mirror of
https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager
synced 2024-11-10 07:04:17 +00:00
doc: move FAQ to manual
This converts the FAQ into AsciiDoc and includes it in the HTML manual.
This commit is contained in:
Robert Helgesson
parent
cba7b6ee6e
commit
1afa5e257b
5 changed files with 175 additions and 208 deletions
1
FAQ.adoc
Symbolic link
1
FAQ.adoc
Symbolic link
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@ -0,0 +1 @@
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doc/faq.adoc
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206
FAQ.md
206
FAQ.md
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@ -1,206 +0,0 @@
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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================================
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Why is there a collision error when switching generation?
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---------------------------------------------------------
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Home Manager currently installs packages into the user environment,
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precisely as if the packages were installed through
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`nix-env --install`. This means that you will get a collision error if
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your Home Manager configuration attempts to install a package that you
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already have installed manually, that is, packages that shows up when
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you run `nix-env --query`.
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For example, imagine you have the `hello` package installed in your
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environment
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```console
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$ nix-env --query
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hello-2.10
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```
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and your Home Manager configuration contains
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home.packages = [ pkgs.hello ];
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Then attempting to switch to this configuration will result in an
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error similar to
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```console
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$ home-manager switch
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these derivations will be built:
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/nix/store/xg69wsnd1rp8xgs9qfsjal017nf0ldhm-home-manager-path.drv
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[…]
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Activating installPackages
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replacing old ‘home-manager-path’
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installing ‘home-manager-path’
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building path(s) ‘/nix/store/b5c0asjz9f06l52l9812w6k39ifr49jj-user-environment’
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Wide character in die at /nix/store/64jc9gd2rkbgdb4yjx3nrgc91bpjj5ky-buildenv.pl line 79.
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collision between ‘/nix/store/fmwa4axzghz11cnln5absh31nbhs9lq1-home-manager-path/bin/hello’ and ‘/nix/store/c2wyl8b9p4afivpcz8jplc9kis8rj36d-hello-2.10/bin/hello’; use ‘nix-env --set-flag priority NUMBER PKGNAME’ to change the priority of one of the conflicting packages
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builder for ‘/nix/store/b37x3s7pzxbasfqhaca5dqbf3pjjw0ip-user-environment.drv’ failed with exit code 2
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error: build of ‘/nix/store/b37x3s7pzxbasfqhaca5dqbf3pjjw0ip-user-environment.drv’ failed
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```
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The solution is typically to uninstall the package from the
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environment using `nix-env --uninstall` and reattempt the Home Manager
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generation switch.
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Why are the session variables not set?
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--------------------------------------
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Home Manager is only able to set session variables automatically if it
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manages your Bash or Z shell configuration. If you don't want to let
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Home Manager manage your shell then you will have to manually source
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the
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~/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/hm-session-vars.sh
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file in an appropriate way. In Bash and Z shell this can be done by
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adding
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```sh
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. "$HOME/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/hm-session-vars.sh"
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```
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to your `.profile` and `.zshrc` files, respectively. The
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`hm-session-vars.sh` file should work in most Bourne-like shells.
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How do set up a configuration for multiple users/machines?
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----------------------------------------------------------
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A typical way to prepare a repository of configurations for multiple
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logins and machines is to prepare one "top-level" file for each unique
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combination.
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For example, if you have two machines, called "kronos" and "rhea" on
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which you want to configure your user "jane" then you could create the
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files
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- `kronos-jane.nix`,
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- `rhea-jane.nix`, and
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- `common.nix`
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in your repository. On the kronos and rhea machines you can then make
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`~jane/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix` be a symbolic link to the
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corresponding file in your configuration repository.
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The `kronos-jane.nix` and `rhea-jane.nix` files follow the format
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```nix
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{ ... }:
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{
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imports = [ ./common.nix ];
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# Various options that are specific for this machine/user.
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}
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```
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while the `common.nix` file contains configuration shared across the
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two logins. Of course, instead of just a single `common.nix` file you
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can have multiple ones, even one per program or service.
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You can get some inspiration from the [Post your home-manager home.nix
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file!][1] Reddit thread.
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[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/NixOS/comments/9bb9h9/post_your_homemanager_homenix_file/
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Why do I get an error message about `ca.desrt.dconf`?
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-----------------------------------------------------
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You are most likely trying to configure the GTK or Gnome Terminal but
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the DBus session is not aware of the dconf service. The full error you
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might get is
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error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name ca.desrt.dconf was not provided by any .service files
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The solution on NixOS is to add
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services.dbus.packages = with pkgs; [ gnome3.dconf ];
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to your system configuration.
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How do I install packages from Nixpkgs unstable?
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------------------------------------------------
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If you are using a stable version of Nixpkgs but would like to install
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some particular packages from Nixpkgs unstable then you can import the
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unstable Nixpkgs and refer to its packages within your configuration.
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Something like
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```nix
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{ pkgs, config, ... }:
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let
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pkgsUnstable = import <nixpkgs-unstable> {};
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in
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{
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home.packages = [
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pkgsUnstable.foo
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];
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# …
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}
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```
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should work provided you have a Nix channel called `nixpkgs-unstable`.
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You can add the `nixpkgs-unstable` channel by running
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```
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# nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixpkgs-unstable nixpkgs-unstable
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# nix-channel --update
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```
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Note, the package will not be affected by any package overrides,
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overlays, etc.
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How do I override the package used by a module?
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-----------------------------------------------
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By default Home Manager will install the package provided by your
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chosen `nixpkgs` channel but occasionally you might end up needing to
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change this package. This can typically be done in two ways.
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1. If the module provides a `package` option, such as
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`programs.beets.package`, then this is the recommended way to
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perform the override. For example,
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```
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programs.beets.package = pkgs.beets.override { enableCheck = true; };
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```
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2. If no `package` option is available, then you can typically
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override the relevant package using an [overlay][nixpkgs-overlays].
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For example, if you want to use the `programs.skim` module but use
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the `skim` package from Nixpkgs unstable, then a configuration like
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```nix
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{ pkgs, config, ... }:
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let
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pkgsUnstable = import <nixpkgs-unstable> {};
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in
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{
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programs.skim.enable = true;
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nixpkgs.overlays = [
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(self: super: {
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skim = pkgsUnstable.skim;
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})
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];
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# …
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}
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```
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should work OK.
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[nixpkgs-overlays]: https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#chap-overlays
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@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ let
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name = "nmd";
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owner = "rycee";
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repo = "nmd";
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rev = "49567e3ff2824ac8ba457f439f384eafc1eb4547";
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sha256 = "0x2lwcryvmnr128r497bzrawi4x1yyxb4riicppdaib95iwn8jck";
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rev = "701d981f0ab979b79143e4f3b52e3b58836d4f6e";
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sha256 = "0wwa5ivrvqy4izj2zwn9vzr44n54lz3kbbj4d6f0gjriab07dwd6";
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};
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nmd = import nmdSrc { inherit lib pkgs; };
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171
doc/faq.adoc
Normal file
171
doc/faq.adoc
Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
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[[ch-faq]]
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== Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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=== Why is there a collision error when switching generation?
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Home Manager currently installs packages into the user environment, precisely as if the packages were installed through `nix-env --install`. This means that you will get a collision error if your Home Manager configuration attempts to install a package that you already have installed manually, that is, packages that shows up when you run `nix-env --query`.
|
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|
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For example, imagine you have the `hello` package installed in your environment
|
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|
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[source,console]
|
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----
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$ nix-env --query
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hello-2.10
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----
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and your Home Manager configuration contains
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[source,nix]
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----
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home.packages = [ pkgs.hello ];
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----
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Then attempting to switch to this configuration will result in an error similar to
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[source,console]
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----
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$ home-manager switch
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these derivations will be built:
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/nix/store/xg69wsnd1rp8xgs9qfsjal017nf0ldhm-home-manager-path.drv
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[…]
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Activating installPackages
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replacing old ‘home-manager-path’
|
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installing ‘home-manager-path’
|
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building path(s) ‘/nix/store/b5c0asjz9f06l52l9812w6k39ifr49jj-user-environment’
|
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Wide character in die at /nix/store/64jc9gd2rkbgdb4yjx3nrgc91bpjj5ky-buildenv.pl line 79.
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collision between ‘/nix/store/fmwa4axzghz11cnln5absh31nbhs9lq1-home-manager-path/bin/hello’ and ‘/nix/store/c2wyl8b9p4afivpcz8jplc9kis8rj36d-hello-2.10/bin/hello’; use ‘nix-env --set-flag priority NUMBER PKGNAME’ to change the priority of one of the conflicting packages
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builder for ‘/nix/store/b37x3s7pzxbasfqhaca5dqbf3pjjw0ip-user-environment.drv’ failed with exit code 2
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error: build of ‘/nix/store/b37x3s7pzxbasfqhaca5dqbf3pjjw0ip-user-environment.drv’ failed
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----
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The solution is typically to uninstall the package from the environment using `nix-env --uninstall` and reattempt the Home Manager generation switch.
|
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|
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=== Why are the session variables not set?
|
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|
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Home Manager is only able to set session variables automatically if it manages your Bash or Z shell configuration. If you don't want to let Home Manager manage your shell then you will have to manually source the `~/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/hm-session-vars.sh` file in an appropriate way. In Bash and Z shell this can be done by adding
|
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|
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[source,bash]
|
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----
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. "$HOME/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/hm-session-vars.sh"
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----
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to your `.profile` and `.zshrc` files, respectively. The `hm-session-vars.sh` file should work in most Bourne-like shells.
|
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=== How do set up a configuration for multiple users/machines?
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:post-your-homenix: https://www.reddit.com/r/NixOS/comments/9bb9h9/post_your_homemanager_homenix_file/
|
||||
|
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A typical way to prepare a repository of configurations for multiple logins and machines is to prepare one "top-level" file for each unique combination.
|
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|
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For example, if you have two machines, called "kronos" and "rhea" on which you want to configure your user "jane" then you could create the files
|
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|
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- `kronos-jane.nix`,
|
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- `rhea-jane.nix`, and
|
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- `common.nix`
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|
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in your repository. On the kronos and rhea machines you can then make `~jane/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix` be a symbolic link to the corresponding file in your configuration repository.
|
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The `kronos-jane.nix` and `rhea-jane.nix` files follow the format
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[source,nix]
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----
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{ ... }:
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{
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imports = [ ./common.nix ];
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# Various options that are specific for this machine/user.
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}
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----
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while the `common.nix` file contains configuration shared across the two logins. Of course, instead of just a single `common.nix` file you can have multiple ones, even one per program or service.
|
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|
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You can get some inspiration from the {post-your-homenix}[Post your home-manager home.nix file!] Reddit thread.
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|
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=== Why do I get an error message about `ca.desrt.dconf`?
|
||||
|
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You are most likely trying to configure the GTK or Gnome Terminal but the DBus session is not aware of the dconf service. The full error you might get is
|
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|
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----
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error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name ca.desrt.dconf was not provided by any .service files
|
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----
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The solution on NixOS is to add
|
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[source,nix]
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services.dbus.packages = with pkgs; [ gnome3.dconf ];
|
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to your system configuration.
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|
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=== How do I install packages from Nixpkgs unstable?
|
||||
|
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If you are using a stable version of Nixpkgs but would like to install some particular packages from Nixpkgs unstable – or some other channel – then you can import the unstable Nixpkgs and refer to its packages within your configuration. Something like
|
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|
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[source,nix]
|
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----
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{ pkgs, config, ... }:
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let
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pkgsUnstable = import <nixpkgs-unstable> {};
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in
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{
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home.packages = [
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pkgsUnstable.foo
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];
|
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|
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# …
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}
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----
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|
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should work provided you have a Nix channel called `nixpkgs-unstable`.
|
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|
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You can add the `nixpkgs-unstable` channel by running
|
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|
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[source,console]
|
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----
|
||||
# nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixpkgs-unstable nixpkgs-unstable
|
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# nix-channel --update
|
||||
----
|
||||
|
||||
Note, the package will not be affected by any package overrides, overlays, etc.
|
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|
||||
=== How do I override the package used by a module?
|
||||
:nixpkgs-overlays: https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#chap-overlays
|
||||
|
||||
By default Home Manager will install the package provided by your chosen `nixpkgs` channel but occasionally you might end up needing to change this package. This can typically be done in two ways.
|
||||
|
||||
1. If the module provides a `package` option, such as `programs.beets.package`, then this is the recommended way to perform the override. For example,
|
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+
|
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[source,nix]
|
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programs.beets.package = pkgs.beets.override { enableCheck = true; };
|
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|
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2. If no `package` option is available then you can typically override the relevant package using an {nixpkgs-overlays}[overlay].
|
||||
+
|
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For example, if you want to use the `programs.skim` module but use the `skim` package from Nixpkgs unstable, then a configuration like
|
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+
|
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[source,nix]
|
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----
|
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{ pkgs, config, ... }:
|
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|
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let
|
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|
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pkgsUnstable = import <nixpkgs-unstable> {};
|
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|
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in
|
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|
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{
|
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programs.skim.enable = true;
|
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nixpkgs.overlays = [
|
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(self: super: {
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skim = pkgsUnstable.skim;
|
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})
|
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];
|
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|
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# …
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}
|
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----
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+
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should work OK.
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|
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@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
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</preface>
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<xi:include href="installation.xml" />
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<xi:include href="writing-modules.xml" />
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<xi:include href="faq.xml" />
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<appendix xml:id="ch-options">
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<title>Configuration Options</title>
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<xi:include href="./nmd-result/home-manager-options.xml" />
|
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|
|
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Loading…
Reference in a new issue