nur-packager

name	nur-packager
description	Package projects (GitHub repos, npm packages, curl scripts, release binaries) into NUR derivations. Analyzes the project, selects the best packaging strategy, creates the nix derivation, registers it, and tests the build.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"lmdevv","version":"1.0.0"}

NUR Packager

Package projects into Nix User Repository (NUR) derivations end-to-end.

Workflow

1. Analyze the input (URL, package name, GitHub repo) to determine what it is and how it distributes releases
2. Select the packaging strategy (npm source build, binary release, GitHub source build, etc.)
3. Create the derivation under pkgs/<name>/default.nix and register it in the repo root default.nix
4. Test the build with nix build and verify the result works
5. Automate updates with a script and GitHub Actions workflow if applicable

Strategy Selection

Input Type	Strategy	Rule File
npm/node package on registry	buildNpmPackage or node2nix	npm-packaging
GitHub repo with release binaries	Multi-platform fetchurl + hashes	binary-release
GitHub repo with source builds	buildGoModule, buildRustPackage, etc.	github-source
Curl script / direct download	Extract API, fetch per-platform hashes	binary-release
AppImage + DMG	appimageTools / undmg	binary-release

Quick Reference

Step	Command
Analyze project	Read README, check releases, inspect package.json
Create derivation	pkgs/<name>/default.nix
Register package	Add name = pkgs.callPackage ./pkgs/name { }; to root default.nix
Build	nix build .#<name>
Build (unfree)	NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix build --impure .#<name>
Test binary	./result/bin/<name> --help
Format check	nix fmt -- --check (if alexnix/fmt or nixfmt is configured)
Prefetch hash	nix store prefetch-file --json <url>

Repo Conventions

• Each package lives in pkgs/<name>/default.nix
• Register with pkgs.callPackage ./pkgs/<name> { } in root default.nix
• Update scripts go in scripts/update-<name>.sh or pkgs/<name>/update.sh
• GitHub Actions workflows for auto-updates go in .github/workflows/update-<name>.yml
• All multi-platform binary packages use sha256BySystem or sources attrsets
• Maintainer field: maintainers = [ "lmdevv" ]
• Meta fields: description, homepage, license, platforms, mainProgram

Related Skills

• nix-packaging-best-practices: Binary packaging details (autoPatchelfHook, dependencies, FHS env)
• nix-best-practices: Flake structure, overlays, unfree handling
• nix: Running packages, evaluating expressions, troubleshooting

Rule Files

Topic	File
Analyzing a project	analyze-project
Node.js/npm packaging	npm-packaging
Binary release packaging	binary-release
GitHub source builds	github-source
Creating and registering derivations	create-derivation
Testing builds	testing
Update automation	update-automation

Full Compiled Document

For the complete guide with all rules expanded: AGENTS.md