Unfree software

Hydra does not test or build unfree software by policy. Most unfree licenses have restrictions on software distribution.

Per-package (Ideal)

This method works for both NixOS system level configuration and Home manager:

/etc/nixos/configuration.nix

{
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = pkg: builtins.elem (lib.getName pkg) [
    "vscode"
  ];
}

For all packages

This method works for both NixOS system level configuration and Home manager:

/etc/nixos/configuration.nix

{
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
}

Command Line

You won't be able to install or search for an unfree package as a user unless you explicitly enable it:

~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix

{
  allowUnfree = true;
}

Temporary allowing

For temporary allowing unfree packages, you can use an environment variable:

$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix-shell -p vscode

Note for the new nix3-style commands, you need to pass --impure as well:

$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run nixpkgs#vscode --impure

See also

• Nixpkgs manual#Installing unfree packages