Unfree software

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.

Using unfree packages

Per-package (preferred)

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

/etc/nixos/configuration.nix

{
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfreePredicate = pkg: builtins.elem (lib.getName pkg) [
    "vscode"
  ];
}

For all packages

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

/etc/nixos/configuration.nix

{
  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
}

Command line

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

~/.config/nixpkgs/config.nix

{
  allowUnfree = true;
}

Temporarily allowing

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

$ NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix-shell -p vscode

Note for the new nix3-style commands, you need to pass --impure as well:

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

Hydra

Hydra does not build unfree software, and unfree software is unavailable in cache.nixos.org.

See also

• Nixpkgs manual on allowing unfree packages