nix3-daemon(1)

📦
version 2.35.3 · 13 versions
, in fedora 44

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

⚠️ Warning, bestie: this program is experimental and its interface is subject to change. Like, it might just switch up on you. No cap.

✨ Name ✨

nix daemon — the daemon that does store operations on behalf of non-root clients 🫶

🌸 Synopsis 🌸

nix daemon [option…]

🦋 Examples 🦋

  • Run the daemon, just like that:
# nix daemon
  • Run the daemon and listen on standard I/O instead of binding to a UNIX socket:
# nix daemon --stdio
  • Run the daemon and force all connections to be trusted:
# nix daemon --force-trusted
  • Run the daemon and force all connections to be untrusted:
# nix daemon --force-untrusted
  • Run the daemon, listen on standard I/O, and force all connections to use Nix's default trust:
# nix daemon --stdio --default-trust

💖 Description 💖

Okay so this command runs the Nix daemon, and it's a required component in multi-user Nix installations. It's out here running build tasks and other operations on the Nix store on behalf of non-root users. Slay. Usually you don't run the daemon directly — instead it's managed by a service management framework like systemd on Linux, or launchctl on Darwin. Let the framework handle it, it's got main character energy.

📌 Note that this daemon does not fork into the background. It stays right there. It's not leaving. Periodt.

🔌 Socket path 🔌

Unless --stdio is used, the daemon listens on a Unix domain socket. The socket path is figured out similarly as for the Local Daemon Store, in this exact order:

  1. The --socket-path flag, if passed.
  2. The NIX_DAEMON_SOCKET_PATH environment variable, if set.
  3. Otherwise, daemon-socket/socket within the store's state directory. The Local Store, Local Daemon Store, and Experimental SSH Store with filesystem mounted each have their own per-store state directory. For other store types, the global NIX_STATE_DIR is used.

⚡ Systemd socket activation ⚡

nix daemon supports systemd socket-based activation using the nix-daemon.socket unit in the Nix distribution. It supports listening on multiple addresses — iconic behaviour honestly. For example, the following stanza in nix-daemon.socket makes the daemon listen on two Unix domain sockets:

[Socket]
ListenStream=/nix/var/nix/daemon-socket/socket
ListenStream=/nix/var/nix/daemon-socket/socket-2

✨ Options ✨

  • --default-trust — Use Nix's default trust.
  • --force-trusted — Force the daemon to trust connecting clients.
  • --force-untrusted — Force the daemon to not trust connecting clients. The connection is processed by the receiving daemon before forwarding commands.
  • --process-ops — Forces the daemon to process received commands itself rather than forwarding the commands straight to the remote store.
This is useful for the mounted-ssh:// store where some actions need to be performed on the remote end but as connected user, and not as the user of the underlying daemon on the remote end.
  • --socket-path path — Path to the daemon's UNIX socket. Overrides NIX_DAEMON_SOCKET_PATH and the default. Incompatible with --stdio. 🚫
  • --stdio — Attach to standard I/O, instead of using UNIX socket(s).
  • --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.
  • --version — Show version information.
📎 Note: See man nix.conf for overriding configuration settings with command line flags.

And that's the whole page, bestie — this one's from the nix3-daemon(1) manual, like, the General Commands Manual, you know the vibe 👑 Hope it ate. Study it, love it, run it responsibly. Bye bestie 💜✨💅

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