CLI reference

Generated from pynix's live command tree — see docs/_generate_pynix_reference.py. Every command also accepts --help for the same information at the terminal.

pynix

pynix — nanopynix CLI

pynix build

Build a Nix derivation value

Argument	Type	Help
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to build with. (default: 'auto')
--eval-store	str or None	Store URI to evaluate with. Defaults to --store. (default: None)
--substituters	str or None	Space-separated substituter URLs. (default: None)
--trusted-public-keys	str or None	Space-separated substituter public keys. (default: None)
--verbosity	str or None	Nix log verbosity: error, warn, notice, info, talkative, chatty, debug, vomit, or 0-7. (default: None)
--print-build-logs	bool	Print build log lines to stderr. (default: False)
--update-fod	bool	Update plain fixed-output hash literals after a hash mismatch. (default: False)
--dry-run	bool	Show --update-fod changes without writing or rebuilding. (default: False)
--namespaced	bool	Build in a private user namespace, against an overlay store whose lower layer is the host store. Nothing is copied in, the host store does not change, and this process owns the sandbox settings that the daemon otherwise controls. Linux only. (default: False)
--overlay-dir	Path or None	Keep the overlay's upper layer here, instead of in a temporary directory that is deleted on exit. Reuse the same directory to keep what earlier --namespaced builds produced. Implies --namespaced. (default: None)
--copy-back	bool	Copy the outputs of a --namespaced build into the host store when the build succeeds. Without it the outputs are gone when the worker exits. (default: True)
--sandbox-path	list[str]	Extra path to mount into the build sandbox, as /inside=/outside or /path. Repeatable. Requires --namespaced, because the daemon does not let a client change its sandbox. (default: None)

pynix config

Inspect Nix configuration

pynix config show

Show Nix configuration settings

Argument	Type	Help
--setting	str or None	Show only one setting. (default: None)

pynix config check

Check that Nix configuration can be loaded

pynix config current-system

Show the effective system used by builtins.currentSystem

pynix copy

Copy the closure of a store path from one store to another

Argument	Type	Help
paths	list[str]	Store paths to copy. Give none when --file or --flake names the target. (default: [])
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)
--to	str or None	Store URI to copy into. --store is the other side. (default: None)
--from	str or None	Store URI to copy out of. --store is the other side. (default: None)
--check-sigs	bool	Refuse a path that the destination store cannot verify a signature for. (default: True)
--store	str	Store URI for the side that --to or --from does not name. (default: 'auto')

pynix eval

Evaluate a Nix expression and print the result as JSON

Argument	Type	Help
--expr	str or None	Nix expression to evaluate. Reads from stdin if not provided. (default: None)
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to evaluate with. (default: 'auto')

pynix derivation

Inspect and manipulate Nix derivations

pynix derivation show

Show the contents of a Nix derivation

Examples: pynix derivation show --file default.nix --attr hello pynix derivation show --flake .#hello pynix derivation show --flake nixpkgs#python3Packages.requests

Argument	Type	Help
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix develop

Run a command, or an interactive bash, in a derivation's build environment

Everything after -- is the command. Without a command, this starts an interactive bash.

Examples: pynix develop --file default.nix --attr hello pynix develop --flake .# -- make -j4 pynix develop --flake .# -- bash -c 'make | less'

Argument	Type	Help
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to build with. (default: 'auto')
--eval-store	str or None	Store URI to evaluate with. Defaults to --store. (default: None)
--verbosity	str or None	Nix log verbosity: error, warn, notice, info, talkative, chatty, debug, vomit, or 0-7. (default: None)
--print-build-logs	bool	Print build log lines to stderr. (default: False)
command	list[str]	Command to run in the environment, after --. Omit for an interactive bash. (default: [])

pynix flake

Inspect and manage Nix flakes

pynix flake show

Show the outputs provided by a flake

Argument	Type	Help
flake_ref	str	Flake reference (e.g. '.#' or 'nixpkgs#'). (required)
--attrpath	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the flake outputs to start from. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to evaluate with. (default: 'auto')

pynix flake metadata

Show locked flake metadata

Argument	Type	Help
flake_ref	str	Flake reference (e.g. '.' or 'nixpkgs'). (required)
--store	str	Store URI to evaluate with. (default: 'auto')

pynix flake info

Alias for flake metadata

Argument	Type	Help
flake_ref	str	Flake reference (e.g. '.' or 'nixpkgs'). (required)
--store	str	Store URI to evaluate with. (default: 'auto')

pynix log

Show the build log for a store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path whose build log should be printed. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix path-info

Show information about a store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to query (e.g. '/nix/store/hash-name'). (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix print-dev-env

Print the build environment of a derivation

Examples: pynix print-dev-env --file default.nix --attr hello pynix print-dev-env --flake .#hello --json

Argument	Type	Help
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to build with. (default: 'auto')
--eval-store	str or None	Store URI to evaluate with. Defaults to --store. (default: None)
--verbosity	str or None	Nix log verbosity: error, warn, notice, info, talkative, chatty, debug, vomit, or 0-7. (default: None)
--print-build-logs	bool	Print build log lines to stderr. (default: False)
--json	bool	Print the environment as JSON, instead of the bash that restores it. (default: False)

pynix registry

Manage the flake registry, which resolves an indirect flake reference

pynix registry list

List every flake registry entry, with the layer that holds it

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix registry add

Point one flake reference at another

Argument	Type	Help
from_ref	str	Flake reference to resolve, for example 'nixpkgs'. (required)
to_ref	str	Flake reference it resolves to, for example 'github:NixOS/nixpkgs'. (required)
--registry	str or None	Registry file to change. Defaults to the registry of the user. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix registry remove

Drop every entry for one flake reference

Argument	Type	Help
from_ref	str	Flake reference to drop, for example 'nixpkgs'. (required)
--registry	str or None	Registry file to change. Defaults to the registry of the user. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix registry pin

Pin a flake reference to the reference it resolves to now

Argument	Type	Help
from_ref	str	Flake reference to pin, for example 'nixpkgs'. (required)
locked	str or None	Flake reference to pin it to. Defaults to the reference itself. (default: None)
--registry	str or None	Registry file to change. Defaults to the registry of the user. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix repl

Open an interactive Nix evaluation session.

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to evaluate with. (default: 'auto')
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)

pynix search

Search the NixOS options and the packages of one target.

Argument	Type	Help
query	str or None	Search query. Omit to just (re)build the index. (default: None)
--file	str or None	Evaluate FILE as a Nix expression. FILE is a path, a lookup path, a URL, or a flake reference, and it may end with '#' and an attribute path. (default: None)
--attr	str or None	Dot-separated attribute path within the evaluation result. (default: None)
--flake	str or None	Evaluate FLAKE, optionally with a '#'-separated attribute path. (default: None)
--options	bool	Search the NixOS module options only. Without this and --packages, the search reads whichever of the two the target offers. (default: False)
--packages	bool	Search the packages only. Without this and --options, the search reads whichever of the two the target offers. (default: False)
--options-attr	str or None	Attribute path to the options tree, relative to the target. The default tries 'options'. (default: None)
--lib-attr	str or None	Attribute path to nixpkgs lib, relative to the target. The default tries 'lib', then the 'lib' of the package set that the target holds. (default: None)
--pkgs-attr	str or None	Attribute path to the package set, relative to the target. The default tries 'pkgs', then '_module.args.pkgs', and then the target itself. (default: None)
--system	str or None	The system whose binaries the package index answers for. The default is this machine. (default: None)
--channel	str	The channel to read programs.sqlite from, when the nixpkgs of the target carries none. (default: 'nixos-unstable')
--update-index	bool	Re-evaluate and rebuild the cached index instead of using it. (default: False)
--limit	int	Maximum number of results to print. (default: 20)
--json-output	bool	Print results as JSON instead of a human-readable list. (default: False)
--tui	bool or None	Browse the results in a full-screen interface. The default opens it for a person at a terminal who gave no query, and prints a list otherwise. (default: None)
--store	str	Store URI to evaluate with. (default: 'auto')

pynix store

Manage the Nix store

pynix store gc

Manage Nix store garbage collection

pynix store gc print-roots

List the garbage collector roots

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store gc print-dead

List paths that would be removed by a garbage collection. Use --rip to actually delete them.

Argument	Type	Help
--rip	bool	Actually delete the dead store paths instead of just listing them. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store gc print-alive

List live paths in the store (reachable from GC roots)

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store info

Show store metadata

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store dirs

Show configured local store directories

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store is-valid-path

Check whether a store path is valid

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to check. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store follow-links-to-store-path

Resolve symlinks to a store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Filesystem path to resolve. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store compute-fs-closure

Compute the filesystem closure of a store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to query. (required)
--flip-direction	bool	Compute the inverse closure. (default: False)
--include-outputs	bool	Include derivation outputs. (default: False)
--include-derivers	bool	Include derivers. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store query-missing

Show which paths would need building, substituting, or are unknown

Argument	Type	Help
paths	list[str]	Store paths to query. (default: [])
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store query-derivation-outputs

Show the outputs of a derivation path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Derivation path to query. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store query-valid-derivers

Show valid derivers for a store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to query. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store list-valid-paths

List all valid paths in the store

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store query-referrers

Show referrers of a store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to query. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store query-substitutable-paths

Show which paths are substitutable

Argument	Type	Help
paths	list[str]	Store paths to query. (default: [])
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store add-temp-root

Add a temporary GC root for this command's store session

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to root temporarily. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store add-perm-root

Add a permanent GC root symlink

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to root. (required)
gc_root	str	GC root symlink to create. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store add-indirect-root

Register an indirect GC root

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	GC root path to register. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store path-from-hash-part

Resolve a store path from its hash prefix

Argument	Type	Help
hash_part	str	Store path hash prefix to resolve. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store ensure-path

Ensure a store path is valid, substituting it if available

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Store path to ensure. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store cat

Print a file inside a local Nix store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	File path to print. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store ls

List files inside a local Nix store path

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	File or directory path to list. (required)
--json	bool	Print machine-readable JSON. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store add

Add a file or directory to a Nix store

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Filesystem path to add. (required)
--name	str or None	Override the store path name component. (default: None)
--mode	str	Content-addressing method: nar, flat, or git. (default: 'nar')
--hash-algo	str	Hash algorithm to use. (default: 'sha256')
--dry-run	bool	Compute the store path without adding the content. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store add-file

Add a single file to a Nix store

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Filesystem path to add. (required)
--name	str or None	Override the store path name component. (default: None)
--hash-algo	str	Hash algorithm to use. (default: 'sha256')
--dry-run	bool	Compute the store path without adding the content. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store add-path

Add a path to a Nix store using NAR ingestion

Argument	Type	Help
path	str	Filesystem path to add. (required)
--name	str or None	Override the store path name component. (default: None)
--hash-algo	str	Hash algorithm to use. (default: 'sha256')
--dry-run	bool	Compute the store path without adding the content. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to use. (default: 'auto')

pynix store diff-closures

Compare two filesystem closures

Argument	Type	Help
before	str	Original store path. (required)
after	str	New store path. (required)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')

pynix store optimise

Optimise store disk usage by hard-linking duplicate files

Argument	Type	Help
--store	str	Store URI to optimise. (default: 'auto')

pynix store verify

Verify store integrity

Argument	Type	Help
--check-contents	bool	Check path contents, not only metadata. (default: False)
--repair	bool	Attempt repair while verifying. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to verify. (default: 'auto')

pynix why-depends

Show the chain of references that puts one store path in the closure of another

Argument	Type	Help
package	str	Store path whose closure to search (e.g. '/nix/store/hash-name'). (required)
dependency	str	Store path to find in that closure. (required)
--precise	bool	For each link of the chain, name the file that holds the reference. Needs a local store. (default: False)
--store	str	Store URI to query. (default: 'auto')