flake-file

Tip

flake-file lets you define flake inputs as typed Nix module options instead of the restricted flake DSL, then regenerate flake.nix with a single command.

What it does

Nix flakes require flake.nix to be written in a restricted subset of Nix — no imports, no lib.mkDefault, no computed values. flake-file removes this limitation:

• Define inputs anywhere — in any Nix module, using full Nix language features
• Typed schemas — Input and Output definitions based on Nix types
• One-command regeneration — nix run .#write-flake produces a clean flake.nix
• Consistency checks — flake check ensures generated files stay in sync
• Multiple backends — supports flake.nix, unflake.nix, and npins/
• Automatic lock flattening — via allfollow or nix-auto-follow

Example

# modules/inputs.nix — define inputs using real Nix
{ lib, ... }: {
  flake.inputs.nixpkgs.url = lib.mkDefault "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-${channel}";
  flake.inputs.home-manager = {
    url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
    inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
  };
}

Then regenerate:

nix run .#write-flake

Who uses it

Used across the Dendritic ecosystem — den, checkmate, dendrix, and many flake-aspects users rely on flake-file for maintainable flake definitions.

Links

Source Code Documentation Support this project