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is there a guideline for using nix packages? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 months ago by GravitySpoiled@lemmy.ml to c/nix@programming.dev

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I want to install a package, I lookup for the package here https://search.nixos.org/packages? I can find multiple versions. two that sound right, two sound like rubbish and one is a plugin for something. How do I decide which of the two good sounding packages I should choose? What if the package or even both not work? How do I know that it is up to date? How do I know that it will be updated in a timely manner? Can I update it?

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[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

To answer your question: no guideline (as is typical with nix).

I always check https://search.nixos.org/options first. There's a chance it's a package which requires setup or even a service that has extra config. If it's not there, then https://search.nixos.org/packages is next.

When multiple come up, it depends which prefix or suffix they have. Prefixes like pythonPackages. either mean the package is written in a specific programming language with its own packaging intricacies and its easier to keep them under that prefix, other prefixes like neovimPackages. mean it's a package for a program and something like a plugin or so. Probably more prefixes exist.

There are some agreed upon but badly documented suffixes (the usual nix style). But if it's a version suffix, then it's up to you to decide which one to use. In a comment you mentioned julia, well that's a programming language so you have to choose the version you want. Sometimes the manual has information on how to use the programming language or one of the wikis.

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[–] GravitySpoiled@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 months ago

Why the downvotes