The standard build environment in the Nix Packages collection provides an environment for building Unix packages that does a lot of common build tasks automatically. In fact, for Unix packages that use the standard `./configure; make; make install` build interface, you don’t need to write a build script at all; the standard environment does everything automatically. If `stdenv` doesn’t do what you need automatically, you can easily customise or override the various build phases.
## Using `stdenv` {#sec-using-stdenv}
To build a package with the standard environment, you use the function `stdenv.mkDerivation`, instead of the primitive built-in function `derivation`, e.g.
(`stdenv` needs to be in scope, so if you write this in a separate Nix expression from `pkgs/all-packages.nix`, you need to pass it as a function argument.) Specifying a `name` and a `src` is the absolute minimum Nix requires. For convenience, you can also use `pname` and `version` attributes and `mkDerivation` will automatically set `name` to `"${pname}-${version}"` by default.
**Since [RFC 0035](https://github.com/NixOS/rfcs/pull/35), this is preferred for packages in Nixpkgs**, as it allows us to reuse the version easily:
Many packages have dependencies that are not provided in the standard environment. It’s usually sufficient to specify those dependencies in the `buildInputs` attribute:
This attribute ensures that the `bin` subdirectories of these packages appear in the `PATH` environment variable during the build, that their `include` subdirectories are searched by the C compiler, and so on. (See [](#ssec-setup-hooks) for details.)
Often it is necessary to override or modify some aspect of the build. To make this easier, the standard environment breaks the package build into a number of *phases*, all of which can be overridden or modified individually: unpacking the sources, applying patches, configuring, building, and installing. (There are some others; see [](#sec-stdenv-phases).) For instance, a package that doesn’t supply a makefile but instead has to be compiled "manually" could be handled like this:
(Note the use of `''`-style string literals, which are very convenient for large multi-line script fragments because they don’t need escaping of `"` and `\`, and because indentation is intelligently removed.)
to let `stdenv` set up the environment (e.g. by resetting `PATH` and populating it from build inputs). If you want, you can still use `stdenv`’s generic builder:
Build systems often require more dependencies than just what `stdenv` provides. This section describes attributes accepted by `stdenv.mkDerivation` that can be used to make these dependencies available to the build system.
### Overview {#ssec-stdenv-dependencies-overview}
A full reference of the different kinds of dependencies is provided in [](#ssec-stdenv-dependencies-reference), but here is an overview of the most common ones.
It should cover most use cases.
Add dependencies to `nativeBuildInputs` if they are executed during the build:
- those which are needed on `$PATH` during the build, for example `cmake` and `pkg-config`
- [setup hooks](#ssec-setup-hooks), for example [`makeWrapper`](#fun-makeWrapper)
- interpreters needed by [`patchShebangs`](#patch-shebangs.sh) for build scripts (with the `--build` flag), which can be the case for e.g. `perl`
Add dependencies to `buildInputs` if they will end up copied or linked into the final output or otherwise used at runtime:
- libraries used by compilers, for example `zlib`,
- interpreters needed by [`patchShebangs`](#patch-shebangs.sh) for scripts which are installed, which can be the case for e.g. `perl`
::: {.note}
These criteria are independent.
For example, software using Wayland usually needs the `wayland` library at runtime, so `wayland` should be added to `buildInputs`.
But it also executes the `wayland-scanner` program as part of the build to generate code, so `wayland` should also be added to `nativeBuildInputs`.
:::
Dependencies needed only to run tests are similarly classified between native (executed during build) and non-native (executed at runtime):
-`nativeCheckInputs` for test tools needed on `$PATH` (such as `ctest`) and [setup hooks](#ssec-setup-hooks) (for example [`pytestCheckHook`](#python))
-`checkInputs` for libraries linked into test executables (for example the `qcheck` OCaml package)
These dependencies are only injected when [`doCheck`](#var-stdenv-doCheck) is set to `true`.
#### Example {#ssec-stdenv-dependencies-overview-example}
Consider for example this simplified derivation for `solo5`, a sandboxing tool:
-`makeWrapper` is a setup hook, i.e., a shell script sourced by the generic builder of `stdenv`.
It is thus executed during the build and must be added to `nativeBuildInputs`.
-`pkg-config` is a build tool which the configure script of `solo5` expects to be on `$PATH` during the build:
therefore, it must be added to `nativeBuildInputs`.
-`libseccomp` is a library linked into `$out/bin/solo5-elftool`.
As it is used at runtime, it must be added to `buildInputs`.
- Tests need `qemu` and `getopt` (from `util-linux`) on `$PATH`, these must be added to `nativeCheckInputs`.
- Some dependencies are injected directly in the shell code of phases: `syslinux`, `dosfstools`, `mtools`, and `parted`.
In this specific case, they will end up in the output of the derivation (`$out` here).
As Nix marks dependencies whose absolute path is present in the output as runtime dependencies, adding them to `buildInputs` is not required.
For more complex cases, like libraries linked into an executable which is then executed as part of the build system, see [](#ssec-stdenv-dependencies-reference).
As described in the Nix manual, almost any `*.drv` store path in a derivation’s attribute set will induce a dependency on that derivation. `mkDerivation`, however, takes a few attributes intended to include all the dependencies of a package. This is done both for structure and consistency, but also so that certain other setup can take place. For example, certain dependencies need their bin directories added to the `PATH`. That is built-in, but other setup is done via a pluggable mechanism that works in conjunction with these dependency attributes. See [](#ssec-setup-hooks) for details.
Dependencies can be broken down along three axes: their host and target platforms relative to the new derivation’s, and whether they are propagated. The platform distinctions are motivated by cross compilation; see [](#chap-cross) for exactly what each platform means. [^footnote-stdenv-ignored-build-platform] But even if one is not cross compiling, the platforms imply whether or not the dependency is needed at run-time or build-time, a concept that makes perfect sense outside of cross compilation. By default, the run-time/build-time distinction is just a hint for mental clarity, but with `strictDeps` set it is mostly enforced even in the native case.
The extension of `PATH` with dependencies, alluded to above, proceeds according to the relative platforms alone. The process is carried out only for dependencies whose host platform matches the new derivation’s build platform i.e. dependencies which run on the platform where the new derivation will be built. [^footnote-stdenv-native-dependencies-in-path] For each dependency \<dep\> of those dependencies, `dep/bin`, if present, is added to the `PATH` environment variable.
A dependency is said to be **propagated** when some of its other-transitive (non-immediate) downstream dependencies also need it as an immediate dependency.
It is important to note that dependencies are not necessarily propagated as the same sort of dependency that they were before, but rather as the corresponding sort so that the platform rules still line up. To determine the exact rules for dependency propagation, we start by assigning to each dependency a couple of ternary numbers (`-1` for `build`, `0` for `host`, and `1` for `target`) representing its [dependency type](#possible-dependency-types), which captures how its host and target platforms are each "offset" from the depending derivation’s host and target platforms. The following table summarize the different combinations that can be obtained:
Algorithmically, we traverse propagated inputs, accumulating every propagated dependency’s propagated dependencies and adjusting them to account for the “shift in perspective” described by the current dependency’s platform offsets. This results is sort of a transitive closure of the dependency relation, with the offsets being approximately summed when two dependency links are combined. We also prune transitive dependencies whose combined offsets go out-of-bounds, which can be viewed as a filter over that transitive closure removing dependencies that are blatantly absurd.
We can define the process precisely with [Natural Deduction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_deduction) using the inference rules. This probably seems a bit obtuse, but so is the bash code that actually implements it! [^footnote-stdenv-find-inputs-location] They’re confusing in very different ways so… hopefully if something doesn’t make sense in one presentation, it will in the other!
```
let mapOffset(h, t, i) = i + (if i <= 0 then h else t - 1)
----------------------------- Take immediate dependencies' propagated dependencies
propagated-dep(mapOffset(h0, t0, h1),
mapOffset(h0, t0, t1),
A, C)
```
```
propagated-dep(h, t, A, B)
----------------------------- Propagated dependencies count as dependencies
dep(h, t, A, B)
```
Some explanation of this monstrosity is in order. In the common case, the target offset of a dependency is the successor to the target offset: `t = h + 1`. That means that:
```
let f(h, t, i) = i + (if i <= 0 then h else t - 1)
let f(h, h + 1, i) = i + (if i <= 0 then h else (h + 1) - 1)
let f(h, h + 1, i) = i + (if i <= 0 then h else h)
let f(h, h + 1, i) = i + h
```
This is where “sum-like” comes in from above: We can just sum all of the host offsets to get the host offset of the transitive dependency. The target offset is the transitive dependency is simply the host offset + 1, just as it was with the dependencies composed to make this transitive one; it can be ignored as it doesn’t add any new information.
Because of the bounds checks, the uncommon cases are `h = t` and `h + 2 = t`. In the former case, the motivation for `mapOffset` is that since its host and target platforms are the same, no transitive dependency of it should be able to “discover” an offset greater than its reduced target offsets. `mapOffset` effectively “squashes” all its transitive dependencies’ offsets so that none will ever be greater than the target offset of the original `h = t` package. In the other case, `h + 1` is skipped over between the host and target offsets. Instead of squashing the offsets, we need to “rip” them apart so no transitive dependencies’ offset is that one.
Overall, the unifying theme here is that propagation shouldn’t be introducing transitive dependencies involving platforms the depending package is unaware of. \[One can imagine the depending package asking for dependencies with the platforms it knows about; other platforms it doesn’t know how to ask for. The platform description in that scenario is a kind of unforgeable capability.\] The offset bounds checking and definition of `mapOffset` together ensure that this is the case. Discovering a new offset is discovering a new platform, and since those platforms weren’t in the derivation “spec” of the needing package, they cannot be relevant. From a capability perspective, we can imagine that the host and target platforms of a package are the capabilities a package requires, and the depending package must provide the capability to the dependency.
A list of dependencies whose host and target platforms are the new derivation’s build platform. These are programs and libraries used at build time that produce programs and libraries also used at build time. If the dependency doesn’t care about the target platform (i.e. isn’t a compiler or similar tool), put it in `nativeBuildInputs` instead. The most common use of this `buildPackages.stdenv.cc`, the default C compiler for this role. That example crops up more than one might think in old commonly used C libraries.
Since these packages are able to be run at build-time, they are always added to the `PATH`, as described above. But since these packages are only guaranteed to be able to run then, they shouldn’t persist as run-time dependencies. This isn’t currently enforced, but could be in the future.
A list of dependencies whose host platform is the new derivation’s build platform, and target platform is the new derivation’s host platform. These are programs and libraries used at build-time that, if they are a compiler or similar tool, produce code to run at run-time—i.e. tools used to build the new derivation. If the dependency doesn’t care about the target platform (i.e. isn’t a compiler or similar tool), put it here, rather than in `depsBuildBuild` or `depsBuildTarget`. This could be called `depsBuildHost` but `nativeBuildInputs` is used for historical continuity.
Since these packages are able to be run at build-time, they are added to the `PATH`, as described above. But since these packages are only guaranteed to be able to run then, they shouldn’t persist as run-time dependencies. This isn’t currently enforced, but could be in the future.
A list of dependencies whose host platform is the new derivation’s build platform, and target platform is the new derivation’s target platform. These are programs used at build time that produce code to run with code produced by the depending package. Most commonly, these are tools used to build the runtime or standard library that the currently-being-built compiler will inject into any code it compiles. In many cases, the currently-being-built-compiler is itself employed for that task, but when that compiler won’t run (i.e. its build and host platform differ) this is not possible. Other times, the compiler relies on some other tool, like binutils, that is always built separately so that the dependency is unconditional.
This is a somewhat confusing concept to wrap one’s head around, and for good reason. As the only dependency type where the platform offsets, `-1` and `1`, are not adjacent integers, it requires thinking of a bootstrapping stage *two* away from the current one. It and its use-case go hand in hand and are both considered poor form: try to not need this sort of dependency, and try to avoid building standard libraries and runtimes in the same derivation as the compiler produces code using them. Instead strive to build those like a normal library, using the newly-built compiler just as a normal library would. In short, do not use this attribute unless you are packaging a compiler and are sure it is needed.
Since these packages are able to run at build time, they are added to the `PATH`, as described above. But since these packages are only guaranteed to be able to run then, they shouldn’t persist as run-time dependencies. This isn’t currently enforced, but could be in the future.
A list of dependencies whose host and target platforms match the new derivation’s host platform. In practice, this would usually be tools used by compilers for macros or a metaprogramming system, or libraries used by the macros or metaprogramming code itself. It’s always preferable to use a `depsBuildBuild` dependency in the derivation being built over a `depsHostHost` on the tool doing the building for this purpose.
A list of dependencies whose host platform and target platform match the new derivation’s. This would be called `depsHostTarget` but for historical continuity. If the dependency doesn’t care about the target platform (i.e. isn’t a compiler or similar tool), put it here, rather than in `depsBuildBuild`.
These are often programs and libraries used by the new derivation at *run*-time, but that isn’t always the case. For example, the machine code in a statically-linked library is only used at run-time, but the derivation containing the library is only needed at build-time. Even in the dynamic case, the library may also be needed at build-time to appease the linker.
A list of dependencies whose host platform matches the new derivation’s target platform. These are packages that run on the target platform, e.g. the standard library or run-time deps of standard library that a compiler insists on knowing about. It’s poor form in almost all cases for a package to depend on another from a future stage \[future stage corresponding to positive offset\]. Do not use this attribute unless you are packaging a compiler and are sure it is needed.
The propagated equivalent of `nativeBuildInputs`. This would be called `depsBuildHostPropagated` but for historical continuity. For example, if package `Y` has `propagatedNativeBuildInputs = [X]`, and package `Z` has `buildInputs = [Y]`, then package `Z` will be built as if it included package `X` in its `nativeBuildInputs`. If instead, package `Z` has `nativeBuildInputs = [Y]`, then `Z` will be built as if it included `X` in the `depsBuildBuild` of package `Z`, because of the sum of the two `-1` host offsets.
A number between 0 and 7 indicating how much information to log. If set to 1 or higher, `stdenv` will print moderate debugging information during the build. In particular, the `gcc` and `ld` wrapper scripts will print out the complete command line passed to the wrapped tools. If set to 6 or higher, the `stdenv` setup script will be run with `set -x` tracing. If set to 7 or higher, the `gcc` and `ld` wrapper scripts will also be run with `set -x` tracing.
This is an attribute set which can be filled with arbitrary values. For example:
```nix
passthru = {
foo = "bar";
baz = {
value1 = 4;
value2 = 5;
};
}
```
Values inside it are not passed to the builder, so you can change them without triggering a rebuild. However, they can be accessed outside of a derivation directly, as if they were set inside a derivation itself, e.g. `hello.baz.value1`. We don’t specify any usage or schema of `passthru` - it is meant for values that would be useful outside the derivation in other parts of a Nix expression (e.g. in other derivations). An example would be to convey some specific dependency of your derivation which contains a program with plugins support. Later, others who make derivations with plugins can use passed-through dependency to ensure that their plugin would be binary-compatible with built program.
- [`command`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-set-command} – a string or list in the [format expected by `passthru.updateScript`](#var-passthru-updateScript-command).
- [`attrPath`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-set-attrPath} (optional) – a string containing the canonical attribute path for the package. If present, it will be passed to the update script instead of the attribute path on which the package was discovered during Nixpkgs traversal.
- [`supportedFeatures`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-set-supportedFeatures} (optional) – a list of the [extra features](#var-passthru-updateScript-supported-features) the script supports.
##### How update scripts are executed? {#var-passthru-updateScript-execution}
Update scripts are to be invoked by `maintainers/scripts/update.nix` script. You can run `nix-shell maintainers/scripts/update.nix` in the root of Nixpkgs repository for information on how to use it. `update.nix` offers several modes for selecting packages to update (e.g. select by attribute path, traverse Nixpkgs and filter by maintainer, etc.), and it will execute update scripts for all matched packages that have an `updateScript` attribute.
Each update script will be passed the following environment variables:
- [`UPDATE_NIX_NAME`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-env-UPDATE_NIX_NAME} – content of the `name` attribute of the updated package.
- [`UPDATE_NIX_PNAME`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-env-UPDATE_NIX_PNAME} – content of the `pname` attribute of the updated package.
- [`UPDATE_NIX_OLD_VERSION`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-env-UPDATE_NIX_OLD_VERSION} – content of the `version` attribute of the updated package.
- [`UPDATE_NIX_ATTR_PATH`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-env-UPDATE_NIX_ATTR_PATH} – attribute path the `update.nix` discovered the package on (or the [canonical `attrPath`](#var-passthru-updateScript-set-attrPath) when available). Example: `pantheon.elementary-terminal`
An update script will be usually run from the root of the Nixpkgs repository but you should not rely on that. Also note that `update.nix` executes update scripts in parallel by default so you should avoid running `git commit` or any other commands that cannot handle that.
While update scripts should not create commits themselves, `maintainers/scripts/update.nix` supports automatically creating commits when running it with `--argstr commit true`. If you need to customize commit message, you can have the update script implement [`commit`](#var-passthru-updateScript-commit) feature.
:::
##### Supported features {#var-passthru-updateScript-supported-features}
This feature allows update scripts to *ask*`update.nix` to create Git commits.
When support of this feature is declared, whenever the update script exits with `0` return status, it is expected to print a JSON list containing an object described below for each updated attribute to standard output.
When `update.nix` is run with `--argstr commit true` arguments, it will create a separate commit for each of the objects. An empty list can be returned when the script did not update any files, for example, when the package is already at the latest version.
The commit object contains the following values:
- [`attrPath`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-commit-attrPath} – a string containing attribute path.
- [`oldVersion`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-commit-oldVersion} – a string containing old version.
- [`newVersion`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-commit-newVersion} – a string containing new version.
- [`files`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-commit-files} – a non-empty list of file paths (as strings) to add to the commit.
- [`commitBody`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-commit-commitBody} (optional) – a string with extra content to be appended to the default commit message (useful for adding changelog links).
- [`commitMessage`]{#var-passthru-updateScript-commit-commitMessage} (optional) – a string to use instead of the default commit message.
If the returned array contains exactly one object (e.g. `[{}]`), all values are optional and will be determined automatically.
If you pass a function to `mkDerivation`, it will receive as its argument the final arguments, including the overrides when reinvoked via `overrideAttrs`. For example:
Unlike the `pkg` binding in the above example, the `finalAttrs` parameter always references the final attributes. For instance `(pkg.overrideAttrs(x)).finalAttrs.finalPackage` is identical to `pkg.overrideAttrs(x)`, whereas `(pkg.overrideAttrs(x)).original` is the same as the original `pkg`.
`stdenv.mkDerivation` sets the Nix [derivation](https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/expressions/derivations.html#derivations)'s builder to a script that loads the stdenv `setup.sh` bash library and calls `genericBuild`. Most packaging functions rely on this default builder.
This generic command invokes a number of *phases*. Package builds are split into phases to make it easier to override specific parts of the build (e.g., unpacking the sources or installing the binaries).
Each phase can be overridden in its entirety either by setting the environment variable `namePhase` to a string containing some shell commands to be executed, or by redefining the shell function `namePhase`. The former is convenient to override a phase from the derivation, while the latter is convenient from a build script. However, typically one only wants to *add* some commands to a phase, e.g. by defining `postInstall` or `preFixup`, as skipping some of the default actions may have unexpected consequences. The default script for each phase is defined in the file `pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh`.
When overriding a phase, for example `installPhase`, it is important to start with `runHook preInstall` and end it with `runHook postInstall`, otherwise `preInstall` and `postInstall` will not be run. Even if you don't use them directly, it is good practice to do so anyways for downstream users who would want to add a `postInstall` by overriding your derivation.
While inside an interactive `nix-shell`, if you wanted to run all phases in the order they would be run in an actual build, you can invoke `genericBuild` yourself.
Specifies the phases. You can change the order in which phases are executed, or add new phases, by setting this variable. If it’s not set, the default value is used, which is `$prePhases unpackPhase patchPhase $preConfigurePhases configurePhase $preBuildPhases buildPhase checkPhase $preInstallPhases installPhase fixupPhase installCheckPhase $preDistPhases distPhase $postPhases`.
It is discouraged to set this variable, as it is easy to miss some important functionality hidden in some of the less obviously needed phases (like `fixupPhase` which patches the shebang of scripts).
Usually, if you just want to add a few phases, it’s more convenient to set one of the variables below (such as `preInstallPhases`).
Additional phases executed just before the fixup phase.
##### `preDistPhases` {#var-stdenv-preDistPhases}
Additional phases executed just before the distribution phase.
##### `postPhases` {#var-stdenv-postPhases}
Additional phases executed after any of the default phases.
### The unpack phase {#ssec-unpack-phase}
The unpack phase is responsible for unpacking the source code of the package. The default implementation of `unpackPhase` unpacks the source files listed in the `src` environment variable to the current directory. It supports the following files by default:
These can optionally be compressed using `gzip` (`.tar.gz`, `.tgz` or `.tar.Z`), `bzip2` (`.tar.bz2`, `.tbz2` or `.tbz`) or `xz` (`.tar.xz`, `.tar.lzma` or `.txz`).
These are simply copied to the current directory. The hash part of the file name is stripped, e.g. `/nix/store/1wydxgby13cz...-my-sources` would be copied to `my-sources`.
Additional file types can be supported by setting the `unpackCmd` variable (see below).
The list of source files or directories to be unpacked or copied. One of these must be set. Note that if you use `srcs`, you should also set `sourceRoot` or `setSourceRoot`.
After running `unpackPhase`, the generic builder changes the current directory to the directory created by unpacking the sources. If there are multiple source directories, you should set `sourceRoot` to the name of the intended directory. Set `sourceRoot = ".";` if you use `srcs` and control the unpack phase yourself.
By default the `sourceRoot` is set to `"source"`. If you want to point to a sub-directory inside your project, you therefore need to set `sourceRoot = "source/my-sub-directory"`.
Alternatively to setting `sourceRoot`, you can set `setSourceRoot` to a shell command to be evaluated by the unpack phase after the sources have been unpacked. This command must set `sourceRoot`.
If set to `1`, the unpacked sources are *not* made writable. By default, they are made writable to prevent problems with read-only sources. For example, copied store directories would be read-only without this.
##### `unpackCmd` {#var-stdenv-unpackCmd}
The unpack phase evaluates the string `$unpackCmd` for any unrecognised file. The path to the current source file is contained in the `curSrc` variable.
### The patch phase {#ssec-patch-phase}
The patch phase applies the list of patches defined in the `patches` variable.
The list of patches. They must be in the format accepted by the `patch` command, and may optionally be compressed using `gzip` (`.gz`), `bzip2` (`.bz2`) or `xz` (`.xz`).
##### `patchFlags` {#var-stdenv-patchFlags}
Flags to be passed to `patch`. If not set, the argument `-p1` is used, which causes the leading directory component to be stripped from the file names in each patch.
##### `prePatch` {#var-stdenv-prePatch}
Hook executed at the start of the patch phase.
##### `postPatch` {#var-stdenv-postPatch}
Hook executed at the end of the patch phase.
### The configure phase {#ssec-configure-phase}
The configure phase prepares the source tree for building. The default `configurePhase` runs `./configure` (typically an Autoconf-generated script) if it exists.
The name of the configure script. It defaults to `./configure` if it exists; otherwise, the configure phase is skipped. This can actually be a command (like `perl ./Configure.pl`).
A shell array containing additional arguments passed to the configure script. You must use this instead of `configureFlags` if the arguments contain spaces.
##### `dontAddPrefix` {#var-stdenv-dontAddPrefix}
By default, the flag `--prefix=$prefix` is added to the configure flags. If this is undesirable, set this variable to true.
##### `prefix` {#var-stdenv-prefix}
The prefix under which the package must be installed, passed via the `--prefix` option to the configure script. It defaults to `$out`.
##### `prefixKey` {#var-stdenv-prefixKey}
The key to use when specifying the prefix. By default, this is set to `--prefix=` as that is used by the majority of packages.
By default, the flag `--disable-dependency-tracking` is added to the configure flags to speed up Automake-based builds. If this is undesirable, set this variable to true.
By default, the configure phase applies some special hackery to all files called `ltmain.sh` before running the configure script in order to improve the purity of Libtool-based packages [^footnote-stdenv-sys-lib-search-path] . If this is undesirable, set this variable to true.
By default, when cross compiling, the configure script has `--build=...` and `--host=...` passed. Packages can instead pass `[ "build" "host" "target" ]` or a subset to control exactly which platform flags are passed. Compilers and other tools can use this to also pass the target platform. [^footnote-stdenv-build-time-guessing-impurity]
##### `preConfigure` {#var-stdenv-preConfigure}
Hook executed at the start of the configure phase.
##### `postConfigure` {#var-stdenv-postConfigure}
Hook executed at the end of the configure phase.
### The build phase {#build-phase}
The build phase is responsible for actually building the package (e.g. compiling it). The default `buildPhase` simply calls `make` if a file named `Makefile`, `makefile` or `GNUmakefile` exists in the current directory (or the `makefile` is explicitly set); otherwise it does nothing.
A list of strings passed as additional flags to `make`. These flags are also used by the default install and check phase. For setting make flags specific to the build phase, use `buildFlags` (see below).
Note that shell arrays cannot be passed through environment variables, so you cannot set `makeFlagsArray` in a derivation attribute (because those are passed through environment variables): you have to define them in shell code.
The check phase checks whether the package was built correctly by running its test suite. The default `checkPhase` calls `make $checkTarget`, but only if the [`doCheck` variable](#var-stdenv-doCheck) is enabled.
Controls whether the check phase is executed. By default it is skipped, but if `doCheck` is set to true, the check phase is usually executed. Thus you should set
```nix
doCheck = true;
```
in the derivation to enable checks. The exception is cross compilation. Cross compiled builds never run tests, no matter how `doCheck` is set, as the newly-built program won’t run on the platform used to build it.
A list of host dependencies used by the phase, usually libraries linked into executables built during tests. This gets included in `buildInputs` when `doCheck` is set.
The install phase is responsible for installing the package in the Nix store under `out`. The default `installPhase` creates the directory `$out` and calls `make install`.
The fixup phase performs (Nix-specific) post-processing actions on the files installed under `$out` by the install phase. The default `fixupPhase` does the following:
- It moves the `man/`, `doc/` and `info/` subdirectories of `$out` to `share/`.
- It strips libraries and executables of debug information.
- On Linux, it applies the `patchelf` command to ELF executables and libraries to remove unused directories from the `RPATH` in order to prevent unnecessary runtime dependencies.
- It rewrites the interpreter paths of shell scripts to paths found in `PATH`. E.g., `/usr/bin/perl` will be rewritten to `/nix/store/some-perl/bin/perl` found in `PATH`. See [](#patch-shebangs.sh) for details.
Like `dontStrip`, but only affects the `strip` command targeting the package’s host platform. Useful when supporting cross compilation, but otherwise feel free to ignore.
Like `dontStrip`, but only affects the `strip` command targeting the packages’ target platform. Useful when supporting cross compilation, but otherwise feel free to ignore.
If set, files in `$out/sbin` are not moved to `$out/bin`. By default, they are.
##### `stripAllList` {#var-stdenv-stripAllList}
List of directories to search for libraries and executables from which *all* symbols should be stripped. By default, it’s empty. Stripping all symbols is risky, since it may remove not just debug symbols but also ELF information necessary for normal execution.
List of directories to search for libraries and executables from which only debugging-related symbols should be stripped. It defaults to `lib lib32 lib64 libexec bin sbin`.
If set, scripts starting with `#!` do not have their interpreter paths rewritten to paths in the Nix store. See [](#patch-shebangs.sh) on how patching shebangs works.
If set, libtool `.la` files associated with shared libraries won’t have their `dependency_libs` field cleared.
##### `forceShare` {#var-stdenv-forceShare}
The list of directories that must be moved from `$out` to `$out/share`. Defaults to `man doc info`.
##### `setupHook` {#var-stdenv-setupHook}
A package can export a [setup hook](#ssec-setup-hooks) by setting this variable. The setup hook, if defined, is copied to `$out/nix-support/setup-hook`. Environment variables are then substituted in it using `substituteAll`.
If set to `true`, the standard environment will enable debug information in C/C++ builds. After installation, the debug information will be separated from the executables and stored in the output named `debug`. (This output is enabled automatically; you don’t need to set the `outputs` attribute explicitly.) To be precise, the debug information is stored in `debug/lib/debug/.build-id/XX/YYYY…`, where \<XXYYYY…\> is the \<build ID\> of the binary — a SHA-1 hash of the contents of the binary. Debuggers like GDB use the build ID to look up the separated debug information.
For example, with GDB, you can add
```
set debug-file-directory ~/.nix-profile/lib/debug
```
to `~/.gdbinit`. GDB will then be able to find debug information installed via `nix-env -i`.
### The installCheck phase {#ssec-installCheck-phase}
The installCheck phase checks whether the package was installed correctly by running its test suite against the installed directories. The default `installCheck` calls `make installcheck`.
Controls whether the installCheck phase is executed. By default it is skipped, but if `doInstallCheck` is set to true, the installCheck phase is usually executed. Thus you should set
```nix
doInstallCheck = true;
```
in the derivation to enable install checks. The exception is cross compilation. Cross compiled builds never run tests, no matter how `doInstallCheck` is set, as the newly-built program won’t run on the platform used to build it.
A list of host dependencies used by the phase, usually libraries linked into executables built during tests. This gets included in `buildInputs` when `doInstallCheck` is set.
A list of native dependencies used by the phase, notably tools needed on `$PATH`. This gets included in `nativeBuildInputs` when `doInstallCheck` is set.
Hook executed at the end of the installCheck phase.
### The distribution phase {#ssec-distribution-phase}
The distribution phase is intended to produce a source distribution of the package. The default `distPhase` first calls `make dist`, then it copies the resulting source tarballs to `$out/tarballs/`. This phase is only executed if the attribute `doDist` is set.
Constructs a wrapper for a program with various possible arguments. It is defined as part of 2 setup-hooks named `makeWrapper` and `makeBinaryWrapper` that implement the same bash functions. Hence, to use it you have to add `makeWrapper` to your `nativeBuildInputs`. Here's an example usage:
There’s many more kinds of arguments, they are documented in `nixpkgs/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/make-wrapper.sh` for the `makeWrapper` implementation and in `nixpkgs/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/make-binary-wrapper/make-binary-wrapper.sh` for the `makeBinaryWrapper` implementation.
Using the `makeBinaryWrapper` implementation is usually preferred, as it creates a tiny _compiled_ wrapper executable, that can be used as a shebang interpreter. This is needed mostly on Darwin, where shebangs cannot point to scripts, [due to a limitation with the `execve`-syscall](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/67100831/macos-shebang-with-absolute-path-not-working). Compiled wrappers generated by `makeBinaryWrapper` can be inspected with `less <path-to-wrapper>` - by scrolling past the binary data you should be able to see the shell command that generated the executable and there see the environment variables that were injected into the wrapper.
Removes the references of the specified files to the specified store files. This is done without changing the size of the file by replacing the hash by `eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee`, and should work on compiled executables. This is meant to be used to remove the dependency of the output on inputs that are known to be unnecessary at runtime. Of course, reckless usage will break the patched programs.
To use this, add `removeReferencesTo` to `nativeBuildInputs`.
As `remove-references-to` is an actual executable and not a shell function, it can be used with `find`.
Example removing all references to the compiler in the output:
```nix
postInstall = ''
find "$out" -type f -exec remove-references-to -t ${stdenv.cc} '{}' +
Performs string substitution on the contents of \<infile\>, writing the result to \<outfile\>. The substitutions in \<subs\> are of the following form:
Replace every occurrence of `@varName@` by the contents of the environment variable \<varName\>. This is useful for generating files from templates, using `@...@` in the template as placeholders.
Replaces every occurrence of `@varName@`, where \<varName\> is any environment variable, in \<infile\>, writing the result to \<outfile\>. For instance, if \<infile\> has the contents
```bash
#! @bash@/bin/sh
PATH=@coreutils@/bin
echo @foo@
```
and the environment contains `bash=/nix/store/bmwp0q28cf21...-bash-3.2-p39` and `coreutils=/nix/store/68afga4khv0w...-coreutils-6.12`, but does not contain the variable `foo`, then the output will be
That is, no substitution is performed for undefined variables.
Environment variables that start with an uppercase letter or an underscore are filtered out, to prevent global variables (like `HOME`) or private variables (like `__ETC_PROFILE_DONE`) from accidentally getting substituted. The variables also have to be valid bash "names", as defined in the bash manpage (alphanumeric or `_`, must not start with a number).
Convenience function for `makeWrapper` that replaces `<\executable\>` with a wrapper that executes the original program. It takes all the same arguments as `makeWrapper`, except for `--inherit-argv0` (used by the `makeBinaryWrapper` implementation) and `--argv0` (used by both `makeWrapper` and `makeBinaryWrapper` wrapper implementations).
Nix itself considers a build-time dependency as merely something that should previously be built and accessible at build time—packages themselves are on their own to perform any additional setup. In most cases, that is fine, and the downstream derivation can deal with its own dependencies. But for a few common tasks, that would result in almost every package doing the same sort of setup work—depending not on the package itself, but entirely on which dependencies were used.
In order to alleviate this burden, the setup hook mechanism was written, where any package can include a shell script that \[by convention rather than enforcement by Nix\], any downstream reverse-dependency will source as part of its build process. That allows the downstream dependency to merely specify its dependencies, and lets those dependencies effectively initialize themselves. No boilerplate mirroring the list of dependencies is needed.
The setup hook mechanism is a bit of a sledgehammer though: a powerful feature with a broad and indiscriminate area of effect. The combination of its power and implicit use may be expedient, but isn’t without costs. Nix itself is unchanged, but the spirit of added dependencies being effect-free is violated even if the latter isn’t. For example, if a derivation path is mentioned more than once, Nix itself doesn’t care and simply makes sure the dependency derivation is already built just the same—depending is just needing something to exist, and needing is idempotent. However, a dependency specified twice will have its setup hook run twice, and that could easily change the build environment (though a well-written setup hook will therefore strive to be idempotent so this is in fact not observable). More broadly, setup hooks are anti-modular in that multiple dependencies, whether the same or different, should not interfere and yet their setup hooks may well do so.
The most typical use of the setup hook is actually to add other hooks which are then run (i.e. after all the setup hooks) on each dependency. For example, the C compiler wrapper’s setup hook feeds itself flags for each dependency that contains relevant libraries and headers. This is done by defining a bash function, and appending its name to one of `envBuildBuildHooks`, `envBuildHostHooks`, `envBuildTargetHooks`, `envHostHostHooks`, `envHostTargetHooks`, or `envTargetTargetHooks`. These 6 bash variables correspond to the 6 sorts of dependencies by platform (there’s 12 total but we ignore the propagated/non-propagated axis).
Packages adding a hook should not hard code a specific hook, but rather choose a variable *relative* to how they are included. Returning to the C compiler wrapper example, if the wrapper itself is an `n` dependency, then it only wants to accumulate flags from `n + 1` dependencies, as only those ones match the compiler’s target platform. The `hostOffset` variable is defined with the current dependency’s host offset `targetOffset` with its target offset, before its setup hook is sourced. Additionally, since most environment hooks don’t care about the target platform, that means the setup hook can append to the right bash array by doing something like
The *existence* of setups hooks has long been documented and packages inside Nixpkgs are free to use this mechanism. Other packages, however, should not rely on these mechanisms not changing between Nixpkgs versions. Because of the existing issues with this system, there’s little benefit from mandating it be stable for any period of time.
First, let’s cover some setup hooks that are part of Nixpkgs default `stdenv`. This means that they are run for every package built using `stdenv.mkDerivation` or when using a custom builder that has `source $stdenv/setup`. Some of these are platform specific, so they may run on Linux but not Darwin or vice-versa.
This setup hook moves any installed documentation to the `/share` subdirectory directory. This includes the man, doc and info directories. This is needed for legacy programs that do not know how to use the `share` subdirectory.
This setup hook compresses any man pages that have been installed. The compression is done using the gzip program. This helps to reduce the installed size of packages.
This runs the strip command on installed binaries and libraries. This removes unnecessary information like debug symbols when they are not needed. This also helps to reduce the installed size of packages.
This setup hook patches installed scripts to add Nix store paths to their shebang interpreter as found in the build environment. The [shebang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix)) line tells a Unix-like operating system which interpreter to use to execute the script's contents.
The file [`patch-shebangs.sh`][patch-shebangs.sh] defines the [`patchShebangs`][patchShebangs] function. It is used to implement [`patchShebangsAuto`][patchShebangsAuto], the [setup hook](#ssec-setup-hooks) that is registered to run during the [fixup phase](#ssec-fixup-phase) by default.
This verifies that no references are left from the install binaries to the directory used to build those binaries. This ensures that the binaries do not need things outside the Nix store. This is currently supported in Linux only.
This setup hook adds configure flags that tell packages to install files into any one of the proper outputs listed in `outputs`. This behavior can be turned off by setting `setOutputFlags` to false in the derivation environment. See [](#chap-multiple-output) for more information.
This setup hook moves any binaries installed in the `sbin/` subdirectory into `bin/`. In addition, a link is provided from `sbin/` to `bin/` for compatibility.
This setup hook moves any libraries installed in the `lib64/` subdirectory into `lib/`. In addition, a link is provided from `lib64/` to `lib/` for compatibility.
This setup hook moves any systemd user units installed in the `lib/` subdirectory into `share/`. In addition, a link is provided from `share/` to `lib/` for compatibility. This is needed for systemd to find user services when installed into the user profile.
The Bintools Wrapper wraps the binary utilities for a bunch of miscellaneous purposes. These are GNU Binutils when targeting Linux, and a mix of cctools and GNU binutils for Darwin. \[The “Bintools” name is supposed to be a compromise between “Binutils” and “cctools” not denoting any specific implementation.\] Specifically, the underlying bintools package, and a C standard library (glibc or Darwin’s libSystem, just for the dynamic loader) are all fed in, and dependency finding, hardening (see below), and purity checks for each are handled by the Bintools Wrapper. Packages typically depend on CC Wrapper, which in turn (at run time) depends on the Bintools Wrapper.
The Bintools Wrapper was only just recently split off from CC Wrapper, so the division of labor is still being worked out. For example, it shouldn’t care about the C standard library, but just take a derivation with the dynamic loader (which happens to be the glibc on linux). Dependency finding however is a task both wrappers will continue to need to share, and probably the most important to understand. It is currently accomplished by collecting directories of host-platform dependencies (i.e. `buildInputs` and `nativeBuildInputs`) in environment variables. The Bintools Wrapper’s setup hook causes any `lib` and `lib64` subdirectories to be added to `NIX_LDFLAGS`. Since the CC Wrapper and the Bintools Wrapper use the same strategy, most of the Bintools Wrapper code is sparsely commented and refers to the CC Wrapper. But the CC Wrapper’s code, by contrast, has quite lengthy comments. The Bintools Wrapper merely cites those, rather than repeating them, to avoid falling out of sync.
A final task of the setup hook is defining a number of standard environment variables to tell build systems which executables fulfill which purpose. They are defined to just be the base name of the tools, under the assumption that the Bintools Wrapper’s binaries will be on the path. Firstly, this helps poorly-written packages, e.g. ones that look for just `gcc` when `CC` isn’t defined yet `clang` is to be used. Secondly, this helps packages not get confused when cross-compiling, in which case multiple Bintools Wrappers may simultaneously be in use. [^footnote-stdenv-per-platform-wrapper] `BUILD_`- and `TARGET_`-prefixed versions of the normal environment variable are defined for additional Bintools Wrappers, properly disambiguating them.
A problem with this final task is that the Bintools Wrapper is honest and defines `LD` as `ld`. Most packages, however, firstly use the C compiler for linking, secondly use `LD` anyways, defining it as the C compiler, and thirdly, only so define `LD` when it is undefined as a fallback. This triple-threat means Bintools Wrapper will break those packages, as LD is already defined as the actual linker which the package won’t override yet doesn’t want to use. The workaround is to define, just for the problematic package, `LD` as the C compiler. A good way to do this would be `preConfigure = "LD=$CC"`.
The CC Wrapper wraps a C toolchain for a bunch of miscellaneous purposes. Specifically, a C compiler (GCC or Clang), wrapped binary tools, and a C standard library (glibc or Darwin’s libSystem, just for the dynamic loader) are all fed in, and dependency finding, hardening (see below), and purity checks for each are handled by the CC Wrapper. Packages typically depend on the CC Wrapper, which in turn (at run-time) depends on the Bintools Wrapper.
Dependency finding is undoubtedly the main task of the CC Wrapper. This works just like the Bintools Wrapper, except that any `include` subdirectory of any relevant dependency is added to `NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE`. The setup hook itself contains elaborate comments describing the exact mechanism by which this is accomplished.
Similarly, the CC Wrapper follows the Bintools Wrapper in defining standard environment variables with the names of the tools it wraps, for the same reasons described above. Importantly, while it includes a `cc` symlink to the c compiler for portability, the `CC` will be defined using the compiler’s “real name” (i.e. `gcc` or `clang`). This helps lousy build systems that inspect on the name of the compiler rather than run it.
Here are some more packages that provide a setup hook. Since the list of hooks is extensible, this is not an exhaustive list. The mechanism is only to be used as a last resort, so it might cover most uses.
### Compiler and Linker wrapper hooks {#compiler-linker-wrapper-hooks}
If the file `${cc}/nix-support/cc-wrapper-hook` exists, it will be run at the end of the [compiler wrapper](#cc-wrapper).
If the file `${binutils}/nix-support/post-link-hook` exists, it will be run at the end of the linker wrapper.
These hooks allow a user to inject code into the wrappers.
As an example, these hooks can be used to extract `extraBefore`, `params` and `extraAfter` which store all the command line arguments passed to the compiler and linker respectively.
*Measures taken to prevent dependencies on packages outside the store, and what you can do to prevent them.*
GCC doesn’t search in locations such as `/usr/include`. In fact, attempts to add such directories through the `-I` flag are filtered out. Likewise, the linker (from GNU binutils) doesn’t search in standard locations such as `/usr/lib`. Programs built on Linux are linked against a GNU C Library that likewise doesn’t search in the default system locations.
## Hardening in Nixpkgs {#sec-hardening-in-nixpkgs}
There are flags available to harden packages at compile or link-time. These can be toggled using the `stdenv.mkDerivation` parameters `hardeningDisable` and `hardeningEnable`.
Both parameters take a list of flags as strings. The special `"all"` flag can be passed to `hardeningDisable` to turn off all hardening. These flags can also be used as environment variables for testing or development purposes.
For more in-depth information on these hardening flags and hardening in general, refer to the [Debian Wiki](https://wiki.debian.org/Hardening), [Ubuntu Wiki](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Features), [Gentoo Wiki](https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Hardened), and the [Arch Wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Security).
Adds the `-Wformat -Wformat-security -Werror=format-security` compiler options. At present, this warns about calls to `printf` and `scanf` functions where the format string is not a string literal and there are no format arguments, as in `printf(foo);`. This may be a security hole if the format string came from untrusted input and contains `%n`.
This needs to be turned off or fixed for errors similar to:
```
/tmp/nix-build-zynaddsubfx-2.5.2.drv-0/zynaddsubfx-2.5.2/src/UI/guimain.cpp:571:28: error: format not a string literal and no format arguments [-Werror=format-security]
Adds the `-fstack-protector-strong --param ssp-buffer-size=4` compiler options. This adds safety checks against stack overwrites rendering many potential code injection attacks into aborting situations. In the best case this turns code injection vulnerabilities into denial of service or into non-issues (depending on the application).
This needs to be turned off or fixed for errors similar to:
```
bin/blib.a(bios_console.o): In function `bios_handle_cup':
/tmp/nix-build-ipxe-20141124-5cbdc41.drv-0/ipxe-5cbdc41/src/arch/i386/firmware/pcbios/bios_console.c:86: undefined reference to `__stack_chk_fail'
Adds the `-O2 -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2` compiler options. During code generation the compiler knows a great deal of information about buffer sizes (where possible), and attempts to replace insecure unlimited length buffer function calls with length-limited ones. This is especially useful for old, crufty code. Additionally, format strings in writable memory that contain `%n` are blocked. If an application depends on such a format string, it will need to be worked around.
Additionally, some warnings are enabled which might trigger build failures if compiler warnings are treated as errors in the package build. In this case, set `env.NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE` to `-Wno-error=warning-type`.
Adds the `-fPIC` compiler options. This options adds support for position independent code in shared libraries and thus making ASLR possible.
Most notably, the Linux kernel, kernel modules and other code not running in an operating system environment like boot loaders won’t build with PIC enabled. The compiler will is most cases complain that PIC is not supported for a specific build.
This needs to be turned off or fixed for assembler errors similar to:
```
ccbLfRgg.s: Assembler messages:
ccbLfRgg.s:33: Error: missing or invalid displacement expression `private_key_len@GOTOFF'
Signed integer overflow is undefined behaviour according to the C standard. If it happens, it is an error in the program as it should check for overflow before it can happen, not afterwards. GCC provides built-in functions to perform arithmetic with overflow checking, which are correct and faster than any custom implementation. As a workaround, the option `-fno-strict-overflow` makes gcc behave as if signed integer overflows were defined.
This flag should not trigger any build or runtime errors.
Adds the `-z relro` linker option. During program load, several ELF memory sections need to be written to by the linker, but can be turned read-only before turning over control to the program. This prevents some GOT (and .dtors) overwrite attacks, but at least the part of the GOT used by the dynamic linker (.got.plt) is still vulnerable.
This flag can break dynamic shared object loading. For instance, the module systems of Xorg and OpenCV are incompatible with this flag. In almost all cases the `bindnow` flag must also be disabled and incompatible programs typically fail with similar errors at runtime.
Adds the `-z bindnow` linker option. During program load, all dynamic symbols are resolved, allowing for the complete GOT to be marked read-only (due to `relro`). This prevents GOT overwrite attacks. For very large applications, this can incur some performance loss during initial load while symbols are resolved, but this shouldn’t be an issue for daemons.
This flag can break dynamic shared object loading. For instance, the module systems of Xorg and PHP are incompatible with this flag. Programs incompatible with this flag often fail at runtime due to missing symbols, like:
Adds the `-fPIE` compiler and `-pie` linker options. Position Independent Executables are needed to take advantage of Address Space Layout Randomization, supported by modern kernel versions. While ASLR can already be enforced for data areas in the stack and heap (brk and mmap), the code areas must be compiled as position-independent. Shared libraries already do this with the `pic` flag, so they gain ASLR automatically, but binary .text regions need to be build with `pie` to gain ASLR. When this happens, ROP attacks are much harder since there are no static locations to bounce off of during a memory corruption attack.
[^footnote-stdenv-ignored-build-platform]: The build platform is ignored because it is a mere implementation detail of the package satisfying the dependency: As a general programming principle, dependencies are always *specified* as interfaces, not concrete implementation.
[^footnote-stdenv-native-dependencies-in-path]: Currently, this means for native builds all dependencies are put on the `PATH`. But in the future that may not be the case for sake of matching cross: the platforms would be assumed to be unique for native and cross builds alike, so only the `depsBuild*` and `nativeBuildInputs` would be added to the `PATH`.
[^footnote-stdenv-propagated-dependencies]: Nix itself already takes a package’s transitive dependencies into account, but this propagation ensures nixpkgs-specific infrastructure like [setup hooks](#ssec-setup-hooks) also are run as if it were a propagated dependency.
[^footnote-stdenv-find-inputs-location]: The `findInputs` function, currently residing in `pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh`, implements the propagation logic.
[^footnote-stdenv-sys-lib-search-path]: It clears the `sys_lib_*search_path` variables in the Libtool script to prevent Libtool from using libraries in `/usr/lib` and such.
[^footnote-stdenv-build-time-guessing-impurity]: Eventually these will be passed building natively as well, to improve determinism: build-time guessing, as is done today, is a risk of impurity.
[^footnote-stdenv-per-platform-wrapper]: Each wrapper targets a single platform, so if binaries for multiple platforms are needed, the underlying binaries must be wrapped multiple times. As this is a property of the wrapper itself, the multiple wrappings are needed whether or not the same underlying binaries can target multiple platforms.
