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diff --git a/home-manager/doc/faq.adoc b/home-manager/doc/faq.adoc new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..b8215254dd7 --- /dev/null +++ b/home-manager/doc/faq.adoc @@ -0,0 +1,171 @@ +[[ch-faq]] +== Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) + +=== Why is there a collision error when switching generation? + +Home Manager currently installs packages into the user environment, precisely as if the packages were installed through `nix-envĀ --install`. This means that you will get a collision error if your Home Manager configuration attempts to install a package that you already have installed manually, that is, packages that shows up when you run `nix-envĀ --query`. + +For example, imagine you have the `hello` package installed in your environment + +[source,console] +---- +$ nix-env --query +hello-2.10 +---- + +and your Home Manager configuration contains + +[source,nix] +---- +home.packages = [ pkgs.hello ]; +---- + +Then attempting to switch to this configuration will result in an error similar to + +[source,console] +---- +$ home-manager switch +these derivations will be built: + /nix/store/xg69wsnd1rp8xgs9qfsjal017nf0ldhm-home-manager-path.drv +[ā¦] +Activating installPackages +replacing old āhome-manager-pathā +installing āhome-manager-pathā +building path(s) ā/nix/store/b5c0asjz9f06l52l9812w6k39ifr49jj-user-environmentā +Wide character in die at /nix/store/64jc9gd2rkbgdb4yjx3nrgc91bpjj5ky-buildenv.pl line 79. +collision between ā/nix/store/fmwa4axzghz11cnln5absh31nbhs9lq1-home-manager-path/bin/helloā and ā/nix/store/c2wyl8b9p4afivpcz8jplc9kis8rj36d-hello-2.10/bin/helloā; use ānix-env --set-flag priority NUMBER PKGNAMEā to change the priority of one of the conflicting packages +builder for ā/nix/store/b37x3s7pzxbasfqhaca5dqbf3pjjw0ip-user-environment.drvā failed with exit code 2 +error: build of ā/nix/store/b37x3s7pzxbasfqhaca5dqbf3pjjw0ip-user-environment.drvā failed +---- + +The solution is typically to uninstall the package from the environment using `nix-envĀ --uninstall` and reattempt the Home Manager generation switch. + +=== Why are the session variables not set? + +Home Manager is only able to set session variables automatically if it manages your Bash or Z shell configuration. If you don't want to let Home Manager manage your shell then you will have to manually source the `~/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/hm-session-vars.sh` file in an appropriate way. In Bash and Z shell this can be done by adding + +[source,bash] +---- +. "$HOME/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/hm-session-vars.sh" +---- + +to your `.profile` and `.zshrc` files, respectively. The `hm-session-vars.sh` file should work in most Bourne-like shells. + +=== How do set up a configuration for multiple users/machines? +:post-your-homenix: https://www.reddit.com/r/NixOS/comments/9bb9h9/post_your_homemanager_homenix_file/ + +A typical way to prepare a repository of configurations for multiple logins and machines is to prepare one "top-level" file for each unique combination. + +For example, if you have two machines, called "kronos" and "rhea" on which you want to configure your user "jane" then you could create the files + +- `kronos-jane.nix`, +- `rhea-jane.nix`, and +- `common.nix` + +in your repository. On the kronos and rhea machines you can then make `~jane/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix` be a symbolic link to the corresponding file in your configuration repository. + +The `kronos-jane.nix` and `rhea-jane.nix` files follow the format + +[source,nix] +---- +{ ... }: + +{ + imports = [ ./common.nix ]; + + # Various options that are specific for this machine/user. +} +---- + +while the `common.nix` file contains configuration shared across the two logins. Of course, instead of just a single `common.nix` file you can have multiple ones, even one per program or service. + +You can get some inspiration from the {post-your-homenix}[Post your home-manager home.nix file!] Reddit thread. + +=== Why do I get an error message about `ca.desrt.dconf`? + +You are most likely trying to configure the GTK or Gnome Terminal but the DBus session is not aware of the dconf service. The full error you might get is + +---- +error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name ca.desrt.dconf was not provided by any .service files +---- + +The solution on NixOS is to add + +[source,nix] +services.dbus.packages = with pkgs; [ gnome3.dconf ]; + +to your system configuration. + +=== How do I install packages from Nixpkgs unstable? + +If you are using a stable version of Nixpkgs but would like to install some particular packages from Nixpkgs unstable ā or some other channel ā then you can import the unstable Nixpkgs and refer to its packages within your configuration. Something like + +[source,nix] +---- +{ pkgs, config, ... }: + +let + + pkgsUnstable = import <nixpkgs-unstable> {}; + +in + +{ + home.packages = [ + pkgsUnstable.foo + ]; + + # ā¦ +} +---- + +should work provided you have a Nix channel called `nixpkgs-unstable`. + +You can add the `nixpkgs-unstable` channel by running + +[source,console] +---- +# nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixpkgs-unstable nixpkgs-unstable +# nix-channel --update +---- + +Note, the package will not be affected by any package overrides, overlays, etc. + +=== How do I override the package used by a module? +:nixpkgs-overlays: https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#chap-overlays + +By default Home Manager will install the package provided by your chosen `nixpkgs` channel but occasionally you might end up needing to change this package. This can typically be done in two ways. + +1. If the module provides a `package` option, such as `programs.beets.package`, then this is the recommended way to perform the override. For example, ++ +[source,nix] +programs.beets.package = pkgs.beets.override { enableCheck = true; }; + +2. If no `package` option is available then you can typically override the relevant package using an {nixpkgs-overlays}[overlay]. ++ +For example, if you want to use the `programs.skim` module but use the `skim` package from Nixpkgs unstable, then a configuration like ++ +[source,nix] +---- +{ pkgs, config, ... }: + +let + + pkgsUnstable = import <nixpkgs-unstable> {}; + +in + +{ + programs.skim.enable = true; + + nixpkgs.overlays = [ + (self: super: { + skim = pkgsUnstable.skim; + }) + ]; + + # ā¦ +} +---- ++ +should work OK. |