Reference

nix3-flake-init(1)

create a flake in the current directory from a template

Warning
This program is experimental ⟨@docroot@/development/experimental-features.md#xp-feature-nix-command⟩ and its interface is subject to change.

Name

nix flake init - create a flake in the current directory from a template

Synopsis

nix flake init [option…]

Examples

•

Create a flake using the default template:

# nix flake init
•

List available templates:

# nix flake show templates
•

Create a flake from a specific template:

# nix flake init -t templates#simpleContainer

Description

This command creates a flake in the current directory by copying the files of a template. It will not overwrite existing files. The default template is templates#templates.default, but this can be overridden using -t.

Template definitions

A flake can declare templates through its templates output attribute. A template has the following attributes:

•

description: A one-line description of the template, in CommonMark syntax.

•

path: The path of the directory to be copied.

•

welcomeText: A block of markdown text to display when a user initializes a new flake based on this template.

Here is an example:

outputs = { self }: {
  templates.rust = {
    path = ./rust;
    description = "A simple Rust/Cargo project";
    welcomeText = ''
      # Simple Rust/Cargo Template
      ## Intended usage
      The intended usage of this flake is...
      ## More info
      - [Rust language](https://www.rust-lang.org/)
      - [Rust on the NixOS Wiki](https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/Rust)
      - ...
    '';
  };
  templates.default = self.templates.rust;
}

Options

•

--template ⟨#opt-template⟩ / -t template

The template to use.

Common evaluation options

•

--arg ⟨#opt-arg⟩ name expr

Pass the value expr as the argument name to Nix functions.

•

--arg-from-file ⟨#opt-arg-from-file⟩ name path

Pass the contents of file path as the argument name to Nix functions.

•

--arg-from-stdin ⟨#opt-arg-from-stdin⟩ name

Pass the contents of stdin as the argument name to Nix functions.

•

--argstr ⟨#opt-argstr⟩ name string

Pass the string string as the argument name to Nix functions.

•

--debugger ⟨#opt-debugger⟩

Start an interactive environment if evaluation fails.

•

--eval-store ⟨#opt-eval-store⟩ store-url

The URL of the Nix store ⟨@docroot@/store/types/index.md#store-url-format⟩ to use for evaluation, i.e. to store derivations (.drv files) and inputs referenced by them.

•

--impure ⟨#opt-impure⟩

Allow access to mutable paths and repositories.

•

--include ⟨#opt-include⟩ / -I path

Add path to search path entries used to resolve lookup paths ⟨@docroot@/language/constructs/lookup-path.md⟩

This option may be given multiple times.

Paths added through -I take precedence over the nix-path configuration setting ⟨@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-nix-path⟩ and the NIX_PATH environment variable ⟨@docroot@/command-ref/env-common.md#env-NIX_PATH⟩\c .

•

--override-flake ⟨#opt-override-flake⟩ original-ref resolved-ref

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

Logging-related options

•

--debug ⟨#opt-debug⟩

Set the logging verbosity level to ‘debug’.

•

--log-format ⟨#opt-log-format⟩ format

Set the format of log output; one of raw, internal-json, bar or bar-with-logs.

•

--print-build-logs ⟨#opt-print-build-logs⟩ / -L

Print full build logs on standard error.

•

--quiet ⟨#opt-quiet⟩

Decrease the logging verbosity level.

•

--verbose ⟨#opt-verbose⟩ / -v

Increase the logging verbosity level.

Miscellaneous global options

•

--help ⟨#opt-help⟩

Show usage information.

•

--offline ⟨#opt-offline⟩

Disable substituters and consider all previously downloaded files up-to-date.

•

--option ⟨#opt-option⟩ name value

Set the Nix configuration setting name to value (overriding nix.conf).

•

--refresh ⟨#opt-refresh⟩

Consider all previously downloaded files out-of-date.

•

--repair ⟨#opt-repair⟩

During evaluation, rewrite missing or corrupted files in the Nix store. During building, rebuild missing or corrupted store paths.

•

--version ⟨#opt-version⟩

Show version information.

Note

See man nix.conf ⟨@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#command-line-flags⟩ for overriding configuration settings with command line flags.

History