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I once needed to install a specific version of a package on my nix environment. It took me 2 hours to find how... After a few months, I needed to do that again
by malkosta 3y ago
I once needed to install a specific version of a package on my nix environment. It took me 2 hours to find how...
After a few months, I needed to do that again, but now the project supported devenv.sh. It took me 5 min.
That experience also repeated for other kinds of tasks, for example: start postgres (or redis or elasticsearch or cassandra...), install packages only if the host system is `darwin`, install old versions of packages that aren't on the registry anymore, etc...
- Rucadi 3y agoHow does devenv help with using an specific version of a package in an easier way than nix (with flakes)? Does it have any kind of simpler syntax for overlays? Or you are referring to pinning a nixpkgs version? I'm not really against tools that make it easier to use nix, I think devenv is a nice tool and I like that it doesn't hide nix, the same way I love home-manager and use it all the time.
- malkosta 3y ago> I like that it doesn't hide nix Yep. That's my main argument for it against devbox. > Does it have any kind of simpler syntax for overlays? Yes, it does. But what helps isn't that, but the concise docs with just the information I need to know to get up and running quickly: https://devenv.sh/getting-started/ https://devenv.sh/getting-started/ I've read multiple docs/books on Nix, but I always find myself lost when I need to accomplish anything simple. With devenv, I can spot most of my answers from the docs menu. They are all a single click distant from me.