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Nix seems great for terminal-based development environments where starting a nix-shell sets up all the proper symlinks, env vars, etc. But how does this transla

by zaps 3y ago

Nix seems great for terminal-based development environments where starting a nix-shell sets up all the proper symlinks, env vars, etc. But how does this translate to IDEs like VSCode or IntelliJ? Like if you clone a repo with a shell.nix file, how does the IDE know to use that environment when you, say, use the File > Debug command, instead of executing whatever toolchain that happens to be on your path? Are there plugins available that enable this? I realize you could just open a terminal within the IDE, start a nix shell, and run the equivalent run/debug/etc commands, but I am curious if anything exists to make the experience seamless to the user.

1una 3y ago
> Are there plugins available that enable this? Try https://github.com/direnv/direnv-vscode https://github.com/direnv/direnv-vscode or https://github.com/fehnomenal/intellij-direnv https://github.com/fehnomenal/intellij-direnv
nextos 3y ago
Yes, most Nix users employ https://direnv.net https://direnv.net or the equivalent for your IDE of choice. Emacs for instance has https://github.com/purcell/envrc https://github.com/purcell/envrc which set per-buffer variables. More background in https://github.com/direnv/direnv/wiki/Nix https://github.com/direnv/direnv/wiki/Nix.
- rgoulter 3y ago
  That said, I believe VSCode (and some IDEs) don't necessarily support direnv in all cases.. e.g. you'd want direnv to load before other plugins (and update the PATH), but might not get that.
  - angio 3y ago
    If you start vscode with `code .` after entering the nix shell it will work in most cases.
tripdout 3y ago
There is a Nix VScode plugin
chpatrick 3y ago
There's a vscode plugin for exactly that: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=arrterian.nix-env-selector https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=arrteria...
JamesSwift 3y ago
In general you have to open the IDE from a terminal that is running in the context of the nix environment, and then everything will "just work" (except for issues sometimes with nix being readonly)

by zaps 3y ago

1una 3y ago

> Are there plugins available that enable this? Try https://github.com/direnv/direnv-vscode https://github.com/direnv/direnv-vscode or https://github.com/fehnomenal/intellij-direnv https://github.com/fehnomenal/intellij-direnv

nextos 3y ago

Yes, most Nix users employ https://direnv.net https://direnv.net or the equivalent for your IDE of choice. Emacs for instance has https://github.com/purcell/envrc https://github.com/purcell/envrc which set per-buffer variables. More background in https://github.com/direnv/direnv/wiki/Nix https://github.com/direnv/direnv/wiki/Nix.

rgoulter 3y ago
That said, I believe VSCode (and some IDEs) don't necessarily support direnv in all cases.. e.g. you'd want direnv to load before other plugins (and update the PATH), but might not get that.
- angio 3y ago
  If you start vscode with `code .` after entering the nix shell it will work in most cases.

tripdout 3y ago

There is a Nix VScode plugin

chpatrick 3y ago

There's a vscode plugin for exactly that: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=arrterian.nix-env-selector https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=arrteria...

JamesSwift 3y ago

In general you have to open the IDE from a terminal that is running in the context of the nix environment, and then everything will "just work" (except for issues sometimes with nix being readonly)