nix.dev/source/tutorials/declarative-and-reproducible-developer-environments.rst

.. _declarative-reproducible-envs:

Declarative and reproducible developer environments
===================================================
In the :ref:`ad-hoc-envs` tutorial we looked at providing shell
environments for when we need a quick'n'dirty way of getting hold
of some tools.

In this tutorial we'll take a look how to create :term:`reproducible`
shell environments given a declarative configuration file called a Nix expression.


When are declarative shell environments useful?
-----------------------------------------------

This is the quickest approach to getting started with Nix:

- use single command to invoke it via ``nix-shell``
- it works across different operating systems (Linux / MacOS)
- you share the exact same environment with all developers

Developer environments allow you to:

- provide CLI tools, such as ``psql``, ``jq``, ``tmux``, etc
- provide developer libraries, such as ``zlib``, ``openssl``, etc
- set shell environment variables
- execute bash during environment activation


Getting started
---------------

At the top-level of your project create ``shell.nix`` with the following contents:

.. code:: nix

   { pkgs ? import (fetchTarball "https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/3590f02e7d5760e52072c1a729ee2250b5560746.tar.gz") {} }:

   pkgs.mkShell {
     buildInputs = [
       pkgs.which
       pkgs.htop
       pkgs.zlib
     ];
   }

.. note:: To understand the first line, read through :ref:`pinning nixpkgs tutorial <ref-pinning-nixpkgs>`.


We import ``nixpkgs`` and make a shell with ``which`` and ``htop`` available in ``$PATH``.
``zlib`` provides libraries and headers in case we're compiling something against it.
To enter the environment:

.. code:: shell-session

   $ nix-shell
   these paths will be fetched (0.07 MiB download, 0.20 MiB unpacked):
     /nix/store/072a6x7rwv5f8wr6f5s1rq8nnm767cfp-htop-2.2.0
   copying path '/nix/store/072a6x7rwv5f8wr6f5s1rq8nnm767cfp-htop-2.2.0' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...

   [nix-shell:~]$ 


The command will start downloading the missing packages from the https://cache.nixos.org binary cache.

Once it's done, you are dropped into a new
shell. This shell provides the packages specified in ``shell.nix``.

Run ``htop`` to confirm that it is present. Quit the program by hitting
``q``.

Now, try ``which htop`` to check where the ``htop`` command is on disk.
You should see something similar to this:

.. code:: shell-session

   [nix-shell:~]$ which htop
   /nix/store/y3w2i8kfdbfj9rx287ad52rahjpgv423-htop-2.2.0/bin/htop


Customizing your developer environment
--------------------------------------

Given the following ``shell.nix``:

.. code:: nix

   { pkgs ? import (fetchTarball "https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/3590f02e7d5760e52072c1a729ee2250b5560746.tar.gz") {} }:

   pkgs.mkShell {
     buildInputs = [
       pkgs.which
       pkgs.htop
       pkgs.zlib
     ];

     shellHook = ''
       echo hello
     '';

     MY_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE = "world";
   }

Running ``nix-shell`` we observe:

.. code:: shell-session

   $ nix-shell
   hello

   [nix-shell:~]$ echo $MY_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE
   world


- The ``shellHook`` section allows you to execute bash while entering the shell environment.
- Any attributes passed to ``mkShell`` function are available once the shell environment is active.


``direnv``: Automatically activating the environment on directory change  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Besides activating the environment for each project, every time you change 
``shell.nix`` you need to re-enter the shell.

You can use ``direnv`` to automate this process for you, with the downside that each developer needs
to install it globally.


Setting up ``direnv``
*********************

1. `Install direnv with your OS package manager <https://direnv.net/docs/installation.html#from-system-packages>`_

2. `Hook it into your shell <https://direnv.net/docs/hook.html>`_

At the top-level of your project run::

     echo "use nix" > .envrc && direnv allow

The next time your launch your terminal and enter the top-level of your project direnv will check for changes.

.. code:: shell-session

   $ cd myproject
   direnv: loading myproject/.envrc
   direnv: using nix
   hello


Next steps
----------

- :ref:`pinning-nixpkgs` to see different ways to import nixpkgs

- To quickly set up a Nix project read through 
  `Getting started Nix template <https://github.com/nix-dot-dev/getting-started-nix-template>`_.