joplin-notes/joplin notion extension/linux/mint/nix_guide/basics.md

basics

Absolutely — using Nix on Debian can give you a powerful, AUR-like experience with access to thousands of packages, isolated environments, and even rollbacks. It’s a different mindset than apt, but super powerful once you get the hang of it.

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🧰 What Is Nix?

Nix is a purely functional package manager:

• Installs packages without interfering with your system.
• Supports per-user installs — no sudo needed for most things.
• Enables isolated dev environments, rollbacks, and reproducibility.

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🧱 Step-by-Step: Installing and Using Nix on Debian

🔹 1. Install Nix

Run this script (official installer):

curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh

✅ After installation, either restart your shell or run:

. ~/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/nix.sh

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🔹 2. Install a Package (like hello)

nix-env -iA nixpkgs.hello

This installs the hello program into your user profile — no sudo needed.

You can run it immediately:

hello

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🔹 3. Search for Packages

nix search nixpkgs firefox

Or use the web search: https://search.nixos.org/packages

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🔹 4. Upgrade Installed Packages

nix-env --upgrade

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🔹 5. Remove a Package

nix-env -e hello

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🧪 Bonus: Reproducible Dev Environments (shell.nix)

Make a file named shell.nix:

{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:

pkgs.mkShell {
  buildInputs = [
    pkgs.git
    pkgs.nodejs
    pkgs.python3
  ];
}

Then run:

nix-shell

This drops you into an environment with only those tools installed — perfect for development!

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🔐 Is It Safe?

Yes — it’s sandboxed, doesn't touch your global system files, and is trusted by many in the DevOps/Dev world.

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⚠️ Things to Know

• It uses a huge store (/nix/store) — so expect some disk usage.
• It can be a learning curve, but well worth it if you want reproducibility or project-based environments.
• You can uninstall Nix any time with nix-env --uninstall or delete /nix.

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Want to try installing a specific package with Nix now, or explore using home-manager for managing your full dotfiles setup?

 

Installing packages

To install Brave using Nix, you have a couple of options depending on how you want to use it (system-wide, user profile, or temporary). Here's how to do it:

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🦁 Option 1: Install Brave to Your User Profile (Permanent)

First, search for it:

nix search nixpkgs brave

You should see a result like:

brave  # A privacy-focused web browser

Then install it:

nix-env -iA nixpkgs.brave

✅ This makes brave available permanently in your user environment.

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⚡ Option 2: Use nix shell (Temporary)

If you just want to run Brave without installing:

nix shell nixpkgs#brave

This will drop you into a shell where brave is available. You can launch it:

brave

When you exit the shell, it's gone — no clutter!

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🔥 Option 3: Use nix run (One-off Execution)

To run Brave directly:

nix run nixpkgs#brave

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📦 Bonus: Use home-manager (for managing user packages declaratively)

If you're managing your dotfiles/config with Nix, you can declare Brave in your home.nix like this:

{
  home.packages = with pkgs; [
    brave
  ];
}

Then just run home-manager switch.

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Would you like help setting up home-manager too? It's great if you're building a Nix-based setup.

 

for enabling expermimental feature which is required for search and install packages

sudo mkdir -p /etc/nix
sudo nano /etc/nix/nix.conf

then add following

experimental-features = nix-command flakes

 

to remove packages

if installed with nix-env

nix-env -e brave

and then

for removing unused packages

nix-collect-garbage

for older generations:

nix-collect-garbage -d