97b0ae26f7
While the word 'simply' is usually added to encourage readers, it often has the opposite effect and may even appear condescending, especially when the reader runs into trouble trying to apply the suggestions from the documentation. It is almost always an improvement to simply drop the word from the sentence. (there are more possible improvements like this, we can apply those in separate PRs)
47 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
47 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
# Declarative Package Management {#sec-declarative-package-mgmt}
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With declarative package management, you specify which packages you want
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on your system by setting the option
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[](#opt-environment.systemPackages). For instance, adding the
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following line to `configuration.nix` enables the Mozilla Thunderbird
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email application:
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```nix
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environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.thunderbird ];
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```
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The effect of this specification is that the Thunderbird package from
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Nixpkgs will be built or downloaded as part of the system when you run
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`nixos-rebuild switch`.
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::: {.note}
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Some packages require additional global configuration such as D-Bus or
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systemd service registration so adding them to
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[](#opt-environment.systemPackages) might not be sufficient. You are
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advised to check the [list of options](#ch-options) whether a NixOS
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module for the package does not exist.
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:::
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You can get a list of the available packages as follows:
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```ShellSession
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$ nix-env -qaP '*' --description
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nixos.firefox firefox-23.0 Mozilla Firefox - the browser, reloaded
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...
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```
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The first column in the output is the *attribute name*, such as
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`nixos.thunderbird`.
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Note: the `nixos` prefix tells us that we want to get the package from
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the `nixos` channel and works only in CLI tools. In declarative
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configuration use `pkgs` prefix (variable).
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To "uninstall" a package, remove it from
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[](#opt-environment.systemPackages) and run `nixos-rebuild switch`.
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```{=include=} sections
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customizing-packages.section.md
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adding-custom-packages.section.md
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```
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