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60045f9c96
how the different invocations relate to each other seems be confusing, which is relatable because one has to wire it up in your head while reading. an explicit reference should make it unambiguous and easier to notice due to links being highlighted.
95 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
95 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
# Name
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`nix-env --delete-generations` - delete profile generations
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# Synopsis
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`nix-env` `--delete-generations` *generations*
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# Description
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This operation deletes the specified generations of the current profile.
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*generations* can be a one of the following:
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- <span id="generations-list">[`<number>...`](#generations-list)</span>:\
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A list of generation numbers, each one a separate command-line argument.
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Delete exactly the profile generations given by their generation number.
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Deleting the current generation is not allowed.
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- <span id="generations-old">[The special value `old`](#generations-old)</span>
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Delete all generations except the current one.
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> **WARNING**
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>
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> Older *and newer* generations will be deleted by this operation.
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>
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> One might expect this to just delete older generations than the curent one, but that is only true if the current generation is also the latest.
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> Because one can roll back to a previous generation, it is possible to have generations newer than the current one.
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> They will also be deleted.
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- <span id="generations-time">[`<number>d`](#generations-time)</span>:\
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The last *number* days
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*Example*: `30d`
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Delete all generations created more than *number* days ago, except the most recent one of them.
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This allows rolling back to generations that were available within the specified period.
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- <span id="generations-count">[`+<number>`](#generations-count)</span>:\
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The last *number* generations up to the present
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*Example*: `+5`
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Keep the last *number* generations, along with any newer than current.
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Periodically deleting old generations is important to make garbage collection
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effective.
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The is because profiles are also garbage collection roots — any [store object] reachable from a profile is "alive" and ineligible for deletion.
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[store object]: @docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-store-object
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{{#include ./opt-common.md}}
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{{#include ../opt-common.md}}
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{{#include ./env-common.md}}
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{{#include ../env-common.md}}
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# Examples
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## Delete explicit generation numbers
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```console
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$ nix-env --delete-generations 3 4 8
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```
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Delete the generations numbered 3, 4, and 8, so long as the current active generation is not any of those.
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## Keep most-recent by count (number of generations)
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```console
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$ nix-env --delete-generations +5
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```
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Suppose `30` is the current generation, and we currently have generations numbered `20` through `32`.
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Then this command will delete generations `20` through `25` (`<= 30 - 5`),
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and keep generations `26` through `31` (`> 30 - 5`).
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## Keep most-recent by time (number of days)
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```console
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$ nix-env --delete-generations 30d
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```
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This command will delete all generations older than 30 days, except for the generation that was active 30 days ago (if it currently exists).
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## Delete all older
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```console
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$ nix-env --profile other_profile --delete-generations old
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```
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