Tom's NixOS configuration

Even with nix making it easier to manage system configuration complexity, I strive to maintain a streamlined setup. If you want to read this, the entrypoint should be the flake.nix file.

As customary in the nix world, documentation in this repository could use some improvement. We make extensive use of modules. If you want to understand how the module mechanism works, please refer to the nixpkgs manual and source code.

Setting up a new machine

As a basis, follow the NixOS manual.

Regarding partitioning, the NixOS manual way to set up LUKS with ext4 plays well with nixos-generate-config, it is very smooth and easy.

Generate the configuration (configuration.nix and hardware-configuration.nix) with nixos-generate-config. Clone this repository, incorporate the generated files in machines/<hostName>, add a top-level configuration to flake.nix, and finally, use nixos-install --flake to install NixOS on the new machine, as described in the official docs and the nixos-install manpage.

Repository organization

The entrypoint is flake.nix.

• The hm directory contains the home-manager config for my main user.
• The machines directory contains machine-specific configuration. In order to maximise reuse, I try to keep its contents to a minimum.
• The modules directory contains NixOS configuration modules. Each machine picks the modules it needs from there. For example, laptop.nix is meant for laptops only.