Overriding `doCheck` doesn't work with python package

samuela · August 23, 2021, 10:07pm

I have a simple nix-shell file:

let
  # From https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/134894.
  pkgs = import (fetchTarball("https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/a16117f1c042d4772d750077fa3c21421cf4a199.tar.gz")) {};
in pkgs.mkShell {
  buildInputs = with pkgs; [
    (python3Packages.jax.overrideAttrs (_: { doCheck = false; }))
  ];
}

The tests take a little while to run, so I’d like to skip them for convenience. However overrideAttrs with doCheck = false; doesn’t seem to have any effect… It still runs the test suite.

How can I override the derivation to skip the test suite?

jonringer · August 23, 2021, 11:51pm

You’re looking for overridePythonAttrs, the checkPhase declared in a buildPythonPackage maps to a installCheckPhase in mkDerivation. The reason for this, is that packages with native extensions can only be installed, and are not represented in the build directory.

github.com

NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/53fdb18b411af1c3370c89b5f03615b9ef89dbbd/doc/languages-frameworks/python.section.md#overriding-python-packages-overriding-python-packages

# Python {#python}

## User Guide {#user-guide}

### Using Python {#using-python}

#### Overview {#overview}

Several versions of the Python interpreter are available on Nix, as well as a
high amount of packages. The attribute `python3` refers to the default
interpreter, which is currently CPython 3.9. The attribute `python` refers to
CPython 2.7 for backwards-compatibility. It is also possible to refer to
specific versions, e.g. `python38` refers to CPython 3.8, and `pypy` refers to
the default PyPy interpreter.

Python is used a lot, and in different ways. This affects also how it is
packaged. In the case of Python on Nix, an important distinction is made between
whether the package is considered primarily an application, or whether it should
be used as a library, i.e., of primary interest are the modules in
`site-packages` that should be importable.

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samuela · August 24, 2021, 1:32am

Ah gotcha, thank you! I had no idea about overridePythonAttrs!