DISNIX-INSTANTIATE(1)

📦 version 0.10.2, in nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

💅 disnix-instantiate — like, the manual page, but make it make sense ✨

Hey bestie 🫶 so this is DISNIX-INSTANTIATE(1), aka the User Commands page for disnix-instantiate, and I'm gonna walk you through it like we're on FaceTime at 1am. No cap, it's actually not that deep once you get the vibe. 💖

🌸 NAME 🌸

disnix-instantiate — it instantiates a distributed derivation from Disnix expressions. That's it, that's the whole name. Iconic of it, honestly. 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

Okay so here's how you're allowed to call it — all three forms are valid, pick your fighter:

disnix-instantiate -s services_nix -i infrastructure_nix -d
distribution_nix [OPTION]
disnix-instantiate -P packages_nix -i infrastructure_nix [OPTION]
disnix-instantiate -A architecture_nix [OPTION]

Notice how each one is followed by [OPTION]? Yeah, that means the extra flags are optional, you're not being held at gunpoint. 😭

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Okay so the whole point of the command: disnix-instantiate generates a distributed derivation file from a service, infrastructure and distribution Nix expression 🎀. Then that file can be handed to the disnix-build command, which builds the services on the target machines straight from source code. Like, from scratch. From source. Very main character energy. 🔥

Real talk though: most users and developers don't need to use this command directly — the command disnix-env already performs instantiation of a distributed derivation automatically for you. 🙈 So why does this exist? Mostly for debugging purposes, or for when you wanna do certain tasks manually and feel a little bit powerful about it. 👑

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

This is the big one, bestie — every single flag, all of them, no skipping, periodt:

  • -s, --services=services_nix — the Services Nix expression, which describes all components of the distributed system 💖
  • -i, --infrastructure=infrastructure_nix — the Infrastructure Nix expression, which captures properties of machines in the network 🌈
  • -d, --distribution=distribution_nix — the Distribution Nix expression, which maps services to machines in the network 🗺️
  • -P, --packages=packages_nix — the Packages Nix expression, specifying the packages that should be deployed in a Nix profile mapped to each machine in the network 🍓
  • -A, --architecture=architecture_nix — the Deployment architecture Nix expression that captures all properties of the services and infrastructure, including the distribution of services to targets 🏗️
  • -B, --build=build_nix — the Build Nix expression that maps store derivations to target machines in the network 🔧
  • --extra-params=PARAMS — a string with an attribute set in the Nix expression language, propagating extra parameters to input models ✨
  • --target-property=PROP — the target property of an infrastructure model, that specifies how to connect to the remote Disnix interface. (Defaults to: hostname) 🖥️
  • --interface=INTERFACE — path to executable that communicates with a Disnix interface. Defaults to: disnix-ssh-client 🔌
  • --no-out-link — do not create a result symlink 🚫
  • --show-trace — shows a trace of the output 🔍
  • -h, --help — shows the usage of this command to the user 🫶
  • -v, --version — shows the version of this command to the user 💜

🌼 ENVIRONMENT 🌼

Because of course there are env vars, there are always env vars:

  • DISNIX_CLIENT_INTERFACE — sets the client interface (defaults to: disnix-ssh-client) 💫
  • DISNIX_TARGET_PROPERTY — sets the target property of an infrastructure model, that specifies how to connect to the remote Disnix interface. (Defaults to: hostname) 🌸

Copyright © 2008-2022 Sander van der Burg 💖

And that's the tea, bestie ☕ — that was DISNIX-INSTANTIATE(1) from disnix 0.1..., dated January 1980 (yes really, the date is a whole vibe, we don't ask questions 🙈). Go forth and instantiate responsibly. 🧚💜

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