These configuration files are to be used during the installation of NixOS to create my preferred Linux PC in a declarative manner.

• Disko is used to partition drives declaratively.
• Impermanence is used to wipe most of the filesystem on every boot, reverting non-declarative changes to the system.
• A user-level Nix Home Manager installation enables users to install programs and modify user preferences without root-level permissions.

The operating system is setup to be installed on a single storage device in a computer. This storage device is ideally a Solid State Drive (SSD) or a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), and will have a specific <disk_name>.

Each computer that uses operating system this is called a host. Every host should have a unique <host_name>.

Each person that uses this operating system is called a user. Every user should have a unique <user_name>.

• Fork this repository so that you can keep a copy of your own files on GitHub. Then when I make updates later, you could easily merge them into your own changes.

First, a few notes for newbies to the Linux Console.

• You can type man before a command name to learn what it does. For example, man ls tells you all options for how to list a directory.
• To copy and paste in the console, you must use Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V respectively. This is because Ctrl+C cancels a program and Ctrl+V literally inserts the next character typed.
• You may temporarily install a preferred text editor to use instead of nano. I get nvim using nix-shell -p neovim. Search for your favorites at search.nixos.org.

For a video to help you understand the installation process, see Perfect NixOS | Impermanence Setup by Vimjoyer. My thanks go out to him for helping me to learn NixOS. Note that this process is different from his, so follow these instructions word for word after watching the video.

• Download a graphical NixOS installer. Graphical NixOS installers have easier methods to connect to wireless internet networks.
• Prepare the NixOS installer onto a flash drive.
• Boot the NixOS installer from the flash drive. Close the visual installer; we'll do everything in the Console.
• Connect to the internet. I use nmtui.

Reproducibility is ideal, so we use Disko to declare our drive partitions instead of creating them manually.

• Download a Disko configuration file using:

  curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mboyea/nixos-config/main/hosts/barenix/disko.nix -o /tmp/disko.nix

  Note: to paste into a terminal, use Ctrl+Shift+V.

• Modify the Disko file as you see fit using nano /tmp/disko.nix. Note that the swap partition should be at least 1.5x the amount of RAM you have installed (check using free -g -h -t) if you want the PC to support hibernation.

• Find the <disk_name> you want to install NixOS onto using lsblk. You're looking for something like vda, sda, nvme0, or nvme0n1.

• Partition your disk using:

  sudo nix --experimental-features "nix-command flakes" run github:nix-community/disko -- --mode disko /tmp/disko.nix --arg device '"/dev/<disk_name>"'

• Run nix-shell -p git to install git temporarily. You may also want to install your preferred text editor at this time.

• Copy this repository (<github_url>) to /mnt/etc/nixos using:

  sudo mkdir -p /mnt/etc
  sudo git clone <github_url> /mnt/etc/nixos
  sudo rm -rf /mnt/etc/nixos/.git

• Generate NixOS configuration files using:

  sudo nixos-generate-config --no-filesystems --root /mnt
  sudo rm -rf /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
  sudo mv /tmp/disko.nix /mnt/etc/nixos
  sudo cp -t /mnt/etc/nixos /mnt/etc/nixos/hosts/barenix/configuration.nix /mnt/etc/nixos/hosts/barenix/flake.nix

• Modify the flake file to specify your <disk_name> using sudo nano /mnt/etc/nixos/flake.nix:

  {
    <...>
    outputs = { nixpkgs, ... } @ inputs:
    let
      <...>
      diskName = "<disk_name>";           # modify this
    in {
      <...>
    };
  }

• Copy your configuration files to /persist using:

  sudo mkdir -p /mnt/persist/system/etc
  sudo cp -r /mnt/etc/nixos /mnt/persist/system/etc

• Run sudo nixos-install --flake /mnt/etc/nixos#barenix && reboot and wait for the computer to boot into NixOS.

• Log in to user admin using password admin. It is now safe to disconnect the flash drive.

• Connect to the internet. I use nmtui.

• Clone this repository (<github_url>) into ~/.config/ using:

  mkdir ~/.config
  git clone <github_url> ~/.config/nixos

• Copy the configuration files for this host (<host_name>) using:

  mkdir -p ~/.config/nixos/hosts/<host_name>
  cd /etc/nixos
  cp -t ~/.config/nixos/hosts/<host_name> configuration.nix hardware-configuration.nix flake.nix disko.nix

• Create symlinks to this host's config files in the base directory of your configuration using:

  ln -s -t ~/.config/nixos hosts/<host_name>/configuration.nix hosts/<host_name>/disko.nix hosts/<host_name>/flake.nix hosts/<host_name>/hardware-configuration.nix

• Modify the configuration file to specify your <host_name> and correct the imports paths using nano ~/.config/nixos/configuration.nix:

  # For help editing Nix config files, use any of the following
  #  man configuration.nix
  #  nixos-help
  #  https://search.nixos.org/options
  #  https://mynixos.com/search
  
  { config, lib, pkgs, inputs, ... }: {
    imports = [
      ./hardware-configuration.nix
      ../../modules                       # modify this
      ../../users                         # modify this
    ];
  
    networking.hostName = "<host_name>";  # modify this
  
    <...>
  }

• Modify the flake file to specify your <host_name> using nano ~/.config/nixos/flake.nix:

  {
    <...>
    outputs = { nixpkgs, ... } @ inputs:
    let
      <...>
      hostName = "<host_name>";           # modify this
      <...>
    in {
      <...>
    };
  }

• Symlink to the configuration in the /etc/nixos directory using:

  sudo rm -rf /etc/nixos/*
  sudo ln -s -t /etc/nixos ~/.config/nixos/flake.nix

• Stage the configuration to git. NixOS will fail to build a configuration unless the git repository is staged.

• Switch to your newly configured host (<host_name>) using:

  sudo nixos-rebuild boot --flake etc/nixos/hosts/<host_name>#<host_name> && reboot

• Log in to user admin using password admin.

In NixOS, it is widely recommended that users install applications and modify their configurations using Nix Home Manager.

See my preferred Nix Home Manager config for guidance.

Unfortunately, this project doesn't support community contributions right now. Feel free to fork, but be sure to read the license.