diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index 248ae3aeea..190dec816a 100644
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ overlays ? [] }@args: import <nixpkgs> {
+{ nixpkgs ? <nixpkgs>, overlays ? [] }@args: import nixpkgs {
   overlays = [
     (import ./base.nix)
     (import ./overlay.nix)
diff --git a/release.nix b/release.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2ac026f0a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{ nixpkgs ? <nixpkgs>, nix-ros-overlay ? ./., distro }:
+
+(import nix-ros-overlay { inherit nixpkgs; }).rosPackages."${distro}"