Re:One Week of NixOS
by Shoue on Sunday November 08, 2020 @07:35AM
(#25025385)
You can configure NPM to install "global" packages to your user directory, and similarly PIP has `--user`.
Usually, the nuclear option to installing something on NixOS that just isn't playing along (e.g. Steam and its games) is to use buildFHSUserEnv[0] which sandboxes the directory structure you're used to on other Linux systems. Of course, this means you'll be writing a bit of Nix code – if you're lucky, steam-run[1] makes software run instead, and you could probably hackily add missing libraries[2] otherwise needed, to steam-run (just remember that this is a nuclear option and not recommended because you're moving away from NixOS purity, but it does exist).
Also, I suggest posting this to the NixOS links section[3] if you want more Nix users' eyes on this.
Usually, the nuclear option to installing something on NixOS that just isn't playing along (e.g. Steam and its games) is to use buildFHSUserEnv[0] which sandboxes the directory structure you're used to on other Linux systems. Of course, this means you'll be writing a bit of Nix code – if you're lucky, steam-run[1] makes software run instead, and you could probably hackily add missing libraries[2] otherwise needed, to steam-run (just remember that this is a nuclear option and not recommended because you're moving away from NixOS purity, but it does exist).
Also, I suggest posting this to the NixOS links section[3] if you want more Nix users' eyes on this.
[0]: https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#sec-fhs-environment...
[1]: https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Steam#steam-run
[2]: https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Steam#Adding_missing_dependencies
[3]: https://discourse.nixos.org/c/links/12