Unfree software: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:52, 20 July 2023

Per-package (Ideal)

This method works for NixOS system level configuration and Home-Manager standalone

{lib, ...}: {
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = pkg:
    builtins.elem (lib.getName pkg) [
      # Add additional package names here
      "hello-unfree"
    ];
}

For all packages

This method works for NixOS system level configuration

{
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
}

This previous method should work for Home-Manager standalone but is currently broken see: Home-Manager Issue 2942 the work-around is using:

{
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = _: true;
}

Imperative CLI

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 (the file and folder may need to be created):

{
  allowUnfree = true;
}

Temporary allowing

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

$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix-shell

Note for nix3 commands you need to pass --impure as well

More precision

For whitelisting only specific unfree licenses see the "Installing unfree packages" section of the Nixpkgs manual.

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.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{FAQ/breadcrumb}}{{#tweekihide:firstHeading}}<onlyinclude>
-== How can I install a proprietary or unfree package? ==
-=== Configuration for a user ===
-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'' (the file and folder may need to be created):
+=== Per-package (Ideal) ===
+This method works for NixOS system level configuration and Home-Manager standalone
+<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
+{lib, ...}: {
+  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = pkg:
+    builtins.elem (lib.getName pkg) [
+      # Add additional package names here
+      "hello-unfree"
+    ];
+}
+</syntaxhighlight>
+=== For all packages ===
+This method works for NixOS system level configuration
+<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
+{
+  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
+}
+</syntaxhighlight>
+This previous method '''should''' work for Home-Manager standalone but is currently broken
+see: [https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager/issues/2942 Home-Manager Issue 2942]
+the work-around is using:
 <syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
 {
-   # [...]
+   nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = _: true;
-  allowUnfree = true;
 }
 </syntaxhighlight>
-=== System-level configuration (NixOS) ===
-When using NixOS, it is possible to enable unfree for eg. <code>environment.systemPackages</code> with the following  setting in your <code>/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</code>:
+=== Imperative CLI ===
+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'' (the file and folder may need to be created):
 <syntaxhighlight lang="nix">
 {
-   # [...]
+   allowUnfree = true;
-  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
 }
 </syntaxhighlight>
-'''Note that this alone will not allow you to search for or install packages with nix-env without the user configured.''' See the previous section. No reboot is required for unfree to take effect, however you need to run <code>nixos-rebuild switch</code> just like for all other changes to your systems <code>configuration.nix</code>
 === Temporary allowing ===
@@ Line 29: / Line 43: @@
 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>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix-shell</syntaxhighlight>
+Note for nix3 commands you need to pass <code>--impure</code> as well
 === More precision ===
-For whitelisting '''only specific''' unfree packages or unfree licenses
+For whitelisting '''only specific''' unfree licenses
 see the [https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#sec-allow-unfree "Installing unfree packages" section]
 of the Nixpkgs manual.
@@ Line 40: / Line 56: @@
 due to policy. Most unfree licenses prohibit us from either executing or
 distributing the software.
-</onlyinclude>