- `hardware.nvidia` has a new option, `hardware.nvidia.open`, that can be used to enable the usage of NVIDIA's open-source kernel driver. Note that the driver's support for GeForce and Workstation GPUs is still alpha quality, see [the release announcement](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-releases-open-source-gpu-kernel-modules/) for more information.

- The `emacs` package now makes use of native compilation which means:
  - Emacs packages from Nixpkgs, builtin or not, will do native compilation ahead of time so you can enjoy the benefit of native compilation without compiling them on you machine;
  - Emacs packages from somewhere else, e.g. `package-install`, will perform asynchronously deferred native compilation. If you do not want this, maybe to avoid CPU consumption for compilation, you can use `(setq native-comp-deferred-compilation nil)` to disable it while still benefiting from native compilation for packages from Nixpkgs.

## Internal changes {#sec-release-22.11-internal}

- Haskell `ghcWithPackages` is now up to 15 times faster to evaluate, thanks to changing `lib.closePropagation` from a quadratic to linear complexity. Please see backward incompatibilities notes below. <https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/194391>

- For cross-compilation targets that can also run on the building machine, we now run tests. This, for example, is the case for the `pkgsStatic` and `pkgsLLVM` package sets or i686 packages on `x86_64` machines.

- To simplify cross-compilation in NixOS, this release introduces the `nixpkgs.hostPlatform` and `nixpkgs.buildPlatform` options. These cover and override the `nixpkgs.{system,localSystem,crossSystem}` options.

   - `hostPlatform` is the platform or "`system`" string of the NixOS system
     described by the configuration.
   - `buildPlatform` is the platform that is responsible for building the NixOS
     configuration. It defaults to the `hostPlatform`, for a non-cross
     build configuration. To cross compile, set `buildPlatform` to a different
     value.

  The new options convey the same information, but with fewer options, and
  following the Nixpkgs terminology.

  The existing options `nixpkgs.{system,localSystem,crossSystem}` have not
  been formally deprecated, to allow for evaluation of the change and to allow
  for a transition period so that in time the ecosystem can switch without
  breaking compatibility with any supported NixOS release.

## Notable version updates {#sec-release-22.11-version-updates}

- Nix has been upgraded from v2.8.1 to v2.11.0. For more information, please see the release notes for [2.9](https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/release-notes/rl-2.9.html), [2.10](https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/release-notes/rl-2.10.html) and [2.11](https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/release-notes/rl-2.11.html).

- OpenSSL now defaults to OpenSSL 3, updated from 1.1.1.

- GNOME has been upgraded to version 43. Please see the [release notes](https://release.gnome.org/43/) for details.

- KDE Plasma has been upgraded from v5.24 to v5.26. Please see the release notes for [v5.25](https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/5/5.25.0/) and [v5.26](https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/5/5.26.0/) for more details on the included changes.

- Cinnamon has been updated to 5.4, and the Cinnamon module now defaults to
  Blueman as the Bluetooth manager and slick-greeter as the LightDM greeter, to match upstream.

- PHP now defaults to PHP 8.1, updated from 8.0.

- Perl has been updated to 5.36, and its core module `HTTP::Tiny` was patched to verify SSL/TLS certificates by default.

- Python now defaults to 3.10, updated from 3.9.

## Backward Incompatibilities {#sec-release-22.11-incompatibilities}

- Nixpkgs now requires Nix 2.3 or newer.

- The `isCompatible` predicate checking CPU compatibility is no longer exposed
  by the platform sets generated using `lib.systems.elaborate`. In most cases
  you will want to use the new `canExecute` predicate instead which also
  takes the kernel / syscall interface into account.