Nix Installation

The recommended way to run Bot with Nix is via nix-bot — a batteries-included Home Manager module.

Quick Start

Paste this to your AI agent (Claude, Cursor, etc.):

I want to set up nix-bot on my Mac.
Repository: github:bot/nix-bot

What I need you to do:
1. Check if Determinate Nix is installed (if not, install it)
2. Create a local flake at ~/code/bot-local using templates/agent-first/flake.nix
3. Help me create a Telegram bot (@BotFather) and get my chat ID (@userinfobot)
4. Set up secrets (bot token, Anthropic key) - plain files at ~/.secrets/ is fine
5. Fill in the template placeholders and run home-manager switch
6. Verify: launchd running, bot responds to messages

Reference the nix-bot README for module options.

What you get

• Gateway + macOS app + tools (whisper, spotify, cameras) — all pinned
• Launchd service that survives reboots
• Plugin system with declarative config
• Instant rollback: home-manager switch --rollback

Nix Mode Runtime Behavior

When BOT_NIX_MODE=1 is set (automatic with nix-bot):

Bot supports a Nix mode that makes configuration deterministic and disables auto-install flows. Enable it by exporting:

BOT_NIX_MODE=1

On macOS, the GUI app does not automatically inherit shell env vars. You can also enable Nix mode via defaults:

defaults write com.bot.mac bot.nixMode -bool true

Config + state paths

Bot reads JSON5 config from BOT_CONFIG_PATH and stores mutable data in BOT_STATE_DIR.

• BOT_STATE_DIR (default: ~/.bot)
• BOT_CONFIG_PATH (default: $BOT_STATE_DIR/bot.json)

When running under Nix, set these explicitly to Nix-managed locations so runtime state and config stay out of the immutable store.

Runtime behavior in Nix mode

• Auto-install and self-mutation flows are disabled
• Missing dependencies surface Nix-specific remediation messages
• UI surfaces a read-only Nix mode banner when present

Packaging note (macOS)

The macOS packaging flow expects a stable Info.plist template at:

apps/macos/Sources/Bot/Resources/Info.plist

scripts/package-mac-app.sh copies this template into the app bundle and patches dynamic fields (bundle ID, version/build, Git SHA, Sparkle keys). This keeps the plist deterministic for SwiftPM packaging and Nix builds (which do not rely on a full Xcode toolchain).

Related

• nix-bot — full setup guide
• Wizard — non-Nix CLI setup
• Docker — containerized setup