# niv
[](https://circleci.com/gh/nmattia/niv)
[](https://niv.nmattia.com)
Painless dependencies for [Nix] projects. Read more in the [Getting started](#getting-started) section below.
## Install
``` bash
$ nix-env -iA niv -f https://github.com/nmattia/niv/tarball/master
```
## Build
Inside the provided nix shell:
``` bash
$ repl
```
Run the test suite with this command:
``` bash
$ ./script/test
```
## Usage
`niv` simplifies [adding](#add) and [updating](#update) dependencies in Nix
projects. It uses a single file, `nix/sources.json`, where it stores the data
necessary for fetching and updating the packages.
* [Add](#add): inserts a package in `nix/sources.json`.
* [Update](#update): updates one or all packages in `nix/sources.json`.
* [Drop](#drop): deletes a package from `nix/sources.json`.
`niv` has two more utility functions:
* [Init](#init): bootstraps a Nix project, in particular creates a
`nix/sources.json` file containing `niv` and `nixpkgs` as well as a
`nix/sources.nix` file that returns the sources as a Nix object.
* [Show](#show): shows the packages' information.
The next two sections cover [common use cases](#getting-started) and [full command
description](#commands).
### Getting started
This section covers common use cases:
* [Bootstrapping a Nix project](#bootstrapping-a-nix-project).
* [Tracking a different nixpkgs branch](#tracking-a-nixpkgs-branch).
* [Importing packages from GitHub](#importing-packages-from-github).
* [Fetching packages from custom URLs](#using-custom-urls).
#### Bootstrapping a Nix project
Use the `init` command when starting a new Nix project or when porting an
existing Nix project to niv:
``` shell
$ niv init
...
$ tree
.
└── nix
├── sources.json
└── sources.nix
1 directory, 2 files
```
The file `nix/sources.json` is the file used by niv to store versions and is
initialized with niv and nixpkgs:
``` json
{
"nixpkgs": {
"url": "https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs-channels/archive/109a28ab954a0ad129f7621d468f829981b8b96c.tar.gz",
"owner": "NixOS",
"branch": "nixos-18.09",
"url_template": "https://github.com///archive/.tar.gz",
"repo": "nixpkgs-channels",
"sha256": "12wnxla7ld4cgpdndaipdh3j4zdalifk287ihxhnmrzrghjahs3q",
"description": "Nixpkgs/NixOS branches that track the Nixpkgs/NixOS channels",
"rev": "109a28ab954a0ad129f7621d468f829981b8b96c"
},
"niv": {
"homepage": "https://github.com/nmattia/niv",
"url": "https://github.com/nmattia/niv/archive/72e77204544527279e8f1e2d982d29503482b8f4.tar.gz",
"owner": "nmattia",
"branch": "master",
"url_template": "https://github.com///archive/.tar.gz",
"repo": "niv",
"sha256": "1zjcyzxhq9iwxh58j5d7sx1vz5s3r1f6gpmnfgj2a3rxmclwvn3c",
"description": "Easy dependency management for Nix projects",
"rev": "72e77204544527279e8f1e2d982d29503482b8f4"
}
}
```
To use those dependencies `import` the file `nix/sources.nix`, e.g.:
``` nix
{ sources ? import ./sources.nix }: # import the sources
with
{ overlay = _: pkgs:
{ niv = import sources.niv {}; # use the sources :)
};
};
import sources.nixpkgs # and use them again!
{ overlays = [ overlay ] ; config = {}; }
```
#### Tracking a nixpkgs branch
The `init` command sets the `nix/sources.json` file to track the latest commit
present on nixpkgs 18.09 when the command was run. Run the following command to
update it:
``` shell
$ niv update nixpkgs
```
To change the branch being tracked run this command:
``` shell
$ niv update nixpkgs -b nixos-19.03 # equivalent to --branch nixos-19.03
```
#### Importing packages from GitHub
The `add` command will infer information about the package being added, when
possible. This works very well for GitHub repositories. Run this command to add
[jq] to your project:
``` shell
$ niv add stedolan/jq
```
The following data was added in `nix/sources.json` for `jq`:
``` json
{
"homepage": "http://stedolan.github.io/jq/",
"url": "https://github.com/stedolan/jq/archive/9fa2e51099c55af56e3e541dc4b399f11de74abe.tar.gz",
"owner": "stedolan",
"branch": "master",
"url_template": "https://github.com///archive/.tar.gz",
"repo": "jq",
"sha256": "0819rvk8057qgcqvgn7fpldvly2pfdw9fxcjrlqa8gr59p8a1cic",
"description": "Command-line JSON processor",
"rev": "9fa2e51099c55af56e3e541dc4b399f11de74abe"
}
```
#### Using custom URLs
It is possible to use niv to fetch packages from custom URLs. Run this command
to add the Haskell compiler [GHC] to your `nix/sources.json`:
``` shell
$ niv add ghc \
-v 8.4.3 \
-t 'https://downloads.haskell.org/~ghc//ghc--i386-deb8-linux.tar.xz'
```
The option `-v` sets the "version" attribute to `8.4.3`. The option `-t` sets a
template that can be reused by niv when fetching a new URL (see the
documentation for [add](#add) and [update](#update)).
For updating the version of GHC used run this command:
``` shell
$ niv update ghc -v 8.6.2
```
### Commands
```
NIV - Version manager for Nix projects
Usage: niv COMMAND
Available options:
-h,--help Show this help text
Available commands:
init Initialize a Nix project. Existing files won't be
modified.
add Add dependency
show
update Update dependencies
modify Modify dependency
drop Drop dependency
```
#### Add
```
Examples:
niv add stedolan/jq
niv add NixOS/nixpkgs-channels -n nixpkgs -b nixos-18.09
niv add my-package -v alpha-0.1 -t http://example.com/archive/.zip
Usage: niv add [-n|--name NAME] PACKAGE ([-a|--attribute KEY=VAL] |
[-b|--branch BRANCH] | [-o|--owner OWNER] | [-r|--repo REPO] |
[-v|--version VERSION] | [-t|--template URL] | [-T|--type TYPE])
Add dependency
Available options:
-n,--name NAME Set the package name to
-a,--attribute KEY=VAL Set the package spec attribute to
-b,--branch BRANCH Equivalent to --attribute branch=
-o,--owner OWNER Equivalent to --attribute owner=
-r,--repo REPO Equivalent to --attribute repo=
-v,--version VERSION Equivalent to --attribute version=
-t,--template URL Used during 'update' when building URL. Occurrences
of are replaced with attribute 'foo'.
-T,--type TYPE The type of the URL target. The value can be either
'file' or 'tarball'. If not set, the value is
inferred from the suffix of the URL.
-h,--help Show this help text
```
#### Update
```
Examples:
niv update
niv update nixpkgs
niv update my-package -v beta-0.2
Usage: niv update [PACKAGE] ([-a|--attribute KEY=VAL] | [-b|--branch BRANCH] |
[-o|--owner OWNER] | [-r|--repo REPO] | [-v|--version VERSION]
| [-t|--template URL] | [-T|--type TYPE])
Update dependencies
Available options:
-a,--attribute KEY=VAL Set the package spec attribute to
-b,--branch BRANCH Equivalent to --attribute branch=
-o,--owner OWNER Equivalent to --attribute owner=
-r,--repo REPO Equivalent to --attribute repo=
-v,--version VERSION Equivalent to --attribute version=
-t,--template URL Used during 'update' when building URL. Occurrences
of are replaced with attribute 'foo'.
-T,--type TYPE The type of the URL target. The value can be either
'file' or 'tarball'. If not set, the value is
inferred from the suffix of the URL.
-h,--help Show this help text
```
#### Drop
```
Examples:
niv drop jq
niv drop my-package version
Usage: niv drop PACKAGE [ATTRIBUTE]
Drop dependency
Available options:
-h,--help Show this help text
```
#### Init
```
Usage: niv init
Initialize a Nix project. Existing files won't be modified.
Available options:
-h,--help Show this help text
```
#### show
```
Usage: niv show
Available options:
-h,--help Show this help text
```
## Related
* [nix-flakes]: `niv` support a subset of the Nix flakes. In particular it does
not perform any kind of dependency resolution.
* [nix-path]: `niv` and `nix-path` share a similar goal and ideas tend to flow
back and forth freely.
[Nix]: https://nixos.org/nix/
[jq]: https://stedolan.github.io/jq/
[GHC]: https://www.haskell.org/ghc/
[nix-flakes]: https://gist.github.com/edolstra/40da6e3a4d4ee8fd019395365e0772e7
[nix-path]: https://github.com/zimbatm/nix-path