lix/doc/manual/src/expressions/builtins-prefix.md

# Built-in Functions

This section lists the functions built into the Nix expression
evaluator. (The built-in function `derivation` is discussed above.)
Some built-ins, such as `derivation`, are always in scope of every Nix
expression; you can just access them right away. But to prevent
polluting the namespace too much, most built-ins are not in
scope. Instead, you can access them through the `builtins` built-in
value, which is a set that contains all built-in functions and values.
For instance, `derivation` is also available as `builtins.derivation`.

<dl>
  <dt><code>derivation <var>attrs</var></code>;
      <code>builtins.derivation <var>attrs</var></code></dt>
  <dd><p><var>derivation</var> in described in
         <a href="derivations.md">its own section</a>.</p></dd>