How To Test A Package Without Installing It In Linux

For some reason, you might want to test a package before installing it in your Linux system. If so, you're lucky! Today, I will show you how to do it in Linux using Nix package manager. One of the notable feature of Nix package manager is it allows the users to test the packages without having to install them first. This can be helpful when you want to use a particular application temporarily.

Test A Package Without Installing It In Linux

Make sure you have installed Nix package manager first. If you haven't installed it yet, refer the following guide.

• Nix – A Powerful Package Manager For Linux And Unix

For instance, let us say you want to test your C++ code. You don't have to install GCC. Just run the following command:

$ nix-shell -p gcc

This command builds or downloads gcc package and its dependencies, then drops you into a Bash shell where the gcc command is present, all without affecting your normal environment.

 LANGUAGE = (unset),
LC_ALL = (unset),
LANG = "en_US.UTF-8"
are supported and installed on your system.
perl: warning: Falling back to the standard locale ("C").
download-using-manifests.pl: perl: warning: Setting locale failed.
download-using-manifests.pl: perl: warning: Please check that your locale settings:
download-using-manifests.pl: LANGUAGE = (unset),
download-using-manifests.pl: LC_ALL = (unset),
download-using-manifests.pl: LANG = "en_US.UTF-8"
download-using-manifests.pl: are supported and installed on your system.
download-using-manifests.pl: perl: warning: Falling back to the standard locale ("C").
download-from-binary-cache.pl: perl: warning: Setting locale failed.
download-from-binary-cache.pl: perl: warning: Please check that your locale settings:
download-from-binary-cache.pl: LANGUAGE = (unset),
download-from-binary-cache.pl: LC_ALL = (unset),
download-from-binary-cache.pl: LANG = "en_US.UTF-8"

[...]

fetching path ‘/nix/store/6mk1s81va81dl4jfbhww86cwkl4gyf4j-stdenv’...
perl: warning: Setting locale failed.
perl: warning: Please check that your locale settings:
LANGUAGE = (unset),
LC_ALL = (unset),
LANG = "en_US.UTF-8"
are supported and installed on your system.
perl: warning: Falling back to the standard locale ("C").

*** Downloading ‘https://cache.nixos.org/nar/0aznfg1g17a8jdzvnp3pqszs9rq2wiwf2rcgczyg5b3k6d0iricl.nar.xz’ to ‘/nix/store/6mk1s81va81dl4jfbhww86cwkl4gyf4j-stdenv’...
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 8324 100 8324 0 0 6353 0 0:00:01 0:00:01 --:--:-- 6373

[nix-shell:~]$

Check the GCC version:

[nix-shell:~]$ gcc -v
Using built-in specs.
COLLECT_GCC=/nix/store/dyj2k6ch35r1ips4vr97md2i0yvl4r5c-gcc-5.4.0/bin/gcc
COLLECT_LTO_WRAPPER=/nix/store/dyj2k6ch35r1ips4vr97md2i0yvl4r5c-gcc-5.4.0/libexec/gcc/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/5.4.0/lto-wrapper
Target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
Configured with: 
Thread model: posix
gcc version 5.4.0 (GCC)

Now, go ahead and test the code. Once you are done, type exit to return back to your console.

[nix-shell:~]$ exit
exit

Once you are exit from the nix-shell, you can't use GCC.

Here is another example.

$ nix-shell -p hello

This builds or downloads GNU Hello and its dependencies, then drops you into a Bash shell where the hello command is present, all without affecting your normal environment:

[nix-shell:~]$ hello
Hello, world!

Type exit to return back to the console.

[nix-shell:~]$ exit

Now test if hello program is available or not.

$ hello 
hello: command not found

For more details about Nix package manager, refer the following guide.

• Getting Started With Nix Package Manager