Install Nix

Linux

Install Nix via the recommended multi-user installation:

$ curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh -s -- --daemon

On Arch Linux, you can alternatively install Nix through pacman.

macOS

Install Nix via the recommended multi-user installation:

$ curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh

Important

Updating to macOS 15 Sequoia

If you recently updated to macOS 15 Sequoia and are getting

error: the user '_nixbld1' in the group 'nixbld' does not exist

when running Nix commands, refer to GitHub issue NixOS/nix#10892 for instructions to fix your installation without reinstalling.

Windows (WSL2)

Install Nix via the recommended single-user installation:

$ curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh -s -- --no-daemon

However, if you have systemd support enabled, install Nix via the recommended multi-user installation:

$ curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh -s -- --daemon

Docker

Start a Docker shell with Nix:

$ docker run -it nixos/nix

Or start a Docker shell with Nix exposing a workdir directory:

$ mkdir workdir
$ docker run -it -v $(pwd)/workdir:/workdir nixos/nix

The workdir example from above can be also used to start hacking on Nixpkgs:

$ git clone git@github.com:NixOS/nixpkgs
$ docker run -it -v $(pwd)/nixpkgs:/nixpkgs nixos/nix
bash-5.1# nix-build -I nixpkgs=/nixpkgs -A hello
bash-5.1# find ./result # this symlink points to the build package

Verify installation

Check the installation by opening a new terminal and typing:

$ nix --version
nix (Nix) 2.11.0