Use different version of nixpkgs for nixvim

[gbrls]

Hey folks, is there a way to use nixvim unstable in a nixos using nixpkgs for 23.11?

I don't want to turn my whole system to use the unstable branch, but I want to have the latest version of nixvim since a few features that I'm interested are only available for unstable: (obsidian plugin, gleam support).

Thanks in advance :)

[MattSturgeon]

IMO the best way to do this is using nixvim's "standalone" mode.

In this mode, you can use a nixvim conifg to build a custom (wrapped) neovim package using whatever nixpkgs channel you like. Ideally you'd follow the nixpkgs channel used in the nixvim branch you're using.

That custom nvim package can the be a flake output, and/or included in home.packages, environment.systemPackages, users.users.<name>.packages, etc.

See Installation (Standalone usage) and standalone Usage in the docs.

[gbrls]

Thanks, this worked like a charm! One issue that I have now is that I'm using this config in multiple computers but I want to add an input the standalone nixvim to optionally disable a set of plugins, but since it's a flake there doesn't seem to be a way to do this.

[MattSturgeon]

Essentially, you want to build multiple nvim packages.

You could either

• Use a common config but pass in extraSpecialArgs to makeNivxmiWithModule, with different values for each variant.
• Build a standard nvim with one config, then extend it with additional config using <derivation>.nixvimExtend.

When you're done, your flake would output multiple nvim-* packages for you to choose from in your system configs.

You could name them something like nvim-minimal, nvim-standard, nvim-extra or whatever you like.

You could also use nixvimExtend directly in your system config if the extra config is specific to that system and you won't need that nvim variant elsewhere.