Nix to Debian phrasebook
| Task | Ubuntu | NixOS (system-wide and root) | NixOS (user) and Nix in general |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install a package | sudo apt-get install emacs
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In /etc/nixos/configuration.nix: systemPackages = with pkgs; [ <other packages...> emacs ];
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nix-env -iA nixpkgs.emacs
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| Uninstall a package | sudo apt-get remove emacs
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remove from /etc/nixos/configuration.nix: sudo nixos-rebuild switch
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nix-env -e emacs
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| Uninstall a package removing its configuration | apt-get purge emacs
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All configuration is in configuration.nix | |
| Update the list of packages | sudo apt-get update
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sudo nix-channel --update
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nix-channel --update
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| Upgrade packages | sudo apt-get upgrade
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sudo nixos-rebuild switch
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nix-env -u
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| Check for broken dependencies | sudo apt-get check
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nix-store --verify --check-contents
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unneeded! |
| List package dependencies | apt-cache depends emacs
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nix-store --query --requisites $(readlink -f /run/current-system) && nix-store -q --tree /nix/var/nix/profiles/system
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nix-store --query --references $(nix-instantiate '<nixpkgs>' -A emacs)
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| List which packages depend on this one (reverse dependencies) | apt-cache rdepends emacs
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For installed packages (only print reverse dependencies which are already installed): nix-store --query --referrers $(which emacs)
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| Verify all installed packages | debsums
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sudo nix-store --verify --check-contents
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nix-store --verify --check-contents
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| Fix packages with failed checksums | Reinstall broken packages | sudo nix-store --verify --check-contents --repair
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nix-store --verify --check-contents --repair
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| Select major version and stable/unstable | Change sources.list and apt-get dist-upgrade. A an extremely infrequent and destructive operation. The nix variants are safe and easy to use. | Add the unstable channel. At that address you will find names for other versions and variants. Name can be any string. nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixpkgs-unstable <name>Remove a channel. nix-channel --remove <name>Show all installed channel. nix-channel --list
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When run by a user channels work locally, when run by root they're used as the system-wide channels. |
| Private package repository | PPA | Define your package tree as in the general column, and include it in configuration.nix, then list your packages in systemPackages to make them available system wide. | |
| Configure a package | sudo dpkg-reconfigure <package> | edit /etc/nixos/configuration.nix | edit ~/.nixpkgs/config.nix |
| Find packages | apt-cache search emacs or apt search
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nix-env -qaP '.*emacs.*'
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nix-env -qaP '.*emacs.*'
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| Find a package which provides a file | with apt-file installed: apt-file search bin/emacs
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with nix-index installed: nix-locate bin/emacs
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nix-locate bin/emacs
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| Show package description | apt-cache show emacs
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nix-env -qa --description '.*emacs.*'
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nix-env -qa --description '.*emacs.*'
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| Show files installed by package | dpkg -L emacs
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du -a $(readlink -f $(which emacs))
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| Show package for file | dpkg -S /usr/bin/emacs
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follow the symlink | follow the symlink |
| Adding a user | sudo adduser alice | Add users.extraUsers.alice = { isNormalUser = true; home = "/home/alice"; description = "Alice Foobar"; extraGroups = [ "wheel" "networkmanager" ]; openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = [ "ssh-dss AAAAB3Nza... alice@foobar" ]; }; to /etc/nixos/configuration.nix. Then run nixos-rebuild switch
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| List binaries | ls /usr/bin/
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ls /run/current-system/sw/bin && ls /nix/var/nix/profiles/default/bin/
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ls ~/.nix-profile/bin
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| Get the current version number | cat /etc/debian_version
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nixos-version
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nix-instantiate --eval '<nixpkgs>' -A lib.nixpkgsVersion
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| Get sources for a package | apt-get source emacs
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In Debian, apt-get source gets both the patched upstream source and the recipe for the package. Those need two steps in Nix. To find the package recipe: grep -r emacs $(nix-instantiate --eval --expr '<nixpkgs>')To download the source as specified by the package recipe: nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A emacs.srcThe patched source is usually not a derivation itself, but can be produced for most packages with the following command: nix-shell '<nixpkgs>' -A emacs --command 'unpackPhase; patchPhase'Compile & install a package from source git clone foobar && echo "with import <nixpkgs> { }; stdenv.lib.overrideDerivation foobar (oldAttrs: { src = ./foobar })" > default.nix && nix-build
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| Install a .deb | dpkg -i package.deb
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Install dpkg with Nix, then dpkg -i package.deb
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