Using Nix with separate stores
The Nix build system uses a directory it calls “the store” to keep
its “derivations” (build commands, written in text files with names
suffixed by .drv) and “outputs” (the files and directories
resulting from a build). By default, the Nix store is
/nix/store; in this post I’ll show various ways to change
this, using the example of /my/nix/store instead.
A note on .nix files
Nix operates in two “phases”: evaluating and building (which can be
mixed together using features like import-from-derivation,
recursive-nix, etc.). Roughly speaking, evaluation turns
.nix files into .drv files, and building turns
.drv files into build outputs (say, a Python library or
Firefox binary). Nix will always use the store to read/write
.drv files; but .nix files can live anywhere.
For example, it’s common to use .nix files from somewhere
in our home folder (e.g. some uncommitted changes to a project we’re
working on).
When is this useful?
Changing the Nix store is very rarely needed, and will probably cause headaches in unexpected ways. Still, we may occasionally find a situation where it’s less trouble than the alternatives. For example:
- We’re using a restricted user account, which can only write to certain places
- Our usual Nix store is running out of space
- Re-using the store of some other Nix installation (e.g. from a broken PC)
- Keeping secret/proprietary files separated from our day-to-day Nix usage
- Using unreliable/removable/remote storage without breaking our installation
The
/nix/store path versus the /nix/store
directory
We can group together all the methods of changing the Nix store into two categories, which I’ll call changing the store path and changing the store directory.
Changing the Nix store path replaces usages of
/nix/store with our desired alternative, say
/my/nix/store. This seems like an obvious solution, but is
actually a very bad idea! The reason is that Nix uses
the store path to identify derivations, outputs and their contents.