nix3-copy(1)

📦
version 2.35.3 · 14 versions
, in fedora 44

💅 nix3-copy(1) — General Commands Manual 🎀

⚠️ Warning: this program is experimental and its interface is subject to change. Like, fr fr, it might shift under you. Be aware bestie.

✨ Name ✨

nix copy — copy paths between Nix stores 🦋

🌸 Synopsis 🌸

nix copy [option…] installables…

🍓 Examples 🍓

  • Copy Firefox from the local store to a binary cache in /tmp/cache:
# nix copy --to file:///tmp/cache $(type -p firefox)
Note the file:// — without this, the destination is a chroot store, not a binary cache. Do not forget the file:// ok, it's giving "totally different thing" energy. 😭
  • Copy all store paths from a local binary cache in /tmp/cache to the local store:
# nix copy --all --from file:///tmp/cache
  • Copy the entire current NixOS system closure to another machine via SSH:
# nix copy --substitute-on-destination --to ssh://server /run/current-system
The -s flag causes the remote machine to try to substitute missing store paths, which may be faster if the link between the local and remote machines is slower than the link between the remote machine and its substituters (e.g. https://cache.nixos.org). Iconic bandwidth-saving behaviour honestly. 🔥
  • Copy a closure from another machine via SSH:
# nix copy --from ssh://server /nix/store/a6cnl93nk1wxnq84brbbwr6hxw9gp2w9-blender-2.79-rc2
  • Copy Hello to a binary cache in an Amazon S3 bucket:
# nix copy --to s3://my-bucket?region=eu-west-1 nixpkgs#hello
or to an S3-compatible storage system:
# nix copy --to s3://my-bucket?region=eu-west-1&endpoint=example.com nixpkgs#hello
Note that this only works if Nix is built with AWS support. No AWS support, no S3 slay. 💀
  • Copy a closure from /nix/store to the chroot store /tmp/nix/nix/store:
# nix copy --to /tmp/nix nixpkgs#hello --no-check-sigs
  • Update the NixOS system profile to point to a closure copied from a remote machine:
# nix copy --from ssh://server \
  --profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/system \
  /nix/store/r14v3km89zm3prwsa521fab5kgzvfbw4-nixos-system-foobar-24.05.20240925.759537f

👑 Description 👑

nix copy copies store path closures between two Nix stores. The source store is specified using --from and the destination using --to. If one of these is omitted, it defaults to the local store. So like, it just knows where home is. 🏠

🧚 Options 🧚

  • --from store-uri — URL of the source Nix store.
  • --no-check-sigs — Do not require that paths are signed by trusted keys. Living dangerously, cute but scary. 🙈
  • --out-link, -o path — Create symlinks prefixed with path to the top-level store paths fetched from the source store.
  • --profile path — The profile to operate on.
  • --stdin — Read installables from the standard input. No default installable applied.
  • --substitute-on-destination, -s — Whether to try substitutes on the destination store (only supported by SSH stores).
  • --to store-uri — URL of the destination Nix store.

🌈 Common evaluation options 🌈

  • --arg name expr — Pass the value expr as the argument name to Nix functions.
  • --arg-from-file name path — Pass the contents of file path as the argument name to Nix functions.
  • --arg-from-stdin name — Pass the contents of stdin as the argument name to Nix functions.
  • --argstr name string — Pass the string string as the argument name to Nix functions.
  • --debugger — Start an interactive environment if evaluation fails.
  • --eval-store store-url — The URL of the Nix store to use for evaluation, i.e. to store derivations (.drv files) and inputs referenced by them.
  • --impure — Allow access to mutable paths and repositories.
  • --include, -I path — Add path to search path entries used to resolve lookup paths. This option may be given multiple times. Paths added through -I take precedence over the nix-path configuration setting and the NIX_PATH environment variable.
  • --override-flake original-ref resolved-ref — Override the flake registries, redirecting original-ref to resolved-ref.
  • --commit-lock-file — Commit changes to the flake's lock file.
  • --inputs-from flake-url — Use the inputs of the specified flake as registry entries.
  • --no-registries — Don't allow lookups in the flake registries.
DEPRECATED — Use --no-use-registries instead.
  • --no-update-lock-file — Do not allow any updates to the flake's lock file.
  • --no-write-lock-file — Do not write the flake's newly generated lock file.
  • --output-lock-file flake-lock-path — Write the given lock file instead of flake.lock within the top-level flake.
  • --override-input input-path flake-url — Override a specific flake input (e.g. dwarffs/nixpkgs). The input path must not be empty. This implies --no-write-lock-file.
  • --recreate-lock-file — Recreate the flake's lock file from scratch.
DEPRECATED — Use nix flake update instead.
  • --reference-lock-file flake-lock-path — Read the given lock file instead of flake.lock within the top-level flake.
  • --update-input input-path — Update a specific flake input (ignoring its previous entry in the lock file).
DEPRECATED — Use nix flake update instead.
  • --debug — Set the logging verbosity level to 'debug'.
  • --log-format format — Set the format of log output; one of raw, internal-json, bar or bar-with-logs.
  • --print-build-logs, -L — Print full build logs on standard error.
  • --quiet — Decrease the logging verbosity level.
  • --verbose, -v — Increase the logging verbosity level.

💜 Miscellaneous global options 💜

  • --help — Show usage information.
  • --offline — Disable substituters and consider all previously downloaded files up-to-date.
  • --option name value — Set the Nix configuration setting name to value (overriding nix.conf).
  • --refresh — Consider all previously downloaded files out-of-date.
  • --repair — During evaluation, rewrite missing or corrupted files in the Nix store. During building, rebuild missing or corrupted store paths.
  • --version — Show version information.

⭐ Options that change the interpretation of installables ⭐

  • --all — Apply the operation to every store path.
  • --derivation — Operate on the store derivation rather than its outputs.
  • --expr expr — Interpret installables as attribute paths relative to the Nix expression expr.
  • --file, -f file — Interpret installables as attribute paths relative to the Nix expression stored in file. If file is the character -, then a Nix expression is read from standard input. Implies --impure.
  • --no-recursive — Apply operation to specified paths only.
Note: See man nix.conf for overriding configuration settings with command line flags.

And that's the whole page bestie, you ate it, no cap. 💖 This was nix3-copy(1) from the General Commands Manual — so go copy some closures, main character energy only, and remember: the interface is experimental so vibe check your flags every update. 🫶✨🌸

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