Merge pull request #3220 from nh2/manual-nix-shell-p-expr

manual: nix-shell: Elaborate on using `-p` with expressions
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Eelco Dolstra 2019-11-14 11:25:47 +01:00 committed by GitHub
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2 changed files with 27 additions and 6 deletions

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@ -39,7 +39,12 @@
<arg choice='plain'><option>--packages</option></arg>
<arg choice='plain'><option>-p</option></arg>
</group>
<arg choice='plain' rep='repeat'><replaceable>packages</replaceable></arg>
<arg choice='plain' rep='repeat'>
<group choice='req'>
<arg choice="plain"><replaceable>packages</replaceable></arg>
<arg choice="plain"><replaceable>expressions</replaceable></arg>
</group>
</arg>
</arg>
<arg><replaceable>path</replaceable></arg>
</group>
@ -189,8 +194,8 @@ also <xref linkend="sec-common-options" />.</phrase></para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry><term><envar>NIX_BUILD_SHELL</envar></term>
<listitem><para>Shell used to start the interactive environment.
<listitem><para>Shell used to start the interactive environment.
Defaults to the <command>bash</command> found in <envar>PATH</envar>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
@ -222,8 +227,9 @@ $ nix-shell '&lt;nixpkgs>' -A pan --pure \
--command 'export NIX_DEBUG=1; export NIX_CORES=8; return'
</screen>
Nix expressions can also be given on the command line. For instance,
the following starts a shell containing the packages
Nix expressions can also be given on the command line using the
<command>-E</command> and <command>-p</command> flags.
For instance, the following starts a shell containing the packages
<literal>sqlite</literal> and <literal>libX11</literal>:
<screen>
@ -238,6 +244,14 @@ $ nix-shell -p sqlite xorg.libX11
… -L/nix/store/j1zg5v…-sqlite-3.8.0.2/lib -L/nix/store/0gmcz9…-libX11-1.6.1/lib …
</screen>
Note that <command>-p</command> accepts multiple full nix expressions that
are valid in the <literal>buildInputs = [ ... ]</literal> shown above,
not only package names. So the following is also legal:
<screen>
$ nix-shell -p sqlite 'git.override { withManual = false; }'
</screen>
The <command>-p</command> flag looks up Nixpkgs in the Nix search
path. You can override it by passing <option>-I</option> or setting
<envar>NIX_PATH</envar>. For example, the following gives you a shell

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@ -323,7 +323,14 @@
Nix expressions to be parsed and evaluated, rather than as a list
of file names of Nix expressions.
(<command>nix-instantiate</command>, <command>nix-build</command>
and <command>nix-shell</command> only.)</para></listitem>
and <command>nix-shell</command> only.)</para>
<para>For <command>nix-shell</command>, this option is commonly used
to give you a shell in which you can build the packages returned
by the expression. If you want to get a shell which contain the
<emphasis>built</emphasis> packages ready for use, give your
expression to the <command>nix-shell -p</command> convenience flag
instead.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>