[Nix-dev] Nix GUI? / make Nix more beginner-friendly

[Roland Koebler]

Hi,

> Hey Roland, can you tell which package manager GUI do you like best?
I usually don't use package manager GUIs, since I usually use Debian and know
the Debian package manager commandline-tools quite well and am much faster
with those (and because I don't like GUI-programs which need root-access).

For Nix (on Debian), I usually use nix-env.

But as a Nix-beginner (currently using Nix only for a few programs on Debian),
I would like such a GUI, since it would make it easier to use Nix, without having
to read all manpages and without having to remember the commandline-parameters.

> I'm addicted to command line interface because
Commandline-interfaces are simply unbeatable for power-users, I know that.
I guess that most of the users on this list will probably never use such a GUI.

But: I think such a GUI would make it much more easier for not-yet-Nix-users
to try Nix -- since Nix is useful on every Linux-distribution. And it would make
it easier to use Nix for "non-geek" Linux-users, which don't like commandline-
interfaces/don't know what to do with a commandline.
So, I think such a GUI could bring more users to Nix and maybe finally to NixOS.
And of course it's fine if they use the commandline-tools later. ;)


regards
Roland