Support specific node versions instead of just majors

[flybayer]

Feature request

This is a recurring frustration for our users, they expect to be able to set a specific node version instead of only a major.

Currently the only workaround I know of is to go spelunking in nixpks repo and find the commit for a certain version and then pin that version in nixpacks.toml. But this process is almost impossible to explain to users.

[phases.setup]
nixpkgsArchive = 'bf85265bb302cdfe137e06bb207cb63aaaa726e8'

[github-actions]

Hello, @flybayer! Thanks for your submission.

Our team will respond soon. If you need more immediate help, try our Forum or our Discord. Thanks!

[coffee-cup]

100%

This is an issue we see at Railway too. You can use https://lazamar.co.uk/nix-versions/ to find a specific version of a package, but it is not ideal. We've been trying a few things internally, but nothing prioritized at the moment. Very open to ideas or suggestions though.

[flybayer]

Could we stop using nix for nodejs and instead use something like fnm ?

[coffee-cup]

Could we stop using nix for nodejs and instead use something like fnm ?

Yes that is possible. Alternatively we could switch to something like asdf.

It would be a pretty fundamental change to Nixpacks though. Which I am not against, but would just need to weigh the options and decide of moving away from Nix for managing packages is the best option for managing packages.

[supaspoida]

In case it's helpful, I've been using rtx, now renamed to mise, a rust replacement for/wrapper around the asdf ecosystem on top of nixpacks to add additional tools not supported directly. It is available via nixpkgs so I just add it to the nixPkgs in my nixpacks.toml.

https://mise.jdx.dev/

I'd love to see it baked into nixpacks somehow though, maybe as an optional layer on top of the existing setup?