cross-shell.nix

with import <nixpkgs> { };

let
  armhfDependencies = [
    pkgsCross.armv7l-hf-multiplatform.buildPackages.targetPackages.glibc
    pkgsCross.armv7l-hf-multiplatform.buildPackages.targetPackages.ncurses5
    pkgsCross.armv7l-hf-multiplatform.buildPackages.targetPackages.readline5
  ];
in stdenv.mkDerivation {
  name = "cross-environment";

  buildInputs = [
    qemu
  ] ++ armhfDependencies;

  shellHook = ''
    # Set the right interpreters for the binaries.
    patchelf --set-interpreter "${pkgsCross.armv7l-hf-multiplatform.buildPackages.targetPackages.glibc}/lib/ld-linux-armhf.so.3" BINARY

    # Copy the libraries so they are handy for `qemu`.
    mkdir -p ./libs
    ln -sf ${pkgsCross.armv7l-hf-multiplatform.buildPackages.targetPackages.ncurses5}/lib/libncurses.so.5 ./libs/libncurses.so.5
    ln -sf ${pkgsCross.armv7l-hf-multiplatform.buildPackages.targetPackages.readline5}/lib/libreadline.so.5 ./libs/libreadline.so.5
  '';
}

how_to_use.md

$ sed -i 's/BINARY/<PATH OF THE BINARY>/' shell.nix
$ nix-shell
[nix-shell:]$ qemu-arm <PATH OF THE BINARY>