enableDebugging does not work anymore: error: attribute 'override' missing

[trofi]

Describe the bug

I tried to build a nixpkgs package with debug symbols today and failed. NixOS wiki and nixpkgs repository comments say the following should work:

Steps To Reproduce

$ nix-build -E 'with import <nixpkgs> {}; enableDebugging hello'

error: attribute 'override' missing

       at /nix/store/0skp33kj13x8fyx141qbcfn5q6a4xghw-nixos-21.11pre312407.8a2ec31e224/nixos/pkgs/stdenv/adapters.nix:210:5:

          209|   keepDebugInfo = stdenv:
          210|     stdenv.override (old: {
             |     ^
          211|       mkDerivationFromStdenv = extendMkDerivationArgs old (args: {

Metadata

Please run nix-shell -p nix-info --run "nix-info -m" and paste the result.

$ nix-shell -p nix-info --run "nix-info -m"
 - system: `"x86_64-linux"`
 - host os: `Linux 5.13.13, NixOS, 21.11 (Porcupine)`
 - multi-user?: `yes`
 - sandbox: `yes`
 - version: `nix-env (Nix) 2.4pre20210802_47e96bb`
 - channels(root): `"nixos-21.11pre312407.8a2ec31e224"`
 - channels(slyfox): `""`
 - nixpkgs: `/nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/root/channels/nixos`

[trofi]

It worked in Aug 2018: https://discourse.nixos.org/t/debug-symbols-for-nix-shell-and-nix-build/804/2?u=trofi

Bisected down to breakage at f110a18:

$ git bisect bad
f110a182a66005782c0e58091bcda7243bf2a0ae is the first bad commit
commit f110a182a66005782c0e58091bcda7243bf2a0ae
Author: John Ericson <[email protected]>
Date:   Mon Aug 16 21:16:29 2021 -0400

    stdenv: Fix overriding + `overrideAttrs`

    The old stdenv adapters were subtly wrong in two ways:

     - `overrideAttrs` leaked the original, unoverridden `mkDerivation`.

     - `stdenv.override` would throw away any manually-set `mkDerivation`
       from a stdenv reverting to the original.

    Now, `mkDerivation` is controlled (nearly directly) via an argument, and
    always correctly closes over the final ("self") stdenv. This means the
    adapters can work entirely via `.override` without any manual `stdenv //
    ...`, and both those issues are fixed.

    Note hashes are changed, because stdenvs no previously overridden like
    `stdenvNoCC` and `crossLibcStdenv` now are. I had to add some
    `dontDisableStatic = true` accordingly. The flip side however is that
    since the overrides compose, we no longer need to override anything but
    the default `stdenv` from which all the others are created.

 pkgs/os-specific/linux/musl/default.nix |   1 +
 pkgs/stdenv/adapters.nix                | 125 +++++++++++++++++++-------------
 pkgs/stdenv/generic/default.nix         |   8 +-
 pkgs/stdenv/generic/make-derivation.nix |  13 ++--
 pkgs/top-level/stage.nix                |   7 +-
 pkgs/top-level/static.nix               |  24 ------
 6 files changed, 94 insertions(+), 84 deletions(-)

Looks like it stems from the fact that hello.stdenv does not expose .override anymore, only .overrides.

/cc @Ericson2314 #134463

[Ericson2314]

Woah. master and f110a182a66005782c0e58091bcda7243bf2a0ae both work for me with nix stable.

[trofi]

That's surprising. Here is my attempt at current master checkout:

$ nix-build -I nixpkgs=. -E 'with import <nixpkgs> {}; enableDebugging hello'
error: attribute 'override' missing

       at /tmp/nixpkgs/pkgs/stdenv/adapters.nix:210:5:

          209|   keepDebugInfo = stdenv:
          210|     stdenv.override (old: {
             |     ^
          211|       mkDerivationFromStdenv = extendMkDerivationArgs old (args: {

I tried removing ~/.nixpkgs and seeing the same failure. I wonder why it works for you. Might be a different stdenv?

[trofi]

$ nix repl -I nixpkgs=. '<nixpkgs>'

Welcome to Nix version 2.4pre20210802_47e96bb. Type :? for help.

Loading '<nixpkgs>'...
Added 14887 variables.

nix-repl> stdenv
«derivation /nix/store/ikgr1jlpvyqa7nci7p8r138n440vy7q2-stdenv-linux.drv»

nix-repl> pkgs.hello.stdenv
«derivation /nix/store/ikgr1jlpvyqa7nci7p8r138n440vy7q2-stdenv-linux.drv»

nix-repl> stdenv.override
{ __functionArgs = { ... }; __functor = «lambda @ /tmp/nixpkgs/lib/trivial.nix:327:19»; }

nix-repl> pkgs.hello.stdenv.override<tab>
pkgs.hello.stdenv.overrides

Does it mean stdenv and pkgs.hello.stdenv are the same object?

[Artturin]

i can reproduce

[alyssais]

I can also reproduce with stable Nix (2.3.14):

$ NIX_PATH=nixpkgs=. nix-build -E 'with import <nixpkgs> {}; enableDebugging hello'
error: attribute 'override' missing, at /home/src/nixpkgs/pkgs/stdenv/adapters.nix:210:5

[Ericson2314]

Hmm, the issue is that callPackage/makeOverridable slaps the .override on stdenv after stdenv.makeDerivation is defined, closing over the old stdenv. In Smalltalk paralance, this would be an issue of insufficiently "late binding".

[symphorien]

Still reproducible on current master (2652e0b)

[deliciouslytyped]

I ran into this.

[OPNA2608]

Bump, ran into this while updating the Nixpkgs pin on a project of mine.

[expipiplus1]

There should be a test for this :)

[cab404]

Gonna spend next hour or two trying to fix this.

[cab404]

Things that are also missing:

[ "__bootPackages" "__hatPackages" "override" "overrideDerivation" ]

[cab404]

https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs//blob/6078f094c638faabc63cffe285dc91af4e04a741/pkgs/stdenv/booter.nix#L89

So, this function is not executed on passed through stdenv. Not yet sure why.

[cab404]

Yeah, I've fixed it (thanks, @mrgutkun, for being there ❤️)
#147544

[cab404]

Post-mortem: always read threads. Solution was kinda already provided in #136756 (comment), but I delved right in without knowing that)

[Artturin]

atleast you now know more about stdenv 🙂

[wesleywright]

How is the PR looking? I've been waiting on this for a couple of weeks to debug an intermittent crash I'm having with xfce4-sesion :)