Setup a default package environment for nix-shell

1

I am adding some locally produced packages to the set of packages available in nix. I have written a default.nix file that has the new packages, one is called “uts”. I write a shell.nix file like this:

{ pkgs ? import (fetchGit { url = “git@gitlab.eng.vmware.com:vdm/nixpkgs.git”; ref = “main”; })

}:

pkgs.mkShell {
buildInputs = [
pkgs.nodejs_18
pkgs.yarn
pkgs.bazelisk
pkgs.bazel_5
pkgs.which
pkgs.docker
pkgs.python39
pkgs.git
pkgs.darwin.sigtool
pkgs.uts
];
}

This works great to get the uts package - it is found no problem. However when I use:

nix-shell -p uts

From the same directory it fails to find the uts derivation, it is not using the import from my shell.nix file:

   error: undefined variable 'uts'

   at «string»:1:107:

        1| {...}@args: with import <nixpkgs> args; (pkgs.runCommandCC or pkgs.runCommand) "shell" { buildInputs = [ (uts) ]; } ""

How can I fix this problem?