Applications: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:22, 20 May 2026

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This article or section is a candidate for merging with Nix ecosystem. While the scopes are different, an article with the "official tools" as its first section and "built with nix" as a further section under it may be much more fitting. Further information may be found in the relevant discussion page.

This article lists applications built for and with Nix; it constitutes a listing of what may be called the Extended Nix Ecosystem (see Nix Ecosystem for the Core Nix Ecosystem).

If you are looking for Linux software/applications you should look at Software.

Non-NixOS Distributions

Various applications built on top of Nix:

not-os - build a system firmware for embedded devices

Built with Nix

Projects which leverage Nix.

styx - Static site generator in Nix expression language
bionix - manage and execute bioinformatics pipelines
ethereum.nix - A collection of Nix packages and NixOS modules designed to make it easier to operate Ethereum related services and infrastructure
nixos-mailserver - A complete and Simple NixOS Mailserver

Nix Platform

Projects which add support (e.g. for extra platforms or major capabilities) to Nix.

nix-darwin - NixOS modules for Darwin
musnix - real-time audio modules for NixOS
nixGl - A wrapper to run OpenGL applications outside of NixOS

Nix Tooling

Various tools built for working with the Nix Ecosystem (e.g. enhancements or alternatives to core Nix tools).

General configuration

home-manager - System for managing a user environment using Nix
plasma-manager - manage KDE Plasma with Home-manager
Nixvim - A Neovim distribution built around Nix modules
nvf - Modular, extensible and portable Neovim configuration framework

Flakes

deploy-rs - Nix flake deployment tool
flake-utils-plus - Flake templates and helper library. Extension of below
flake-utils - Set of flake-building utility functions
flake-parts - Simplify Nix Flakes with the module system
snowfall - Unified configuration for systems, packages, modules, shells, templates, and more with Nix Flakes.

Clustering

nix-delegate - Convenient utility for distributed Nix builds

Comparison

nix-diff - Compare Nix derivations
niff - Compare two Nix expressions to determine what attributes changes
nvd - Nix/NixOS package version diff tool
lix-diff - Nix/NixOS closure diffing tool

Dependencies

nix-tree - Interactive dependency browser for Nix derivations
nix-visualize - Visualize the dependencies of a given package as a graph
npins - Simple tool for handling different types of dependencies in a Nix project
niv - Painless dependencies for Nix projects
Nixtamal - Fulfilling input pinning for Nix

Nix language tools

Language servers

nil - Nix language server, an incremental analysis assistant for writing in Nix
nixd - Nix language server, newer than nil, with more features

Static analysis / linters

deadnix - Removes unused code from .nix files
statix - Linter and suggestions for the nix programming language
nixf-diagnose - Linter - CLI wrapper around nixf-tidy (part of the nixd project)

Formatters

nixfmt - The official formatter for Nix code
alejandra - Unofficial Nix code formatter

Package maintenance

nix-update - Swiss-knife for updating nix packages.
nixpkgs-review - Review nixpkgs pull requests
nix-init - Generate Nix packages from URLs
nixpkgs-hammering - Enforce a set of nit-picky rules that aim to point out and explain common mistakes in nixpkgs package pull requests

Debugging

dwarffs - Fetches DWARF debug info files for gdb automatically from cache.nixos.org
nixseparatedebuginfod - Fetches debug symbols and source files for debuginfod-capables tools like gdb

Search

nix-index - Quickly locate nix packages with specific files
nix-du - Find which gc-roots take disk space in a nix store
nix-info - Homebrew info querying for Nix
userscan - Scans directories containing manually compiled programs and registers them with the Nix garbage collector
nix-search-cli - CLI for searching packages on search.nixos.org

Shell

nix-bash-completions - Bash completion for nix* commands
nixos-shell (Mic92) - Spawns lightweight nixos vms in a shell (like vagrant)
nixos-shell (chrisfarms) - like nix-shell, but for NixOS modules. Buildable version can be found in this fork
extra-container - Run declarative NixOS containers from the command line. Similar to nixos-shell (chrisfarms)

Other

nix-bundle - package Nix attributes into single-file executables
nix-user-chroot - install Nix as an unpriviliged user on any system
nh - a rewrite of nixos-rebuild featuring diffs with nvd and a tree of builds with nix-output-manager, as well as other quality of life features such as package searching
nixos-cli - an all-in-one tool to manage any NixOS installation with ease, combining the features of all the `nixos-*` commands.

Nix Operations

Operations tools for the Nix Ecosystem:

Official

Hydra - Nix's official continuous integration and build system
NixOps - Nix's official (but unmaintained) tool for deploying to NixOS machines in a network or the cloud

Deployment

Bento - a NixOS fleet manager supporting remote systems not up 24/7

colmena - a NixOS deployment tool
comin - A deployment tool to continuously pull from Git repositories
deploy-rs - a simple multi-profile Nix-flake deploy tool

krops - a lightweight toolkit to deploy NixOS systems, remotely or locally
lollypops - a parallel and stateless NixOS deployment tool
Morph - a NixOS deployment tool
Nixinate - A Nix flake library to provide app outputs for managing existing NixOS hosts over SSH
nixos-build --target-host
Nixus - an experimental NixOS deployment tool

Docker

Arion - configure Docker Compose with Nix modules
Nixery - ad-hoc container images from Nix

Kubernetes

kubenix - Kubernetes resource builder written in Nix
nix-kubernetes - Kubernetes deployment manager written in nix

Alternative nix implementations & parser

hnix (haskell, parser & evaluator)
rnix (rust, parser)
go-nix (go, parser & nix-compatible file hasher)
nix-idea (java, parser)
lix (c++, fork of NixOS/nix)
snix (rust, cli & evaluator & store)

Additional unofficial ecosystem

None of the services are required to use Nix. None of these services are affiliated with the NixOS Foundation.

Cachix: binary caches as a service. Free for public caches, subscription for private token-protected caches.
Hercules CI: simplify your CI setup with stateless build agents. Free for open source, per-user subscription for private repositories.
Garnix: nix CI, caching (open beta) and cloud hosting (private alpha) based on Nix as a service. Currently free, but offers commerical plans.
nixbuild.net: remote Nix builders as a service for x86_64 and AArch64. Pay-per-use.

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 <!--T:11-->
-* [https://github.com/LnL7/nix-darwin nix-darwin] - NixOS modules for Darwin
+* [https://github.com/nix-darwin/nix-darwin nix-darwin] - NixOS modules for Darwin
 * [https://github.com/musnix/musnix musnix] - real-time audio modules for NixOS
-* [https://github.com/guibou/nixGL nixGl] - A wrapper to run OpenGL applications outside of NixOS
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nixGL nixGl] - A wrapper to run OpenGL applications outside of NixOS
 == Nix Tooling == <!--T:12-->
@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 * [https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager home-manager] - System for managing a user environment using Nix
 * [https://github.com/nix-community/plasma-manager plasma-manager] - manage KDE Plasma with Home-manager
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nixvim Nixvim] - A Neovim distribution built around Nix modules
-== About == <!--T:16-->
+* [https://github.com/NotAShelf/nvf nvf] - Modular, extensible and portable Neovim configuration framework
 === Flakes === <!--T:17-->
@@ Line 76: / Line 76: @@
 * [https://github.com/Gabriel439/nix-diff nix-diff] - Compare Nix derivations
 * [https://github.com/FRidh/niff niff] - Compare two Nix expressions to determine what attributes changes
-* [https://gitlab.com/khumba/nvd nvd] - Nix/NixOS package version diff tool
+* [https://khumba.net/projects/nvd/ nvd] - Nix/NixOS package version diff tool
-* [https://github.com/tgirlcloud/lix-diff lix-diff] - Nix/NixOS closure diffing tool
+* [https://github.com/isabelroses/lix-diff lix-diff] - Nix/NixOS closure diffing tool
 === Dependencies === <!--T:25-->
@@ Line 84: / Line 84: @@
 * [https://github.com/utdemir/nix-tree nix-tree] - Interactive dependency browser for Nix derivations
 * [https://github.com/craigmbooth/nix-visualize nix-visualize] - Visualize the dependencies of a given package as a graph
+* [https://github.com/andir/npins npins] - Simple tool for handling different types of dependencies in a Nix project
 * [https://github.com/nmattia/niv niv] - Painless dependencies for Nix projects
+* [https://nixtamal.toast.al/ Nixtamal] - Fulfilling input pinning for Nix
+=== Nix language tools === <!--T:27-->
+==== Language servers ====
+* [https://github.com/oxalica/nil nil] - Nix language server, an incremental analysis assistant for writing in Nix
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nixd nixd] - Nix language server, newer than nil, with more features
-=== Nix lang comprehension === <!--T:27-->
+==== Static analysis / linters ====
-<!--T:28-->
 * [https://github.com/astro/deadnix deadnix] - Removes unused code from .nix files
+* [https://github.com/oppiliappan/statix statix] - Linter and suggestions for the nix programming language
+* [https://github.com/inclyc/nixf-diagnose nixf-diagnose] - Linter - CLI wrapper around nixf-tidy (part of the [https://github.com/nix-community/nixd nixd] project)
-<!--T:29-->
+==== Formatters ====
-* [https://github.com/nerdypepper/statix statix] - Linter and suggestions for the nix programming language
-* [https://github.com/oxalica/nil nil] - Nix Language server, an incremental analysis assistant for writing in Nix.
 * [https://github.com/NixOS/nixfmt nixfmt] - The official formatter for Nix code
-* [https://github.com/nix-community/nixpkgs-fmt nixpkgs-fmt] - Alternative code formatter, originally used in [[Nixpkgs]].
+* [https://github.com/kamadorueda/alejandra alejandra] - Unofficial Nix code formatter
 === Package maintenance === <!--T:30-->
@@ Line 102: / Line 110: @@
 * [https://github.com/Mic92/nix-update/ nix-update] - Swiss-knife for updating nix packages.
 * [https://github.com/Mic92/nixpkgs-review nixpkgs-review] - Review nixpkgs pull requests
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nix-init nix-init] - Generate Nix packages from URLs
+* [https://github.com/jtojnar/nixpkgs-hammering nixpkgs-hammering] - Enforce a set of nit-picky rules that aim to point out and explain common mistakes in nixpkgs package pull requests
 === Debugging === <!--T:32-->
@@ Line 112: / Line 122: @@
 <!--T:35-->
-* [https://github.com/bennofs/nix-index nix-index] - Quickly locate nix packages with specific files
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nix-index nix-index] - Quickly locate nix packages with specific files
 * [https://github.com/symphorien/nix-du nix-du] - Find which gc-roots take disk space in a nix store
 * [https://github.com/nix-hackers/nix-info nix-info] - Homebrew info querying for Nix
@@ Line 129: / Line 139: @@
 <!--T:39-->
-* [https://github.com/matthewbauer/nix-bundle nix-bundle] - package Nix attributes into single-file executables.
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nix-bundle nix-bundle] - package Nix attributes into single-file executables
-* [https://github.com/lethalman/nix-user-chroot nix-user-chroot] - install Nix as an unpriviliged user on any system
+* [https://github.com/lucabrunox/nix-user-chroot nix-user-chroot] - install Nix as an unpriviliged user on any system
-* [https://github.com/ViperML/nh nh] - a rewrite of nixos-rebuild featuring diffs with nvd and a tree of builds with nix-output-manager, as well as other quality of life features such as package searching.
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nh nh] - a rewrite of nixos-rebuild featuring diffs with nvd and a tree of builds with nix-output-manager, as well as other quality of life features such as package searching
 * [https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-cli nixos-cli] - an all-in-one tool to manage any NixOS installation with ease, combining the features of all the `nixos-*` commands.
@@ Line 142: / Line 152: @@
 <!--T:43-->
-* [https://github.com/nixos/hydra Hydra] - Nix's official continuous integration and build system.
+* [https://github.com/nixos/hydra Hydra] - Nix's official continuous integration and build system
-* [https://github.com/NixOS/nixops NixOps] - Nix's official (but unmaintained) tool for deploying to NixOS machines in a network or the cloud.
+* [https://github.com/NixOS/nixops NixOps] - Nix's official (but unmaintained) tool for deploying to NixOS machines in a network or the cloud
 === Deployment === <!--T:44-->
@@ Line 152: / Line 162: @@
 <!--T:46-->
 * [https://github.com/zhaofengli/colmena colmena] - a NixOS deployment tool
-* comin - A deployment tool to continuously pull from Git repositories.
+* [https://github.com/nlewo/comin comin] - A deployment tool to continuously pull from Git repositories
 * [https://github.com/serokell/deploy-rs deploy-rs] - a simple multi-profile Nix-flake deploy tool
@@ Line 159: / Line 169: @@
 * [https://github.com/pinpox/lollypops lollypops] - a parallel and stateless NixOS deployment tool
 * [https://github.com/DBCDK/morph Morph] - a NixOS deployment tool
-* [https://github.com/MatthewCroughan/nixinate Nixinate] - A Nix flake library to provide app outputs for managing existing NixOS hosts over SSH.
+* [https://github.com/MatthewCroughan/nixinate Nixinate] - A Nix flake library to provide app outputs for managing existing NixOS hosts over SSH
 * <code>nixos-build --target-host</code>
-* [https://github.com/NixOS/nixops NixOps] - [Not recommended for new projects] a tool for deploying to NixOS machines in a network or cloud.
 * [https://github.com/Infinisil/nixus Nixus] - an experimental NixOS deployment tool
@@ Line 179: / Line 188: @@
 <!--T:53-->
-* [https://github.com/jwiegley/hnix hnix] (haskell, parser & evaluator)
+* [https://github.com/haskell-nix/hnix hnix] (haskell, parser & evaluator)
 * [https://github.com/nix-community/rnix-parser rnix] (rust, parser)
 * [https://github.com/orivej/go-nix go-nix] (go, parser & nix-compatible file hasher)
 * [https://github.com/NixOS/nix-idea/tree/master/src/main/java/org/nixos/idea/lang nix-idea] (java, parser)
+* [https://lix.systems/ lix] (c++, fork of [https://github.com/NixOS/nix NixOS/nix])
+* [https://snix.dev/ snix] (rust, cli & evaluator & store)
 == Additional unofficial ecosystem == <!--T:54-->