Software Alternatives & Reviews

pacman (package manager) VS NixOS

Compare pacman (package manager) VS NixOS and see what are their differences

pacman (package manager) logo pacman (package manager)

The pacman package manager is one of the major distinguishing features of ...

NixOS logo NixOS

25 Jun 2014 . All software components in NixOS are installed using the Nix package manager. Packages in Nix are defined using the nix language to create nix expressions.
  • pacman (package manager) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-07
  • NixOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

pacman (package manager) videos

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NixOS videos

First Impression of the NixOS Installation Procedure

More videos:

  • Review - Introduction to NixOS - Brownbag by Geoffrey Huntley
  • Review - NixOS 18.03 - A Configuration-focused GNU+Linux Distro

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to pacman (package manager) and NixOS)
Front End Package Manager
Windows Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Package Manager
18 18%
82% 82
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

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Reviews

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NixOS Reviews

The 10 Best Immutable Linux Distributions in 2024
Why it’s on the list: NixOS uses the Nix package manager, which treats packages as isolated from each other. This unique approach to package management virtually eliminates “dependency hell”.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, NixOS should be more popular than pacman (package manager). It has been mentiond 246 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

pacman (package manager) mentions (39)

  • Been thinking of switching to linux but I am a noob
    However, that "pacman -S" command has lots of switches (see section 1.1.1 ==> https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/pacman ). Source: 5 months ago
  • Project on GitHub - Customizable Arch Linux Podman images based on the official Arch Linux Docker image
    Automatic installation of packages during building utilizes pacman and aurman with the supported "package sources" being:. Source: 9 months ago
  • A response to the Fedora 40 Privacy-Preserving Telemetry Proposal
    * Package management and DNF syntax usage are big topics. Follow the Arch Wiki example for the "pacman" package management tool ==> https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/pacman. Source: 10 months ago
  • Could someone make a Decky plugin that automates installing common dependencies?
    Should be possible as the Arch distro SteamOS is built on includes pacman. Source: 10 months ago
  • How to install optional dependencies
    All of this is explained in the wiki page. Source: 11 months ago
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NixOS mentions (246)

  • I use NixOS for my home-server, and you should too!
    As we covered in my last post, NixOS is a amazing Linux distribution for creating stable and declared environments. Now while this is amazing for a desktop setup, it is also perfect for a home-server or home-lab. - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • Colima k8s nix setup
    Nix is a cross-platform package manager. It uses the nix programming language. Nix and NixOs are often used in the same context, but while the first is a package manager, the latter is a linux distribution based on nix. - Source: dev.to / 9 days ago
  • NixOs - Your portable dev enviroment
    Today I want to talk to you about Nixos. What is it? Nixos is a declarative and reproducible OS, partly taking the words used on their own page. What does that mean? - Source: dev.to / 18 days ago
  • Nix – A One Pager
    Software developers often want to customize: 1. Their home environments: for packages (some reach for brew on MacOS) and configurations (dotfiles, and some reach for stow). 2. Their development shells: for build dependencies (compilers, SDKs, libraries), tools (LSP, linters, formatters, debuggers), and services (runtime, database). Some reach for devcontainers here. 3. Or even their operating systems: for... - Source: Hacker News / 18 days ago
  • Tools for Linux Distro Hoppers
    Hopping from one distro to another with a different package manager might require some time to adapt. Using a package manager that can be installed on most distro is one way to help you get to work faster. Flatpak is one of them; other alternative are Snap, Nix or Homebrew. Flatpak is a good starter, and if you have a bunch of free time, I suggest trying Nix. - Source: dev.to / 29 days ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing pacman (package manager) and NixOS, you can also consider the following products

Synaptic - Please take a minute to watch our video, it gives an overview of Synaptic's role in financial services.

GNU Guix - Like Nix but GNU.

Chocolatey - The sane way to manage software on Windows.

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

Pamac - Graphical Package Manager for Manjaro Linux (based on libalpm).

asdf-vm - An extendable version manager