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{
12 pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> { },
13}:
14pkgs.mkShell {
15 packages = [ pkgs.gnumake ];
16
17 inputsFrom = [
18 pkgs.hello
19 pkgs.gnutar
20 ];
21
22 shellHook = ''
23 export DEBUG=1
24 '';
25}
26```
27
28## Attributes {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-attributes}
29
30* `name` (default: `nix-shell`). Set the name of the derivation.
31* `packages` (default: `[]`). Add executable packages to the `nix-shell` environment.
32* `inputsFrom` (default: `[]`). Add build dependencies of the listed derivations to the `nix-shell` environment.
33* `shellHook` (default: `""`). Bash statements that are executed by `nix-shell`.
34
35... all the attributes of `stdenv.mkDerivation`.
36
37## Variants {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-variants}
38
39`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.
40
41## Building the shell {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-building}
42
43This derivation output will contain a text file that contains a reference to
44all the build inputs. This is useful in CI where we want to make sure that
45every derivation, and its dependencies, build properly. Or when creating a GC
46root so that the build dependencies don't get garbage-collected.