nix-packaging

name	nix-packaging
description	Flake structure, Home Manager module, nixGL wrapper. Load when touching flake.nix, packaging, or NixOS integration.
triggers	["nix","flake","home-manager","nixos","nixGL","packaging","derivation"]

Nix packaging

Target: nyxterm available as a Nix flake. Linux first. Reproducible. Works on NixOS and on non-NixOS via nixGL for GPU drivers (same pattern Ghostty uses).

Flake outputs

{
  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, ... }: {
    packages.${system}.default = nyxterm-bin;
    packages.${system}.nyxterm = nyxterm-bin;

    homeManagerModules.default = ./nix/hm-module.nix;
    nixosModules.default = ./nix/nixos-module.nix;  # optional, for system-level install

    devShells.${system}.default = ...;  # rust + node + tauri toolchain
    formatter.${system} = pkgs.nixfmt;
  };
}

The derivation (Rust + Node)

Two-stage:

1. Frontend build: pnpm install + pnpm build → dist/. Vendor pnpm-lock.yaml with pnpm fetch for reproducibility. Use pnpm.fetchDeps (nixpkgs helper).
2. Tauri build: cargo tauri build --no-bundle (or specific bundle target).

Pin everything: Rust toolchain via rust-overlay, Node version, pnpm version, Tauri CLI version.

nixGL wrapper

On non-NixOS distros, OpenGL/Vulkan drivers come from the host. Without wrapping, Tauri (which uses WebKitGTK with GPU acceleration) fails to find Mesa.

Wrapper pattern (from Ghostty's overlay):

nyxterm-wrapped = pkgs.runCommand "nyxterm" {} ''
  mkdir -p $out/bin
  cat > $out/bin/nyxterm <<EOF
  #!/usr/bin/env bash
  exec ${nixGL.nixGLMesa}/bin/nixGLMesa ${nyxterm}/bin/nyxterm "\$@"
  EOF
  chmod +x $out/bin/nyxterm
'';

User opts in via flake input. On NixOS, the wrapper is a no-op (drivers found via standard FHS).

Home Manager module

nix/hm-module.nix exposes declarative config:

{ config, lib, ... }: {
  options.programs.nyxterm = with lib; {
    enable = mkEnableOption "nyxterm";
    theme = mkOption {
      type = types.str;
      default = "tokyo-night-night";
    };
    keybinds = mkOption {
      type = types.attrsOf types.str;
      default = {};
    };
    aiProviders = mkOption {
      type = types.attrsOf (types.submodule { ... });
      default = {};
    };
    # ... more
  };

  config = mkIf config.programs.nyxterm.enable {
    home.packages = [ pkgs.nyxterm ];
    xdg.configFile."nyxterm/config.toml".source = ...;  # generated from options
  };
}

User writes:

programs.nyxterm = {
  enable = true;
  theme = "tokyo-night-night";
  keybinds.prefix = "Ctrl+Space";
};

AppImage / standalone

For non-Nix users, ship an AppImage with bundled webview runtime where possible. Linux only initially.

macOS / Windows

Phase 2.5 or later. Tauri makes this technically free, but signing/notarization is a chore. Worth tracking under epic #22.

CI for Nix

• nix flake check in GitHub Actions on every PR.
• nix build .#default builds the package.
• Cache via Cachix or Garnix.

What we DON'T do

• Don't ship nix run github:FullFran/nyxterm that downloads on every run — too slow. Recommend nix profile install or HM install.
• Don't depend on unstable channel without pinning a specific rev in flake.lock.
• Don't auto-update the flake lock in CI. User-driven only.