GitHub - jbadeau/mise-nix: A backend plugin for Mise that allows you to install and manage packages using Nix

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A Mise plugin that brings the power of the Nix ecosystem to your development workflow.

Features

  • 🚀 100,000+ packages from nixpkgs
  • 🔌 VSCode extensions support
  • 🔌 JetBrains plugins support
  • 🔌 Neovim plugins support

Prerequisites

Installation

mise plugin install nix https://github.com/jbadeau/mise-nix.git

Quick Start

# List available versions
mise ls-remote nix:hello

# Install version
mise install nix:hello@2.12.1

Usage

Standard Packages (Recommended)

Uses nixhub.io for pre-built, cached packages:

# Latest version
mise install nix:hello

# Specific version
mise install nix:hello@2.12.1

# Version aliases
mise install nix:hello@stable

Flake References

# GitHub
mise install "nix:hello@github+nixos/nixpkgs"
mise install "nix:hello@nixos/nixpkgs#hello"

# GitLab
mise install "nix:mytool@gitlab+group/project"

# Git HTTPS URLs
mise install "nix:hello@https+github.com/nixos/nixpkgs.git#hello"

# Git SSH URLs
mise install "nix:mytool@ssh+git@github.com/owner/repo.git#default"

Local Flakes

export MISE_NIX_ALLOW_LOCAL_FLAKES=true
mise install "nix:mytool@./my-project"

VSCode Extensions

mise install "nix:vscode+install=vscode-extensions.golang.go"

Neovim Plugins

Install Neovim plugins from nixpkgs vimPlugins:

# Install nvim-treesitter
mise install "nix:neovim+install=vimPlugins.nvim-treesitter"

# Install plenary.nvim (common dependency)
mise install "nix:neovim+install=vimPlugins.plenary-nvim"

# Install telescope.nvim
mise install "nix:neovim+install=vimPlugins.telescope-nvim"

Plugins are automatically symlinked to ~/.local/share/nvim/site/pack/nix/start/ and will be auto-loaded by Neovim on startup.

Notes:

  • No init.lua configuration needed - plugins auto-load via Neovim's native :h packages mechanism
  • Uses a separate nix pack namespace - compatible with lazy.nvim, packer.nvim, etc.
  • Respects XDG_DATA_HOME if set

JetBrains Plugins

Install plugins from the nix-jetbrains-plugins repository:

# Install File Watchers plugin for IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate (Linux)
mise install "nix:jetbrains+install=jetbrains-plugins.x86_64-linux.idea-ultimate.2024.3.com.intellij.plugins.watcher"

# Install File Watchers plugin for IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate (macOS)
mise install "nix:jetbrains+install=jetbrains-plugins.aarch64-darwin.idea-ultimate.2024.3.com.intellij.plugins.watcher"

# Install GitToolBox for GoLand
mise install "nix:jetbrains+install=jetbrains-plugins.x86_64-linux.goland.2024.3.zielu.gittoolbox"

# Install Database Tools for WebStorm
mise install "nix:jetbrains+install=jetbrains-plugins.x86_64-linux.webstorm.2024.3.com.intellij.database"

The plugin will be automatically extracted to the correct JetBrains IDE plugin directory. Restart your IDE to activate the installed plugins.

Notes:

  • The system architecture (e.g., x86_64-linux, aarch64-darwin) must match your current system
  • Plugins are built directly from the nix-jetbrains-plugins flake repository without querying nixhub
  • You can find plugin IDs at the bottom of JetBrains Marketplace pages

Unfree Packages

Some packages (e.g. Discord) are marked as unfree in nixpkgs. To install them:

# Using MISE_NIX env var (recommended - auto-sets NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE)
export MISE_NIX_ALLOW_UNFREE=true
mise install nix:discord

# Or using native Nix env var directly
export NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1
mise install nix:discord

Insecure Packages

Some packages with known vulnerabilities require explicit opt-in:

# Using MISE_NIX env var (recommended - auto-sets NIXPKGS_ALLOW_INSECURE)
export MISE_NIX_ALLOW_INSECURE=true
mise install nix:some-package

# Or using native Nix env var directly
export NIXPKGS_ALLOW_INSECURE=1
mise install nix:some-package

Limitations

Mise rejects colons (:) in version strings. Use these workaround prefixes:

Instead of Use
github:owner/repo github+owner/repo
gitlab:group/project gitlab+group/project
git+https://host/repo.git https+host/repo.git
git+ssh://git@host/repo.git ssh+git@host/repo.git

Configuration

Environment variables can be used to configure this plugin:

Variable Description
MISE_NIX_ALLOW_UNFREE Set to true to allow unfree packages (auto-sets NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1)
MISE_NIX_ALLOW_INSECURE Set to true to allow insecure packages (auto-sets NIXPKGS_ALLOW_INSECURE=1)
MISE_NIX_ALLOW_LOCAL_FLAKES Set to true to enable local flake references
MISE_NIX_NIXHUB_BASE_URL Custom nixhub.io URL
MISE_NIX_NIXPKGS_REPO_URL Custom nixpkgs repository URL

Native Nix env vars are also supported:

Variable Description
NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE Set to 1 to allow unfree packages (enables --impure)
NIXPKGS_ALLOW_INSECURE Set to 1 to allow insecure packages (enables --impure)

Nix Setup

Add to ~/.config/nix/nix.conf:

experimental-features = nix-command flakes
substituters = https://cache.nixos.org https://nix-community.cachix.org
trusted-public-keys = cache.nixos.org-1:6NCHdD59X431o0gWypbMrAURkbJ16ZPMQFGspcDShjY= nix-community.cachix.org-1:0VI8sF6Vsp2Jxw8+OFeVfYVdIY7X+GTtY+lR78QAbXs=

Development

Setup and Tests

Install Lua via brew (asdf plugin has a bug with LuaRocks 3.13.0):

brew install lua luarocks
mise init  # Link the plugin
mise test  # Unit tests
mise e2e   # Integration tests