What’s the purpose of the Nix User Repository if anyone can already submit a package to the nixpkgs? I am missing something?
tejing
July 23, 2025, 4:53pm
2
Not everything is accepted in nixpkgs, for various reasons. NUR allows for whatever people consider useful, including variant packaging, packages not meeting nixpkgs requirements, etc.
For example:
master ← leona-ya:push-qyxwwzoklxnp
opened 03:11PM - 25 Jun 25 UTC
Vieb is an electron browser which are unsafe be design due to lack of proper san… dboxing.
Also, it has no commiter among its maintainers, which [is required](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tree/master/pkgs#quick-start-to-adding-a-package).
As a personal note: We won't re-accept this package in Nixpkgs. You can however maintainer this package outside of Nixpkgs.
## Things done
- Built on platform(s)
- [ ] x86_64-linux
- [ ] aarch64-linux
- [ ] x86_64-darwin
- [ ] aarch64-darwin
- For non-Linux: Is sandboxing enabled in `nix.conf`? (See [Nix manual](https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/command-ref/conf-file.html))
- [ ] `sandbox = relaxed`
- [ ] `sandbox = true`
- [ ] Tested, as applicable:
- [NixOS test(s)](https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/unstable/index.html#sec-nixos-tests) (look inside [nixos/tests](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/tests))
- and/or [package tests](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/README.md#package-tests)
- or, for functions and "core" functionality, tests in [lib/tests](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/lib/tests) or [pkgs/test](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/test)
- made sure NixOS tests are [linked](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/README.md#linking-nixos-module-tests-to-a-package) to the relevant packages
- [ ] Tested compilation of all packages that depend on this change using `nix-shell -p nixpkgs-review --run "nixpkgs-review rev HEAD"`. Note: all changes have to be committed, also see [nixpkgs-review usage](https://github.com/Mic92/nixpkgs-review#usage)
- [ ] Tested basic functionality of all binary files (usually in `./result/bin/`)
- [Nixpkgs 25.11 Release Notes](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/doc/release-notes/rl-2511.section.md) (or backporting [24.11](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md) and [25.05](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2505.section.md) Nixpkgs Release notes)
- [ ] (Package updates) Added a release notes entry if the change is major or breaking
- [NixOS 25.11 Release Notes](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2511.section.md) (or backporting [24.11](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2411.section.md) and [25.05](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2505.section.md) NixOS Release notes)
- [ ] (Module updates) Added a release notes entry if the change is significant
- [ ] (Module addition) Added a release notes entry if adding a new NixOS module
- [x] Fits [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md), [pkgs/README.md](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/README.md), [maintainers/README.md](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/maintainers/README.md) and other contributing documentation in corresponding paths.
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I added the repo I made to continue providing the package to NUR.
Though it’s almost as easy, or arguably easier, to just directly use a repo without the layer of indirection from NUR. Regardless, it isn’t a pointless thing to have.
NUR also allows the provider of the code to update it in minutes with no other humans involved, whereas you need to get a committer to get around to merging it to get it in nixpkgs.
4 Likes