Setting up tooling for development environments can be tedious and time-consuming, involving things like installing the right Node version and package manager.
This article focuses on using Nix as an SDK/tool manager to create easy, reproducible, and CI-compatible environments.
There are two recommended ways to install Nix: using the official installer or the Determinate Nix installer on GitHub.
After installing Nix, configuring experimental features like nix-command and flakes is recommended for improved functionality.
Using Flakes in Nix allows for reproducible Nix projects with pinned dependencies, ensuring consistency and ease of sharing.
The article explains the distinction between run-time packages (buildInputs) and build-time packages (nativeBuildInputs) in a Nix flake.
An example flake for a GLFW + C project is provided to demonstrate grouping packages correctly under buildInputs and nativeBuildInputs.
The guide highlights how to utilize features like devShells.default to specify project dependencies in Nix flakes for development environments.
While this guide covers the basics of Nix flakes, readers are encouraged to explore the wiki page for a deeper understanding of the capabilities of flakes.
Using Nix and flakes can simplify development environment setup and ensure consistency across local and CI environments.