# A call for the Nix team to present a unified front on the outcome and strategy around Nix flakes

**URL:** https://discourse.nixos.org/t/a-call-for-the-nix-team-to-present-a-unified-front-on-the-outcome-and-strategy-around-nix-flakes/54959
**Category:** Nix
**Created:** [October 26, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/a-call-for-the-nix-team-to-present-a-unified-front-on-the-outcome-and-strategy-around-nix-flakes/54959 "2024-10-26T00:18:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 196

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### Author: ![Malix](https://discourse.nixos.org/user_avatar/discourse.nixos.org/malix/32/17611_2.png) [@Malix](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/Malix)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/a-call-for-the-nix-team-to-present-a-unified-front-on-the-outcome-and-strategy-around-nix-flakes/54959/196 "2026-01-11T19:40:57Z")

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> [@Experimental does not mean unstable: DetSys's perspective on Nix flakes](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/experimental-does-not-mean-unstable-detsyss-perspective-on-nix-flakes/32703/2):
>
> - The dependency explosion problem. Except that I disagree that the follows mechanism is a good solution for that. It’s a hack and can cause various breakages. We need a version resolver. And no, I will not use your proprietary third-party project to hack around that.
> - Flakes [doesn’t support passing arguments](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/2861) from the CLI. This is a clear downgrade from the stable commands. Eelco keeps saying that [configurable derivations](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/6583) will address this, but it’s just a draft PR so far.
> - The [system parameter](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/3843) having to be passed around is awful and a clear downgrade from stable Nix.
> - The `flake.nix` file [not actually being a proper Nix file](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/4945) is a fundamental design flaw, it’s very inconsistent and leads to surprises, a clear downgrade from stable Nix.
> - Flake sources always being copied into the store for every single change is terrible and a clear downgrade from stable Nix, which supports arbitrary granularity about which files are copied to the store. The [lazy trees PR](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/6530), announced last Nixcon, is meant to address this, but it’s still not done and suffers from various bugs.
> - Evaluation purity and evaluation caching are tightly dependent on Flakes and its references. This should absolutely not be a requirement, Nix code should be able to use these features independently of Flakes. I started a draft for a proposal [here](https://github.com/tweag/epcb) (though I haven’t had the time to make it coherent).

As a current flake user, I wonder how much of those points, if not all, still stand

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