NixOS / NixOS/nix.dev

Add: Overlays concept / tutorial - introduction to overlays

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Nix
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Description

Learning goals

  • Understand overlays concept

  • What is the problem

  • How do overlays solve it

  • How to use them -> override pkgs within the fixed point

Prerequisites

  • Understand a package set
  • Understand a fixed point

Outline

Prior art

Willing to help?

Yes

Priorities

Add 👍 to issues you find important.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Read the linked Discourse thread, wiki page, and Nixcademy article first, along with the prerequisites on package sets and fixed points. Create an introduction to overlays that explains the problem, the concept, and how to override packages within the fixed point; completion should cover all listed learning goals in a coherent tutorial.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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