Managing Package Channels

Channels are how Grove controls which versions of packages you get. Think of them as different “streams” of packages - some have the latest and greatest, others focus on stability.

Tip

Using different channels lets you balance between having the latest features and having a stable environment. You can even mix channels in the same project - use stable for critical tools and unstable for development tools!

Seeing what channels you have

To see all the channels you’ve got configured:

kanuka grove channel list

This shows you all your channels along with their URLs and current versions.

Adding a new channel

You can add custom channels for specific package versions:

# Add a specific nixpkgs branch
kanuka grove channel add nixos-22-11 github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-22.11

# Add a custom channel
kanuka grove channel add my-packages github:myorg/my-nixpkgs

Removing a channel

If you no longer need a channel:

kanuka grove channel remove <channel-name>

Pinning a channel

To lock a channel to a specific version:

kanuka grove channel pin nixpkgs-stable abc123def456

Updating channels

To update your channels to the latest versions:

kanuka grove channel update

Next steps

To learn more about kanuka grove channel, see the channel management concepts and the command reference.

Or, continue reading to learn how to build containers from your environment.