···

       
14
       
 
       


     

       
15
       
 
       
<itemizedlist>

     

       
16
       
 
       
  <listitem>

     

       
17
       
-
       
    <para>Stable channels, such as <literal

     

       
18
       
-
       
    xlink:href="https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.04">nixos-14.04</literal>.

     

       
19
       
 
       
    These only get conservative bug fixes and package upgrades.  For

     

       
20
       
 
       
    instance, a channel update may cause the Linux kernel on your

     

       
21
       
 
       
    system to be upgraded from 3.4.66 to 3.4.67 (a minor bug fix), but

     
···

       
23
       
 
       
    3.11.<replaceable>x</replaceable> (a major change that has the

     

       
24
       
 
       
    potential to break things).  Stable channels are generally

     

       
25
       
 
       
    maintained until the next stable branch is created.</para>

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
26
       
 
       
  </listitem>

     

       
27
       
 
       
  <listitem>

     

       
28
       
-
       
    <para>The unstable channel, <literal

     

       
29
       
 
       
    xlink:href="https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-unstable">nixos-unstable</literal>.

     

       
30
       
 
       
    This corresponds to NixOS’s main development branch, and may thus

     

       
31
       
 
       
    see radical changes between channel updates.  It’s not recommended

     

       
32
       
 
       
    for production systems.</para>

     

       
33
       
 
       
  </listitem>

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
34
       
 
       
</itemizedlist>

     

       
35
       
 
       


     

       
36
       
 
       
To see what channels are available, go to <link

     
···

       
41
       
 
       


     

       
42
       
 
       
<para>When you first install NixOS, you’re automatically subscribed to

     

       
43
       
 
       
the NixOS channel that corresponds to your installation source.   For

     

       
44
       
-
       
instance, if you installed from a 14.04 ISO, you will be subscribed to

     

       
45
       
-
       
the <literal>nixos-14.04</literal> channel.  To see which NixOS

     

       
46
       
 
       
channel you’re subscribed to, run the following as root:

     

       
47
       
 
       


     

       
48
       
 
       
<screen>

     
···

       
57
       
 
       
</screen>

     

       
58
       
 
       


     

       
59
       
 
       
(Be sure to include the <literal>nixos</literal> parameter at the

     

       
60
       
-
       
end.)  For instance, to use the NixOS 14.04 stable channel:

     

       
61
       
 
       


     

       
62
       
 
       
<screen>

     

       
63
       
-
       
$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.04 nixos

     

       
64
       
 
       
</screen>

     

       
65
       
 
       


     

       
66
       
-
       
But if you want to live on the bleeding edge:

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
0
       
 
       

     

       
67
       
 
       


     

       
68
       
 
       
<screen>

     

       
69
       
 
       
$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-unstable nixos

     

···

       
14
       
 
       


     

       
15
       
 
       
<itemizedlist>

     

       
16
       
 
       
  <listitem>

     

       
17
       
+
       
    <para><emphasis>Stable channels</emphasis>, such as <literal

     

       
18
       
+
       
    xlink:href="https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.12">nixos-14.12</literal>.

     

       
19
       
 
       
    These only get conservative bug fixes and package upgrades.  For

     

       
20
       
 
       
    instance, a channel update may cause the Linux kernel on your

     

       
21
       
 
       
    system to be upgraded from 3.4.66 to 3.4.67 (a minor bug fix), but

     
···

       
23
       
 
       
    3.11.<replaceable>x</replaceable> (a major change that has the

     

       
24
       
 
       
    potential to break things).  Stable channels are generally

     

       
25
       
 
       
    maintained until the next stable branch is created.</para>

     

       
26
       
+
       
    <para></para>

     

       
27
       
 
       
  </listitem>

     

       
28
       
 
       
  <listitem>

     

       
29
       
+
       
    <para>The <emphasis>unstable channel</emphasis>, <literal

     

       
30
       
 
       
    xlink:href="https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-unstable">nixos-unstable</literal>.

     

       
31
       
 
       
    This corresponds to NixOS’s main development branch, and may thus

     

       
32
       
 
       
    see radical changes between channel updates.  It’s not recommended

     

       
33
       
 
       
    for production systems.</para>

     

       
34
       
 
       
  </listitem>

     

       
35
       
+
       
  <listitem>

     

       
36
       
+
       
    <para><emphasis>Small channels</emphasis>, such as <literal

     

       
37
       
+
       
    xlink:href="https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.12-small">nixos-14.12-small</literal>

     

       
38
       
+
       
    or <literal

     

       
39
       
+
       
    xlink:href="https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-unstable-small">nixos-unstable-small</literal>. These

     

       
40
       
+
       
    are identical to the stable and unstable channels described above,

     

       
41
       
+
       
    except that they contain fewer binary packages. This means they

     

       
42
       
+
       
    get updated faster than the regular channels (for instance, when a

     

       
43
       
+
       
    critical security patch is committed to NixOS’s source tree), but

     

       
44
       
+
       
    may require more packages to be built from source than

     

       
45
       
+
       
    usual. They’re mostly intended for server environments and as such

     

       
46
       
+
       
    contain few GUI applications.</para>

     

       
47
       
+
       
  </listitem>

     

       
48
       
 
       
</itemizedlist>

     

       
49
       
 
       


     

       
50
       
 
       
To see what channels are available, go to <link

     
···

       
55
       
 
       


     

       
56
       
 
       
<para>When you first install NixOS, you’re automatically subscribed to

     

       
57
       
 
       
the NixOS channel that corresponds to your installation source.   For

     

       
58
       
+
       
instance, if you installed from a 14.12 ISO, you will be subscribed to

     

       
59
       
+
       
the <literal>nixos-14.12</literal> channel.  To see which NixOS

     

       
60
       
 
       
channel you’re subscribed to, run the following as root:

     

       
61
       
 
       


     

       
62
       
 
       
<screen>

     
···

       
71
       
 
       
</screen>

     

       
72
       
 
       


     

       
73
       
 
       
(Be sure to include the <literal>nixos</literal> parameter at the

     

       
74
       
+
       
end.)  For instance, to use the NixOS 14.12 stable channel:

     

       
75
       
 
       


     

       
76
       
 
       
<screen>

     

       
77
       
+
       
$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.12 nixos

     

       
78
       
 
       
</screen>

     

       
79
       
 
       


     

       
80
       
+
       
If you have a server, you may want to use the “small” channel instead:

     

       
81
       
+
       


     

       
82
       
+
       
<screen>

     

       
83
       
+
       
$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.12-small nixos

     

       
84
       
+
       
</screen>

     

       
85
       
+
       


     

       
86
       
+
       
And if you want to live on the bleeding edge:

     

       
87
       
 
       


     

       
88
       
 
       
<screen>

     

       
89
       
 
       
$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-unstable nixos