Add a --user flag to the home-manager cli

[SpiderUnderUrBed]

Description

I want to run the home-manager switch command in my /etc/nixos or files which i am very restrictive of because of permissions, I would like to be able to specify the user when running a home-manager command so i dont get any situations like:
error: flake 'git+file:///etc/nixos' does not provide attribute 'packages.x86_64-linux.homeConfigurations."root".activationPackage', 'legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.homeConfigurations."root".activationPackage' or 'homeConfigurations."root".activationPackage' .
This can be done with a --user flag where you specify the user

I know this isnt the way you usually do things with home-manager but I have a place in my flake where home-manager is run, and the thing is, i usually have to do alot of hoop jumping to first initilize home-manager, before it can become aware of my config in my flake

[loicreynier]

I'm not sure I fully understand your situation, but couldn't you specify the user in the flake URI when invoking home-manager, as in

home-manager switch --flake <path/to/flake>#<user>

[SpiderUnderUrBed]

Wait I still get a error:

[spiderunderurbed@daspidercave:~/home-manager]$ sudo home-manager switch --flake .#spiderunderurbed --impure
warning: Git tree '/home/spiderunderurbed/home-manager' is dirty
Starting Home Manager activation
Error: USER is set to "root" but we expect "spiderunderurbed"

[rennsax]

Do not user sudo for home-manager. sudo sets your current user (in fact, the effective uid) to the root user, but home-manager checks if the current user is the same as home.username (here).

Run without sudo and then retry. Since you use flake, I think there is no reason for you to run home-manager as the root user, namely, nothing needs root privilege.

[SpiderUnderUrBed]

I need to use root privileges because it is located in /etc/nixos and I don't intend on giving other users who use my pc the ability to change their config, atleast not now.

Regardless, as a different user, can you build configurations for other users? How? What I did won't work if I was another user

[rennsax]

I think you can chown these files and chmod to 600 so only you can read and write these files.

If you insist, I guess you can export SKIP_SANITY_CHECKS=1 and then retry. Remember to run in impure mode.

[SpiderUnderUrBed]

[spiderunderurbed@daspidercave:~/home-manager]$ SKIP_SANITY_CHECKS=1 sudo home-manager switch --flake .#spiderunderurbed --impure
[sudo] password for spiderunderurbed: 
warning: Git tree '/home/spiderunderurbed/home-manager' is dirty
Starting Home Manager activation
Error: USER is set to "root" but we expect "spiderunderurbed"

[rennsax]

How about sudo bash -c "USER=spiderunderurbed home-manager switch --impure --flake .#spiderunderurbed"?

[SpiderUnderUrBed]

[spiderunderurbed@daspidercave:~/home-manager]$ sudo bash -c "USER=spiderunderurbed home-manager switch --impure --flake .#spiderunderurbed"
[sudo] password for spiderunderurbed: 
warning: Git tree '/home/spiderunderurbed/home-manager' is dirty
Starting Home Manager activation
Could not find suitable profile directory, tried /root/.local/state/nix/profiles and /nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/spiderunderurbed