105 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
105 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Frequently Asked Questions"
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description: "frequently is, of course, relatively speaking"
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date: "2024-05-01"
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author: "Lix Team"
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---
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These are the most common questions we get -- or anticipate getting. If you can't find the answer
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you're looking for, please feel free to ask over in the [community](/community).
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<br/>
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#### Q: Can I use my existing Nix/NixOS configuration?
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Absolutely. A primary goal of the Lix project is compatibility, which means that we very much support
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using Lix in any existing Nix or NixOS configuration.
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Check out the [install page](/install_actual) to see how to use Lix with your existing configurations.
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#### Q: What are your plans for flakes?
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One of our primary goals is compatibility. While flakes are an experimental technology, their use is
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widespread enough that they've become a de-facto part of the Nix ecosystem -- and thus we consider them
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to be part of our compatibility guarantee.
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That said, we're not tied to any particular flake implementation. As Lix develops, we plan on adding an
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extension system for the tooling -- which will allow technologies like flakes, as well as new and different
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extensions -- to seamlessly act with the Lix core without needing to reside long-term in the Lix tree.
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_Flakes are not the only way to write Nix language code in Lix, and we intend to provide a good experience
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to those using flakes -- while also improving the experience for those not using them --
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by evolving a compatible but more flexible flake-like abstraction in the periphery of the Lix system._
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#### Q: What relation does Lix have to the Nix Foundation, and to related projects?
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Besides being a fork of CppNix and an implementation of the Nix language, Lix is the
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effort of a number of long-time Nix, Nixpkgs, NixOS, and Tvix contributors and maintainers -- and has
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been developed in partnership with a number of prolific Nix-documenters, bloggers, and users.
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We welcome anyone who wants to develop for both Lix and another implementation -- including CppNix and _Tvix_,
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and our open-source implementation absolutely allows any developer to integrate our code into any
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license-compatible project.
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However, ___Lix does not fall under the NixOS Foundation umbrella___, is funded independently of the foundation,
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and is not in any way controlled by its leadership. With the recent reboot of the foundation's governance,
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we are in communication with -- and open to collaboration with -- the foundation.
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#### Q: How does Lix work? How can I contribute or help out?
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The Lix codebase is comprised of a few parts, which you can see a description of
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[here](https://wiki.lix.systems/link/18) along with what we want to improve in them. We also have a
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lot of areas we are working on other than C++ code that we would love help on, from documentation to
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compiling lists of resources, web design, bug tracker triage, and more. If you're looking for an idea
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to get started on, we have triaged some tasks
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[that we believe should be straightforward](https://git.lix.systems/lix-project/lix/issues?q=&type=all&sort=&state=open&labels=157&milestone=0&project=0&assignee=0&poster=0). To read more
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about which tasks we recommend taking on, see
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[Freezes and recommended contributions](https://git.lix.systems/lix-project/lix/issues?q=&type=all&sort=&state=open&labels=157&milestone=0&project=0&assignee=0&poster=0).
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Feel free to ask for help in the Lix development channel. Especially feel free to ask for us to write down
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more work that we would like help with, or to write contribution information that is missing;
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it is a goal of the project for it to be easy to get up to speed. Also, if you need additional access to
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do some task, such as fixing a typo in the wiki, let us know and we will figure it out.
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#### Q: How do I submit changes to the Lix project?
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Feel free to ask for help in the Lix development channel. Especially feel free to ask for us to write down
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more work that we would like help with, or to write contribution information that is missing; it is a goal
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of the project for it to be easy to get up to speed. Also, if you need additional access to do some task,
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such as fixing a typo in the wiki, let us know and we'll figure it out.
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It is also possible to submit changes as normal GitHub pull requests on lix-project/lix. These are also
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welcome, and we will FIXME convert them to Gerrit changes for you for review. However, there are limitations
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to the GitHub flow such as PRs needing to be squashed into one change. For larger changes than about 150 lines
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of normal code, or if necessary, we may ask for a change to be submitted to Gerrit directly so we can review
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it commit-by-commit.
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#### Q: What is a Lix account? What do I need one for?
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Lix has a central accounts system for all its services. These accounts allow access to Forgejo (the Lix bug tracker
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and repositories), Gerrit Code Review, the wiki and other collaboration software we use.
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To get started contributing to Lix, you need a Lix account. The easiest way to obtain one is to use GitHub
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for login, as it will let you get started immediately. We also have local accounts available for those who
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wish not to use GitHub; if you would like one, please speak to a member of the Lix team on Matrix and we
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will gladly make you one manually.
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#### Q: If Lix plans to adopt Rust, what makes it different from Tvix?
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Unlike Lix, [Tvix](https://tvix.dev/) is a ground-up re-implementation of the Nix language in Rust,
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which shares many of the same modernization goals as Lix -- but also has a long way to go before it can
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reach feature parity (and parity in correctness) with the CppNix and Lix implementations.
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Lix instead plans a _top-down_, _piecewise_ approach to our Rust extensions and replacements -- which means
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that Lix already has feature-parity with -- and correctness exceeding -- the original CppNix.
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#### Q: What does the name Lix stand for? How is it pronounced?
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Like Nix, Lix isn't really short for anything. The name originally derives from the term _Layered Nix_,
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based on the premise of layering new language and tooling features atop a fully-compatible, rock-solid base.
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Lix is pronounced like _licks_ -- i.e. what you might do if someone handed you a delicious ice cream cone;
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which may or may not be stacked up with lambdas.
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