Running Tools with Nix

This system has Nix available. You can run virtually any CLI tool without it being permanently installed.

When to Use This

Assume any CLI tool you know about is available. Reach for the right tool:

• JSON/YAML: jq for JSON, yq for YAML - great for Kubernetes manifests
• Searching: ripgrep (rg) for content, fd for filenames

Also use when:

• A command fails with "command not found"
• You need a specific or newer version of a tool

Running Tools

One-off command

nix run nixpkgs#<package> -- <args>

Examples:

nix run nixpkgs#jq -- '.foo' file.json
nix run nixpkgs#yq -- '.metadata.name' manifest.yaml
nix run nixpkgs#ripgrep -- 'pattern' .
nix run nixpkgs#fd -- '\.go$'

The -- separates nix options from the program's arguments.

Common Package Names

Most packages use the tool's common name:

Tool	Package
jq	nixpkgs#jq
yq	nixpkgs#yq
ripgrep (rg)	nixpkgs#ripgrep
fd	nixpkgs#fd
bat	nixpkgs#bat
tree	nixpkgs#tree

Finding Packages

If unsure of the exact package name, search nixpkgs:

nix search nixpkgs <term>

Note: Search is slow (evaluates all packages). Prefer trying the obvious name first - it usually works.

Newer Tool Versions

If the default nixpkgs has an outdated version, use nixpkgs-unstable:

nix run github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixpkgs-unstable#<package> -- <args>

This tracks the latest available versions in nixpkgs.