nix-playgraound/notes/044-non-flake-inputs.md

Non-flake Inputs

This note covers 41-non-flake-inputs/, which declares inputs.releaseData.flake = false; so the input is consumed as raw source instead of as a flake.

---

1. What flake = false Changes

Normally, a flake input is expected to expose outputs. Setting flake = false tells Nix to treat the input as a plain source tree instead.

The example reads that source through self.inputs.releaseData, so it works with files directly instead of importing another flake interface.

---

2. Why This Example Uses a Local Path

The example keeps the source local with:

releaseData = {
  url = "path:./release-data";
  flake = false;
};

That makes the boundary obvious:

• release-data/ has no flake.nix,
• the parent flake reads manifest.json directly, and
• the package is built from values parsed out of that JSON file.

The same pattern works with remote GitHub sources that are not flakes. The important part is flake = false, not the transport.

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3. What the Check Verifies

The check looks at both layers:

• parsed values such as the release name and wave count, and
• the raw JSON text from the input path.

That keeps the example focused on the real distinction: a non-flake input gives you files to read, not outputs to import.

---

4. Commands to Try

cd 41-non-flake-inputs

nix flake metadata
nix build
./result/bin/show-raw-release
nix flake check