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== What are channels and how do they get updated? == | == What are channels and how do they get updated? == | ||
{{main| | {{main|Channel branches}} | ||
[https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs Nixpkgs] is the git repository containing all packages and NixOS modules/expressions. Installing packages directly from Nixpkgs master branch is possible but a bit risky as git commits are merged into master before being heavily tested. That's where channels are useful. | [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs Nixpkgs] is the git repository containing all packages and NixOS modules/expressions. Installing packages directly from Nixpkgs master branch is possible but a bit risky as git commits are merged into master before being heavily tested. That's where channels are useful. | ||
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== Nixpkgs branches == | == Nixpkgs branches == | ||
Branches on the nixpkgs repo have a relationship with | Branches on the nixpkgs repo have a relationship with channels, but that relationship is not 1:1. | ||
Some branches are reified as channels (e.g. the <code>nixos-XX.YY</code> branches, or <code>nix(os|pkgs)-unstable</code>), whereas others are the starting point for those branches (e.g. the <code>master</code> or <code>release-XX.YY</code> branches). For example: | Some branches are reified as channels (e.g. the <code>nixos-XX.YY</code> branches, or <code>nix(os|pkgs)-unstable</code>), whereas others are the starting point for those branches (e.g. the <code>master</code> or <code>release-XX.YY</code> branches). For example: | ||
* When a change in master needs to be backported to the current NixOS release, it is cherry-picked into the current <code>release-XX.YY</code> branch | * When a change in master needs to be backported to the current NixOS release, it is cherry-picked into the current <code>release-XX.YY</code> branch | ||
* [[ | * [[Channel branches#Channel_update_process|Hydra]] picks up this change, runs tests, and if those tests pass, updates the corresponding <code>nixos-XX.YY</code> branch, which is then reified as a channel. | ||
So in short, the <code>relase-XX.YY</code> branches have not been run through Hydra yet, whereas the <code>nixos-XX.YY</code> ones have. | So in short, the <code>relase-XX.YY</code> branches have not been run through Hydra yet, whereas the <code>nixos-XX.YY</code> ones have. | ||