renv2nix: Convert an 'renv.lock' File to a Nix Expression

In rix: Reproducible Data Science Environments with 'Nix'

Convert an renv.lock File to a Nix Expression

Description

Convert an renv.lock File to a Nix Expression

Usage

renv2nix(
  renv_lock_path = "renv.lock",
  project_path,
  return_rix_call = FALSE,
  method = c("fast", "accurate"),
  override_r_ver = NULL,
  ...
)

Arguments

renv_lock_path	Character, path of the renv.lock file, defaults to "renv.lock"
project_path	Character, where to write default.nix, for example "/home/path/to/project". The file will thus be written to the file "/home/path/to/project/default.nix". If the folder does not exist, it will be created.
return_rix_call	Logical, return the generated rix function call instead of evaluating it this is for debugging purposes, defaults to FALSE
method	Character, the method of generating a nix environment from an renv.lock file. "fast" is an inexact conversion which simply extracts the R version and a list of all the packages in an renv.lock file and adds them to the r_pkgs argument of rix(). This will use a snapshot of nixpkgs that should contain package versions that are not too different from the ones defined in the renv.lock file. For packages installed from GitHub or similar, an attempt is made to handle them and pass them to the git_pkgs argument of rix(). Currently defaults to "fast", "accurate" is not yet implemented.
override_r_ver	Character, defaults to NULL, override the R version defined in the renv.lock file with another version. This is especially useful if the renv.lock file lists a version of R not (yet) available through Nix, or if the R version included in the renv.lock is too old compared to the package versions. Can also be a date, check available_dates().
...	Arguments passed on to rix system_pkgs Vector of characters. List further software you wish to install that are not R packages such as command line applications for example. You can look for available software on the NixOS website https://search.nixos.org/packages?channel=unstable&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query= local_r_pkgs Vector of characters, paths to local packages to install. These packages need to be in the .tar.gz or .zip formats and must be in the same folder as the generated "default.nix" file. tex_pkgs Vector of characters. A set of TeX packages to install. Use this if you need to compile .tex documents, or build PDF documents using Quarto. If you don't know which package to add, start by adding "amsmath". See the vignette("d2- installing-system-tools-and-texlive-packages-in-a-nix-environment") for more details. py_conf List. A list containing two or three elements: py_version, py_pkgs, and optionally py_src_dir. py_version should be in the form "3.12" for Python 3.12, and py_pkgs should be an atomic vector of package names (e.g., py_pkgs = c("polars", "plotnine", "great-tables")). If Python packages are requested but {reticulate} is not in the list of R packages, the user will be warned that they may want to add it. When py_conf packages are requested, the RETICULATE_PYTHON environment variable is set to ensure the Nix environment does not use a system-wide Python installation. If you are developing a Python package, set "mypackage/src" or just "src"). This adds PYTHONPATH to the shell hook so your package can be imported without installation. This is the Nix equivalent of ⁠pip install -e .⁠ (editable install). Note: if "uv" is in system_pkgs, LD_LIBRARY_PATH is automatically configured for dynamic library loading (required by packages like numpy). You can also install packages from git or PyPI by adding git_pkgs (list of lists with package_name, repo_url, commit) and pypi_pkgs (vector of package names, optionally with version name@version) to the py_conf list. jl_conf List. A list of two elements, jl_version and jl_conf. jl_version must be of the form "1.10" for Julia 1.10. Leave empty or use an empty string to use the latest version, or use "lts" for the long term support version. jl_conf must be an atomic vector of packages names, for example jl_conf = c("TidierData", "TidierPlots"). ide Character, defaults to "none". If you wish to use RStudio to work interactively use "rstudio" or "rserver" for the server version. Use "code" for Visual Studio Code or "codium" for Codium, or "positron" for Positron. You can also use "radian", an interactive REPL. This will install a project-specific version of the chosen editor which will be differrent than the one already present in your system (if any). For other editors or if you want to use an editor already installed on your system (which will require some configuration to make it work seamlessly with Nix shells see the vignette("configuring-ide") for configuration examples), use "none". Please be aware that VS Code and Positron are not free software. To facilitate their installation, rix() automatically enables a required setting without prompting the user for confirmation. See the "Details" section below for more information. overwrite Logical, defaults to FALSE. If TRUE, overwrite the default.nix file in the specified path. print Logical, defaults to FALSE. If TRUE, print default.nix to console. message_type Character. Message type, defaults to "simple", which gives minimal but sufficient feedback. Other values are currently ⁠"quiet⁠, which generates the files without message, and "verbose", displays all the messages. shell_hook Character of length 1, defaults to NULL. Commands added to the shellHook variable are executed when the Nix shell starts. So by default, using ⁠nix-shell default.nix⁠ will start a specific program, possibly with flags (separated by space), and/or do shell actions. You can for example use shell_hook = R, if you want to directly enter the declared Nix R session when dropping into the Nix shell.

Details

In order for this function to work properly, we recommend not running it inside the same folder as an existing {renv} project. Instead, run it from a new, empty directory which path you pass to project_path, and use renv_lock_path to point to the renv.lock file in the original {renv} folder. We recommend that you start from an empty folder to hold your new Nix project, and copy the renv.lock file only (not any of the other files and folders generated by {renv}) and then call renv2nix() there. For more details, see vignette("renv2nix").

Value

Nothing, this function is called for its side effects only, unless return_rix_call = TRUE in which case an unevaluated call to rix() is returned

Examples

## Not run: 
# if the lock file is in another folder
renv2nix(
  renv_lock_path = "path/to/original/renv_project/renv.lock",
  project_path = "path/to/rix_project"
)
# you could also copy the renv.lock file in the folder of the Nix
# project (don’t copy any other files generated by `{renv}`)
renv2nix(
  renv_lock_path = "path/to/rix_project/renv.lock",
  project_path = "path/to/rix_project"
)

## End(Not run)

rix documentation built on Feb. 19, 2026, 1:07 a.m.