2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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<section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
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xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
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xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
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version="5.0"
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xml:id="sec-ad-hoc-packages">
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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<title>Ad-Hoc Package Management</title>
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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<para>
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2019-09-19 17:17:30 +00:00
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With the command <command>nix-env</command>, you can install and uninstall
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packages from the command line. For instance, to install Mozilla Thunderbird:
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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<screen>
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2019-06-17 11:25:50 +00:00
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<prompt>$ </prompt>nix-env -iA nixos.thunderbird</screen>
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2019-09-19 17:17:30 +00:00
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If you invoke this as root, the package is installed in the Nix profile
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<filename>/nix/var/nix/profiles/default</filename> and visible to all users
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of the system; otherwise, the package ends up in
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<filename>/nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/<replaceable>username</replaceable>/profile</filename>
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and is not visible to other users. The <option>-A</option> flag specifies the
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package by its attribute name; without it, the package is installed by
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matching against its package name (e.g. <literal>thunderbird</literal>). The
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latter is slower because it requires matching against all available Nix
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packages, and is ambiguous if there are multiple matching packages.
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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</para>
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<para>
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2019-09-19 17:17:30 +00:00
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Packages come from the NixOS channel. You typically upgrade a package by
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updating to the latest version of the NixOS channel:
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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<screen>
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2019-06-17 11:25:50 +00:00
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<prompt>$ </prompt>nix-channel --update nixos
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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</screen>
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2019-09-19 17:17:30 +00:00
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and then running <literal>nix-env -i</literal> again. Other packages in the
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profile are <emphasis>not</emphasis> affected; this is the crucial difference
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with the declarative style of package management, where running
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<command>nixos-rebuild switch</command> causes all packages to be updated to
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their current versions in the NixOS channel. You can however upgrade all
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packages for which there is a newer version by doing:
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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<screen>
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2019-06-17 11:25:50 +00:00
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<prompt>$ </prompt>nix-env -u '*'
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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</screen>
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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</para>
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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<para>
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A package can be uninstalled using the <option>-e</option> flag:
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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<screen>
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2019-06-17 11:25:50 +00:00
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<prompt>$ </prompt>nix-env -e thunderbird
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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</screen>
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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</para>
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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<para>
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Finally, you can roll back an undesirable <command>nix-env</command> action:
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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<screen>
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2019-06-17 11:25:50 +00:00
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<prompt>$ </prompt>nix-env --rollback
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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</screen>
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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</para>
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<para>
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2019-09-19 17:17:30 +00:00
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<command>nix-env</command> has many more flags. For details, see the
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<citerefentry>
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2018-05-01 23:57:09 +00:00
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<refentrytitle>nix-env</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry> manpage or the Nix manual.
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</para>
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2014-08-24 17:18:18 +00:00
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</section>
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