This tutorial takes you through the basic tasks you might perform when you start using Nix. Install Nix by running the following: $ bash <(curl https://nixos.org/nix/install) This will install Nix in /nix. The install script will create /nix using sudo, so make sure you have sufficient rights. (For other installation methods, see .) See what installable packages are currently available in the channel: $ nix-env -qa docbook-xml-4.2 firefox-1.0pre-PR-0.10.1 hello-2.1.1 libxslt-1.1.0 ... Install some packages from the channel: $ nix-env -i hello ... This should download pre-built packages; it should not build them locally (if it does, something went wrong). Test that they work: $ which hello /home/eelco/.nix-profile/bin/hello $ hello Hello, world! Uninstall a package: $ nix-env -e hello To keep up-to-date with the channel, do: $ nix-channel --update nixpkgs $ nix-env -u '*' The latter command will upgrade each installed package for which there is a “newer” version (as determined by comparing the version numbers). You can also install specific packages directly from your web browser. For instance, you can go to and click on any link for the individual packages for your platform. Associate application/nix-package with the program nix-install-package. A window should appear asking you whether it’s okay to install the package. Say Y. The package and all its dependencies will be installed. If you're unhappy with the result of a nix-env action (e.g., an upgraded package turned out not to work properly), you can go back: $ nix-env --rollback You should periodically run the Nix garbage collector to get rid of unused packages, since uninstalls or upgrades don't actually delete them: $ nix-collect-garbage -d