How can I include nix packages into a nixos vm for the purpose of adding them to /nix/store without polluting the global system packages?

Question

I'm building a nixos vm using nixos-shell and I'm using the following to add the dependencies of a example project to the vm:

 let appRepo = pkgs.callPackage (builtins.fetchGit { url = "/home/chris/NewProjects/Example"; rev = "95f6b51548163dd999c945e5f417bd551d9ed49f"; }) {}; in environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.docker pkgs.vim pkgs.git pkgs.htop pkgs.ripgrep ] ++ [ (pkgs.callPackage hdev {}) ] ++ (appRepo.env); ## this line here

This avoids the need to download dependencies of the example project. However it has the side effect of polluting the global $PATH / system packages.

Is there a cleaner way to add these dependencies in without this side effect?

Answer 1 · 2025-11-12 14:11:48Z

https://discourse.nixos.org/t/how-to-declaratively-keep-packages-in-store-without-adding-them-to-environment-systempackages/13538

system.extraDependencies

A list of paths that should be included in the system closure but generally not visible to users.

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How can I include nix packages into a nixos vm for the purpose of adding them to /nix/store without polluting the global system packages?

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