Unfree software: Difference between revisions

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~~'''~~Unfree software~~''', sometimes called '''nonfree~~ software~~''', is~~ software ~~that~~ cannot be freely ~~modified~~ or distributed. [[~~Nixpkgs~~]] ~~provides packages for~~ unfree software, ~~but additional configuration is required before~~ they ~~can~~ be ~~used~~.

Unfree software refers to software that has restrictive licensing on modification and/or redistribution. These types of software cannot be freely provided or distributed in an official capacity, which means that they are neither built by [[Hydra]], nor as they cached on the official [[Binary Cache|binary cache]]. Despite this, Nixpkgs offers a very large collection of unfree software as derivations, however they cannot be accessed by default unless you opt-in.

== ~~Using unfree packages~~ ==

== Configuring ==

~~=== Per-package (preferred) ===~~

~~This method works for both NixOS system level configuration and [[Home Manager]]:~~

{{~~file~~|/~~etc~~/~~nixos~~/~~configuration~~.~~nix|nix|~~<~~nowiki~~>

=== For NixOS ===

{

[[NixOS]] offers a module that can configure Nixpkgs, which will retroactively change the pkgs across your configuration to use the new settings, including allowing for unfree packages.<syntaxhighlight lang="nixos">

{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {

nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true; # Allows all packages that are marked unfree to be built.

environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [

steam # No error!

];

}

</syntaxhighlight>You may instead configure this on a per-package basis via <code>allowUnfreePredicate</code>.

{{Note|Please note that this function has awkward semantics and occasionally doesn't work as expected. Issues like this should be raised directly in [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues Nixpkgs].}}<syntaxhighlight lang="nixos">

{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {

# Add packages by their "derivation name" here.

# Find the derivation name from https://search.nixos.org/

nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = pkg: builtins.elem (lib.getName pkg) [

"~~vscode~~"

"steam"

];

}

</syntaxhighlight>

~~</nowiki>}}~~

=== For Nix CLI ===

As you may have noticed, the above configuration does not apply globally to your NixOS system (and is not applicable for non-NixOS users). Instead, you can configure Nixpkgs at a user level by writing your configuration in <code>~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix</code>.

=== For ~~all packages~~ ===

{{Note|This file is ignored using nix3 commands, which internally leverage flakes and/or the flake registry. See Tips and Tricks for an alternative.}}{{file|~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix|nix|3={

~~This method works~~ for ~~both~~ NixOS ~~system~~ level configuration ~~and [[Home Manager]]:~~

~~{{file|~~/~~etc~~/~~nixos~~/~~configuration~~.nix~~|nix|~~<~~nowiki~~>

{

~~nixpkgs~~.~~config~~.~~allowUnfree = true;~~

}

~~</nowiki>~~}}

~~=== Command line ===~~

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

{{file|~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix|nix|~~<nowiki>~~

{

allowUnfree = true;

}

<nowiki>}</nowiki>}}You can alternatively set the environment variable <code>NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1</code>, which is automatically picked up by the Nix CLI. For newer nix3 commands, you will need to additionally pass <code>--impure</code>, otherwise the environment variable is ignored.<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">

</nowiki>}}

$ export NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1

$ nix-shell -p vscode --command 'code' # nix-legacy

=~~== Temporarily allowing ===~~

$ nix run --impure nixpkgs#vscode # nix3

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

$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix-shell -p vscode

</syntaxhighlight>

~~Note for the new nix3-style commands, you need to pass <code>--impure</code> as well:~~

~~<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">~~

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

~~</syntaxhighlight>~~

~~== Hydra ==~~

~~[[Hydra]] does not build unfree software, and unfree software is unavailable in <code>cache.nixos.org</code>.~~

== See also ==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Unfree software''', sometimes called '''nonfree software''', is software that cannot be freely modified or distributed. [[Nixpkgs]] provides packages for unfree software, but additional configuration is required before they can be used.
+Unfree software refers to software that has restrictive licensing on modification and/or redistribution. These types of software cannot be freely provided or distributed in an official capacity, which means that they are neither built by [[Hydra]], nor as they cached on the official [[Binary Cache|binary cache]]. Despite this, Nixpkgs offers a very large collection of unfree software as derivations, however they cannot be accessed by default unless you opt-in.
-== Using unfree packages ==
+== Configuring ==
-=== Per-package (preferred) ===
-This method works for both NixOS system level configuration and [[Home Manager]]:
-{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
+=== For NixOS ===
-{
+[[NixOS]] offers a module that can configure Nixpkgs, which will retroactively change the pkgs across your configuration to use the new settings, including allowing for unfree packages.<syntaxhighlight lang="nixos">
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {
+  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true; # Allows all packages that are marked unfree to be built.
+  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
+    steam # No error!
+  ];
+}
+</syntaxhighlight>You may instead configure this on a per-package basis via <code>allowUnfreePredicate</code>.
+{{Note|Please note that this function has awkward semantics and occasionally doesn't work as expected. Issues like this should be raised directly in [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues Nixpkgs].}}<syntaxhighlight lang="nixos">
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {
+  # Add packages by their "derivation name" here.
+  # Find the derivation name from https://search.nixos.org/
    nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = pkg: builtins.elem (lib.getName pkg) [
-     "vscode"
+     "steam"
    ];
 }
+</syntaxhighlight>
-</nowiki>}}
+=== For Nix CLI ===
+As you may have noticed, the above configuration does not apply globally to your NixOS system (and is not applicable for non-NixOS users). Instead, you can configure Nixpkgs at a user level by writing your configuration in <code>~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix</code>.
-=== For all packages ===
+{{Note|This file is ignored using nix3 commands, which internally leverage flakes and/or the flake registry. See Tips and Tricks for an alternative.}}{{file|~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix|nix|3={
-This method works for both NixOS system level configuration and [[Home Manager]]:
-{{file|/etc/nixos/configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>
-{
-  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
-}
-</nowiki>}}
-=== Command line ===
-You won't be able to install or search for an unfree package as a user unless you explicitly enable it:
-{{file|~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix|nix|<nowiki>
-{
    allowUnfree = true;
-}
+<nowiki>}</nowiki>}}You can alternatively set the environment variable <code>NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1</code>, which is automatically picked up by the Nix CLI. For newer nix3 commands, you will need to additionally pass <code>--impure</code>, otherwise the environment variable is ignored.<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
-</nowiki>}}
+$ export NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1
+$ nix-shell -p vscode --command 'code' # nix-legacy
-=== Temporarily allowing ===
+$ nix run --impure nixpkgs#vscode # nix3
-For temporary allowing unfree packages, you can use an environment variable:
-<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
-$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix-shell -p vscode
 </syntaxhighlight>
-Note for the new nix3-style commands, you need to pass <code>--impure</code> as well:
-<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
-$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run nixpkgs#vscode --impure
-</syntaxhighlight>
-== Hydra ==
-[[Hydra]] does not build unfree software, and unfree software is unavailable in <code>cache.nixos.org</code>.
 == See also ==