Quick Start

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

• Install single-user Nix by running the following:

  $ bash <(curl https://nixos.org/nix/install)

  This will install Nix in /nix. The install script will create /nix using sudo, so make sure you have sufficient rights. (For other installation methods, see part_title.)

• See what installable packages are currently available in the channel:

  $ nix-env -qa
  docbook-xml-4.3
  docbook-xml-4.5
  firefox-33.0.2
  hello-2.9
  libxslt-1.1.28
  ...

• Install some packages from the channel:

  $ nix-env -i hello

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

• Test that they work:

  $ which hello
  /home/eelco/.nix-profile/bin/hello
  $ hello
  Hello, world!

• Uninstall a package:

  $ nix-env -e hello

• You can also test a package without installing it:

  $ nix-shell -p 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

• To keep up-to-date with the channel, do:

  $ nix-channel --update nixpkgs
  $ nix-env -u '*'

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

• 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

• You should periodically run the Nix garbage collector to get rid of unused packages, since uninstalls or upgrades don't actually delete them:

  $ nix-collect-garbage -d

This section describes how to install and configure Nix for first-time use.