|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +name: nix |
| 3 | +description: Nix flakes, nix-darwin, NixOS, and home-manager development assistance |
| 4 | +allowed-tools: |
| 5 | + - Bash |
| 6 | + - Read |
| 7 | + - Grep |
| 8 | + - Glob |
| 9 | + - Edit |
| 10 | + - Write |
| 11 | +--- |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +# Nix Development Skill |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +## Evaluation & Debugging |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +### Evaluate flake outputs |
| 18 | +```bash |
| 19 | +# List available outputs |
| 20 | +nix flake show |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +# Evaluate specific attribute |
| 23 | +nix eval .#<attribute> --json |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +# Darwin config options |
| 26 | +nix eval .#darwinConfigurations.<host>.options.<path> |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +# Home-manager config |
| 29 | +nix eval .#homeConfigurations."<user>@<host>".config.<path> |
| 30 | +``` |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +### Debug evaluation errors |
| 33 | +```bash |
| 34 | +# Show full trace |
| 35 | +nix eval .#<attr> --show-trace |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +# Check flake validity |
| 38 | +nix flake check |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +# Instantiate without building |
| 41 | +nix-instantiate --eval -E '<expression>' |
| 42 | +``` |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +## Building & Rebuilding |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +### Darwin (macOS) |
| 47 | +```bash |
| 48 | +darwin-rebuild switch --flake . |
| 49 | +darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#<hostname> |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +# Rollback |
| 52 | +darwin-rebuild --list-generations |
| 53 | +darwin-rebuild switch --rollback |
| 54 | +``` |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +### NixOS |
| 57 | +```bash |
| 58 | +sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#<hostname> |
| 59 | +sudo nixos-rebuild boot --flake .#<hostname> |
| 60 | +``` |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +### Home-manager standalone |
| 63 | +```bash |
| 64 | +home-manager switch --flake .#<user>@<host> |
| 65 | +``` |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +## Service Management (launchd/systemd) |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +### macOS launchd |
| 70 | +```bash |
| 71 | +# List services |
| 72 | +launchctl list | grep -E "org.nixos|nix" |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +# Service status |
| 75 | +launchctl print system/<label> |
| 76 | +launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/<label> |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +# Control services |
| 79 | +launchctl kickstart [-k] <domain>/<label> |
| 80 | +launchctl kill SIGTERM <domain>/<label> |
| 81 | +``` |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +### Linux systemd |
| 84 | +```bash |
| 85 | +systemctl --user list-units --type=service |
| 86 | +systemctl --user status <service> |
| 87 | +systemctl --user restart <service> |
| 88 | +journalctl --user -u <service> -f |
| 89 | +``` |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +## Launchd Configuration Options |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +For reducing CPU/IO priority in nix-darwin: |
| 94 | +```nix |
| 95 | +launchd.daemons.<name>.serviceConfig = { |
| 96 | + RunAtLoad = false; # Don't start at boot |
| 97 | + KeepAlive = false; # Don't auto-restart |
| 98 | + Nice = 5; # Lower CPU priority (1-20) |
| 99 | + ProcessType = "Background"; # Background scheduling |
| 100 | + LowPriorityIO = true; # Lower I/O priority |
| 101 | + ThrottleInterval = 10; # Min seconds between restarts |
| 102 | +}; |
| 103 | +
|
| 104 | +launchd.user.agents.<name>.serviceConfig = { /* same options */ }; |
| 105 | +``` |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +## Common Patterns |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +### Override with mkForce |
| 110 | +```nix |
| 111 | +# When upstream sets a value you need to override |
| 112 | +someOption = lib.mkForce false; |
| 113 | +``` |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +### Conditional by platform |
| 116 | +```nix |
| 117 | +# At Nix level (preferred) |
| 118 | +serviceCommands = if pkgs.stdenv.isDarwin |
| 119 | + then import ./darwin.nix |
| 120 | + else import ./linux.nix; |
| 121 | +
|
| 122 | +# In module |
| 123 | +config = lib.mkIf pkgs.stdenv.isDarwin { ... }; |
| 124 | +``` |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +### Module structure |
| 127 | +```nix |
| 128 | +{ lib, config, pkgs, ... }: |
| 129 | +let |
| 130 | + cfg = config.myModule; |
| 131 | +in { |
| 132 | + options.myModule = { |
| 133 | + enable = lib.mkEnableOption "my module"; |
| 134 | + }; |
| 135 | +
|
| 136 | + config = lib.mkIf cfg.enable { |
| 137 | + # implementation |
| 138 | + }; |
| 139 | +} |
| 140 | +``` |
| 141 | + |
| 142 | +## Flake Inputs Management |
| 143 | + |
| 144 | +```bash |
| 145 | +# Update all inputs |
| 146 | +nix flake update |
| 147 | + |
| 148 | +# Update specific input |
| 149 | +nix flake lock --update-input <input-name> |
| 150 | + |
| 151 | +# Show inputs |
| 152 | +nix flake metadata |
| 153 | +``` |
| 154 | + |
| 155 | +## Troubleshooting |
| 156 | + |
| 157 | +### "infinite recursion" error |
| 158 | +- Check for circular dependencies in imports |
| 159 | +- Use `lib.mkDefault` or `lib.mkForce` to resolve conflicts |
| 160 | + |
| 161 | +### "attribute not found" |
| 162 | +- Verify the attribute path with `nix eval` |
| 163 | +- Check if module is properly imported |
| 164 | + |
| 165 | +### Service not starting |
| 166 | +- Check plist/unit file generation |
| 167 | +- Verify paths in ProgramArguments |
| 168 | +- Check logs for errors |
0 commit comments