nix3-why-depends:tldr:cda86

nix3-why-depends: Show why a package from nixpkgs requires another package as a _build-time_ dependency.

$ nix why-depends --derivation ${nixpkgs#dependent} ${nixpkgs#dependency}

try on your machine

The command "nix why-depends" is used to determine why a certain package is a dependency for another package in the Nix package manager.

Here is a breakdown of the command you provided:

nix why-depends: This is the main command that is used to ask Nix why a package is a dependency of another package.
--derivation: This flag specifies that we want to resolve dependencies based on the derivation, which is a Nix expression that defines how the package is built.
${nixpkgs#dependent}: This is a placeholder that is meant to be replaced with the name of the dependent package. The dependent package is the one that has the dependency on another package.
${nixpkgs#dependency}: This is another placeholder that is meant to be replaced with the name of the dependency package. The dependency package is the one that is required by the dependent package.

So, in summary, the command is asking Nix to determine why the specified dependency package is a dependency for the specified dependent package by looking at their derivations.

This explanation was created by an AI. In most cases those are correct. But please always be careful and never run a command you are not sure if it is safe.

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