Ludovic CourtèsApr 20

Just watched this nice #LixCon2026 talk on Zilch:
https://app.media.ccc.de/v/lixcon-2026-14-using-nix-without-the-nix-a-retrospective-on-zilch

It’s a Scheme interface to talk to the Nix daemon, it has a thing called “z-expressions” to capture context in staged code, client-side build hooks… sounds familiar, we should talk! :-)

Using Nix without the Nix: a Retrospective on Zilch

It's been a while since I last talked about Zilch; and now with Lix's existence, it's time to take another look; what's the status of thi...

systemd-jaded.timerApr 20

my #lixcon2026 talk about build system yuri has been released: https://media.ccc.de/v/lixcon-2026-2-nix-and-buck2-from-enemies-to-lovers-with-snowydeer

slides: https://jade.fyi/lixcon2026

we build #nix store paths entirely outside of nix using deps from nix, then re-import them (with correct deps!) into nix once built. this powers writing a docker image in 6 lines of code without devs touching nix language at all.

you can use a new parameter in #lix 2.95's CLI to import store paths built by other build systems like we're doing, using `nix store add-path --references-list-json`.
happy yuri!

Nix and buck2: from enemies to lovers with snowydeer

media.ccc.de
rootileApr 19
OH: "all the good things come from the netherlands: Stroopwafels, Python, Eelco Dolstra"
#lixcon2026
Show threadSimon TournierApr 17

The politics of language design by Pierre-Étienne Meunier in #LixCon2026

« Create your own language only if you need something new in language design »

« OCaml already exists and is the best language for that particular job »

Yeah, I would have loved instead of Nix language 😱 and Guix Scheme DSL 🤨 to have OCaml. 🤩

5/6

Show threadSimon TournierApr 17

The politics of language design by Pierre-Étienne Meunier in #LixCon2026

« Fake supply chain security, even worse than no supply chain security at all? »

…Yeah:

2. Guix/Nix packages stuff: it means it provides tooling for auditing and verifying if the binary matches the identified source; and for the whole chain of dependencies. But there is no guarantee it’s fully error-free – we’re able to point where the error if any comes from. It’s already a lot!

Guix is like the indian Dabbawala service using “barecodes” everywhere. It doesn’t prevent stories as The Lunchbox. 😉

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabbawala
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lunchbox
4/6

Dabbawala - Wikipedia

Show threadSimon TournierApr 17

The politics of language design by Pierre-Étienne Meunier in #LixCon2026

« Fake supply chain security, even worse than no supply chain security at all? »

…Yeah:

1. The builds aren’t guaranteed reproducible by design, I mean, it’s the exactly same as Debian, etc. About Nix I don’t know the details, please read Nix’s expert @luj blog post: https://luj.fr/blog/is-nixos-truly-reproducible.html

About Guix, it’s currently poorly monitored, to my knowledge.

3/6

Is NixOS truly reproducible?

Build reproducibility is often considered as a de facto feature provided by functional package managers like Nix. Although the functional package manager model...

luj.fr
Show threadSimon TournierApr 17

The politics of language design by Pierre-Étienne Meunier in #LixCon2026

« Fake supply chain security, even worse than no supply chain security at all? »

Indeed, it’s a question for #Nix and #Guix. Yeah 1. … and then 2. …

2/6

Simon TournierApr 17

« The politics of language design » by Pierre-Étienne Meunier

🤔 and again 🤔

Although, I’m not sure to follow the “stir up a hornet's nest”, the talk raises some core questions about governance or the social impact of technical choices.

Damned, I’m sad that although living in Paris my schedule hasn’t let me the opportunity for attending to #LixCon2026 in Paris. Next time, maybe…

1/6