# NixOS Configuration A full set of configuration files managed via NixOS. This project uses the [Snowfall library](https://snowfall.org/guides/lib/quickstart). > [!WARNING] > DO NOT DOWNLOAD AND RUN `nixos-rebuild` ON THIS REPOSITORY! These are my personal configuration files. I invite you to look through them, modify them, and take inspiration from them, but if you run `nixos-rebuild`, it _will completely overwrite your current system_! ## Using this repo ### Note on secrets management Secrets are managed using [transcrypt](https://github.com/elasticdog/transcrypt). To unlock the repo, use `transcrypt -c [cipher] -p '[password]'`. Transcrypt will transparently encrypt/decrypt files stored in `modules/nixos/secrets` going forward. You can get the cipher and password from a host with transcrypt already configured by running `transcrypt --display`. > [!NOTE] > This is a poor man's secret management solution. If you use this, your secrets will be world-readable in the `/nix/store/`. ### First-time installation When installing on a brand new system, partition the main drive into two partitions: a `/boot` partition, and a LUKS partition. Then, run `bin/format-drives.sh --root [root partition] --luks [luks partition]` (the script will request sudo privileges): ```sh ./bin/format-drives.sh --boot /dev/nvme0n1p1 --luks /dev/nvme0n1p2 ``` Next, set up the host's config in the `systems/[architecture]` folder by copying `default.nix.template` and `hardware-configuration.nix.template` into a new folder named after the hostname. Running `format-drives.sh` also generates a `hardware-configuration.nix` file you can use. If necessary, import modules by adding the host to `flake.nix` under the `outputs.systems.hosts` section. Finally, run the NixOS installer, replacing `host` with your actual hostname: ```sh sudo nixos-install --verbose --root /mnt --flake .#host --no-root-password ``` > [!TIP] > This config installs a nixos-rebuild wrapper called `nos` (NixOS Operations Script) that handles pulling and pushing changes to your configuration repository via git. For more info, run `nixos-operations-script --help`. ### Running updates To update a system, run `nixos-operations-script` (or just `nos`). To commit updates back to the repo, use `nos --update`. Do not run this script as root - it will automatically request sudo permissions as needed. #### Automatic updates To enable automatic updates for a host, set `config.${namespace}.services.autoUpgrade = true;`. You can configure the autoUpgrade module with additional settings, e.g.: ```nix services.autoUpgrade = { enable = true; configDir = config.${namespace}.secrets.nixConfigFolder; onCalendar = "daily"; user = config.users.users.aires.name; }; ``` Automatic updates work by running `nos`. There's an additional `pushUpdates` option that, when enabled, updates the `flake.lock` file and pushes it back up to the Git repository. Only one host needs to do this (in this case, it's [Hevana](./systems/x86_64-linux/Hevana)), but you can safely enable it on multiple hosts as long as they use the same repository and update at different times. #### Manually updating Run `nos` to update the system. Use the `--update` flag to update `flake.lock` as part of the process. For the first build, you'll need to specify the path to your `flake.nix` file and the hostname using `nos --hostname my_hostname --flake /path/to/flake.nix`. After the first build, you can omit the hostname and path: ```sh nos ``` This is the equivalent of running: ```sh cd [flake dir] git pull nix flake update --commit-lock-file git push sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake . ``` There are a few different actions for handling the update: - `switch` replaces the running system immediately. - `boot` switches to the new generation during the next reboot. - `build` creates and caches the update without applying it. - `test` creates the generation and switches to it, but doesn't add it to the bootloader. #### Using Remote builds Nix can create builds for or on remote systems, and transfer them via SSH. ##### Generating a build on a remote system You can run a build on a remote server by using `--build-host`: ```sh nixos-rebuild build --flake . --build-host [remote hostname] ``` ##### Pushing a build to a remote system Conversely, you can run a build on the local host, then push it to a remote system. ```sh NIX_SSHOPTS="-o RequestTTY=force" nixos-rebuild --target-host user@example.com --use-remote-sudo switch ``` ### Testing without modifying the system If you want to test without doing a whole build, or without modifying the current system, there are a couple additional tools to try. #### Dry builds To quickly validate your configuration, create a dry build. This analyzes your configuration to determine whether it'll actually build: ```zsh nixos-rebuild dry-build --flake . ``` #### Virtual machines You can also build a virtual machine image to preview changes. The first command builds the VM, and the second runs it: ```zsh nixos-rebuild build-vm --flake . ./result/bin/run-nixos-vm ``` > [!NOTE] > Running the VM also creates a `.qcow2` file for data persistence. Remove this file after a while, otherwise data might persist between builds and muck things up. ## About this repository This config uses the [Snowfall lib](https://snowfall.org/), along with some default options and settings for common software. It features: - Flakes - Home Manager - Automatic daily updates - AMD, Intel, and Raspberry Pi (ARM64) hardware configurations - Support for various GUIs and desktop environments including Gnome, KDE, XFCE, and Hyprland - Boot splash screens via Plymouth - Secure Boot support via Lanzaboote - Disk encryption via LUKS with TPM auto-unlocking - Custom packages and systemd services - Flatpaks - Default ZSH shell using Oh My ZSH - Secrets (in a janky hacky kinda way)