Re: Is builtins.readFile okay?

Demi Marie Obenour
2025-11-01T18:14:19Z

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On 11/1/25 08:21, Alyssa Ross wrote:
> Demi Marie Obenour <demiobenour@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Is it okay to use builtins.readFile in a Spectrum derivation? If the
>> input is a store path that is Import From Derivation and discouraged,
>> but I don't know if Spectrum's sources will ever be in a store path.
>
> That wouldn't be a problem. readFile is fine in principle, although it
> is rarely what you actually want. There are very few cases where you
> have a string you need at eval time but don't want to inline into a Nix
> file, so if you're reaching for readFile I'd take a step back and think
> about whether there's a better approach.
>
> Where readFile is used in your sysupdate VM, the build configuration
> mechanism[1] might be a better fit, if you don't want to hardcode it.
>
> [1]: https://spectrum-os.org/doc/development/build-configuration.html

readFile is used only to read the version number.
--
Sincerely,
Demi Marie Obenour (she/her/hers)

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