tldr/pages/common/nix-shell.3.md

nix shell

Start a shell in which the specified packages are available. See also: nix-shell for setting up development environments, nix flake for information about flakes. More information: https://manned.org/nix3-shell.

• Start an interactive shell with some packages from nixpkgs:

nix shell {{nixpkgs#pkg1 nixpkgs#packageSet.pkg2 ...}}

• Start a shell providing a package from an older version of nixpkgs (21.05):

nix shell {{nixpkgs/nixos-21.05#pkg}}

• Start a shell with the "default package" from a flake in the current directory, printing build logs if any builds happen:

nix shell -L

• Start a shell with a package from a flake on GitHub:

nix shell {{github:owner/repo#pkg}}

• Run a command in a shell with a package:

nix shell {{nixpkgs#pkg}} -c {{some-cmd --someflag 'Some other arguments'}}