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the recommended way to install packages rather than imperatively doing it with nix-env The problem is: recommended by whom? The Nix Manual presents nix-env as

the recommended way to install packages rather than imperatively doing it with nix-env The problem is: recommended by whom? The Nix Manual presents nix-env as the main way to install Nix packages. So, as long as the manual centers around nix-env, newcomers will try to use nix-env and get bitten by it. The same is true for the NixOS Manual, it suggests that people install packages with nix-env before talking about declarative package management. Also, I love home-manager, but it is perhaps too much for people who just want to dabble in Nix a bit. It would be nice if a simpler declarative way of managing packages was presented first. Perhaps surprisingly, another way is documented but it is deep in the nixpkgs manual: https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#sec-declarative-package-management https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#sec-declarative-pac...

takeda 5y ago
It's recommended by people who used Nix for a while. I have a different opinion myself though. While I don't use nix-env anymore I think it is important because serves as a bridge between nix and what people are typically expecting. I think nix-env syntax should be improved to be similar what you expect with other package managers though. Once you understand how nix operates you can then stop using nix-env. I personally use nix for development. For every project I define the whole environment including all tools I need for development. This ensures that if someone needs to work on my project can get the same dev environment. If you add a tool like direnv to the mix it makes the experience much, much better, because then environment is automatically set up as soon as you enter the project directory.