diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/installation/upgrading.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/installation/upgrading.xml index 46d3af56b57..5a9d1f24f7c 100644 --- a/nixos/doc/manual/installation/upgrading.xml +++ b/nixos/doc/manual/installation/upgrading.xml @@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ been built. These channels are: - Stable channels, such as nixos-14.04. + Stable channels, such as nixos-14.12. These only get conservative bug fixes and package upgrades. For instance, a channel update may cause the Linux kernel on your system to be upgraded from 3.4.66 to 3.4.67 (a minor bug fix), but @@ -23,14 +23,28 @@ been built. These channels are: 3.11.x (a major change that has the potential to break things). Stable channels are generally maintained until the next stable branch is created. + - The unstable channel, The unstable channel, nixos-unstable. This corresponds to NixOS’s main development branch, and may thus see radical changes between channel updates. It’s not recommended for production systems. + + Small channels, such as nixos-14.12-small + or nixos-unstable-small. These + are identical to the stable and unstable channels described above, + except that they contain fewer binary packages. This means they + get updated faster than the regular channels (for instance, when a + critical security patch is committed to NixOS’s source tree), but + may require more packages to be built from source than + usual. They’re mostly intended for server environments and as such + contain few GUI applications. + To see what channels are available, go to When you first install NixOS, you’re automatically subscribed to the NixOS channel that corresponds to your installation source. For -instance, if you installed from a 14.04 ISO, you will be subscribed to -the nixos-14.04 channel. To see which NixOS +instance, if you installed from a 14.12 ISO, you will be subscribed to +the nixos-14.12 channel. To see which NixOS channel you’re subscribed to, run the following as root: @@ -57,13 +71,19 @@ $ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/channel-name (Be sure to include the nixos parameter at the -end.) For instance, to use the NixOS 14.04 stable channel: +end.) For instance, to use the NixOS 14.12 stable channel: -$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.04 nixos +$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.12 nixos -But if you want to live on the bleeding edge: +If you have a server, you may want to use the “small” channel instead: + + +$ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-14.12-small nixos + + +And if you want to live on the bleeding edge: $ nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-unstable nixos