From af2cd5f1ab772898aac735cb5e03bf118de34d6c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Oliver Davies Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2024 01:24:58 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add daily email for 2024-11-25 Nix, the package manager --- source/_daily_emails/2024-11-25.md | 36 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 36 insertions(+) create mode 100644 source/_daily_emails/2024-11-25.md diff --git a/source/_daily_emails/2024-11-25.md b/source/_daily_emails/2024-11-25.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..26638092 --- /dev/null +++ b/source/_daily_emails/2024-11-25.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +--- +title: Nix, the package manager +date: 2024-11-25 +permalink: daily/2024/11/25/nix-the-package-manager +tags: + - software-development + - devops + - linux + - nix +cta: ~ +snippet: | + This is a start of a mini-series of emails where I explain the different parts of the Nix ecosystem and how I use them - starting with the package manager. +--- + +In previous emails, [I've written briefly about Nix][0]. Over the next few days, I want to write more about it and explain the different components of the Nix ecosystem and how I use them. + +Firstly, Nix is a package manager, similar to apt on Ubuntu or homebrew on MacOS. + +It contains over 100,000 packages that can be installed once you've installed Nix and if you're on a Mac, there's nix-darwin to have it manage macOS settings too. + +There are two stable releases a year and a rolling "unstable" version so you can be as stable or up-to-date as you like, or you can mix and match in the same configuration. + +It's easy to add custom packages and apply overrides to existing packages. + +You can have multiple versions of the same package installed at once. + +And [because Nix is reproducible][1], you can get exactly the same configuration over and over again. + +In another email, I'll write about NixOS, but you don't need to use it to use Nix the package manager. + +I used a different Linux distribution when I started using Nix and installed it as a secondary package manager. + +If you're looking for an alternative package manager for Linux or macOS, I recommend giving Nix a try. + +[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/11/21/one-configuration-language-to-rule-them-all +[1]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/11/12/why-consistency-and-reproducibility-are-important