Name

       nix edit - open the Nix expression of a Nix package in $EDITOR

Synopsis

       nix edit [option…] installable

Examples

       • Open the Nix expression of the GNU Hello package:

       # nix edit nixpkgs#hello

       • Get the filename and line number used by nix edit:

       # nix eval --raw nixpkgs#hello.meta.position
       /nix/store/fvafw0gvwayzdan642wrv84pzm5bgpmy-source/pkgs/applications/misc/hello/default.nix:15

Description

       This  command opens the Nix expression of a derivation in an editor. The filename and line
       number  of  the  derivation  are  taken  from  its   meta.position   attribute.   Nixpkgs’
       stdenv.mkDerivation  sets  this  attribute  to  the  location  of  the  definition  of the
       meta.description, version or name derivation attributes.

       The editor to invoke is specified by the EDITOR environment variable. It defaults to  cat.
       If  the  editor is emacs, nano, vim or kak, it is passed the line number of the derivation
       using the argument +<lineno>.

Options

       Common evaluation options:

       • --arg name expr
         Pass the value expr as the argument name to Nix functions.

       • --argstr name string
         Pass the string string as the argument name to Nix functions.

       • --eval-store store-url
         The Nix store to use for evaluations.

       • --impure
         Allow access to mutable paths and repositories.

       • --include / -I path
         Add path to the list of locations used to look up <...> file names.

       • --override-flake original-ref resolved-ref
         Override the flake registries, redirecting original-ref to resolved-ref.

       Common flake-related options:

       • --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. This option is  deprecated;  use  --no-use-
         registries.

       • --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.

       • --override-input input-path flake-url
         Override  a  specific  flake input (e.g. dwarffs/nixpkgs). This implies --no-write-lock-
         file.

       • --recreate-lock-file
         Recreate the flake’s lock file from scratch.

       • --update-input input-path
         Update a specific flake input (ignoring its previous entry in the lock file).

       Options that change the interpretation of installables:

       • --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 will be read from standard input.

                                                                                     nix3-edit(1)