Issue
When I decided to manage my sketchybar configuration as a git submodule within my Nix Flakes setup, I encountered an unexpected obstacle. Attempting to run darwin-rebuild was met with failure as the system couldn’t locate the source of the local directory. It’s a known issue as discussed in the Submodules of flakes are not working thread.
Overcoming the Submodule Challenge
I devised a workaround that resolved the problem and ensured proper file execution permissions. Before diving into the implementation details, I must emphasize the necessity of updating the flake.lock file. This is a critical step to ensure submodule is recognized by nix:
nix flake lock --update-input config-sketchybar-src
Solution
In flake.nix define the submodule directory as input
{
inputs = {
# submodule directory
config-sketchybar-src = {
url = "git+file:./config-sketchybar";
flake = false;
};
};
outputs = inputs@{ self, nixpkgs, darwin, home-manager, ... }:
let username = "nohzafk";
in {
darwinConfigurations."MacBook-Pro" = darwin.lib.darwinSystem {
system = "aarch64-darwin";
specialArgs = { inherit inputs username; };
modules = [
./configuration.nix
./system-preferences.nix
{
users.users."${username}" = {
name = "${username}";
home = "/Users/${username}";
};
}
home-manager.darwinModules.home-manager
{
home-manager.useGlobalPkgs = true;
home-manager.useUserPackages = true;
home-manager.users."${username}".imports = [ ./home.nix ];
home-manager.extraSpecialArgs = { inherit inputs username; };
}
];
};
};
}
in home.nix
{ inputs, username, config, pkgs, ... }: {
imports = [
./config-window-manager.nix
];
}
in config-window-manager.nix
{ inputs, lib, pkgs, ... }: {
let
sketchybar-config =
pkgs.callPackage ./pkg-sketchybar-config.nix { inherit inputs pkgs; };
in {
home.packages =
lib.mkBefore = [ sketchybar-config ];
home.file.".config/sketchybar".source = sketchybar-config;
}
finally in pkg-sketchybar-config.nix
{ inputs, pkgs, ... }:
pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
name = "sketchybar-config";
dontConfigure = true;
dontUnpack = true;
src = inputs.config-sketchybar-src;
installPhase = ''
mkdir -p $out
cp -r $src/config/sketchybar/* $out
# Find all .sh files and substitute 'jq' with the full path to the jq binary
find $out -type f -name "*.sh" | while read script; do
substituteInPlace "$script" \
--replace 'jq' '${pkgs.jq}/bin/jq'
done
chmod -R +x $out
'';
}
In the end, the satisfaction of having your local directory seamlessly integrated as a git submodule and functioning perfectly within the Nix ecosystem is well worth the effort.