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Quick Start

Warning

FIXME(Lix): This chapter is quite outdated with respect to recommended practices in 2024 and needs updating. The commands in here will work, however, and the installation section is up to date.

For more updated guidance, see the links on https://lix.systems/resources/

This chapter is for impatient people who don't like reading documentation. For more in-depth information you are kindly referred to subsequent chapters.

  1. Install Lix:

On Linux and macOS the easiest way to install Lix is to run the following shell command (as a user other than root):

$ curl -sSf -L https://install.lix.systems/lix | sh -s -- install

For systems that already have a Nix implementation installed, such as NixOS systems, read our install page

The install script will use sudo, so make sure you have sufficient rights.

For other installation methods, see here.

  1. See what installable packages are currently available in the channel:
$ nix-env --query --available --attr-path
nixpkgs.docbook_xml_dtd_43                    docbook-xml-4.3
nixpkgs.docbook_xml_dtd_45                    docbook-xml-4.5
nixpkgs.firefox                               firefox-33.0.2
nixpkgs.hello                                 hello-2.9
nixpkgs.libxslt                               libxslt-1.1.28
…
  1. Install some packages from the channel:
$ nix-env --install --attr nixpkgs.hello

This should download pre-built packages; it should not build them locally (if it does, something went wrong).

  1. Test that they work:
$ which hello
/home/eelco/.nix-profile/bin/hello
$ hello
Hello, world!
  1. Uninstall a package:
$ nix-env --uninstall hello
  1. You can also test a package without installing it:
$ nix-shell --packages hello

This builds or downloads GNU Hello and its dependencies, then drops you into a Bash shell where the hello command is present, all without affecting your normal environment:

[nix-shell:~]$ hello
Hello, world!

[nix-shell:~]$ exit

$ hello
hello: command not found
  1. To keep up-to-date with the channel, do:
$ nix-channel --update nixpkgs
$ nix-env --upgrade '*'

The latter command will upgrade each installed package for which there is a “newer” version (as determined by comparing the version numbers).

  1. If you're unhappy with the result of a nix-env action (e.g., an upgraded package turned out not to work properly), you can go back:
$ nix-env --rollback
  1. You should periodically run the Lix garbage collector to get rid of unused packages, since uninstalls or upgrades don't actually delete them:
$ nix-collect-garbage --delete-old

N.B. on NixOS there is an option nix.gc.automatic to enable a systemd timer to automate this task.