Make experimental-features a proper type

Rather than having them plain strings scattered through the whole
codebase, create an enum containing all the known experimental features.

This means that
- Nix can now `warn` when an unkwown experimental feature is passed
  (making it much nicer to spot typos and spot deprecated features)
- It’s now easy to remove a feature altogether (once the feature isn’t
  experimental anymore or is dropped) by just removing the field for the
  enum and letting the compiler point us to all the now invalid usages
  of it.

src/build-remote/build-remote.cc

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #include "derivations.hh"
 #include "local-store.hh"
 #include "legacy.hh"
+#include "experimental-features.hh"
 
 using namespace nix;
 using std::cin;
@@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ connected:
 
         std::set<Realisation> missingRealisations;
         StorePathSet missingPaths;
-        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations") && !derivationHasKnownOutputPaths(drv.type())) {
+        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations) && !derivationHasKnownOutputPaths(drv.type())) {
             for (auto & outputName : wantedOutputs) {
                 auto thisOutputHash = outputHashes.at(outputName);
                 auto thisOutputId = DrvOutput{ thisOutputHash, outputName };
@@ -327,7 +328,7 @@ connected:
         for (auto & realisation : missingRealisations) {
             // Should hold, because if the feature isn't enabled the set
             // of missing realisations should be empty
-            settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+            settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
             store->registerDrvOutput(realisation);
         }
 

src/libcmd/installables.cc

@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@ BuiltPaths getBuiltPaths(ref<Store> evalStore, ref<Store> store, const DerivedPa
                                 "the derivation '%s' doesn't have an output named '%s'",
                                 store->printStorePath(bfd.drvPath), output);
                         if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(
-                                "ca-derivations")) {
+                                Xp::CaDerivations)) {
                             auto outputId =
                                 DrvOutput{outputHashes.at(output), output};
                             auto realisation =

src/libexpr/eval.cc

@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ EvalState::~EvalState()
 
 
 void EvalState::requireExperimentalFeatureOnEvaluation(
-    const std::string & feature,
+    const ExperimentalFeature & feature,
     const std::string_view fName,
     const Pos & pos)
 {

src/libexpr/eval.hh

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include "nixexpr.hh"
 #include "symbol-table.hh"
 #include "config.hh"
+#include "experimental-features.hh"
 
 #include <map>
 #include <optional>
@@ -141,7 +142,7 @@ public:
     ~EvalState();
 
     void requireExperimentalFeatureOnEvaluation(
-        const std::string & feature,
+        const ExperimentalFeature &,
         const std::string_view fName,
         const Pos & pos
     );

src/libexpr/flake/flake.cc

@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
     const FlakeRef & topRef,
     const LockFlags & lockFlags)
 {
-    settings.requireExperimentalFeature("flakes");
+    settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::Flakes);
 
     FlakeCache flakeCache;
 
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ void callFlake(EvalState & state,
 
 static void prim_getFlake(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    state.requireExperimentalFeatureOnEvaluation("flakes", "builtins.getFlake", pos);
+    state.requireExperimentalFeatureOnEvaluation(Xp::Flakes, "builtins.getFlake", pos);
 
     auto flakeRefS = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     auto flakeRef = parseFlakeRef(flakeRefS, {}, true);

src/libexpr/parser.y

@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ expr_simple
           new ExprString(data->symbols.create(path)));
   }
   | URI {
-      static bool noURLLiterals = settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("no-url-literals");
+      static bool noURLLiterals = settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::NoUrlLiterals);
       if (noURLLiterals)
           throw ParseError({
               .msg = hintfmt("URL literals are disabled"),

src/libexpr/primops.cc

@@ -985,7 +985,7 @@ static void prim_derivationStrict(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * *
             }
 
             if (i->name == state.sContentAddressed) {
-                settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+                settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
                 contentAddressed = state.forceBool(*i->value, pos);
             }
 

src/libexpr/primops/fetchTree.cc

@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ static void fetchTree(
 
 static void prim_fetchTree(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    settings.requireExperimentalFeature("flakes");
+    settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::Flakes);
     fetchTree(state, pos, args, v, std::nullopt, FetchTreeParams { .allowNameArgument = false });
 }
 

src/libstore/build/derivation-goal.cc

@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ void DerivationGoal::haveDerivation()
     trace("have derivation");
 
     if (drv->type() == DerivationType::CAFloating)
-        settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+        settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
 
     retrySubstitution = false;
 
@@ -453,7 +453,7 @@ void DerivationGoal::inputsRealised()
     if (useDerivation) {
         auto & fullDrv = *dynamic_cast<Derivation *>(drv.get());
 
-        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations") &&
+        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations) &&
             ((!fullDrv.inputDrvs.empty() && derivationIsCA(fullDrv.type()))
             || fullDrv.type() == DerivationType::DeferredInputAddressed)) {
             /* We are be able to resolve this derivation based on the
@@ -1273,7 +1273,7 @@ void DerivationGoal::checkPathValidity()
                     : PathStatus::Corrupt,
             };
         }
-        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations")) {
+        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations)) {
             auto drvOutput = DrvOutput{initialOutputs.at(i.first).outputHash, i.first};
             if (auto real = worker.store.queryRealisation(drvOutput)) {
                 info.known = {

src/libstore/build/entry-points.cc

@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ BuildResult Store::buildDerivation(const StorePath & drvPath, const BasicDerivat
                     outputId,
                     Realisation{ outputId, *staticOutput.second}
                     );
-        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations") && !derivationHasKnownOutputPaths(drv.type())) {
+        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations) && !derivationHasKnownOutputPaths(drv.type())) {
             auto realisation = this->queryRealisation(outputId);
             if (realisation)
                 result.builtOutputs.insert_or_assign(

src/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc

@@ -1259,7 +1259,7 @@ struct RestrictedStore : public virtual RestrictedStoreConfig, public virtual Lo
             for (auto & [outputName, outputPath] : outputs)
                 if (wantOutput(outputName, bfd.outputs)) {
                     newPaths.insert(outputPath);
-                    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations")) {
+                    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations)) {
                         auto thisRealisation = next->queryRealisation(
                             DrvOutput{drvHashes.at(outputName), outputName}
                         );
@@ -1320,7 +1320,7 @@ struct RestrictedStore : public virtual RestrictedStoreConfig, public virtual Lo
 
 void LocalDerivationGoal::startDaemon()
 {
-    settings.requireExperimentalFeature("recursive-nix");
+    settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::RecursiveNix);
 
     Store::Params params;
     params["path-info-cache-size"] = "0";
@@ -2561,7 +2561,7 @@ void LocalDerivationGoal::registerOutputs()
        that for floating CA derivations, which otherwise couldn't be cached,
        but it's fine to do in all cases. */
 
-    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations")) {
+    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations)) {
         for (auto& [outputName, newInfo] : infos) {
             auto thisRealisation = Realisation{
                 .id = DrvOutput{initialOutputs.at(outputName).outputHash,

src/libstore/daemon.cc

@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ struct ClientSettings
                 else if (name == settings.experimentalFeatures.name) {
                     // We don’t want to forward the experimental features to
                     // the daemon, as that could cause some pretty weird stuff
-                    if (tokenizeString<Strings>(value) != settings.experimentalFeatures.get())
+                    if (parseFeatures(tokenizeString<StringSet>(value)) != settings.experimentalFeatures.get())
                         debug("Ignoring the client-specified experimental features");
                 }
                 else if (trusted

src/libstore/derivations.cc

@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ static DerivationOutput parseDerivationOutput(const Store & store,
                 },
             };
         } else {
-            settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+            settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
             assert(pathS == "");
             return DerivationOutput {
                 .output = DerivationOutputCAFloating {

src/libstore/derived-path.cc

@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ RealisedPath::Set BuiltPath::toRealisedPaths(Store & store) const
                     staticOutputHashes(store, store.readDerivation(p.drvPath));
                 for (auto& [outputName, outputPath] : p.outputs) {
                     if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(
-                            "ca-derivations")) {
+                                Xp::CaDerivations)) {
                         auto thisRealisation = store.queryRealisation(
                             DrvOutput{drvHashes.at(outputName), outputName});
                         assert(thisRealisation);  // We’ve built it, so we must h

src/libstore/globals.cc

@@ -160,21 +160,16 @@ StringSet Settings::getDefaultExtraPlatforms()
     return extraPlatforms;
 }
 
-bool Settings::isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(const std::string & name)
+bool Settings::isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(const ExperimentalFeature & feature)
 {
     auto & f = experimentalFeatures.get();
-    return std::find(f.begin(), f.end(), name) != f.end();
+    return std::find(f.begin(), f.end(), feature) != f.end();
 }
 
-MissingExperimentalFeature::MissingExperimentalFeature(std::string feature)
+void Settings::requireExperimentalFeature(const ExperimentalFeature & feature)
-    : Error("experimental Nix feature '%1%' is disabled; use '--extra-experimental-features %1%' to override", feature)
-    , missingFeature(feature)
-    {}
-
-void Settings::requireExperimentalFeature(const std::string & name)
 {
-    if (!isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(name))
+    if (!isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(feature))
-        throw MissingExperimentalFeature(name);
+        throw MissingExperimentalFeature(feature);
 }
 
 bool Settings::isWSL1()

src/libstore/globals.hh

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "types.hh"
 #include "config.hh"
 #include "util.hh"
+#include "experimental-features.hh"
 
 #include <map>
 #include <limits>
@@ -45,15 +46,6 @@ struct PluginFilesSetting : public BaseSetting<Paths>
     void set(const std::string & str, bool append = false) override;
 };
 
-class MissingExperimentalFeature: public Error
-{
-public:
-    std::string missingFeature;
-
-    MissingExperimentalFeature(std::string feature);
-    virtual const char* sname() const override { return "MissingExperimentalFeature"; }
-};
-
 class Settings : public Config {
 
     unsigned int getDefaultCores();
@@ -925,12 +917,12 @@ public:
           value.
           )"};
 
-    Setting<Strings> experimentalFeatures{this, {}, "experimental-features",
+    Setting<std::set<ExperimentalFeature>> experimentalFeatures{this, {}, "experimental-features",
         "Experimental Nix features to enable."};
 
-    bool isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(const std::string & name);
+    bool isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(const ExperimentalFeature &);
 
-    void requireExperimentalFeature(const std::string & name);
+    void requireExperimentalFeature(const ExperimentalFeature &);
 
     Setting<bool> allowDirty{this, true, "allow-dirty",
         "Whether to allow dirty Git/Mercurial trees."};

src/libstore/local-store.cc

@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ LocalStore::LocalStore(const Params & params)
 
     else openDB(*state, false);
 
-    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations")) {
+    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations)) {
         migrateCASchema(state->db, dbDir + "/ca-schema", globalLock);
     }
 
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ LocalStore::LocalStore(const Params & params)
     state->stmts->QueryPathFromHashPart.create(state->db,
         "select path from ValidPaths where path >= ? limit 1;");
     state->stmts->QueryValidPaths.create(state->db, "select path from ValidPaths");
-    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations")) {
+    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations)) {
         state->stmts->RegisterRealisedOutput.create(state->db,
             R"(
                 insert into Realisations (drvPath, outputName, outputPath, signatures)
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ void LocalStore::checkDerivationOutputs(const StorePath & drvPath, const Derivat
 
 void LocalStore::registerDrvOutput(const Realisation & info, CheckSigsFlag checkSigs)
 {
-    settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+    settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
     if (checkSigs == NoCheckSigs || !realisationIsUntrusted(info))
         registerDrvOutput(info);
     else
@@ -717,7 +717,7 @@ void LocalStore::registerDrvOutput(const Realisation & info, CheckSigsFlag check
 
 void LocalStore::registerDrvOutput(const Realisation & info)
 {
-    settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+    settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
     retrySQLite<void>([&]() {
         auto state(_state.lock());
         if (auto oldR = queryRealisation_(*state, info.id)) {
@@ -1003,7 +1003,7 @@ LocalStore::queryPartialDerivationOutputMap(const StorePath & path_)
         return outputs;
     });
 
-    if (!settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations"))
+    if (!settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations))
         return outputs;
 
     auto drv = readInvalidDerivation(path);

src/libstore/store-api.cc

@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ ValidPathInfo Store::addToStoreSlow(std::string_view name, const Path & srcPath,
 StringSet StoreConfig::getDefaultSystemFeatures()
 {
     auto res = settings.systemFeatures.get();
-    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations"))
+    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations))
         res.insert("ca-derivations");
     return res;
 }
@@ -860,7 +860,7 @@ std::map<StorePath, StorePath> copyPaths(
     for (auto & path : paths) {
         storePaths.insert(path.path());
         if (auto realisation = std::get_if<Realisation>(&path.raw)) {
-            settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+            settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
             toplevelRealisations.insert(*realisation);
         }
     }
@@ -892,7 +892,7 @@ std::map<StorePath, StorePath> copyPaths(
         // Don't fail if the remote doesn't support CA derivations is it might
         // not be within our control to change that, and we might still want
         // to at least copy the output paths.
-        if (e.missingFeature == "ca-derivations")
+        if (e.missingFeature == Xp::CaDerivations)
             ignoreException();
         else
             throw;

src/libutil/config.cc

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "config.hh"
 #include "args.hh"
 #include "abstract-setting-to-json.hh"
+#include "experimental-features.hh"
 
 #include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
 
@@ -313,6 +314,31 @@ template<> std::string BaseSetting<StringSet>::to_string() const
     return concatStringsSep(" ", value);
 }
 
+template<> void BaseSetting<std::set<ExperimentalFeature>>::set(const std::string & str, bool append)
+{
+    if (!append) value.clear();
+    for (auto & s : tokenizeString<StringSet>(str)) {
+        auto thisXpFeature = parseExperimentalFeature(s);
+        if (thisXpFeature)
+            value.insert(thisXpFeature.value());
+        else
+            warn("Unknown experimental feature %s", s);
+    }
+}
+
+template<> bool BaseSetting<std::set<ExperimentalFeature>>::isAppendable()
+{
+    return true;
+}
+
+template<> std::string BaseSetting<std::set<ExperimentalFeature>>::to_string() const
+{
+    StringSet stringifiedXpFeatures;
+    for (auto & feature : value)
+        stringifiedXpFeatures.insert(std::string(showExperimentalFeature(feature)));
+    return concatStringsSep(" ", stringifiedXpFeatures);
+}
+
 template<> void BaseSetting<StringMap>::set(const std::string & str, bool append)
 {
     if (!append) value.clear();
@@ -348,6 +374,7 @@ template class BaseSetting<std::string>;
 template class BaseSetting<Strings>;
 template class BaseSetting<StringSet>;
 template class BaseSetting<StringMap>;
+template class BaseSetting<std::set<ExperimentalFeature>>;
 
 void PathSetting::set(const std::string & str, bool append)
 {

src/libutil/experimental-features.cc

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#include "experimental-features.hh"
+#include "nlohmann/json.hpp"
+
+namespace nix {
+
+std::map<ExperimentalFeature, std::string> stringifiedXpFeatures = {
+    { Xp::CaDerivations, "ca-derivations" },
+    { Xp::Flakes, "flakes" },
+    { Xp::NixCommand, "nix-command" },
+    { Xp::RecursiveNix, "recursive-nix" },
+    { Xp::NoUrlLiterals, "no-url-literals" },
+};
+
+const std::optional<ExperimentalFeature> parseExperimentalFeature(const std::string_view & name)
+{
+    using ReverseXpMap = std::map<std::string_view, ExperimentalFeature>;
+    static ReverseXpMap * reverseXpMap;
+    if (!reverseXpMap) {
+        reverseXpMap = new ReverseXpMap{};
+        for (auto & [feature, name] : stringifiedXpFeatures)
+            (*reverseXpMap)[name] = feature;
+    }
+
+    auto featureIter = reverseXpMap->find(name);
+    if (featureIter == reverseXpMap->end())
+        return std::nullopt;
+    return {featureIter->second};
+}
+
+std::string_view showExperimentalFeature(const ExperimentalFeature feature)
+{
+    return stringifiedXpFeatures.at(feature);
+}
+
+std::set<ExperimentalFeature> parseFeatures(const std::set<std::string> & rawFeatures)
+{
+    std::set<ExperimentalFeature> res;
+    for (auto & rawFeature : rawFeatures) {
+        if (auto feature = parseExperimentalFeature(rawFeature))
+            res.insert(*feature);
+    }
+    return res;
+}
+
+MissingExperimentalFeature::MissingExperimentalFeature(ExperimentalFeature feature)
+    : Error("experimental Nix feature '%1%' is disabled; use '--extra-experimental-features %1%' to override", showExperimentalFeature(feature))
+    , missingFeature(feature)
+    {}
+
+std::ostream & operator <<(std::ostream & str, const ExperimentalFeature & feature)
+{
+    return str << showExperimentalFeature(feature);
+}
+
+}

src/libutil/experimental-features.hh

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "comparator.hh"
+#include "error.hh"
+#include "nlohmann/json_fwd.hpp"
+#include "types.hh"
+
+namespace nix {
+
+/**
+ * The list of available experimental features.
+ *
+ * If you update this, don’t forget to also change the map defining their
+ * string representation in the corresponding `.cc` file.
+ **/
+enum struct ExperimentalFeature
+{
+    CaDerivations,
+    Flakes,
+    NixCommand,
+    RecursiveNix,
+    NoUrlLiterals
+};
+
+/**
+ * Just because writing `ExperimentalFeature::CaDerivations` is way too long
+ */
+using Xp = ExperimentalFeature;
+
+const std::optional<ExperimentalFeature> parseExperimentalFeature(
+        const std::string_view & name);
+std::string_view showExperimentalFeature(const ExperimentalFeature);
+
+std::ostream & operator<<(
+        std::ostream & str,
+        const ExperimentalFeature & feature);
+
+/**
+ * Parse a set of strings to the corresponding set of experimental features,
+ * ignoring (but warning for) any unkwown feature.
+ */
+std::set<ExperimentalFeature> parseFeatures(const std::set<std::string> &);
+
+class MissingExperimentalFeature : public Error
+{
+public:
+    ExperimentalFeature missingFeature;
+
+    MissingExperimentalFeature(ExperimentalFeature);
+    virtual const char * sname() const override
+    {
+        return "MissingExperimentalFeature";
+    }
+};
+
+}

src/nix-build/nix-build.cc

@@ -401,7 +401,7 @@ static void main_nix_build(int argc, char * * argv)
 
         if (dryRun) return;
 
-        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations")) {
+        if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations)) {
             auto resolvedDrv = drv.tryResolve(*store);
             assert(resolvedDrv && "Successfully resolved the derivation");
             drv = *resolvedDrv;

src/nix/develop.cc

@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ static StorePath getDerivationEnvironment(ref<Store> store, ref<Store> evalStore
        'buildDerivation', but that's privileged. */
     drv.name += "-env";
     drv.inputSrcs.insert(std::move(getEnvShPath));
-    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled("ca-derivations")) {
+    if (settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::CaDerivations)) {
         for (auto & output : drv.outputs) {
             output.second = {
                 .output = DerivationOutputDeferred{},

src/nix/flake.cc

@@ -1138,7 +1138,7 @@ struct CmdFlake : NixMultiCommand
     {
         if (!command)
             throw UsageError("'nix flake' requires a sub-command.");
-        settings.requireExperimentalFeature("flakes");
+        settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::Flakes);
         command->second->prepare();
         command->second->run();
     }

src/nix/main.cc

@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ void mainWrapped(int argc, char * * argv)
     if (args.command->first != "repl"
         && args.command->first != "doctor"
         && args.command->first != "upgrade-nix")
-        settings.requireExperimentalFeature("nix-command");
+        settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::NixCommand);
 
     if (args.useNet && !haveInternet()) {
         warn("you don't have Internet access; disabling some network-dependent features");

src/nix/realisation.cc

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ struct CmdRealisationInfo : BuiltPathsCommand, MixJSON
 
     void run(ref<Store> store, BuiltPaths && paths) override
     {
-        settings.requireExperimentalFeature("ca-derivations");
+        settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::CaDerivations);
         RealisedPath::Set realisations;
 
         for (auto & builtPath : paths) {

src/nix/sigs.cc

@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ struct CmdKey : NixMultiCommand
     {
         if (!command)
             throw UsageError("'nix flake' requires a sub-command.");
-        settings.requireExperimentalFeature("flakes");
+        settings.requireExperimentalFeature(Xp::Flakes);
         command->second->prepare();
         command->second->run();
     }

tests/config.sh

@@ -50,4 +50,4 @@ exp_cores=$(nix show-config | grep '^cores' | cut -d '=' -f 2 | xargs)
 exp_features=$(nix show-config | grep '^experimental-features' | cut -d '=' -f 2 | xargs)
 [[ $prev != $exp_cores ]]
 [[ $exp_cores == "4242" ]]
-[[ $exp_features == "nix-command flakes" ]]
+[[ $exp_features == "flakes nix-command" ]]