What is Nix
In short: Docker without isolation, VirtualEnv on steroids.
You can view nix-shell as [1]:
- Python’s virtualenv on steroids
- Works with any programming language. Allows mixing them.
- For example: Python 3 for back-end, and JavaScript for the front-end, both available under a single call to nix-shell.
- Docker without isolation
- A precisely defined environment with packages and variables.