4.3 KiB
Tools for running builds using Nix in a monorepo.
Goal: Using one coherent build tool, I can develop multiple projects with common dependencies.
Background
I do a lot of Rust development. I also like to attach other programming languages so that I can, for instance, write a go application that works in a web browser. And, I tend to work in a monorepo, because that helps me keep all of my disparate interests somewhat in sync with one another.
Finally, I use Nix to manage my development tools.
However, what I cannot do is use Nix to actually build my projects. Most of my projects, admittedly, are Rust projects and so they are pretty easily built with a simple Cargo.toml. However, as soon as I want to do something complicated, such as a web application, I have to dig extensively to find documentation on how to actually lay out the application and get all of the tools in place. Plus, I have to use a different build tool and get all of the build tools to work together.
What I actually want to do is this.
> nix run .#kifu-gtk
And I want you to be able to just say this...
> nix run https://git.luminescent-dreams.com/savanni/tools/#.kifu-gtk
Monorepos
For the purpose of this project, a monorepo as a single Git repository which contains potentially many libraries and applications, in separate packages (rust Crates, node Modules, etc), which interdepend and may be developed simultaneously with one another.
Past experiences
I don't have many past experiences.
- I have the 1Password Monorepo, which is mostly held together with Makefiles which invoke platform-specific build tools. These were put together before I arrived at the company, and they are extensive. The developer build environment does not match the CI build environment.
- I have tried Bazel, but have not been able to build a purely Rust project even while following the tutorials.
- I have my Tools Monorepo where I use a bunch of Makefiles to invoke platform-specific build commands. This doesn't work too badly, but I've hand-rolled every boilerplate Makefile, and should I want to add something like cross-compilation to Raspberry Pi, I am in for a world of pain.
I have evaluated all but one of the Rust build tools in Nix, and found significant drawbacks in each. The biggest drawback, though, is that the tools are all for building an application. Binding two applications together is never a consideration with any of the build tools, and so something like the Kifu PWA application simply cannot be built with Nix as a build tool.
Requirements
- select the toolchains and versions thereof for the project
- configure cross-compilation
- allow multiple languages
- co-exist with language ecosystems. For example, rust-analyzer needs cargo in order to understand Cargo.toml. However, it should be easier to fully build the project with Nix
- every module is compiled into a derivation that downstream modules can import. Each module derivation is cached separately so that Nix only rebuilds the changed module.
- Nix can generate a closure for an executable, even a cross-compiled one, to copy to the remote system
Languages and Bindings
Languages:
- C
- Rust
- Typescript
- Javascript
Bindings:
- C -> Rust
- Rust -> Typescript
- Rust -> Javascript
Backends
| Linux x86 | Linux ARM | WASM | AVR | ESP32 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | yes | yes | yes | ||
| Rust | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Typescript | yes | ||||
| Javascript | yes |
Build targets
- build
- run
- tests
- code coverage profiling
- linting
- performance testing
Each of these is a separate Nix command that builds or runs the desired result.