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# Adding Custom Packages {#sec-custom-packages}
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It's possible that a package you need is not available in NixOS. In that
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case, you can do two things. Either you can package it with Nix, or you can try
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to use prebuilt packages from upstream. Due to the peculiarities of NixOS, it
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is important to note that building software from source is often easier than
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using pre-built executables.
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## Building with Nix {#sec-custom-packages-nix}
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This can be done either in-tree or out-of-tree. For an in-tree build, you can
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clone the Nixpkgs repository, add the package to your clone, and (optionally)
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submit a patch or pull request to have it accepted into the main Nixpkgs
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repository. This is described in detail in the [Nixpkgs
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manual](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual). In short, you clone Nixpkgs:
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```ShellSession
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$ git clone https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs
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$ cd nixpkgs
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```
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Then you write and test the package as described in the Nixpkgs manual.
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Finally, you add it to [](#opt-environment.systemPackages), e.g.
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```nix
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environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.my-package ];
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```
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and you run `nixos-rebuild`, specifying your own Nixpkgs tree:
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```ShellSession
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# nixos-rebuild switch -I nixpkgs=/path/to/my/nixpkgs
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```
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The second possibility is to add the package outside of the Nixpkgs
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tree. For instance, here is how you specify a build of the
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[GNU Hello](https://www.gnu.org/software/hello/) package directly in
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`configuration.nix`:
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```nix
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environment.systemPackages =
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let
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my-hello = with pkgs; stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
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name = "hello-2.8";
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src = fetchurl {
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url = "mirror://gnu/hello/${name}.tar.gz";
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sha256 = "0wqd8sjmxfskrflaxywc7gqw7sfawrfvdxd9skxawzfgyy0pzdz6";
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};
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};
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in
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[ my-hello ];
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```
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Of course, you can also move the definition of `my-hello` into a
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separate Nix expression, e.g.
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```nix
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environment.systemPackages = [ (import ./my-hello.nix) ];
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```
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where `my-hello.nix` contains:
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```nix
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with import <nixpkgs> {}; # bring all of Nixpkgs into scope
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stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
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name = "hello-2.8";
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src = fetchurl {
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url = "mirror://gnu/hello/${name}.tar.gz";
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sha256 = "0wqd8sjmxfskrflaxywc7gqw7sfawrfvdxd9skxawzfgyy0pzdz6";
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};
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}
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```
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This allows testing the package easily:
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```ShellSession
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$ nix-build my-hello.nix
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$ ./result/bin/hello
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Hello, world!
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```
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## Using pre-built executables {#sec-custom-packages-prebuilt}
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Most pre-built executables will not work on NixOS. There are two notable
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exceptions: flatpaks and AppImages. For flatpaks see the [dedicated
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section](#module-services-flatpak). AppImages will not run "as-is" on NixOS.
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First you need to install `appimage-run`: add to `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix`
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```nix
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environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.appimage-run ];
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```
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Then instead of running the AppImage "as-is", run `appimage-run foo.appimage`.
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To make other pre-built executables work on NixOS, you need to package them
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with Nix and special helpers like `autoPatchelfHook` or `buildFHSUserEnv`. See
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the [Nixpkgs manual](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual) for details. This
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is complex and often doing a source build is easier.
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