nixcfg

Hi. This is my NixOS & home-manager configuration.

Structure

• flake.nix is the root flake for NixOS / home-manager / packages
• modules contains my custom modules for configuring programs / features. These modules expose options in the j namespace.
• hosts contains the actual host configurations. These use the modules via the j.* options.
• packages contains some custon Nix packages.
• shells contains flakes with dev shells for various languages. If you install the home-manager config, you can use these in a folder (through direnv) by running use-dev-flake NAME.
• util contains Nix helper functions.
• dotfiles contains verbatim dotfiles (some of these are templated via Mustache).
• bin contains some scripts that are installed into $PATH through the home-manager config.
• assets contains media assets (at the moment, only wallpapers).
• private is a submodule with configuration I don't want to be publically available (e.g. SSH hosts).

Usage

If you stumble across this and are asking yourself if you should use NixOS -- let hlissner answer that question:

Should I use NixOS?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: no really. Don't.

Long long answer: I'm not kidding. Don't.

Unsigned long long answer: Alright alright. Here's why not:

• Its learning curve is steep.
• You will trial and error your way to enlightenment, if you survive the frustration long enough.
• NixOS is unlike other Linux distros. Your issues will be unique and difficult to google. A decent grasp of Linux and your chosen services is a must, if only to distinguish Nix(OS) issues from Linux (or upstream) issues -- as well as to debug them or report them to the correct authority (and coherently).
• If words like "declarative", "generational", and "immutable" don't put your sexuality in jeopardy, you're considering NixOS for the wrong reasons.
• The overhead of managing a NixOS config will rarely pay for itself with 3 systems or fewer (perhaps another distro with nix on top would suit you better?).
• Official documentation for Nix(OS) is vast, but shallow. Unofficial resources and example configs are sparse and tend toward too simple or too complex (and most are outdated). Case in point: this repo.
• The Nix language is obtuse and its toolchain is not intuitive. Your experience will be infinitely worse if functional languages are alien to you, however, learning Nix is a must to do even a fraction of what makes NixOS worth the trouble.
• If you need somebody else to tell you whether or not you need NixOS, you don't need NixOS.

If you're not discouraged by this, then you didn't need my advice in the first place. Stop procrastinating and try NixOS!

Provision host (with existing configuration)

nix-shell -p nh
# Rebuild NixOS
./rebuild -s HOSTNAME
# Rebuild home-manager
./rebuild -u USER@HOSTNAME

and reboot.

Provision host (with new configuration)

1. Add a new host to the hosts attrset in flake.nix. The attribute name is the hostname.
2. Create a corresponding folder in hosts/. Copy /etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix to this folder.
3. Create at least a sys.nix (NixOS config) and home.nix (home-manger config) in the folder. common.nix (if it exists) is added to both configs. Reference the existing hosts for how to structure your host config.

nix-shell -p nh
# Rebuild NixOS
./rebuild -s HOSTNAME
# Rebuild home-manager
./rebuild -u USER@HOSTNAME

and reboot.