nix-binary-base-packing-creator

English | 中文

A portable Agent Skill that turns "build locally → package with Nix → usable in seconds" into a repeatable workflow. Core principle: Nix packages, it doesn't compile.

Language-agnostic (Rust / Go / Node / Python / C / C++ / Tauri ...) — as long as your machine can produce an executable artifact: a single-file binary, or an interpreter-based app you've already "single-filed" locally (bun compile, Node SEA, PyInstaller onedir, ...).

What it does

Given a packaging request — "package this binary into my system", "write a default.nix", "nix 打包" (the skill responds in both Chinese and English; see SKILL.md for the full trigger list) — the agent generates a binary-base default.nix — a stdenv.mkDerivation that skips every build phase and copies your locally built artifact into $out via a path literal:

{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
  pname = "myapp";
  version = "0.1.0";

  src = null;
  unpackPhase = "true";
  buildPhase = "true";

  installPhase = ''
    runHook preInstall
    mkdir -p $out/bin
    cp ${./target/release/myapp} $out/bin/myapp
    runHook postInstall
  '';
}

Then nix-build && nix profile install ./result puts the command on your PATH in seconds — no compilation, no dependency hashes, no source builds.

Highlights

• Artifact triage first — file + readelf -l | grep interp + ldd, then pick from four artifact types (static / store-linked / foreign dynamic / interpreted). The template is chosen by ELF shape, not by language.
• 4 battle-tested templates: basic, GUI (wrapGAppsHook3), foreign/prebuilt (autoPatchelfHook), interpreted scripts (patchShebangs + wrapProgram).
• Real-incident troubleshooting guide — every entry from actual failures (ldd not found, GLIBC mismatch, bun artifacts can't be stripped, PyInstaller --onefile, NSS fallback, dlopen-ed libs, non-ASCII paths, ...).
• Honest, scoped positioning — a fast-and-dirty local tool: not reproducible builds, not nixpkgs material. If you need those, the skill says so and points you to the source-build functions.

Install

Clone (or copy) the repo into your agent's skills directory:

git clone https://github.com/PAKIKNOWLEDGE/skill-nix-binary-base-packing-creator

Then place the folder per your tool's convention. The SKILL.md convention is agent-agnostic — anything that supports SKILL.md can use it:

Tool	Typical location
Claude Code	~/.claude/skills/<name>/
Cline / Roo Code / OpenCode / Zed / Cursor / Codex / Windsurf	SKILL.md-compatible; see each tool's docs for its skills directory

Repository layout

.
├── SKILL.md                     # Skill instructions — the full workflow the agent follows
├── README.md                    # This file (English)
├── README.zh-CN.md              # 中文版
├── LICENSE                      # MIT
└── references/
    ├── template-basic.nix       # static / store-linked binaries (CLI/TUI)
    ├── template-gui.nix         # GUI apps (GTK/Qt/Tauri/webview)
    ├── template-patchelf.nix    # foreign / prebuilt / closed-source binaries
    ├── template-interpreter.nix # interpreted scripts & multi-file artifacts
    └── troubleshooting.md       # symptom → fix, all from real incidents

Requirements

• Nix (NixOS, or any distro with nix) with a local nixpkgs
• The artifact already built on this machine (cargo build --release / go build / bun build --compile ...) — the skill packages what you have; rebuilding after a machine switch or a clean checkout is on you
• Intended for personal, local, single-architecture use

Full instructions

The complete workflow — artifact triage, template decision tree, language cheat-sheet, key rules, install guidance — lives in SKILL.md and references/troubleshooting.md. This README only introduces the skill; the agent reads SKILL.md for the how-to.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.