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Ever since SteamOS 3.5 added a mutable /nix directory, using the nix package manager to install programs declaritively on the Steam Deck is a game changer. Previously, the immutable file system of SteamOS & their A/B partition scheme meant that installing & configuring programs declaratively using nix wouldn’t survive a SteamOS update. Sadly, programs that need access to the rdna2 chip in the deck don’t have access to the graphics drivers. We are using nix the package manager, not nix the operating system. ...

What is Nix? Nix is confusingly both a language & a package manager, among other things. The language & the package manager can work together to create reproducible, declarative, shareable, & isolated environments for software development. Nix develop The nix develop command is a tool in the Nix ecosystem that allows the creation of development environments defined by a local file called a “flake”. Running this command builds & installs all dependencies defined in the flake hermetically, meaning that exiting the environment removes the installed dependencies from the environment. ...