README

Demonstrate some examples of Nix in docker.

ℹ️ NOTE: Use playground to test if you'd prefer not to install Nix.

A list of things still to try and investigate TODO.md

Conventional Commits

NOTE: This repo has switched to conventional commits. It requires pre-commit and commitizen to help with controlling this.

# install pre-commmit (prerequisite for commitizen)
brew install pre-commit
brew install commitizen
# conventional commits extension
code --install-extension vivaxy.vscode-conventional-commits

# install hooks
pre-commit install --hook-type commit-msg --hook-type pre-push

Contents

• README
  • Conventional Commits
  • Contents
  • Nix
  • Glossary
  • 🏠 Install Nix
  • Index and Locate files
  • 00 - Nix playground
  • 01 - Simple Nix
  • 02 - Single Package Docker Image
  • 03 - Multi Package Docker Image
  • 04 - Installing Software
  • 05 - Installing Environments
  • 06 - Build Nix docker image in docker
  • 07 - Build Nix nodejs image in docker
  • 08 - Build ffmpeg issue
  • 09 - Build distroless images
  • 10 - Nixpacks
  • 11 - Flakes
  • 12 - Bundle
  • 14 - Distroless Flakes
  • 15 - Determinate System Installer
  • 16 - Nodejs Builds
  • 17 - custom package
  • 20 - script dependencies
  • 22 - shells
  • 👀 Resources

Nix

Nix is a powerful and flexible package manager for Unix-based systems, such as Linux and macOS. It was created to address some of the limitations and problems associated with traditional package managers like apt, yum, and pacman. Nix provides a reliable and reproducible way of managing software packages and their dependencies.

Some key features of Nix include:

• Declarative package management: Users can describe the desired software environment in a declarative language called Nix expressions. This allows for easy sharing, reproducibility, and version control of software environments.

• Isolation of package dependencies: Nix stores packages in isolation from each other, which prevents dependency conflicts and simplifies the process of upgrading, rolling back, or removing packages.

• Atomic upgrades and rollbacks: Nix supports atomic operations, meaning that upgrading or rolling back a package does not affect the rest of the system. If an upgrade fails or a package causes issues, you can easily revert to the previous version without any consequences.

• Multi-user support: Nix allows multiple users on a single system to have their own software environments without interfering with one another. This is particularly useful in shared or managed environments like research labs, universities, or workplaces.

• Source and binary packages: Nix can build packages from source code or use precompiled binaries. This allows for greater flexibility and choice in how software is installed and managed.

• NixOS: Nix is also the basis for NixOS, a Linux distribution built entirely around the Nix package manager. NixOS takes the principles of Nix and applies them to the entire operating system, resulting in a highly customizable, reproducible, and maintainable system.

Overall, Nix is a powerful package management solution that aims to make managing software on Unix-based systems more reliable, flexible, and reproducible.

Glossary

The is a glossary file here with a few terms used from Nix.

🏠 Install Nix

• Install-Nix guide
• Install vscode extension

code --install-extension bbenoist.Nix

Check the installation:

# check the daemon is running
systemctl status nix-daemon

systemctl start nix-daemon      

# show help
nix-env --help
# a quick test of nix-shell
nix-shell -p nix-info --run "nix-info -m"

Index and Locate files

nix-env -iA nixpkgs.nix-index
nix-shell -p nix-index

# NOTE: THis seems to fail inside a container.  
nix-index  

# Try to find ldd inside packages
nix-locate ldd

The NixPkgs index.

00 - Nix playground

Playground based on building nix in Docker (doesn't require local Nix install)
Steps README.md

01 - Simple Nix

Demonstrates how to build a python app in Nix
Steps README.md

02 - Single Package Docker Image

Demonstrates how to build a single package docker image in Nix
Steps README.md

03 - Multi Package Docker Image

Demonstrates how to build a multi package docker image in Nix
Steps README.md

04 - Installing Software

Demonstrates how to install software using nix package manager
Steps README.md

05 - Installing Environments

Demonstrate how to define environments.
Steps README.md

06 - Build Nix docker image in docker

Building a Nix image inside a container
Steps README.md

07 - Build Nix nodejs image in docker

Building a Nix nodejs image.
Steps README.md

08 - Build ffmpeg issue

Demonstrate creating an ffmpeg image with Nix.
Steps README.md

09 - Build distroless images

Demonstrate using nix package to install into a distroless/scratch image.
Steps README.md

10 - Nixpacks

Demonstrate how to use NixPacks to build containers.
Steps README.md

11 - Flakes

Demonstrate how to use nix flakes.
Steps README.md

12 - Bundle

Demonstrate how to use nix bundles.
Steps README.md

14 - Distroless Flakes

Demonstrate how to use flakes to control versions of software used to build images.
Steps README.md

15 - Determinate System Installer

Demonstrate how to use the Determinate Systems Installer.
Steps README.md

16 - Nodejs Builds

Demonstrate the difference with the default nodejs, distrolesss and nix.
Steps README.md

17 - custom package

Demonstrate how to build a custom package.
Steps README.md

20 - script dependencies

Demonstrate how to write scripts that pack their dependencies.
Steps README.md

22 - shells

Demonstrate how to write scripts that pack their dependencies.
Steps README.md

👀 Resources

• Search more than 80 000 packages here
• Nixhub - Search over 400,000 granular versions of nix packages here
• Minimal Docker Images
• Nix-by-example
• Nix Flakes: an Introduction here
• Building a Nix Package here
• How to Learn Nix here
• How to Learn Nix, Part 1: What's all this about? here
• awesome-nix here
• Nix Book here
• What Is Nix here
• Nix.dev here