# DavHau/nix-portable

Nix - Static, Permissionless, Installation-free, Pre-configured

Repository: https://github.com/DavHau/nix-portable
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/nix-portable
Language: Nix
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: nix, proot, bwrap, namespaces, portable, nixos, package-manager, package-management, bubblewrap, permissionless
Last push: 2026-08-24T00:48:12+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2032, "days_push": 10, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1383, forks 67 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:34.509522+00:00)

## What it is
nix-portable is a static, self-contained executable that lets users run the Nix package manager on any Linux distribution without root privileges, installation, or configuration. It also supports bundling arbitrary Nix-packaged software into single static executables that run anywhere.

## Use cases
- use nix on a linux system without root access
- try nix without installing it on my machine
- run htop without installing it
- create a temporary dev environment with multiple tools
- bundle a python app with dependencies into a single executable
- ship software that runs on any linux distribution
- use nix in a restricted corporate environment

## When to choose
- you need Nix on a system where you lack root or cannot modify the OS
- you want to distribute software as a single static binary that works across Linux distros
- you want to experiment with Nix before committing to a full installation

## When to avoid
- you are on macOS or Windows natively
- you want a fully integrated, multi-user Nix installation with system-level features
- you need NixOS itself rather than the Nix package manager

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: package-manager, cli, developer-tools, container-runtime
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli
- tags: nix, portable, rootless, proot, bubblewrap, user-namespaces, static-executable, no-install, software-bundling, command-line, devops, package-management, linux

## Member repositories
- DavHau/nix-portable (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:34.509522+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:40:00.541245+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/DavHau/nix-portable (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:34.509522+00:00, sha 01c28d90cf87)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.