| name | nix-update |
| description | Update nix-config: pull remote changes, update flake inputs, check, and deploy. Use when the user says "update", "update dependencies", "update nix", "update inputs", when repo-sync flags stale inputs, or when flake.lock is more than 2 weeks old.
|
| allowed-tools | Bash(git *), Bash(nix *), Bash(make *), Bash(nix develop --command *) |
Nix-config update
Pull remote changes and update flake inputs. Full workflow: fetch → pull → update → check → switch → commit.
Pre-flight
Check current state before making changes:
git status --short
git log --oneline origin/main..HEAD
If there are uncommitted changes or unpushed commits, warn before proceeding — updating on a dirty tree risks conflicts.
Step 1: Pull remote changes
git fetch --quiet
git pull --rebase
If there are conflicts, stop and resolve before continuing.
Step 2: Update flake inputs
nix flake update
This updates all inputs (nixpkgs, home-manager, nix-darwin, agenix, etc.) to their latest versions.
To update a single input:
nix flake lock --update-input <name>
Step 3: Validate
make check
If check fails, the update introduced a breaking change. Common causes:
- home-manager option renamed or removed
- nix-darwin API change
- nixpkgs package removed or renamed
Use /nix-debug to investigate failures. If an input broke, see "Follows override" in CLAUDE.md for pinning strategies.
Step 4: Deploy
make switch
For non-visual changes, verify the change took effect. For visual changes, ask Thomas to verify.
If deploying with local personal flake changes:
make switch PERSONAL_INPUT=path:$HOME/repos/nix-config-personal
Step 5: Commit
nix develop --command git commit -a -m "chore(deps): update flake inputs"
If remote changes were also pulled, the lock update should be a separate commit from any other work.
Step 6: Push
nix develop --command git push
Also update nix-config-personal
If nix-config-personal also has stale inputs:
cd ~/repos/nix-config-personal
git pull --rebase
nix flake update
nix develop --command git commit -a -m "chore(deps): update flake inputs"
nix develop --command git push
Then re-deploy nix-config with the updated personal flake:
cd ~/repos/nix-config
make switch REFRESH=1
Frequency
Flake inputs should be updated roughly every 2 weeks to stay current with security patches and package updates. The repo-sync skill flags when flake.lock is older than 14 days.
