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[solved] nix build error /homeless-shelter (lemmy.one)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by letThemPlay@lemmy.one to c/nix@programming.dev

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Hi all,

For my sins I've been attempting to build my nix configuration on my build server and subsequently push it into a binary cache.

I'm having an issue where the build is currently failing with the following error

error: home directory '/homeless-shelter' exists; please remove it to assure purity of builds without sandboxing

The build is being run on a docker image node:20-bullseye to be precise with the following command.

nix build .#nixosConfigurations.${{ matrix.machine.host }}.config.system.build.toplevel

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Edit.

Should have mentioned I've ran up the image with docker run and the directory didn't exist

Edit 2.

This is also about 23 minutes into the build when it throws this error; after having built a lot of packages and derivations already. I'm also using cachix/nix-install-action to get nix on the running container.

Edit 3.

Finally got it building this morning, I haven't dug into it but switching from the cachix/nix-install-action to manually installing the determinate systems nix installer (action didn't work for a strange reason).

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[–] Corbin@programming.dev 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Either pick a build image that doesn't have /homeless-shelter, like nixos/nix, or remove it with something like:

# UNTESTED
RUN rmdir /homeless-shelter

The root cause is that your build filesystem is dirty. When Nix sandboxes a build, it runs the builders as nobody, a permissionless user with no home directory. On Linux, users with no home directory get their $HOME set to /homeless-shelter, and Nix relies on this directory not existing.

[–] letThemPlay@lemmy.one 2 points 7 months ago

That's the weird thing I've run up the image and the directory isn't there. I did try a similar command in my ci.yml but it didn't work.

[–] Corngood@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Do you know why that directory exists? Is there a reason you can't just delete it?

[–] letThemPlay@lemmy.one 1 points 7 months ago

Nope but I've loaded up the image it's running and the directory isn't there.