A bigger problem is that the command-line utilities (what git calls "porcelain") are full of jillions of inconsistencies. Some tools (nix-env) read ~/.nix-defe

A bigger problem is that the command-line utilities (what git calls "porcelain") are full of jillions of inconsistencies. Some tools (nix-env) read ~/.nix-defexpr, others (nix-store) ignore it. Sometimes arguments are interpreted as filenames, sometimes as attrnames, and other times as a search query that nix will use to grind through some big list of package names. The new "nix" command with subcommands ("nix env" instead of "nix-env") is much better, but has been stuck in "experimental status, breaking changes may occur at any time". Stabilizing the nix command syntax and deprecating nix-env/nix-store/nix-instantiate would go a long way.