gistfile0.txt

Analysis Complete

  I've reviewed the http-nu repository and found the key insights for fixing the Darwin build failure in nixpkgs.

  Root Cause

  The libproc v0.14.11 crate (a transitive dependency via nu-system → part of Nushell) uses bindgen to generate Rust bindings from C code. Bindgen requires libclang to compile, but the current nixpkgs package
  definition doesn't provide it for Darwin builds.

  How http-nu Successfully Builds on Darwin

  The project uses two approaches:

  1. GitHub Actions CI (ci.yml:19): Runs directly on macos-latest runners where Xcode toolchain provides libclang automatically
  2. Cross-compilation (for releases): Uses Dagger with joseluisq/rust-linux-darwin-builder Docker image, which includes:
    - OSXCross toolchain with libclang
    - A custom workaround script (scripts/cross-build-darwin.sh:20-45) that handles a specific libproc file copy issue

  The Fix for nixpkgs

  The modern nixpkgs solution is to use rustPlatform.bindgenHook, which automatically configures LIBCLANG_PATH and BINDGEN_EXTRA_CLANG_ARGS for bindgen.

  Required changes to pkgs/by-name/ht/http-nu/package.nix:

  1. Add to function parameters:
    - stdenv
    - darwin
  2. Add nativeBuildInputs:
  nativeBuildInputs = lib.optionals stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin [
    rustPlatform.bindgenHook
  ];
  3. Add buildInputs for Darwin frameworks:
  buildInputs = lib.optionals stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin [
    darwin.apple_sdk.frameworks.IOKit
    darwin.apple_sdk.frameworks.SystemConfiguration
  ];

  The bindgenHook will handle all the libclang path setup automatically, and the Darwin frameworks provide the system libraries that libproc needs to link against.

  This is the standard pattern used across nixpkgs for Rust packages that depend on crates using bindgen.