Nix

Nix is a package manager and build CLI for describing software, development environments, and system configurations as reproducible inputs and store outputs. It covers building and running packages, entering pinned dev shells, querying the Nix store, and working with flake-based dependency graphs.

• Build, run, and install packages or apps from local expressions, flakes, or remote refs without relying on host-global dependencies.
• Create reproducible dev shells and export build environments for local work, CI jobs, and project bootstrap flows.
• Inspect store paths, dependency closures, flake metadata, and package search results before promoting or debugging changes.

• Many high-value inspection commands expose --json, including nix eval, nix path-info, nix flake metadata, nix flake show, and nix print-dev-env.
• Commands compose well around explicit store paths, symlinked build results, and exit codes, which makes inspect-change-verify loops practical.
• Automation fit is mixed at the edges: some important workflows open interactive shells, and newer nix and flake surfaces are still marked experimental in the bundled docs.

• Installing and enabling Nix changes local system state and the recommended installer flow differs by platform and daemon mode.
• Many real workflows assume existing Nix expressions or flakes, so the CLI is most effective once a repo or environment already models its dependencies in Nix.