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Nixpkgs-dev mailing list

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Revision as of 15:16, 10 September 2026 by RossSmyth (talk | contribs) (Add warning that this is not official, and should not be relied upon for all workflows.)
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This is a mailing list where developers can contribute to nixpkgs without needing to go through GitHub, or requiring a GitHub account.

View the mailing list here: nixpkgs-dev

⚠︎
Warning: This mailing list is not an official NixOS project, and is not supported by Nixpkgs workflows. It is a best-effort project supported by a single Nixpkgs maintainer. This means that some Nixpkgs workflows are not supported this way, such as adding new packages, as they require GitHub accounts.

How does it work

Submit a patch to nixpkgs using git send-email, see git-send-email.io for instructions.

Reviews are handled through regular email replies. Once patches are accepted on the mailing list, a maintainer will open a PR on GitHub on behalf of the original author.

Why?

Sending patches over email has some advantages over web-based submissions like GitHub:

  • works with many different email clients and tools
  • doesn't require lots of bandwidth, or any persistent connection
  • allows for PGP signing of messages (you can't sign GitHub comments)
  • more open tooling
  • doesn't rely on any central authority

And besides, not everyone uses GitHub, or likes to use GitHub. This mailing list is a alternative for those cases.

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