Run “nix flake update”. Commit the lockfile. Build a docker image from that; the software you need is almost certainly there, and there’s a handy docker helper.
Recently I’ve been noticing that Nix software has been falling behind. So “the software you need is almost certainly there” is less true these days. Recently = April 2026.
That's been an issue for years from my impression of the state of NixOS. There are other problems too, like a lot of open source packages doing straight binary downloads instead of actually building the software.
Are you referring to how the nixpkgs-unstable branch hasn't been updated in the past five days? Or do you have some specific software in mind? (not arguing, just curious)
It’s a variety of different software that just isn’t updated very often.
I don’t mind being somewhat behind, but it seems like there are a lot of packages that don’t get regular updates. It’s okay to have packages that aren’t updated, but those packages should be clearly distinguishable.