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https://github.com/mitchellh/zig-overlay

Nix flake for the Zig compiler.
https://github.com/mitchellh/zig-overlay

Last synced: 12 days ago
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Nix flake for the Zig compiler.

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# Nix Flake for Zig



This repository is a Nix flake packaging the [Zig](https://ziglang.org)

compiler. The flake mirrors the binaries built officially by Zig and

does not build them from source.



This repository is meant to be consumed primarily as a flake but the

`default.nix` can also be imported directly by non-flakes, too.



The flake outputs are documented in `flake.nix` but an overview:



  * Default package and "app" is the latest released version

  * `packages.` for a tagged release

  * `packages.master` for the latest nightly release

  * `packages.master-` for a nightly release

  * `overlays.default` is an overlay that adds `zigpkgs` to be the packages

    exposed by this flake

  * `templates.compiler-dev` to setup a development environment for Zig

    compiler development.



## Usage



### Flake



In your `flake.nix` file:



```nix

{

  inputs.zig.url = "github:mitchellh/zig-overlay";



  outputs = { self, zig, ... }: {

    ...

  };

}

```



In a shell:



```sh

# run the latest released version

$ nix run 'github:mitchellh/zig-overlay'

# open a shell with nightly version dated 2021-02-13 (oldest version available)

$ nix shell 'github:mitchellh/zig-overlay#master-2021-02-13'

# open a shell with latest nightly version

$ nix shell 'github:mitchellh/zig-overlay#master'

```



### Compiler Development



This flake outputs a template that makes it easy to work on the Zig

compiler itself. If you're looking to contribute to the Zig compiler,

here are the easy steps to setup a working development environment:



```sh

# clone zig and go into that directory

$ git clone https://github.com/ziglang/zig.git

$ cd zig

# setup the template

$ nix flake init -t 'github:mitchellh/zig-overlay#compiler-dev'

# Two options:

# (1) start a shell, this forces bash

$ nix develop

# (2) If you have direnv installed, you can start the shell environment

# in your active shell (fish, zsh, etc.):

$ direnv allow

```



## FAQ



### Why is a Nightly Missing?



There are two possible reasons:



1. The Zig download JSON that is used to generate this overlay only shows

the latest _master_ release. It doesn't keep track of historical releases.

If this overlay wasn't running or didn't exist at the time of a release,

we could miss a day. This is why historical dates beyond a certain point

don't exist; they predate this overlay (or original overlays this derives

from).



2. The official Zig CI only generates a master release if the CI runs 

full green. During certain periods of development, a full day may go by

where the master branch of the Zig compiler is broken. In this scenario,

a master build (aka "nightly") is not built or released at all.



## Thanks



The `sources.json` file was originally from another Zig overlay repository

hosted by the username `arqv`. This user and repository was deleted at some

point, so I started a new flake based on the same `sources.json` format

they used so I could inherit the history. Thank you for compiling nightly

release information since 2021!