Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Nix with flakes enabled.
• An internet connection to fetch the template.

Create a new project

Use the dendritic template — it sets up a full flake-parts + import-tree environment with flake-file already wired in.

nix flake init -t github:vic/flake-file#dendritic

Generate flake.nix

nix run ".#write-flake"

This evaluates your modules, merges all flake-file.* options, and writes flake.nix.

cat flake.nix   # inspect the generated file

Verify

nix flake check

This confirms that flake.nix is up to date with the current module state. Run this in CI.

Add your first input

Open (or create) a module under ./modules/. Declare any dependency close to where it is used:

modules/my-tool.nix

{ inputs, lib, ... }: {
  flake-file.inputs.my-tool.url = lib.mkDefault "github:owner/my-tool";

  # Use the input once it's in flake.nix
  imports = lib.optionals (inputs ? my-tool) [
    inputs.my-tool.flakeModule
  ];
}

Then regenerate:

nix run ".#write-flake"

Next Steps

• Migration Guide — adopt flake-file in an existing project.
• flakeModules — explore all built-in modules.
• Options Reference — every flake-file.* option explained.