[[edit](/w/index.php?title=How_to_add_large_files_to_the_nix-store&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Why")] Why
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to introduce a file into the nix store, you normally either use

    nix-store --add-fixed sha256 largefile

or

    nix-prefetch-url file://$(pwd)/largefile

but both procedures try to load the whole file into memory and thus
fail, if it doesn't fit there.

[[edit](/w/index.php?title=How_to_add_large_files_to_the_nix-store&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: How")] How
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properly adding the file on your own is a three step procedure:

### [[edit](/w/index.php?title=How_to_add_large_files_to_the_nix-store&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: find the right store path")] find the right store path

    nix-store --print-fixed-path sha256 $(nix-hash --type sha256 --flat --base32 largefile) largefile

### [[edit](/w/index.php?title=How_to_add_large_files_to_the_nix-store&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: copy/move the file there (as root)")] copy/move the file there (as root)

    mount -o remount,rw /nix/store
    mv largefile /nix/store <store-path>
    mount -o remount,ro /nix/store

### [[edit](/w/index.php?title=How_to_add_large_files_to_the_nix-store&action=edit&section=5 "Edit section: register the file")] register the file

    nix-store --register-validity --reregister RET
    <store-path> RET
    RET
    0 RET
    C-d