pyrox.dev
1# pkgs.mkShell {#sec-pkgs-mkShell}
2
3`pkgs.mkShell` is a specialized `stdenv.mkDerivation` that removes some
4repetition when using it with `nix-shell` (or `nix develop`).
5
6## Usage {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-usage}
7
8Here is a common usage example:
9
10```nix
11{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
12pkgs.mkShell {
13 packages = [ pkgs.gnumake ];
14
15 inputsFrom = [ pkgs.hello pkgs.gnutar ];
16
17 shellHook = ''
18 export DEBUG=1
19 '';
20}
21```
22
23## Attributes {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-attributes}
24
25* `name` (default: `nix-shell`). Set the name of the derivation.
26* `packages` (default: `[]`). Add executable packages to the `nix-shell` environment.
27* `inputsFrom` (default: `[]`). Add build dependencies of the listed derivations to the `nix-shell` environment.
28* `shellHook` (default: `""`). Bash statements that are executed by `nix-shell`.
29
30... all the attributes of `stdenv.mkDerivation`.
31
32## Variants {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-variants}
33
34`pkgs.mkShellNoCC` is a variant that uses `stdenvNoCC` instead of `stdenv` as base environment. This is useful if no C compiler is needed in the shell environment.
35
36## Building the shell {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-building}
37
38This derivation output will contain a text file that contains a reference to
39all the build inputs. This is useful in CI where we want to make sure that
40every derivation, and its dependencies, build properly. Or when creating a GC
41root so that the build dependencies don't get garbage-collected.