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AEduardo-dev/flk

Flakes development environments management tool
Source code at GitHub null
AEduardo-dev/flk.json
{
  "createdAt": "2025-10-24T09:55:00Z",
  "defaultBranch": "main",
  "description": "Flakes development environments management tool",
  "fullName": "AEduardo-dev/flk",
  "homepage": null,
  "language": "Rust",
  "name": "flk",
  "pushedAt": "2026-01-19T15:39:58Z",
  "stargazersCount": 6,
  "topics": [],
  "updatedAt": "2026-01-18T16:15:47Z",
  "url": "https://github.com/AEduardo-dev/flk"
}

flk 🚀

Section titled “flk 🚀”

A modern CLI tool for managing Nix flake development environments with the simplicity of Devbox

Crates.io License: MIT Rust

flk makes managing Nix flakes feel like using a package manager. No more manually editing flake.nix files—just use simple commands to add packages, create custom shell commands, and manage your development environment with ease.

✨ Features

Section titled “✨ Features”
  • 🎯 Smart Initialization - Auto-detects your project type (Rust, Python, Node.js, Go) and creates the right template
  • 🔍 Package Search - Search nixpkgs directly from your terminal
  • 📦 Easy Package Management - Add and remove packages with simple commands
  • ⚡ Custom Shell Commands - Define reusable commands for your development workflow
  • 🌍 Environment Variables - Manage environment variables through the CLI
  • 🔒 Lock File Management - View, backup, and restore your flake.lock with ease
  • 🎨 Language Templates - Pre-configured templates for popular languages and frameworks

📦 Installation

Section titled “📦 Installation”

Upgrading to v0.5.0 (switch/refresh changes)

Section titled “Upgrading to v0.5.0 (switch/refresh changes)”

WARNING (pre v0.5.0 users): If you are using flk < v0.5.0 and you run flk update / nix flake update, your devshell switch / refresh behavior may break because the nix-profile-lib input may update to a newer version with different activation semantics.

If you intend to stay on flk < v0.5.0, use one of these options:

  1. Do not update flake inputs. Avoid running flk update or nix flake update. If you already did, restore a previous lockfile backup with:

    Terminal window
    flk lock restore <BACKUP>

  2. Pin nix-profile-lib to v0.1.0. In your flake.nix:

    inputs = {
      nix-profile-lib.url = "github:AEduardo-dev/nix-profile-lib?ref=v0.1.0";
    };

    Then update the lock entry:

    Terminal window
    nix flake lock --update-input nix-profile-lib

    (or nix flake update --update-input nix-profile-lib)

Once you upgrade to flk v0.5.0+, this restriction is lifted.

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • Nix with flakes enabled
    • We recommend the Lix package manager for easy Nix installation: Lix since it comes with flakes enabled by default.
    • Or using the Determinate System installer: Determinate, as it provides a user-friendly way to install (and uninstall) Nix.
  • Rust 1.83+ (if building from source)

From Source

Section titled “From Source”
Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/AEduardo-dev/flk.git
cd flk
cargo build --release
sudo cp target/release/flk /usr/local/bin/

From Cargo

Section titled “From Cargo”
Terminal window
cargo install flk

🚀 Quick Start

Section titled “🚀 Quick Start”

1. Initialize Your Project

Section titled “1. Initialize Your Project”
Terminal window
# Auto-detect project type and create flake.nix
flk init


# Or specify a template
flk init --template rust
flk init --template python
flk init --template node
flk init --template go

Supported auto-detection:

  • Cargo.toml → Rust template
  • package.json → Node.js template
  • pyproject.toml or requirements.txt → Python template
  • go.mod → Go template

2. Add Packages

Section titled “2. Add Packages”
Terminal window
# Search for packages
flk search ripgrep


# Get detailed package info and versions
flk deep-search ripgrep


# Add packages to your environment
flk add ripgrep
flk add git
flk add neovim


# Or add pinned versions
flk add ripgrep --version '15.1.0'
flk add git --version '2.42.0'

3. Add Custom Commands

Section titled “3. Add Custom Commands”
Terminal window
# Add inline commands
flk command add test "cargo test --all"
flk command add dev "npm run dev"

4. Manage Environment Variables

Section titled “4. Manage Environment Variables”
Terminal window
# Add environment variables
flk env add DATABASE_URL "postgresql://localhost/mydb"
flk env add API_KEY "your-api-key"


# List all environment variables
flk env list


# Remove an environment variable
flk env remove API_KEY

5. Enter Your Development Environment

Section titled “5. Enter Your Development Environment”
Terminal window
flk activate

Your custom commands and environment variables will be automatically available!

6. Generate completions

Section titled “6. Generate completions”
Terminal window
# Generates the completion file and prints it
flk completions


# Install the generated completions to the detected shell
flk completions --install

Follow the instructions after the command to make the completions available for you.

7. Attach to your direnv (optional)

Section titled “7. Attach to your direnv (optional)”

If you use direnv, you can set it up to automatically load your flk environment when you enter the project directory.

Terminal window
# Generates a .envrc file for direnv with use flake command
flk direnv init


#or


# Add the direnv hook to an existing project
flk direnv attach

if you ever want to detach the direnv hook, you can run:

Terminal window
flk direnv detach

8. Switch / Refresh your environment

Section titled “8. Switch / Refresh your environment”
Terminal window
switch <profile_name>  # Switch to a different profile_name
refresh                # Refresh the current profile (useful after modifying the environment)

📖 Command Reference

Section titled “📖 Command Reference”

Project Management

Section titled “Project Management”

flk init [OPTIONS]

Section titled “flk init [OPTIONS]”

Initialize a new flake.nix in the current directory.

Options:

  • -t, --template <TYPE> - Project type: rust, python, node, go, or generic
  • -f, --force - Overwrite existing flake.nix

Examples:

Terminal window
flk init                    # Auto-detect project type
flk init --template rust    # Use Rust template
flk init --force            # Overwrite existing flake.nix

flk activate

Section titled “flk activate”

Activate the nix shell for the current shell session. This command sets up the necessary environment for your project based on the flake.nix configuration. It also installs some convenience features, such as a shell hook to refresh.

Future implementations will include the option to activate specific profiles.

flk show

Section titled “flk show”

Display the contents and configuration of your flake.nix in a human-readable format.

Terminal window
flk show

flk list

Section titled “flk list”

List all packages in your development environment.

Terminal window
flk list

Package Management

Section titled “Package Management”

flk search <QUERY> [OPTIONS]

Section titled “flk search <QUERY> [OPTIONS]”

Search for packages in nixpkgs.

Options:

  • -l, --limit <NUMBER> - Limit number of results (default: 10)

Examples:

Terminal window
flk search ripgrep
flk search python --limit 20

flk deep-search <PACKAGE> [OPTIONS]

Section titled “flk deep-search <PACKAGE> [OPTIONS]”

Get detailed information about a specific package.

Examples:

Terminal window
flk deep-search ripgrep
flk deep-search python311
```


#### `flk add <PACKAGE>`


Add a package to your `flake.nix`.


**Examples:**


```bash
flk add ripgrep
flk add git
flk add nodejs

Or add a specific version:

Terminal window
flk add ripgrep --version '15.1.0'
flk add git --version '2.42.0'

flk remove <PACKAGE>

Section titled “flk remove <PACKAGE>”

Remove a package from your flake.nix.

Examples:

Terminal window
flk remove ripgrep

Custom Commands

Section titled “Custom Commands”

flk command add <NAME> <COMMAND> [OPTIONS]

Section titled “flk command add <NAME> <COMMAND> [OPTIONS]”

Add a custom shell command to your development environment.

Examples:

Terminal window
# Inline command
flk command add test "cargo test --all"
flk command add dev "npm run dev -- --watch"


# Multi-line command
flk command add deploy "cargo build --release && scp target/release/app server:/opt/"

Command naming rules:

  • Must contain only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores
  • Cannot start with a hyphen
  • Examples: test, dev-server, build_prod

flk command remove <NAME>

Section titled “flk command remove <NAME>”

Remove a custom command from your dev shell.

Examples:

Terminal window
flk command remove test

Environment Variables

Section titled “Environment Variables”

flk env add <NAME> <VALUE>

Section titled “flk env add <NAME> <VALUE>”

Add an environment variable to your dev shell.

Examples:

Terminal window
flk env add DATABASE_URL "postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb"
flk env add NODE_ENV "development"
flk env add API_KEY "sk-..."

Variable naming rules:

  • Must start with a letter or underscore
  • Can only contain letters, numbers, and underscores
  • Examples: MY_VAR, _private, API_KEY_2

flk env remove <NAME>

Section titled “flk env remove <NAME>”

Remove an environment variable from your dev shell.

Examples:

Terminal window
flk env remove DATABASE_URL

flk env list

Section titled “flk env list”

List all environment variables in your dev shell.

Terminal window
flk env list

Lock File Management

Section titled “Lock File Management”

flk lock show

Section titled “flk lock show”

Display detailed information about your flake.lock file.

Terminal window
flk lock show

flk lock history

Section titled “flk lock history”

Show backup history of your lock file.

Terminal window
flk lock history

flk lock restore <BACKUP>

Section titled “flk lock restore <BACKUP>”

Restore a previous version of your lock file.

Examples:

Terminal window
flk lock restore latest                    # Restore most recent backup
flk lock restore 2025-01-27_14-30-00      # Restore specific backup

Updates

Section titled “Updates”

flk update [OPTIONS]

Section titled “flk update [OPTIONS]”

Update all flake inputs to their latest versions.

Options:

  • --show - Preview updates without applying them

Examples:

Terminal window
flk update              # Update all inputs
flk update --show       # Preview available updates

Note: A backup of your flake.lock is automatically created before updating.

Exports

Section titled “Exports”

flk export --format <FORMAT> [OPTIONS]

Section titled “flk export --format <FORMAT> [OPTIONS]”

Export the current flake configuration to different formats. Options:

  • --format <FORMAT> - Export format: docker, podman, json

Examples:

Terminal window
flk export --format docker     # Export as Dockerfile
flk export --format podman     # Export as Podmanfile
flk export --format json       # Export as JSON

Direnv Integration

Section titled “Direnv Integration”

flk direnv init

Section titled “flk direnv init”

Generate a .envrc file for direnv with use flake command.

Terminal window
flk direnv init

flk direnv attach

Section titled “flk direnv attach”

Add the direnv hook to an existing project.

Terminal window
flk direnv attach

flk direnv detach

Section titled “flk direnv detach”

Remove the direnv hook from the project.

Terminal window
flk direnv detach

💡 Usage Examples

Section titled “💡 Usage Examples”

Python Data Science Environment

Section titled “Python Data Science Environment”
Terminal window
flk init --template python
flk add python312Packages.numpy
flk add python312Packages.pandas
flk add python312Packages.matplotlib
flk add jupyter


flk command add notebook "jupyter notebook --port=8888"
flk env add JUPYTER_CONFIG_DIR "./.jupyter"


flk activate
notebook  # Your custom command is ready!

Rust Web Development

Section titled “Rust Web Development”
Terminal window
flk init --template rust
flk add postgresql
flk add redis


flk command add dev "cargo watch -x run"
flk command add migrate "sqlx migrate run"
flk env add DATABASE_URL "postgresql://localhost/myapp"


flk activate
dev      # Start development server with auto-reload
migrate  # Run database migrations

Node.js Full-Stack Project

Section titled “Node.js Full-Stack Project”
Terminal window
flk init --template node
flk add postgresql
flk add docker-compose


flk command add dev "npm run dev"
flk command add db "docker-compose up -d postgres"
flk env add NODE_ENV "development"


flk activate
db   # Start database
dev  # Start development server

Go Microservice

Section titled “Go Microservice”
Terminal window
flk init --template go
flk add protobuf
flk add grpcurl


flk command add build "go build -o bin/service ./cmd/service"
flk command add proto "protoc --go_out=. --go-grpc_out=. api/*.proto"
flk env add GO_ENV "development"


flk activate
proto  # Generate protobuf code
build  # Build the service

🛠️ Development

Section titled “🛠️ Development”

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • Rust 1.83+
  • Nix with flakes enabled

Building

Section titled “Building”
Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/AEduardo-dev/flk.git
cd flk
cargo build

Running Tests

Section titled “Running Tests”
Terminal window
# Run all tests
cargo test


# Run unit tests only
cargo test --test unit_tests


# Run integration tests only
cargo test --test integration_tests


# Run with output
cargo test -- --nocapture


# Run a specific test
cargo test test_name

The test suite includes comprehensive unit tests for the parser, generator, and interface modules, as well as integration tests covering the complete CLI workflow including the dendritic . flk/profiles/ architecture.

Installing Locally

Section titled “Installing Locally”
Terminal window
cargo install --path .

🏗️ Project Structure

Section titled “🏗️ Project Structure”
 .
├──  Cargo.lock
├──  Cargo.toml
├──  CHANGELOG.md
├──  cliff.toml
├──  CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
├──  CONTRIBUTING.md
├──  dist-workspace.toml
├──  flake.lock
├──  flake.nix
├──  LICENSE
├── 󰂺 README.md
├──  release-plz.toml
├── 󰣞 src
│   ├──  commands
│   │   ├──  activate.rs
│   │   ├──  add.rs
│   │   ├──  command.rs
│   │   ├──  completions.rs
│   │   ├──  direnv.rs
│   │   ├──  env.rs
│   │   ├──  export.rs
│   │   ├──  init.rs
│   │   ├──  list.rs
│   │   ├──  lock.rs
│   │   ├──  mod.rs
│   │   ├──  remove.rs
│   │   ├──  search.rs
│   │   ├──  show.rs
│   │   └──  update.rs
│   ├──  flake
│   │   ├──  generator.rs
│   │   ├──  interfaces
│   │   │   ├──  mod.rs
│   │   │   ├──  overlays.rs
│   │   │   ├──  profiles.rs
│   │   │   ├──  shellhooks.rs
│   │   │   └──  utils.rs
│   │   ├──  mod.rs
│   │   ├──  nix_render.rs
│   │   └──  parsers
│   │       ├──  commands.rs
│   │       ├──  env.rs
│   │       ├──  flake.rs
│   │       ├──  mod.rs
│   │       ├──  overlays.rs
│   │       ├──  packages.rs
│   │       └──  utils.rs
│   ├──  lib.rs
│   ├──  main.rs
│   ├──  nix
│   │   └──  mod.rs
│   └──  utils
│       ├──  backup.rs
│       ├──  mod.rs
│       └──  visual.rs
├──  templates
│   ├──  default.nix
│   ├──  flake.nix
│   ├──  overlays.nix
│   ├──  pins.nix
│   └──  profiles
│       ├──  base.nix
│       ├──  default.nix
│       ├──  go.nix
│       ├──  node.nix
│       ├──  python.nix
│       └──  rust.nix
├──  tests
│   ├──  flake_tests.nix
│   ├──  integration_tests.rs
│   ├──  pins_tests.nix
│   ├──  profile_tests.nix
│   └──  unit_tests.rs
└──  wix
    └──  main.wxs

🗺️ Roadmap

Section titled “🗺️ Roadmap”

Roadmap

🤝 Contributing

Section titled “🤝 Contributing”

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

How to Contribute

Section titled “How to Contribute”
  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
  3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
  4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
  5. Open a Pull Request

🐛 Bug Reports

Section titled “🐛 Bug Reports”

If you find a bug, please open an issue with:

  • A clear description of the problem
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Expected vs actual behavior
  • Your environment (OS, Nix version, etc.)

🔗 Related Projects

Section titled “🔗 Related Projects”
  • Devbox - Instant, portable dev environments (inspiration for flk)
  • devenv - Fast, declarative developer environments
  • Flox - Developer environments you can take with you
  • direnv - Shell extension for loading environments

📄 License

Section titled “📄 License”

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE]!(LICENSE) file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Section titled “🙏 Acknowledgments”
  • The Nix community for creating an amazing ecosystem
  • Jetify for the Devbox inspiration and showing what’s possible
  • All contributors and users of flk
  • Special mention to @vic for creating nix-versions

📞 Support

Section titled “📞 Support”
  • 📧 Open an issue for bug reports or feature requests
  • 💬 Start a discussion for questions or ideas
  • ⭐ Star the repository if you find it useful!

Made with ❤️ by AEduardo-dev

Note: This project is under active development. While all core features are implemented and working, some advanced features are still in progress and will be subject to change.