Module overriding inside home.nix (e.g. through imports and disableModules)

[ShamrockLee]

Description

I haven't found a way to override the Home Manager modules for standalone without dilect patching to the home-manager source tree.

If is a modular way to override the modules, just as what imports = [ "path/to/foo", ... ]; and disableModules = [ bar/baz, ... ] do on NixOS, is available in Home Manager, users will be able to get modules from multiple sources, and module testing will be a piece of cake.

Without such mechanism, changse such as #2718 will be untestable without switching the source branch.

[berbiche]

Hi,

Home Manager supports the disabledModules feature of NixOS.

For instance, to disable the swayidle service, you can set disabledModules = [ "services/swayidle.nix" ].

The modulesPath functionality that allows using disabledModules was added in October and is only available in the "master" branch currently.

See:

• 099cbcf
• fd2f746

[ShamrockLee]

@berbiche I mean supporting imports, disableModules or similar functionality to override modules inside the Home Manager Configuratio (home.nix).

Stand-alone installation cannot make use of the NixOS and nix-darwin feature so far.

[berbiche]

Hi again @ShamrockLee,

I've looked at our module code once more and the disabledModules feature should work.
The attribute modulesPath (used by the modules system to support disabledModules) is correctly exported in a standalone Home Manager configuration.

[ShamrockLee]

But I get this:

error: The option `disableModules' does not exist. Definition values:
       - In `<unknown-file>': [ ]
(use '--show-trace' to show detailed location information)

after having

{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
{
  disableModules = [
  ];

  # Something else ...
}

in my home.nix.

BTW, the Home Manager is set up as a flake (the way I have documented it in the manual). Not sure if it causes any difference:
https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/index.html#sec-flakes-standalone

[berbiche]

@ShamrockLee You used disableModules instead of disabledModules, you are missing a "d".

[ShamrockLee]

Oops! Sorry for the typo, and thanks a lot for your patience!

The problem is now solved.

[nixos-discourse]

This issue has been mentioned on NixOS Discourse. There might be relevant details there:

https://discourse.nixos.org/t/can-home-manager-install-unstable-and-stable-programs-modules-not-just-pkgs/42919/13