# Neovim + Kickstart? without Flakes or Home Manager

**URL:** https://discourse.nixos.org/t/neovim-kickstart-without-flakes-or-home-manager/64327
**Category:** Uncategorized
**Created:** [May 15, 2025, 11:02pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/neovim-kickstart-without-flakes-or-home-manager/64327 "2025-05-15T23:02:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 3

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### Author: ![TLATER](https://discourse.nixos.org/user_avatar/discourse.nixos.org/tlater/32/4257_2.png) [@TLATER](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/TLATER)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/neovim-kickstart-without-flakes-or-home-manager/64327/3 "2025-05-16T02:20:15Z")

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> [@bew](#):
>
> ```auto
> import (builtins.fetchGit {
> url = "https://github.com/nix-community/nixvim";
> # If you are not running an unstable channel of nixpkgs, select the corresponding branch of nixvim.
> # ref = "nixos-24.11";
> });
> 
> ```

Don’t do that. If you’re not setting a hash, nix will fetch this file every time the download cache expires, by default every 2 hours. This kills all the guarantees nix normally gives you. Use `pkgs.fetchFromGitHub` if you must manually manage your inputs, since it refuses to work without a hash.

Alternatively, use [npins](https://github.com/andir/npins) - it literally uses the same mechanism for importing an external project, but gives you a reasonable way to update and prevents rookie mistakes like the one you just made.

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_[View the full topic](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/neovim-kickstart-without-flakes-or-home-manager/64327)._