Calling nix-shell from nix repl does not work on macOS

[thesoundhead]

Describe the bug

Under macOS Sonoma 14.7.2 (tested with a M1 and Intel machine), I get the following error message when trying to open a nix shell from nix repl, using :u:

error: Cannot run 'nix-shell' because no method of calling the Nix CLI was provided. This is a configuration problem pertaining to how this program was built. See Nix 2.25 release notes

Steps To Reproduce

1. Start nix repl with nixpkgs: nix repl --expr 'import (builtins.getFlake "nixpkgs") {}'
2. Try building pkgs.hello and starting nix-shell: :u pkgs.hello
3. Get the error message from above

Expected behavior

A nix shell is opened from the nix repl with the hello package available.

Metadata

nix-env (Nix) 2.25.3

Additional context

• Nix has been installed using the Determinate Systems installer
• Looking into the Nix 2.25 release notes, as suggested by the error message did not reveal any insights

Checklist

• checked latest Nix manual (source)
• checked open bug issues and pull requests for possible duplicates

[tfc]

I also had this problem on a system once on a normal x86_64 NixOS system but can't reproduce it right now.

It also seems like the Release notes don't contain anything as mentioned in the error message.

[tfc]

Now it's popping up on another NixOS machine:

$ nix --version
nix (Nix) 2.25.2

$ nix repl --file '<nixpkgs>'
Nix 2.25.2
Type :? for help.
Loading installable ''...
Added 23137 variables.
nix-repl> :u pkgs.hello
error: Cannot run 'nix-shell' because no method of calling the Nix CLI was provided. This is a configuration problem pertaining to how this program was built. See Nix 2.25 release notes

[marijanp]

I'm experiencing the same issue on x86_64-linux on NixOS