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# pkgs.mkShell {#sec-pkgs-mkShell}
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`pkgs.mkShell` is a specialized `stdenv.mkDerivation` that removes some
repetition when using it with `nix-shell` (or `nix develop` ).
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## Usage {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-usage}
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Here is a common usage example:
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```nix
{ pkgs ? import < nixpkgs > {} }:
pkgs.mkShell {
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packages = [ pkgs.gnumake ];
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inputsFrom = [ pkgs.hello pkgs.gnutar ];
shellHook = ''
export DEBUG=1
'';
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}
```
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## Attributes {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-attributes}
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* `name` (default: `nix-shell` ). Set the name of the derivation.
* `packages` (default: `[]` ). Add executable packages to the `nix-shell` environment.
* `inputsFrom` (default: `[]` ). Add build dependencies of the listed derivations to the `nix-shell` environment.
* `shellHook` (default: `""` ). Bash statements that are executed by `nix-shell` .
... all the attributes of `stdenv.mkDerivation` .
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## Variants {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-variants}
`pkgs.mkShellNoCC` is a variant that uses `stdenvNoCC` instead of `stdenv` as base environment. This is useful if no C compiler is needed in the shell environment.
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## Building the shell {#sec-pkgs-mkShell-building}
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This derivation output will contain a text file that contains a reference to
all the build inputs. This is useful in CI where we want to make sure that
every derivation, and its dependencies, build properly. Or when creating a GC
root so that the build dependencies don't get garbage-collected.