Nix Tutorial 2 : Data Types & Language Constructs

This guide introduces the types of data in Nix and the main language features, with simple explanations, icons, and real examples for newcomers.

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📝 Table of Contents

1. Data Types Overview

2. Primitive Types

   • Integer
   • Float
   • Boolean
   • String
   • Path
   • Null

3. Compound Types

   • Attribute Set
   • List
   • Function
   • External (Advanced)

4. String Context (Advanced)

5. Nix Language Constructs

   • Basic Literals
   • Attribute Sets
   • Recursive Sets
   • Let-Expressions
   • Inheriting Attributes
   • Functions
   • Conditionals
   • Assertions
   • With-Expressions
   • Comments
   • String Literals
   • Identifiers & Names

6. String Interpolation

7. Operators

8. Summary Table

9. Further Reading

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Data Types Overview

Every value in Nix has a type. Knowing these types helps you write correct and maintainable Nix expressions.

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Primitive Types 🔢

1. Integer 🧮

• Description: Signed 64-bit numbers, e.g., 123, -42

• Example:

  let
    a = 5;
    b = -3;
  in a + b  # Result: 2

• Check type: builtins.isInt a → true

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2. Float 🌊

• Description: 64-bit floating-point numbers, e.g., 1.5, -0.02, .1e5

• Example:

  let pi = 3.1415;
  in pi * 2  # Result: 6.283

• Check type: builtins.isFloat pi → true

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3. Boolean 🔘

• Description: Only two values: true or false

• Example:

  let flag = true;
  in if flag then "Yes" else "No"  # Result: "Yes"

• Check type: builtins.isBool flag → true

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4. String 💬

• Description: Immutable sequence of bytes (not characters!); written with double quotes "foo" or indented strings ''foo''

• Example:

  let msg = "Hello, Nix!";
  in msg

  let multi = ''
    Line 1
    Line 2
  '';
  in multi

• Check type: builtins.isString msg → true

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5. Path 📁

• Description: POSIX-style file paths (e.g., ./file.txt, /etc/hosts). Paths and strings are not the same.

• Example:

  let f = ./file.txt;  # relative path
      g = /etc/hosts;  # absolute path
  in f

• Check type: builtins.isPath f → true

Note: Paths are resolved relative to their base directory. "./foo.txt" (as a string) is different from ./foo.txt (as a path).

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6. Null 🚫

• Description: The single value null (like "nothing" or "None" in other languages)

• Example:

  let val = null;
  in if val == null then "empty" else "not empty"

• Check type: val == null → true

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Compound Types 📚

1. Attribute Set 🔑

• Description: Key-value pairs, like dictionaries or objects in other languages.

• Example:

  let
    person = { name = "Alice"; age = 30; };
  in person.name  # Result: "Alice"

• Check type: builtins.isAttrs person → true

Access keys: set.key Nested sets: { a = { b = 2; }; } → access with .a.b

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2. List 📋

• Description: Ordered collections (arrays) of values, in square brackets.

• Example:

  let
    xs = [ 1 2 3 ];
  in builtins.length xs  # Result: 3

• Check type: builtins.isList xs → true

Access elements: builtins.elemAt xs 0 → 1

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3. Function 🔧

• Description: Functions are first-class in Nix. You can pass them around, store them, and call them.

• Example:

  let
    inc = x: x + 1;
  in inc 4  # Result: 5

  let
    add = { x, y }: x + y;
  in add { x = 2; y = 3; }  # Result: 5

• Check type: builtins.isFunction inc → true

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4. External 🧩 (Advanced)

• Description: Opaque values created by plugins. Usually not used in everyday Nix code.
• Example: Not commonly encountered for new users.

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String Context 🧵 (Advanced)

• String context is metadata that tracks where a string came from (for reproducibility).

• You don’t need to deal with string context directly.

• Checking context:

  builtins.hasContext "hello"  # false

  builtins.getContext (builtins.storePath "/nix/store/xyz-foo")

• Clearing context:

  builtins.unsafeDiscardStringContext someString

• Most users never need to touch this—just know it exists!

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Nix Language Constructs ⚙️

1. Basic Literals

• String: "hello", ''multi-line''
• Number: 42, 1.2, -7
• Path: ./foo.txt, /etc/passwd
• List: [ 1 2 3 ]
• Attribute set: { key = "val"; }

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2. Attribute Sets

• Define:

  { a = 1; b = "foo"; }

• Access:

  { a = 1; } .a  # 1

• Default value:

  { a = 1; } .b or 42  # 42

• Complex keys:

  { "foo bar" = 123; }."foo bar"  # 123

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3. Recursive Sets

• Allow self-reference among keys:

  rec {
    x = y;
    y = 10;
  }.x  # Result: 10

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4. Let-Expressions

• Define local variables:

  let a = 1; b = 2; in a + b  # 3

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5. Inheriting Attributes

• Copy from scope or other set:

  let x = 5; in { inherit x; y = 3; }  # { x = 5; y = 3; }

  let set = { a = 1; b = 2; };
  in { inherit (set) a; }
  # { a = 1; }

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6. Functions

• Anonymous function:

  x: x * 2

• Function with attribute set as argument:

  { a, b }: a + b

• Default value for function argument:

  { x, y ? 5 }: x + y

  ( { x, y ? 2 }: x * y ) { x = 3; }  # 6

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7. Conditionals

• If-else:

  if true then "yes" else "no"

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8. Assertions

• Check conditions, fail early if not met:

  assert 1 < 2; "ok"  # "ok"
  assert false; "fail"  # Error!

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9. With-Expressions

• Bring all attributes into scope:

  let as = { x = 1; y = 2; };
  in with as; x + y  # 3

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10. Comments

• Single line: # Comment

• Multi-line:

  /*
  Block comment
  */

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11. String Literals

• Normal: "Hello, Nix!"

• Indented/multi-line:

  ''
    First line
    Second line
  ''

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12. Identifiers & Names

• Start with a letter or _.
• Can contain letters, digits, _, ', -.
• Some words are reserved (like let, if, else).

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String Interpolation 💡

• Insert variables or expressions into strings with ${...}

• Example:

  let name = "world";
  in "Hello, ${name}!"  # "Hello, world!"

• In attribute names:

  let key = "foo";
  in { ${key} = 123; }
  # { foo = 123; }

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Operators ➕

Arithmetic: +, -, *, / Comparison: <, >, ==, !=, <=, >= Logical: &&, ||, !, -> (implication) Update sets: // String concat: + List concat: ++ Path concat: +

• Example:

  ( { a = 1; } // { b = 2; } )  # { a = 1; b = 2; }
  [ 1 2 ] ++ [ 3 4 ]  # [ 1 2 3 4 ]

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Summary Table 📖

Type	Example	Check Type
Integer	123	builtins.isInt 123
Float	3.14	builtins.isFloat 3.14
Boolean	true	builtins.isBool true
String	"foo"	builtins.isString "foo"
Path	./file.txt	builtins.isPath ./file.txt
Null	null	val == null
Attribute Set	{ a = 1; }	builtins.isAttrs {}
List	[ 1 2 3 ]	builtins.isList [1]
Function	x: x + 1	builtins.isFunction (x: x)
External	Plugin-defined	N/A

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Further Reading 🔗

• Nix Manual: Data Types
• Nix Pills
• NixOS Wiki: Nix Expression Language

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