nix-profile

Nix Profile

Manage Nix profiles using the modern nix profile command (experimental, replaces nix-env).

Overview

nix profile is the modern, flake-native way to manage Nix profiles. It replaces the older nix-env command with a more intuitive interface built around flakes.

Warning: Once you use nix profile, you cannot use nix-env on the same profile without first deleting it.

Profile Location

Profiles are stored at:

• $XDG_STATE_HOME/nix/profiles/profile (default for regular users)
• $NIX_STATE_DIR/profiles/per-user/root/profile (for root)

The active profile is symlinked at:

• ~/.nix-profile (traditional)
• $XDG_STATE_HOME/nix/profile (if use-xdg-base-directories is enabled)

Commands

Install a package

nix profile add nixpkgs#hello
nix profile add nixpkgs/release-23.11#hello
nix profile add nixpkgs/d73407e8e6002646acfdef0e39ace088bacc83da#hello
nix profile add nixpkgs#bash^man          # specific output

Alias: nix profile install (same as add)

List installed packages

nix profile list

Shows:

• Name (used for remove/upgrade)
• Flake attribute path
• Original and locked flake URLs
• Store paths

Remove packages

nix profile remove hello                  # by name
nix profile remove --all                  # remove everything
nix profile remove --regex '.*vim.*'      # by regex
nix profile remove /nix/store/...-hello   # by store path

Upgrade packages

nix profile upgrade hello                 # upgrade specific package
nix profile upgrade --all                 # upgrade everything
nix profile upgrade --regex '.*vim.*'     # upgrade matching packages

Note: Only works with unlocked flake references (e.g., nixpkgs#hello). Locked references (full git rev) won't upgrade.

View profile history

nix profile history

Shows changes between profile versions (additions, removals, upgrades).

Roll back changes

nix profile rollback                      # roll back to previous version
nix profile rollback --to 510             # roll back to specific version

Show closure differences

nix profile diff-closures

Shows detailed differences between profile versions including all dependencies.

Clean up old versions

nix profile wipe-history                  # delete all non-current versions
nix profile wipe-history --older-than 30d # delete versions older than 30 days
nix profile wipe-history --dry-run        # preview what would be deleted

Common Options

• --profile /path/to/profile - operate on a custom profile path
• --priority N - set package priority (lower = higher priority)
• --dry-run - show what would happen without making changes

Migration from nix-env

If you need to go back to nix-env:

# Warning: this deletes all installed packages
rm -rf "${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}/nix/profiles/profile"

Key Differences from nix-env

Filesystem Layout

~/.local/state/nix/profiles/
├── profile -> profile-7-link                    # current profile symlink
├── profile-5-link -> /nix/store/...-profile     # old version
├── profile-6-link -> /nix/store/...-profile     # old version
└── profile-7-link -> /nix/store/...-profile     # current version

Each profile version contains:

• bin/ - symlinks to installed package binaries
• share/ - shared files
• manifest.json - profile manifest