Channel branches: Difference between revisions

Line 12:

* Stable/unstable:

** Stable channels (<code>nixos-22.05</code>) provide conservative updates for fixing bugs and security vulnerabilities, but do not receive major updates after initial release. New stable channels are released every six months.

** Stable channels (<code>nixos-22.11</code>) provide conservative updates for fixing bugs and security vulnerabilities, but do not receive major updates after initial release. New stable channels are released every six months.

** Unstable channels (<code>nixos-unstable</code>, <code>nixpkgs-unstable</code>) correspond to the main development branch (master) of Nixpkgs, delivering the latest tested updates on a rolling basis.

* Large/small:

** Large channels (<code>nixos-22.05</code>, <code>nixos-unstable</code>) provide binary builds for the full breadth of Nixpkgs.

** Large channels (<code>nixos-22.11</code>, <code>nixos-unstable</code>) provide binary builds for the full breadth of Nixpkgs.

** Small channels (<code>nixos-22.05-small</code>, <code>nixos-unstable-small</code>) are identical to large channels, but contain fewer binaries. This means they update faster, but require more to be built from source.

** Small channels (<code>nixos-22.11-small</code>, <code>nixos-unstable-small</code>) are identical to large channels, but contain fewer binaries. This means they update faster, but require more to be built from source.

Most users will want the stable/large channel, currently <code>nixos-22.05</code>.

Most users will want the stable/large channel, currently <code>nixos-22.11</code>.

Like packages installed via <code>nix-env</code>, channels are managed at user-level. NixOS uses the channels set for the <code>root</code> user to update the system-wide configuration; channels set for other users control only the user environment for that user. If you wish to change the channel used by the system-level configuration (<code>/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</code>), ensure you run the correct <code>nix-channel</code> command as root:

Line 97:

== See also ==

* [https://discourse.nixos.org/t/differences-between-nix-channels/13998 NixOS Discourse: Differences between Nix channels] - Details about differences between, e.g., <code>nixos-22.05</code>, <code>nixos-unstable</code>, <code>nixpkgs-unstable</code>, and <code>nixos-*-small</code> channels.

* [https://discourse.nixos.org/t/differences-between-nix-channels/13998 NixOS Discourse: Differences between Nix channels] - Details about differences between, e.g., <code>nixos-22.11</code>, <code>nixos-unstable</code>, <code>nixpkgs-unstable</code>, and <code>nixos-*-small</code> channels.

[[Category:Nix]]

[[Category:Software]]