Software Alternatives & Reviews

pkgsrc VS NixOS

Compare pkgsrc VS NixOS and see what are their differences

pkgsrc logo pkgsrc

pkgsrc is a framework for building over 17,000 open source software packages.

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.
  • pkgsrc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-30
  • NixOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

pkgsrc videos

pkgsrc on ChromeOS

More videos:

  • Review - Using pkgsrc for multi-platform deployments in heterogeneous environments, G Clifford Williams

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 pkgsrc and NixOS)
Developer Tools
29 29%
71% 71
Front End Package Manager
Package Manager
19 19%
81% 81
Productivity
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare pkgsrc and NixOS

pkgsrc 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 seems to be a lot more popular than pkgsrc. While we know about 246 links to NixOS, we've tracked only 8 mentions of pkgsrc. 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.

pkgsrc mentions (8)

  • Installing packages without an internet connection?
    It seems according to pkgsrc.org that pkgin might follow the PKG_PATH environment variable. You're supposed to set PKG_PATH="http://cdn.NetBSD.org/pub/pkgsrc/packages/NetBSD/$(uname -p)/$(uname -r|cut -f '1 2' -d.)/All/", and according to uname(1), -p gives the processor architecture and -r gives the operating system [kernel] release. Source: about 1 year ago
  • pkgsrc.se is no more :(
    It seems like pkgsrc.org hasn’t got the news yet. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Slackware 15.0
    I still have a Slackware install that runs some really old stuff I have. I remember working at AN ISP in the 90s and slack was are secure distro. All the important stuff (authentication, configs, etc.) were stored and served from our 'slack pool'. Funny part is now I do a very basic Slackware install that setup pkgsrc (https://pkgsrc.org) on it so I can really experience the best and worst of times! - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Cross-platform package management: Comprehensive comparison of Pkgsrc and Ravenports article published
    Today the second article on cross-platform package management has been published. It features a short description of what Pkgsrc and Ravenports are and a longer part on how they compare. The test environment and procedure is covered and of course the results are presented. At the end a conclusion is drawn. Source: over 2 years ago
  • First article on cross-platform package management published
    The second one will contain the results of our two months evaluation of Pkgsrc on multiple platforms and a comparison with Ravenports. Source: over 2 years 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 / 5 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 / 10 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 / 19 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 / 20 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 / about 1 month ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing pkgsrc and NixOS, you can also consider the following products

Conda - Binary package manager with support for environments.

GNU Guix - Like Nix but GNU.

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

MacPorts - The MacPorts Project is an open-source community initiative to design an easy-to-use system for compiling, installing, and upgrading either command-line, X11 or Aqua based open-source software on the Mac OS X operating system.

Chocolatey - The sane way to manage software on Windows.

Portage - Portage is source-based package manager used by Gentoo and its descendants. It controls all process from fetching source through building it, installing into clean environment to "merging" with already installed software.