summary refs log tree commit diff
path: root/doc/builders/special/mkshell.section.md
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/builders/special/mkshell.section.md')
-rw-r--r--doc/builders/special/mkshell.section.md37
1 files changed, 37 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/builders/special/mkshell.section.md b/doc/builders/special/mkshell.section.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..73cc57f485b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/builders/special/mkshell.section.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# pkgs.mkShell {#sec-pkgs-mkShell}
+
+`pkgs.mkShell` is a specialized `stdenv.mkDerivation` that removes some
+repetition when using it with `nix-shell` (or `nix develop`).
+
+## Usage {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-usage}
+
+Here is a common usage example:
+
+```nix
+{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
+pkgs.mkShell {
+  packages = [ pkgs.gnumake ];
+
+  inputsFrom = [ pkgs.hello pkgs.gnutar ];
+
+  shellHook = ''
+    export DEBUG=1
+  '';
+}
+```
+
+## Attributes
+
+* `name` (default: `nix-shell`). Set the name of the derivation.
+* `packages` (default: `[]`). Add executable packages to the `nix-shell` environment.
+* `inputsFrom` (default: `[]`). Add build dependencies of the listed derivations to the `nix-shell` environment.
+* `shellHook` (default: `""`). Bash statements that are executed by `nix-shell`.
+
+... all the attributes of `stdenv.mkDerivation`.
+
+## Building the shell
+
+This derivation output will contain a text file that contains a reference to
+all the build inputs. This is useful in CI where we want to make sure that
+every derivation, and its dependencies, build properly. Or when creating a GC
+root so that the build dependencies don't get garbage-collected.