nix-vscode

VSCode built with extensions for Clojure, Rust, and general development. Supports Linux and macOS.

The extensions are listed in flake.nix

Usage

Install Nix:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf -L https://install.determinate.systems/nix | sh -s -- install

• With default keybindings:
  • NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run github:insilica/nix-vscode --impure
• With emacs keybindings:
  • NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run github:insilica/nix-vscode#emacs --impure
• With IntelliJ keybindings:
  • NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run github:insilica/nix-vscode#intellij --impure

If your Nix configuration does not support those commands, this longer command should work: NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix --extra-experimental-features nix-command --extra-experimental-features flakes run github:insilica/nix-vscode --impure

Customizing

Clone or fork the repo, and add your desired extensions to flake.nix. Extension definitions look like this:

{
    name = "calva";
    publisher = "betterthantomorrow";
    version = "2.0.381";
    sha256 = "sha256-7Tsqi1W4JdbUnJ8r+99LBFcvll73jqZzg1ohF8yevao=";
}

When adding or changing an extension, set the sha256 line to sha256 = "sha256-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA="; and run bin/build

You will get an error message like this:

error: hash mismatch in fixed-output derivation '/nix/store/fa50shp9j4ccxcybqwjfpsjcxhim45k9-betterthantomorrow-calva.zip.drv':
         specified: sha256-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
            got:    sha256-7Tsqi1W4JdbUnJ8r+99LBFcvll73jqZzg1ohF8yevao=

Copy the "got" value into the sha256 entry, and run bin/build again. If the build succeeds, you are done!

Note that some extensions rely on downloading binary code from a website and executing it. Many of these extensions won't work because the VSCode directories this creates are read-only. One work-around that I've used is to install VSCode from another source and run it to install the problem extension. After verifying that the extension is working, I close that VSCode and run nix-vscode. Usually, the extension works well.

To run your custom build, use bin/run from the repo directory. Use bin/run .#emacs or bin/run .#intellij if you want those keybindings. You can also push your repo to GitHub and run it with NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run github:username/repo-name --impure

Updating VSCode

This project typically uses a stable channel which may have a slightly older version of VSCode. Newer versions of VSCode are available in the nixpkgs-unstable channel. Change the nixpkgs.url line at the start of flake.nix to:

    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixpkgs-unstable";

and run bin/build