143 files;
there are 114486 files with equal contents out of 215894 files in total
```

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# Name
`nix-store --print-env` - print the build environment of a derivation
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--print-env` *drvpath*
## Description
The operation `--print-env` prints out the environment of a derivation
in a format that can be evaluated by a shell. The command line arguments
of the builder are placed in the variable `_args`.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
## Example
```console
$ nix-store --print-env $(nix-instantiate '<nixpkgs>' -A firefox)
…
export src; src='/nix/store/plpj7qrwcz94z2psh6fchsi7s8yihc7k-firefox-12.0.source.tar.bz2'
export stdenv; stdenv='/nix/store/7c8asx3yfrg5dg1gzhzyq2236zfgibnn-stdenv'
export system; system='x86_64-linux'
export _args; _args='-e /nix/store/9krlzvny65gdc8s7kpb6lkx8cd02c25c-default-builder.sh'
```

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# Name
`nix-store --query` - display information about store paths
# Synopsis
`nix-store` {`--query` | `-q`}
{`--outputs` | `--requisites` | `-R` | `--references` |
`--referrers` | `--referrers-closure` | `--deriver` | `-d` |
`--graph` | `--tree` | `--binding` *name* | `-b` *name* | `--hash` |
`--size` | `--roots`}
[`--use-output`] [`-u`] [`--force-realise`] [`-f`]
*paths…*
# Description
The operation `--query` displays various bits of information about the
store paths . The queries are described below. At most one query can be
specified. The default query is `--outputs`.
The paths *paths* may also be symlinks from outside of the Nix store, to
the Nix store. In that case, the query is applied to the target of the
symlink.
# Common query options
- `--use-output`; `-u`\
For each argument to the query that is a [store derivation], apply the
query to the output path of the derivation instead.
- `--force-realise`; `-f`\
Realise each argument to the query first (see [`nix-store --realise`](./realise.md)).
[store derivation]: @docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation
# Queries
- `--outputs`\
Prints out the [output paths] of the store
derivations *paths*. These are the paths that will be produced when
the derivation is built.
[output paths]: ../../glossary.md#gloss-output-path
- `--requisites`; `-R`\
Prints out the [closure] of the store path *paths*.
[closure]: ../../glossary.md#gloss-closure
This query has one option:
- `--include-outputs`
Also include the existing output paths of [store derivation]s,
and their closures.
This query can be used to implement various kinds of deployment. A
*source deployment* is obtained by distributing the closure of a
store derivation. A *binary deployment* is obtained by distributing
the closure of an output path. A *cache deployment* (combined
source/binary deployment, including binaries of build-time-only
dependencies) is obtained by distributing the closure of a store
derivation and specifying the option `--include-outputs`.
- `--references`\
Prints the set of [references] of the store paths
*paths*, that is, their immediate dependencies. (For *all*
dependencies, use `--requisites`.)
[references]: ../../glossary.md#gloss-reference
- `--referrers`\
Prints the set of *referrers* of the store paths *paths*, that is,
the store paths currently existing in the Nix store that refer to
one of *paths*. Note that contrary to the references, the set of
referrers is not constant; it can change as store paths are added or
removed.
- `--referrers-closure`\
Prints the closure of the set of store paths *paths* under the
referrers relation; that is, all store paths that directly or
indirectly refer to one of *paths*. These are all the path currently
in the Nix store that are dependent on *paths*.
- `--deriver`; `-d`\
Prints the [deriver] of the store paths *paths*. If
the path has no deriver (e.g., if it is a source file), or if the
deriver is not known (e.g., in the case of a binary-only
deployment), the string `unknown-deriver` is printed.
[deriver]: ../../glossary.md#gloss-deriver
- `--graph`\
Prints the references graph of the store paths *paths* in the format
of the `dot` tool of AT\&T's [Graphviz
package](http://www.graphviz.org/). This can be used to visualise
dependency graphs. To obtain a build-time dependency graph, apply
this to a store derivation. To obtain a runtime dependency graph,
apply it to an output path.
- `--tree`\
Prints the references graph of the store paths *paths* as a nested
ASCII tree. References are ordered by descending closure size; this
tends to flatten the tree, making it more readable. The query only
recurses into a store path when it is first encountered; this
prevents a blowup of the tree representation of the graph.
- `--graphml`\
Prints the references graph of the store paths *paths* in the
[GraphML](http://graphml.graphdrawing.org/) file format. This can be
used to visualise dependency graphs. To obtain a build-time
dependency graph, apply this to a [store derivation]. To obtain a
runtime dependency graph, apply it to an output path.
- `--binding` *name*; `-b` *name*\
Prints the value of the attribute *name* (i.e., environment
variable) of the [store derivation]s *paths*. It is an error for a
derivation to not have the specified attribute.
- `--hash`\
Prints the SHA-256 hash of the contents of the store paths *paths*
(that is, the hash of the output of `nix-store --dump` on the given
paths). Since the hash is stored in the Nix database, this is a fast
operation.
- `--size`\
Prints the size in bytes of the contents of the store paths *paths*
— to be precise, the size of the output of `nix-store --dump` on
the given paths. Note that the actual disk space required by the
store paths may be higher, especially on filesystems with large
cluster sizes.
- `--roots`\
Prints the garbage collector roots that point, directly or
indirectly, at the store paths *paths*.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
Print the closure (runtime dependencies) of the `svn` program in the
current user environment:
```console
$ nix-store -qR $(which svn)
/nix/store/5mbglq5ldqld8sj57273aljwkfvj22mc-subversion-1.1.4
/nix/store/9lz9yc6zgmc0vlqmn2ipcpkjlmbi51vv-glibc-2.3.4
...
```
Print the build-time dependencies of `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -qR $(nix-store -qd $(which svn))
/nix/store/02iizgn86m42q905rddvg4ja975bk2i4-grep-2.5.1.tar.bz2.drv
/nix/store/07a2bzxmzwz5hp58nf03pahrv2ygwgs3-gcc-wrapper.sh
/nix/store/0ma7c9wsbaxahwwl04gbw3fcd806ski4-glibc-2.3.4.drv
... lots of other paths ...
```
The difference with the previous example is that we ask the closure of
the derivation (`-qd`), not the closure of the output path that contains
`svn`.
Show the build-time dependencies as a tree:
```console
$ nix-store -q --tree $(nix-store -qd $(which svn))
/nix/store/7i5082kfb6yjbqdbiwdhhza0am2xvh6c-subversion-1.1.4.drv
+---/nix/store/d8afh10z72n8l1cr5w42366abiblgn54-builder.sh
+---/nix/store/fmzxmpjx2lh849ph0l36snfj9zdibw67-bash-3.0.drv
| +---/nix/store/570hmhmx3v57605cqg9yfvvyh0nnb8k8-bash
| +---/nix/store/p3srsbd8dx44v2pg6nbnszab5mcwx03v-builder.sh
...
```
Show all paths that depend on the same OpenSSL library as `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -q --referrers $(nix-store -q --binding openssl $(nix-store -qd $(which svn)))
/nix/store/23ny9l9wixx21632y2wi4p585qhva1q8-sylpheed-1.0.0
/nix/store/5mbglq5ldqld8sj57273aljwkfvj22mc-subversion-1.1.4
/nix/store/dpmvp969yhdqs7lm2r1a3gng7pyq6vy4-subversion-1.1.3
/nix/store/l51240xqsgg8a7yrbqdx1rfzyv6l26fx-lynx-2.8.5
```
Show all paths that directly or indirectly depend on the Glibc (C
library) used by `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -q --referrers-closure $(ldd $(which svn) | grep /libc.so | awk '{print $3}')
/nix/store/034a6h4vpz9kds5r6kzb9lhh81mscw43-libgnomeprintui-2.8.2
/nix/store/15l3yi0d45prm7a82pcrknxdh6nzmxza-gawk-3.1.4
...
```
Note that `ldd` is a command that prints out the dynamic libraries used
by an ELF executable.
Make a picture of the runtime dependency graph of the current user
environment:
```console
$ nix-store -q --graph ~/.nix-profile | dot -Tps > graph.ps
$ gv graph.ps
```
Show every garbage collector root that points to a store path that
depends on `svn`:
```console
$ nix-store -q --roots $(which svn)
/nix/var/nix/profiles/default-81-link
/nix/var/nix/profiles/default-82-link
/home/eelco/.local/state/nix/profiles/profile-97-link
```

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# Name
`nix-store --read-log` - print build log
# Synopsis
`nix-store` {`--read-log` | `-l`} *paths…*
# Description
The operation `--read-log` prints the build log of the specified store
paths on standard output. The build log is whatever the builder of a
derivation wrote to standard output and standard error. If a store path
is not a derivation, the deriver of the store path is used.
Build logs are kept in `/nix/var/log/nix/drvs`. However, there is no
guarantee that a build log is available for any particular store path.
For instance, if the path was downloaded as a pre-built binary through a
substitute, then the log is unavailable.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Example
```console
$ nix-store -l $(which ktorrent)
building /nix/store/dhc73pvzpnzxhdgpimsd9sw39di66ph1-ktorrent-2.2.1
unpacking sources
unpacking source archive /nix/store/p8n1jpqs27mgkjw07pb5269717nzf5f8-ktorrent-2.2.1.tar.gz
ktorrent-2.2.1/
ktorrent-2.2.1/NEWS
...
```

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# Name
`nix-store --realise` - realise specified store paths
# Synopsis
`nix-store` {`--realise` | `-r`} *paths…* [`--dry-run`]
# Description
The operation `--realise` essentially “builds” the specified store
paths. Realisation is a somewhat overloaded term:
- If the store path is a *derivation*, realisation ensures that the
output paths of the derivation are [valid] (i.e.,
the output path and its closure exist in the file system). This
can be done in several ways. First, it is possible that the
outputs are already valid, in which case we are done
immediately. Otherwise, there may be [substitutes]
that produce the outputs (e.g., by downloading them). Finally, the
outputs can be produced by running the build task described
by the derivation.
- If the store path is not a derivation, realisation ensures that the
specified path is valid (i.e., it and its closure exist in the file
system). If the path is already valid, we are done immediately.
Otherwise, the path and any missing paths in its closure may be
produced through substitutes. If there are no (successful)
substitutes, realisation fails.
[valid]: @docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-validity
[substitutes]: @docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-substitute
The output path of each derivation is printed on standard output. (For
non-derivations argument, the argument itself is printed.)
The following flags are available:
- `--dry-run`\
Print on standard error a description of what packages would be
built or downloaded, without actually performing the operation.
- `--ignore-unknown`\
If a non-derivation path does not have a substitute, then silently
ignore it.
- `--check`\
This option allows you to check whether a derivation is
deterministic. It rebuilds the specified derivation and checks
whether the result is bitwise-identical with the existing outputs,
printing an error if that’s not the case. The outputs of the
specified derivation must already exist. When used with `-K`, if an
output path is not identical to the corresponding output from the
previous build, the new output path is left in
`/nix/store/name.check.`
Special exit codes:
- `100`\
Generic build failure, the builder process returned with a non-zero
exit code.
- `101`\
Build timeout, the build was aborted because it did not complete
within the specified `timeout`.
- `102`\
Hash mismatch, the build output was rejected because it does not
match the [`outputHash` attribute of the
derivation](@docroot@/language/advanced-attributes.md).
- `104`\
Not deterministic, the build succeeded in check mode but the
resulting output is not binary reproducible.
With the `--keep-going` flag it's possible for multiple failures to
occur, in this case the 1xx status codes are or combined using binary
or.
1100100
^^^^
|||`- timeout
||`-- output hash mismatch
|`--- build failure
`---- not deterministic
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
This operation is typically used to build [store derivation]s produced by
[`nix-instantiate`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-instantiate.md):
[store derivation]: @docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation
```console
$ nix-store -r $(nix-instantiate ./test.nix)
/nix/store/31axcgrlbfsxzmfff1gyj1bf62hvkby2-aterm-2.3.1
```
This is essentially what [`nix-build`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-build.md) does.
To test whether a previously-built derivation is deterministic:
```console
$ nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A hello --check -K
```
Use [`nix-store --read-log`](./read-log.md) to show the stderr and stdout of a build:
```console
$ nix-store --read-log $(nix-instantiate ./test.nix)
```

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# Name
`nix --repair-path` - re-download path from substituter
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--repair-path` *paths…*
# Description
The operation `--repair-path` attempts to “repair” the specified paths
by redownloading them using the available substituters. If no
substitutes are available, then repair is not possible.
> **Warning**
>
> During repair, there is a very small time window during which the old
> path (if it exists) is moved out of the way and replaced with the new
> path. If repair is interrupted in between, then the system may be left
> in a broken state (e.g., if the path contains a critical system
> component like the GNU C Library).
# Example
```console
$ nix-store --verify-path /nix/store/dj7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13
path `/nix/store/dj7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13' was modified!
expected hash `2db57715ae90b7e31ff1f2ecb8c12ec1cc43da920efcbe3b22763f36a1861588',
got `481c5aa5483ebc97c20457bb8bca24deea56550d3985cda0027f67fe54b808e4'
$ nix-store --repair-path /nix/store/dj7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13
fetching path `/nix/store/d7a81wsm1ijwwpkks3725661h3263p5-glibc-2.13'...
…
```

18
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-store/restore.md Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
# Name
`nix-store --restore` - extract a Nix archive
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--restore` *path*
## Description
The operation `--restore` unpacks a NAR archive to *path*, which must
not already exist. The archive is read from standard input.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}

38
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-store/serve.md Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
# Name
`nix-store --serve` - serve local Nix store over SSH
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--serve` [`--write`]
# Description
The operation `--serve` provides access to the Nix store over stdin and
stdout, and is intended to be used as a means of providing Nix store
access to a restricted ssh user.
The following flags are available:
- `--write`\
Allow the connected client to request the realization of
derivations. In effect, this can be used to make the host act as a
remote builder.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
# Examples
To turn a host into a build server, the `authorized_keys` file can be
used to provide build access to a given SSH public key:
```console
$ cat <<EOF >>/root/.ssh/authorized_keys
command="nice -n20 nix-store --serve --write" ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAA...
EOF
```

29
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-store/verify-path.md Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
# Name
`nix-store --verify-path` - check path contents against Nix database
## Synopsis
`nix-store` `--verify-path` *paths…*
## Description
The operation `--verify-path` compares the contents of the given store
paths to their cryptographic hashes stored in Nix’s database. For every
changed path, it prints a warning message. The exit status is 0 if no
path has changed, and 1 otherwise.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}
## Example
To verify the integrity of the `svn` command and all its dependencies:
```console
$ nix-store --verify-path $(nix-store -qR $(which svn))
```

36
doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-store/verify.md Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
# Name
`nix-store --verify` - check Nix database for consistency
# Synopsis
`nix-store` `--verify` [`--check-contents`] [`--repair`]
# Description
The operation `--verify` verifies the internal consistency of the Nix
database, and the consistency between the Nix database and the Nix
store. Any inconsistencies encountered are automatically repaired.
Inconsistencies are generally the result of the Nix store or database
being modified by non-Nix tools, or of bugs in Nix itself.
This operation has the following options:
- `--check-contents`\
Checks that the contents of every valid store path has not been
altered by computing a SHA-256 hash of the contents and comparing it
with the hash stored in the Nix database at build time. Paths that
have been modified are printed out. For large stores,
`--check-contents` is obviously quite slow.
- `--repair`\
If any valid path is missing from the store, or (if
`--check-contents` is given) the contents of a valid path has been
modified, then try to repair the path by redownloading it. See
`nix-store --repair-path` for details.
{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
{{#include ../env-common.md}}

48
doc/manual/src/command-ref/opt-common.md
View file

@ -2,13 +2,13 @@
Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
- [`--help`]{#opt-help}\
- <span id="opt-help">[`--help`](#opt-help)</span>\
Prints out a summary of the command syntax and exits.
- [`--version`]{#opt-version}\
- <span id="opt-version">[`--version`](#opt-version)</span>\
Prints out the Nix version number on standard output and exits.
- [`--verbose`]{#opt-verbose} / `-v`\
- <span id="opt-verbose">[`--verbose`](#opt-verbose)</span> / `-v`\
Increases the level of verbosity of diagnostic messages printed on
standard error. For each Nix operation, the information printed on
standard output is well-defined; any diagnostic information is
@ -37,14 +37,14 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
- 5\
“Vomit”: print vast amounts of debug information.
- [`--quiet`]{#opt-quiet}\
- <span id="opt-quiet">[`--quiet`](#opt-quiet)</span>\
Decreases the level of verbosity of diagnostic messages printed on
standard error. This is the inverse option to `-v` / `--verbose`.
This option may be specified repeatedly. See the previous verbosity
levels list.
- [`--log-format`]{#opt-log-format} *format*\
- <span id="opt-log-format">[`--log-format`](#opt-log-format)</span> *format*\
This option can be used to change the output of the log format, with
*format* being one of:
@ -66,14 +66,14 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
- bar-with-logs\
Display the raw logs, with the progress bar at the bottom.
- [`--no-build-output`]{#opt-no-build-output} / `-Q`\
- <span id="opt-no-build-output">[`--no-build-output`](#opt-no-build-output)</span> / `-Q`\
By default, output written by builders to standard output and
standard error is echoed to the Nix command's standard error. This
option suppresses this behaviour. Note that the builder's standard
output and error are always written to a log file in
`prefix/nix/var/log/nix`.
- [`--max-jobs`]{#opt-max-jobs} / `-j` *number*\
- <span id="opt-max-jobs">[`--max-jobs`](#opt-max-jobs)</span> / `-j` *number*\
Sets the maximum number of build jobs that Nix will perform in
parallel to the specified number. Specify `auto` to use the number
of CPUs in the system. The default is specified by the `max-jobs`
@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
Setting it to `0` disallows building on the local machine, which is
useful when you want builds to happen only on remote builders.
- [`--cores`]{#opt-cores}\
- <span id="opt-cores">[`--cores`](#opt-cores)</span>\
Sets the value of the `NIX_BUILD_CORES` environment variable in
the invocation of builders. Builders can use this variable at
their discretion to control the maximum amount of parallelism. For
@ -94,18 +94,18 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
means that the builder should use all available CPU cores in the
system.
- [`--max-silent-time`]{#opt-max-silent-time}\
- <span id="opt-max-silent-time">[`--max-silent-time`](#opt-max-silent-time)</span>\
Sets the maximum number of seconds that a builder can go without
producing any data on standard output or standard error. The
default is specified by the `max-silent-time` configuration
setting. `0` means no time-out.
- [`--timeout`]{#opt-timeout}\
- <span id="opt-timeout">[`--timeout`](#opt-timeout)</span>\
Sets the maximum number of seconds that a builder can run. The
default is specified by the `timeout` configuration setting. `0`
means no timeout.
- [`--keep-going`]{#opt-keep-going} / `-k`\
- <span id="opt-keep-going">[`--keep-going`](#opt-keep-going)</span> / `-k`\
Keep going in case of failed builds, to the greatest extent
possible. That is, if building an input of some derivation fails,
Nix will still build the other inputs, but not the derivation
@ -113,13 +113,13 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
for builds of substitutes), possibly killing builds in progress (in
case of parallel or distributed builds).
- [`--keep-failed`]{#opt-keep-failed} / `-K`\
- <span id="opt-keep-failed">[`--keep-failed`](#opt-keep-failed)</span> / `-K`\
Specifies that in case of a build failure, the temporary directory
(usually in `/tmp`) in which the build takes place should not be
deleted. The path of the build directory is printed as an
informational message.
- [`--fallback`]{#opt-fallback}\
- <span id="opt-fallback">[`--fallback`](#opt-fallback)</span>\
Whenever Nix attempts to build a derivation for which substitutes
are known for each output path, but realising the output paths
through the substitutes fails, fall back on building the derivation.
@ -134,18 +134,18 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
failure in obtaining the substitutes to lead to a full build from
source (with the related consumption of resources).
- [`--readonly-mode`]{#opt-readonly-mode}\
- <span id="opt-readonly-mode">[`--readonly-mode`](#opt-readonly-mode)</span>\
When this option is used, no attempt is made to open the Nix
database. Most Nix operations do need database access, so those
operations will fail.
- [`--arg`]{#opt-arg} *name* *value*\
- <span id="opt-arg">[`--arg`](#opt-arg)</span> *name* *value*\
This option is accepted by `nix-env`, `nix-instantiate`,
`nix-shell` and `nix-build`. When evaluating Nix expressions, the
expression evaluator will automatically try to call functions that
it encounters. It can automatically call functions for which every
argument has a [default
value](../language/constructs.md#functions) (e.g.,
value](@docroot@/language/constructs.md#functions) (e.g.,
`{ argName ? defaultValue }: ...`). With `--arg`, you can also
call functions that have arguments without a default value (or
override a default value). That is, if the evaluator encounters a
@ -164,26 +164,26 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
So if you call this Nix expression (e.g., when you do `nix-env -iA
pkgname`), the function will be called automatically using the
value [`builtins.currentSystem`](../language/builtins.md) for
value [`builtins.currentSystem`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md) for
the `system` argument. You can override this using `--arg`, e.g.,
`nix-env -iA pkgname --arg system \"i686-freebsd\"`. (Note that
since the argument is a Nix string literal, you have to escape the
quotes.)
- [`--argstr`]{#opt-argstr} *name* *value*\
- <span id="opt-argstr">[`--argstr`](#opt-argstr)</span> *name* *value*\
This option is like `--arg`, only the value is not a Nix
expression but a string. So instead of `--arg system
\"i686-linux\"` (the outer quotes are to keep the shell happy) you
can say `--argstr system i686-linux`.
- [`--attr`]{#opt-attr} / `-A` *attrPath*\
- <span id="opt-attr">[`--attr`](#opt-attr)</span> / `-A` *attrPath*\
Select an attribute from the top-level Nix expression being
evaluated. (`nix-env`, `nix-instantiate`, `nix-build` and
`nix-shell` only.) The *attribute path* *attrPath* is a sequence
of attribute names separated by dots. For instance, given a
top-level Nix expression *e*, the attribute path `xorg.xorgserver`
would cause the expression `e.xorg.xorgserver` to be used. See
[`nix-env --install`](nix-env.md#operation---install) for some
[`nix-env --install`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-env/install.md) for some
concrete examples.
In addition to attribute names, you can also specify array indices.
@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
attribute of the fourth element of the array in the `foo` attribute
of the top-level expression.
- [`--expr`]{#opt-expr} / `-E`\
- <span id="opt-expr">[`--expr`](#opt-expr)</span> / `-E`\
Interpret the command line arguments as a list of Nix expressions to
be parsed and evaluated, rather than as a list of file names of Nix
expressions. (`nix-instantiate`, `nix-build` and `nix-shell` only.)
@ -202,17 +202,17 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
use, give your expression to the `nix-shell -p` convenience flag
instead.
- [`-I`]{#opt-I} *path*\
- <span id="opt-I">[`-I`](#opt-I)</span> *path*\
Add a path to the Nix expression search path. This option may be
given multiple times. See the `NIX_PATH` environment variable for
information on the semantics of the Nix search path. Paths added
through `-I` take precedence over `NIX_PATH`.
- [`--option`]{#opt-option} *name* *value*\
- <span id="opt-option">[`--option`](#opt-option)</span> *name* *value*\
Set the Nix configuration option *name* to *value*. This overrides
settings in the Nix configuration file (see nix.conf5).
- [`--repair`]{#opt-repair}\
- <span id="opt-repair">[`--repair`](#opt-repair)</span>\
Fix corrupted or missing store paths by redownloading or rebuilding
them. Note that this is slow because it requires computing a
cryptographic hash of the contents of every path in the closure of

2
doc/manual/src/glossary.md
View file

@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
This means either running the `builder` executable as specified in the corresponding [derivation] or fetching a pre-built [store object] from a [substituter].
See [`nix-build`](./command-ref/nix-build.md) and [`nix-store --realise`](./command-ref/nix-store.md#operation---realise).
See [`nix-build`](./command-ref/nix-build.md) and [`nix-store --realise`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-store/realise.md).
See [`nix build`](./command-ref/new-cli/nix3-build.md) (experimental).

3
doc/manual/src/language/advanced-attributes.md
View file

@ -198,8 +198,7 @@ Derivations can declare some infrequently used optional attributes.
- `"recursive"`\
The hash is computed over the NAR archive dump of the output
(i.e., the result of [`nix-store
--dump`](../command-ref/nix-store.md#operation---dump)). In
(i.e., the result of [`nix-store --dump`](@docroot@/command-ref/nix-store/dump.md)). In
this case, the output can be anything, including a directory
tree.

8
doc/manual/src/release-notes/rl-next.md
View file

@ -31,3 +31,11 @@
* The experimental command `nix describe-stores` has been removed.
* Nix stores and their settings are now documented in [`nix help-stores`](@docroot@/command-ref/new-cli/nix3-help-stores.md).
* Documentation for operations of `nix-store` and `nix-env` are now available on separate pages of the manual.
They include all common options that can be specified and common environment variables that affect these commands.
These pages can be viewed offline with `man` using
* `man nix-store-<operation>` and `man nix-env-<operation>`
* `nix-store --help --<operation>` and `nix-env --help --<operation>`.

49
src/nix-env/nix-env.cc
View file

@ -1387,6 +1387,8 @@ static int main_nix_env(int argc, char * * argv)
{
Strings opFlags, opArgs;
Operation op = 0;
std::string opName;
bool showHelp = false;
RepairFlag repair = NoRepair;
std::string file;
@ -1426,37 +1428,59 @@ static int main_nix_env(int argc, char * * argv)
Operation oldOp = op;
if (*arg == "--help")
showManPage("nix-env");
showHelp = true;
else if (*arg == "--version")
op = opVersion;
else if (*arg == "--install" || *arg == "-i")
else if (*arg == "--install" || *arg == "-i") {
op = opInstall;
opName = "-install";
}
else if (*arg == "--force-name") // undocumented flag for nix-install-package
globals.forceName = getArg(*arg, arg, end);
else if (*arg == "--uninstall" || *arg == "-e")
else if (*arg == "--uninstall" || *arg == "-e") {
op = opUninstall;
else if (*arg == "--upgrade" || *arg == "-u")
opName = "-uninstall";
}
else if (*arg == "--upgrade" || *arg == "-u") {
op = opUpgrade;
else if (*arg == "--set-flag")
opName = "-upgrade";
}
else if (*arg == "--set-flag") {
op = opSetFlag;
else if (*arg == "--set")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--set") {
op = opSet;
else if (*arg == "--query" || *arg == "-q")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--query" || *arg == "-q") {
op = opQuery;
opName = "-query";
}
else if (*arg == "--profile" || *arg == "-p")
globals.profile = absPath(getArg(*arg, arg, end));
else if (*arg == "--file" || *arg == "-f")
file = getArg(*arg, arg, end);
else if (*arg == "--switch-profile" || *arg == "-S")
else if (*arg == "--switch-profile" || *arg == "-S") {
op = opSwitchProfile;
else if (*arg == "--switch-generation" || *arg == "-G")
opName = "-switch-profile";
}
else if (*arg == "--switch-generation" || *arg == "-G") {
op = opSwitchGeneration;
else if (*arg == "--rollback")
opName = "-switch-generation";
}
else if (*arg == "--rollback") {
op = opRollback;
else if (*arg == "--list-generations")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--list-generations") {
op = opListGenerations;
else if (*arg == "--delete-generations")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--delete-generations") {
op = opDeleteGenerations;
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--dry-run") {
printInfo("(dry run; not doing anything)");
globals.dryRun = true;
@ -1485,6 +1509,7 @@ static int main_nix_env(int argc, char * * argv)
myArgs.parseCmdline(argvToStrings(argc, argv));
if (showHelp) showManPage("nix-env" + opName);
if (!op) throw UsageError("no operation specified");
auto store = openStore();

85
src/nix-store/nix-store.cc
View file

@ -1024,62 +1024,104 @@ static int main_nix_store(int argc, char * * argv)
Strings opFlags, opArgs;
Operation op = 0;
bool readFromStdIn = false;
std::string opName;
bool showHelp = false;
parseCmdLine(argc, argv, [&](Strings::iterator & arg, const Strings::iterator & end) {
Operation oldOp = op;
if (*arg == "--help")
showManPage("nix-store");
showHelp = true;
else if (*arg == "--version")
op = opVersion;
else if (*arg == "--realise" || *arg == "--realize" || *arg == "-r")
else if (*arg == "--realise" || *arg == "--realize" || *arg == "-r") {
op = opRealise;
else if (*arg == "--add" || *arg == "-A")
opName = "-realise";
}
else if (*arg == "--add" || *arg == "-A"){
op = opAdd;
else if (*arg == "--add-fixed")
opName = "-add";
}
else if (*arg == "--add-fixed") {
op = opAddFixed;
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--print-fixed-path")
op = opPrintFixedPath;
else if (*arg == "--delete")
else if (*arg == "--delete") {
op = opDelete;
else if (*arg == "--query" || *arg == "-q")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--query" || *arg == "-q") {
op = opQuery;
else if (*arg == "--print-env")
opName = "-query";
}
else if (*arg == "--print-env") {
op = opPrintEnv;
else if (*arg == "--read-log" || *arg == "-l")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--read-log" || *arg == "-l") {
op = opReadLog;
else if (*arg == "--dump-db")
opName = "-read-log";
}
else if (*arg == "--dump-db") {
op = opDumpDB;
else if (*arg == "--load-db")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--load-db") {
op = opLoadDB;
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--register-validity")
op = opRegisterValidity;
else if (*arg == "--check-validity")
op = opCheckValidity;
else if (*arg == "--gc")
else if (*arg == "--gc") {
op = opGC;
else if (*arg == "--dump")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--dump") {
op = opDump;
else if (*arg == "--restore")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--restore") {
op = opRestore;
else if (*arg == "--export")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--export") {
op = opExport;
else if (*arg == "--import")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--import") {
op = opImport;
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--init")
op = opInit;
else if (*arg == "--verify")
else if (*arg == "--verify") {
op = opVerify;
else if (*arg == "--verify-path")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--verify-path") {
op = opVerifyPath;
else if (*arg == "--repair-path")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--repair-path") {
op = opRepairPath;
else if (*arg == "--optimise" || *arg == "--optimize")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--optimise" || *arg == "--optimize") {
op = opOptimise;
else if (*arg == "--serve")
opName = "-optimise";
}
else if (*arg == "--serve") {
op = opServe;
else if (*arg == "--generate-binary-cache-key")
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--generate-binary-cache-key") {
op = opGenerateBinaryCacheKey;
opName = arg->substr(1);
}
else if (*arg == "--add-root")
gcRoot = absPath(getArg(*arg, arg, end));
else if (*arg == "--stdin" && !isatty(STDIN_FILENO))
@ -1109,6 +1151,7 @@ static int main_nix_store(int argc, char * * argv)
return true;
});
if (showHelp) showManPage("nix-store" + opName);
if (!op) throw UsageError("no operation specified");
if (op != opDump && op != opRestore) /* !!! hack */