NixOS / NixOS/nix

"Cycle detected in the references of '/nix/store/...'" message could be more useful

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#481 24 comments 11 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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error-messages UX
Dominant language
C++
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Description

It doesn't seem like the sort of thing I can easily debug with my usual nix-build -K, so I'm kind of stumped as to where the cycle comes from. If it could print some representation of the cycle, that'd be quite a bit more helpful!

Contributor guide

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First steps

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  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

Start by reproducing the "Cycle detected in the references" failure through nix-build -K and locate the code that emits this message. Trace how the Nix store references are available at that point, then define a useful cycle representation and add coverage showing that the diagnostic identifies the cycle.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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