Name

nix flake init - create a flake in the current directory from a template

Synopsis

nix flake init [option…]

Examples

•

Create a flake using the default template:

# nix flake init

•

List available templates:

# nix flake show templates

•

Create a flake from a specific template:

# nix flake init -t templates#simpleContainer

Description

This command creates a flake in the current directory by copying the files of a template. It will not overwrite existing files. The default template is templates#templates.default, but this can be overridden using -t.

Template definitions

A flake can declare templates through its templates output attribute. A template has two attributes:

• description: A one-line description of the template, in CommonMark syntax.
• path: The path of the directory to be copied.
• welcomeText: A block of markdown text to display when a user initializes a new flake based on this template.

Here is an example:

outputs = { self }: {


  templates.rust = {


    path = ./rust;


    description = "A simple Rust/Cargo project";


    welcomeText = ''


      # Simple Rust/Cargo Template


      ## Intended usage


      The intended usage of this flake is...


      ## More info


      - [Rust language](https://www.rust-lang.org/)


      - [Rust on the NixOS Wiki](https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Rust)


      - ...


    '';


  };


  templates.default = self.templates.rust;
}

Options

•

--template / -t template
The template to use.

Common evaluation options:

• --arg name expr
  Pass the value expr as the argument name to Nix functions.
• --argstr name string
  Pass the string string as the argument name to Nix functions.
• --eval-store store-url
  The Nix store to use for evaluations.
• --impure
  Allow access to mutable paths and repositories.
• --include / -I path
  Add path to the list of locations used to look up <...> file names.
• --override-flake original-ref resolved-ref
  Override the flake registries, redirecting original-ref to resolved-ref.