nix-tree

Interactively browse dependency graphs of Nix derivations.

Installation

nix-tree is on nixpkgs since 20.09, so just use your preferred method for adding packages to your system, eg:

nix-env -i nix-tree

To run the current development version:

• With flakes:

nix run github:utdemir/nix-tree

• Without flakes:

nix-shell -I nix-tree=https://github.com/utdemir/nix-tree/archive/refs/heads/main.zip -p '(import <nix-tree>).default'  

Usage

$ nix-tree --help
Usage: nix-tree [paths...] [-h|--help] [--version]
  Paths default to $HOME/.nix-profile and /var/run/current-system.
Keybindings:
  hjkl/Arrow Keys : Navigate
  w               : Open why-depends mode
  /               : Open search mode
  s               : Change sort order
  y               : Yank selected path to clipboard
  ?               : Show help
  q/Esc:          : Quit / close modal

Glossary

• NAR Size: Size of the store path itself.
• Closure size: Total size of the store path and all its transitive dependencies.
• Added size: Size of the store path, and all its unique transitive dependencies. In other words, the cost of having that store path on top of all other paths. See issue #14 for a better explanation.

Tips

nix-build prints built paths to stdout, which can be piped conveniently with | xargs -o nix-tree. Examples:

# Output of a local derivation
nix-build . --no-out-link | xargs -o nix-tree

# Build time dependencies (passing a `.drv` path)
nix-instantiate --no-out-link | xargs -o nix-tree

# Dependencies from shell.nix
nix-build shell.nix -A inputDerivation | xargs -o nix-tree

# All outputs of a derivation in nixpkgs:
nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A openssl.all --no-out-link | xargs -o nix-tree

Contributing

All contributions, issues and feature requests are welcome.

To hack on it, simply run nix-shell (or nix develop) and use cabal as usual. Please run ./format.sh before sending a PR.

Related tools

• nix-du
• nix-query-tree-viewer
• nix-visualize