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102 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
102 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "NixOS and Home Manager"
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description:
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date: 2025-08-31T18:53:25+02:00
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image: /img/nixos.svg
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math:
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license:
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hidden: false
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comments: true
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draft: false
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---
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Nix is a declarative package manager (and its main language) that allows for reproducible environments (i.e., files in a folder).
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One of the cool things about nix is that you can use it to run a package without installing it permanently in your system.
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For instance, I recently needed the `readelf` utility and it wasn't installed in my system, so I ran:
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```
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nix run 'nixpkgs#toybox' -- readelf -l /home/j/.local/share/uv/python/cpython-3.10.11-linux-x86_64-gnu/bin/python | grep interpreter
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```
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That's it.
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No need to deal with dependencies, incompatibilities, or to uninstall the package once you no longer need it.
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NixOS is a Linux Operating system that uses this package manager and system configuration (e.g., users, network interfaces, etc.) defined in the Nix language to create reproducible systems.
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Home-manager takes the concepts from NixOS to user-space, allowing you to define your personal environment (i.e., home).
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It can be used on any system that supports the Nix package manager (e.g., Linux, Mac and Windows).
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There is a lot to like
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## Context
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(Last year)[https://github.com/balkian/dotfiles/commit/fa7041ff8bde6c5288ad55db6b0d61ed593bbccc] I started experimenting with nix and home-manager to configure my environments.
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The context is that for some years now I've been switching devices quite frequently.
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It started when my main laptop died (DELL!!), I started using a desktop for most of my work, but I also needed a laptop to teach.
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One thing led to another, and I ended up using vanilla Ubuntu or EndeavourOS installations with Gnome and very minimal customization.
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That in itself is not wrong.
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The thing is that, before that, I was a [tinkerer with a customized environment](https://github.com/balkian/dotfiles).
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1. I was being inefficient (and I felt it)
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2. That inefficiency turned some easy things into a chore
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3. This made work in general less enjoyable.
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3. As a result, I became even less productive
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The idea was to get back to a usable terminal and editor setup with minimal
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## NixOS
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I've only been running NixOS for three days now, but so far I like the experience.
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My approach is to keep the system definition as simple as possible, and rely on home-manager to install and configure most of my tools.
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The basics would be:
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* Network configuration
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* System users
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* Desktop environment (wayland and multiple DE's)
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All that goins into my `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix`, and then I do:
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```
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sudo nixos-rebuild switch
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```
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If it fails, nothing is changed in your system.
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If it works, most of the changes will have been applied (e.g., new services started, others stopped).
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The previous configuration does not disappear: you can roll back to it manually or when booting your system.
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## Home-Manager
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Here's where most of my configuration lives.
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I use `homeConfigurations` to keep more than one configuration in the same repo (e.g., work (`j@lenny`) and personal computers (`j`, on any other system)).
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To make it easier to install this configuration
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### Running on NixOS
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There are two ways to run it: as part of your general configuration (i.e., it will be applied using the same `nixos-rebuild` command) or standalone.
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I prefer the latter, because it allows me to tinker with the configuration more easily, and it is no different from applying it on other systems (see below).
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After you change your config, simply run:
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```
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home-manager switch
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```
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### On other systems
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Running nix on other operating systems (e.g., Arch Linux) is similar to a standalone installation on NixOS.
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The only difference is that you need to [install nix first](https://nix.dev/install-nix.html) and [configure the appropriate channels](https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/index.xhtml#sec-install-standalone).
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## It's a little flakey
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Flakes are an experimental feature of nix that use version control and some special conventions to bring more reproducibility guarantees.
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For instance, they make it trivial to install a specific commit version of my home-manager config, which in itself could use program definitions from external git repositories.
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Flakes are not the only solution to this problem, and they are a bit controversial among hardcore nix users.
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However, the community as a whole seems to have embraced flakes.
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I personally chose to set up my config as a flake.
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I still have not tried to install it on other systems, so time will tell.
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