diff --git a/shell.nix b/shell.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e95704
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shell.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
+pkgs.mkShell {
+  # deps, pipenv does the heavy lifting
+  inputsFrom = with pkgs; [ pipenv brave ];
+  buildInputs = with pkgs; [ python39 ];
+
+  # startup pipenv
+  shellHook = ''
+    ${pkgs.pipenv}/bin/pipenv install
+    ${pkgs.pipenv}/bin/pipenv shell
+  '';
+
+  # environment
+  OPEN = "${pkgs.brave}/bin/brave";
+  PORT = "9090";
+  SEGMENT_PATH = "/tmp";
+  LOG_PATH = "/tmp/commitlog.dat";
+}