diff --git a/docs/src/guides/.nav.yml b/docs/src/guides/.nav.yml
index e02c110a76..e4c982061b 100644
--- a/docs/src/guides/.nav.yml
+++ b/docs/src/guides/.nav.yml
@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ nav:
   - Polyrepo: polyrepo.md
   - Using with Flakes: using-with-flakes.md
   - Using with flake.parts: using-with-flake-parts.md
+  - Using with standard Nix: using-with-standard-nix.md
diff --git a/docs/src/guides/using-with-standard-nix.md b/docs/src/guides/using-with-standard-nix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6b951bfe78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/src/guides/using-with-standard-nix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+# Using devenv with standard Nix
+
+[Nix Flakes](https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/Flakes) are not standard nix, and for those who prefer not to,
+or can't use them but still want to pin and share dependencies across multiple targets, there is a way.
+Without flakes or the devenv CLI, we can download inputs using built-in functions like fetchGit or fetchTarball,
+or using popular dependency pinning tools like [niv](https://github.com/nmattia/niv) or [npins](https://github.com/andir/npins).
+Then we can define devenv shells as output attributes like anything else in Nix.
+
+!!! note "For those new to devenv and Nix"
+    If you're new to both devenv and Nix, starting with the standard devenv CLI approach will provide the smoothest experience. [Getting started with devenv.](../getting-started.md)
+
+You can integrate the devenv module system (languages, processes, services, etc.) into a Nix module as an attribute.
+This allows using devenv without flakes or the devenv CLI and replace standard nix shells in a painless way within
+your existing nix-based development environments.
+
+Creating a devenv shell via the non-flake wrapper is not a first-class option and might have some limitation compared to the other methods.
+It is only recommended to experienced Nix users who prefer to not use flakes.
+
+
+## Getting started
+
+In this guide we will show how to write a basic `default.nix` using the built-in
+fetchTarball to fetch sources from GitHub and a devenv shell definition.
+
+Create a default.nix file in the project root with the following content:
+
+```nix title="default.nix"
+let
+  nixpkgs = fetchTarball "https://github.com/cachix/devenv-nixpkgs/archive/rolling.tar.gz";
+  pkgs = import nixpkgs { };
+  devenv-src = fetchTarball "https://github.com/cachix/devenv/archive/main.tar.gz";
+  devenv = (import devenv-src).lib.mkStandardShell;
+in
+{
+  shell = devenv {
+    inherit pkgs;
+    modules = [ ./devenv.nix ];
+  };
+}
+```
+
+Finally, create a standard devenv configuration in `devenv.nix` [as normal](https://devenv.sh/basics/).
+
+
+### Entering the shell
+
+Create and enter the `devenv` shell with:
+
+```console
+nix-shell
+```
+
+
+### Further considerations
+
+The created `default.nix` file is standard Nix.
+You can freely define multiple attributes, such as more shells, packages, NixOSand Home Manager configurations,
+among other things, as well as add more input sources as necessary.
+
+The non-flake warpper is a thin wrapper created around the flake based shell function, which was written with flakes in mind.
+In some cases, such as Rust channel configurations, devenv requires extra inputs like the rust-overlay flake.
+If that input is not provided, devenv will print error messages with some instructions meant for a flake-based setup.
+This scenario can be handled the following way with a non-flake setup:
+
+```nix title="default.nix"
+let
+  nixpkgs = fetchTarball "https://github.com/cachix/devenv-nixpkgs/archive/rolling.tar.gz";
+  pkgs = import nixpkgs { };
+  devenv-src = fetchTarball "https://github.com/cachix/devenv/archive/main.tar.gz";
+  devenv = (import devenv-src).lib.mkStandardShell;
+  flake-compat = import (fetchTarball "https://github.com/NixOS/flake-compat/archive/master.tar.gz");
+  rust-overlay-src = fetchTarball "https://github.com/oxalica/rust-overlay/archive/master.tar.gz";
+in
+{
+  shell = devenv {
+    inherit pkgs;
+    modules = [ ./devenv.nix ];
+    inputs = {
+      nixpkgs = pkgs;
+      rust-overlay = (flake-compat { src = rust-overlay-src; }).defaultNix;
+    };
+  };
+}
+```
+
+The reason we need to use flake-compat here instead of directly importing the source,
+is that rust-overlay has a `default.nix` file that is structured differently from their flake,
+and devenv expects an attribute set that is structured like the flake.
+There might be other scenarios that need to be handled differently.
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index d03127f869..6c96686204 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -228,6 +228,7 @@
             inherit config;
             ci = config.ciDerivation;
           };
+        mkStandardShell = import ./src/non-flake-shell.nix self;
       };
 
       overlays.default = final: prev: {
diff --git a/src/non-flake-shell.nix b/src/non-flake-shell.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..159b93ed34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/non-flake-shell.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+self:
+{
+  pkgs,
+  inputs ? {
+    nixpkgs = pkgs;
+  },
+  modules,
+}:
+self.lib.mkShell {
+  inputs = {
+    self = self;
+  }
+  // inputs;
+  inherit pkgs modules;
+}
diff --git a/tests/standard-nix/.test-config.yml b/tests/standard-nix/.test-config.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..13c16cea3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/standard-nix/.test-config.yml
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+use_shell: false
diff --git a/tests/standard-nix/.test.sh b/tests/standard-nix/.test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..84d8e4baa4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/standard-nix/.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -ex
+
+# Set up nixpkgs
+export NIX_PATH='nixpkgs=https://github.com/cachix/devenv-nixpkgs/archive/rolling.tar.gz'
+
+# Verify that we've entered the shell
+nix-shell --command 'printenv IN_NON_FLAKE_SHELL'
diff --git a/tests/standard-nix/default.nix b/tests/standard-nix/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8455f4c140
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/standard-nix/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+let
+  nixpkgs = fetchTarball "https://github.com/cachix/devenv-nixpkgs/archive/rolling.tar.gz";
+  pkgs = import nixpkgs { };
+  devenv-src = builtins.getEnv "DEVENV_REPO";
+  devenv = (import devenv-src).lib.mkStandardShell;
+in
+{
+  shell = devenv {
+    inherit pkgs;
+    modules = [ ./devenv.nix ];
+  };
+}
diff --git a/tests/standard-nix/devenv.nix b/tests/standard-nix/devenv.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..73961c1576
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/standard-nix/devenv.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+  env.IN_NON_FLAKE_SHELL = true;
+  languages.nix.enable = true;
+}