Unfree software: Difference between revisions

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~~__NOTOC__~~{{~~#tweekihide:firstHeading~~}}~~<onlyinclude>~~

~~== How can I install a proprietary or unfree package? ==~~

~~You won't~~ be ~~able to install~~ or ~~search for~~ an unfree ~~package~~ as ~~a user~~, ~~unless you explicitly enable it~~ in ~~''~/.config/nixpkgs/config~~.~~nix'':~~

Unfree software refers to software that has restrictive licensing on modification and/or redistribution. This type of software cannot be freely provided or distributed in an official capacity, which means that unfree software is neither built by [[Hydra]], nor 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 used by default without configuring Nixpkgs and opting in to unfree software usage.

~~<syntaxhighlight lang~~="nix">

[https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#sec-allow-unfree Nixpkgs manual on allowing unfree packages]

{

...

== Allowing unfree software ==

~~allowUnfree = true;~~

By default, nix will refuse to evaluate any [[Derivations|derivation]] containing unfree software, prompting the user to read the manual for more details. This behaviour can be configured in different ways depending on the context of the derivation.

}

~~</syntaxhighlight>~~

~~If you want~~ to ~~enable~~ unfree ~~packages system-wide, then set in your <code>/etc/nixos/configuration~~.~~nix</code>:~~

=== Unfree software using Home Manager ===

Depending on your [[Home Manager]] installation, there are multiple ways to allow unfree software.

<~~syntaxhighlight lang~~=~~"nix"~~>

==== Standalone Home Manager ====

If your Home Manager configuration isn't integrated into your [[NixOS]] configuration (i.e. you switch generations using <code>home-manager switch</code> and not by rebuilding the whole system), then you may allow unfree software by setting the nixpkgs option in your config:

{{File|3=<nowiki>{ ... }:

{

...

nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;

}

}</nowiki>|name=home.nix|lang=nix}}

</~~syntaxhighlight~~>

[[Category:Software]]

~~'''Note that this alone will not allow you to search for or install packages with~~ nix~~-env.'''~~

[[Category:Nixpkgs]]

~~For temporary allowing unfree packages you can set the environment variable ''NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE'', e.g.~~

~~<syntaxhighlight~~ lang=~~"bash">NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1~~ nix~~-env</syntaxhighlight>~~

~~Note that we are not able to test or build unfree software on Hydra~~

~~due to policy. Most unfree licenses prohibit us from either executing or~~

~~distributing the software.~~

~~</onlyinclude>~~

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-__NOTOC__{{#tweekihide:firstHeading}}<onlyinclude>
+{{expansion}}
-== How can I install a proprietary or unfree package? ==
-You won't be able to install or search for an unfree package as a user, unless you explicitly enable it in ''~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix'':
+Unfree software refers to software that has restrictive licensing on modification and/or redistribution. This type of software cannot be freely provided or distributed in an official capacity, which means that unfree software is neither built by [[Hydra]], nor 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 used by default without configuring Nixpkgs and opting in to unfree software usage.
-<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
+[https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#sec-allow-unfree Nixpkgs manual on allowing unfree packages]
-{
-  ...
+== Allowing unfree software ==
-  allowUnfree = true;
+By default, nix will refuse to evaluate any [[Derivations|derivation]] containing unfree software, prompting the user to read the manual for more details. This behaviour can be configured in different ways depending on the context of the derivation.
-}
-</syntaxhighlight>
-If you want to enable unfree packages system-wide, then set in your <code>/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</code>:
+=== Unfree software using Home Manager ===
+Depending on your [[Home Manager]] installation, there are multiple ways to allow unfree software.
-<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
+==== Standalone Home Manager ====
+If your Home Manager configuration isn't integrated into your [[NixOS]] configuration (i.e. you switch generations using <code>home-manager switch</code> and not by rebuilding the whole system), then you may allow unfree software by setting the nixpkgs option in your config:
+{{File|3=<nowiki>{ ... }:
 {
    ...
    nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
-}
+}</nowiki>|name=home.nix|lang=nix}}
-</syntaxhighlight>
+[[Category:Software]]
-'''Note that this alone will not allow you to search for or install packages with nix-env.'''
+[[Category:Nixpkgs]]
-For temporary allowing unfree packages you can set the environment variable ''NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE'', e.g.
-<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix-env</syntaxhighlight>
-Note that we are not able to test or build unfree software on Hydra
-due to policy. Most unfree licenses prohibit us from either executing or
-distributing the software.
-</onlyinclude>