I Have Fallen In 💕 Love With ❄️ NixOS | A Basic Introduction To NixOS
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- In today's video I want to tell you guys about NixOS, how much I have been enjoying it, and some details of what you can do with it. NixOS has brought me back to how I felt when I first got into Arch.
Some of the links shown in the video:
grahamc.com/bl...
elis.nu/blog/2...
nixos.org/down...
🌟 Thank you for watching! Please let me know what you think in the comments!
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#nixos #nix #linux
NixOS literally made me stop distro hopping, it's the best distro I've ever used. I made multiple reproducible contigurations for all my devices, it takes just a few mins to install them. Also it even works on WSL if I need it on a windows machine at work. I was on "arch btw" before but the main reason for the switch is that I get out of the box rollbacks which helped a lot, considering I have a nvidia gpu.
Idk.. Ive been on arch for two years with nvidia and broke my system only once. I also have a bunch of devices but Id only want linux in my desktop and macbook. I dont see the hype unless its for an org with multiple computers to manage.
Even my Windows can do reproducible installs via the power of PowerShell (not atomic though, but who cares in personal use).
@@JamesSmith-ix5jd yeeep
@@jonbikaku6133 for me setting up dotfiles has always been a PITA. Managing multiple different versions for different systems in git gets old quick. Having different scripts for my Mac, Arch, Windows, VPS, and homelab is extremely annoying. Now with Nixos I can create modular system configs and pick the pieces that I want without having to manage different versions using version control. That's a big advantage of home-manager not necessarily exclusive to Nixos but I want to never have to do system maintenance when the OS gets bogged down with left behind artifacts from upgrades and applications.
Additionally, I have a field computer that if it breaks I'll have no way to fix it. Having a way to roll back to previous versions to ensure that it's always working when I need it is an absolute requirement for me. Nixos makes that possible although not as straightforward to what we're used to with other non declarative linux distros.
Nixos made me stop distro hopping too. If I ever hop again it will be too use Guix, there's no way I'm going back to other distros again.
NixOS is the new Arch imo. Both with how it fundamentally improves the Linux experience for users at the cost of a higher barrier to entry.
If Nix was integrated into graphical package managers (which would be easy enough considering you could just proxy Nix commands into GUI framework!) and had decent documentation, it would easily jump beyond the fringes of Linux and into the mainstream of package management. I honestly believe that it's only a matter of time until Nix becomes the default packaging system for the next generation of distributions.
I agree with every single thing you said man. Very well said, thank you for taking the time to comment!
@4:16 "i highly doubt you'll find the one you're looking for ... lacking there" ~ loved that sentence of initial hopelessness followed by an uno reverse
Thanks Tyler! This is a fantastic primer into the world of the NixOS. I think the part that puts in the "Not for everybody" category isn't that it's difficult. Quite the opposite actually. It is that you need more than average command line command knowledge. But even with that, the devs made it as easy as they could by creating a literate config process. I think it is easy to get it up and running but harder to take full advantage of its awesome capabilities. Its differences with conventional Linux make it a little more difficult. I love how fast it is and it guards you from vulnerabilities. Also, the store is freaking endless!
Boy, you are the best! I looked at Nix for a long time but couldn't wrap my head around it easily. But you explained it so nice and easy to understand that even I got the concept! I definitely going to 'steal' some of your configs since I wanted to have an reproducible Linux OS. Also Hyprland looks pretty mature so i think it's time to try it out! I'm very excited where this journey is heading, but I'm pretty thankful for your work! Even though I'm saying this a lot in the past this video of you gets the cake! Awesome work!
I wish y'all nice holidays and a happy new year!
Completely agree with your assesment of NixOS. Declarative is the way to go!
you should setup a flake in your /home/zaney/.dotfiles and your config in that folder(without root permissions), you can have it in git and you can use the mini installer, just you got into a boot clone your config and run 1 command and you got your system up and running.
it is also so much easier to edited and you can have a desktop and a laptop in the some config.
it may look like a lot of work but it is easier to go flake as fast as you can.
Yeah, managing this stuff through git makes everything way better, if you screw up a simple git revert and reapply and you are safe!
@@deidyomega and the fact you don't need to open the files with sudo, and that you can config all your PCs in 1 set of dotfiles.
and all your scripts get install together with it all.
the list is endless with flakes
Ok, nice to know you open to talks about technical stuff. I never heard of NixOS before, I think is wort to investigate
It was but you will have to try and learn else you won't like it
Zeney, you could drop 4 lines in your buildscript, when you copy a file in your shell from one directory to another and the name of the file is exactly the same then it will simply replace the file so there is no need to first remove those 4 files and then copy the new files. The names are exactly the same, by simply copying the new files you will already remove the old files, cp will do that for you. Opposite to a graphical filemanager which typically would handle it a bit differently.
Can you try GuixOS? I've been very curious because on paper the features and design seem better, especially since everything is in scheme, but adoption seems much lower.
NixOS is the easiest distribution I’ve ever used. I feel like using any other distribution will feel much harder because I’d have to look up all the custom instructions to install and configure software instead of just writing a one-liner in the config to enable that piece of software on NixOS.
just a thing, I think I heard the kitty bell sound at some point, you can actually disable it from home manager with an option, I know it drove me insane
I love it too. I ran it as my daily driver for a few years. Over the last 6 months I’ve been on Void also love it. I only switched because I’m a distro junky. Buy my next hop will likely be NixOS again.
I really love your video man. How did you get those customized system resource monitors like cpu, storage, battery, wi-fi...? I really love those!!!
That’s done with Waybar
Nix has so much love flying its way lately. And once you take the tentative leap by just dipping a toe into the "nix" realm and after running your first nixos-rebuild switch, then marvelling at the site of the newly installed app, or config change. You as well will become hooked. Safe to say though (hoping not to sound too snobby) You might have to be a fairly seasoned Linux user to appreciate Nix.
Its truly is a new way of interacting with a system! It's like a new genre.
"Kinky Linux" (t-shirt design?)
Love ya work chap
Your waybar looks amazing.... Im currently on arch but ive been looking into nix.
Seems like an OS that's made for business not a single desktop user
Definitely has more benefits in a business use case for sure
@@ZaneyOG right
Depends. If you’re a single user that wants a specific setup every time, such as a developer, it’s great
It's meant for enterprises, they talk about in the live talks. tbh all the main distros are as well, as thats where the money's at.
That's why I switched to it, I've been using nixos for over a year now@@Flackon
If it’s as good as people say, seems like the natural progression of Linux os. The biggest reason why Linux is great is because of package management, no more mucking around with file paths. This is one step better package management and it sounds great! I’m gonna try it out!
Finally got around to installing it yesterday and I'm starting to understand the hype.
Haven’t used NixOS and looking to dip my toes in it in the near future. What struck me while watching this, is how do you handle personal data that you’d want persistent between rebuilds? Or will the personal data be left alone and it’s only the OS that’s touched?
Just to add some clarification, Minimum ISO is for people install on a server that doesn't have any display monitors.
I also use the minimal ISO because my internet is moderately slow and it saved me a few minutes.
The learning curve is steep, even for a professional Linux admin like me, because it's so different from other distros. But I like the declarative nature of it. I used to do that with Puppet but it's certainly easier in NIXOS.
Please create a separate playlist for NixOS stuff.
I’ll do this here soon 😎
Hi Zaney! Great video. I love how pretty your desktop looks. How would I go about trying to replicate the look of your system starting from a minimal nixos image?
I have a guide on my ZaneyOS repo. Feel free to reach out on Discord 😁
@@ZaneyOG Tysm. That helps a lot! ❤️
I might move back to Nix, been fighting issues with Debian for 5 days now, lmao.
@@darthvader1191 IDK, rolling distros are weird. Who wants their whole system to update? Regular drivers and network stuff should be updated as often as possible, sure, but who want fonts to update with the same frequency? Unless the package manager can differentiate bugfixes from breaking changes, the only thing you're getting for your trouble is an unstable system with incompatibilities. Sign me up...
I use it at work, its the best distro I have ever used. All the headache of setting up new machines or updating the SOE config is just gone
Which DE are you using? NixOS allows you to switch easily so I like testing out different types. It's also nice to be able to go back in time without BTRFS and Snapper.
He's using Hyprland 1:10
If you used a flake in a git repo you wouldn’t need any odd script sudo-copying files every time!
I have a flake in a git repo along with a script that patches flake.nix with a new output which is my default config with the current machine's hardware-configuration.nix
@@quickdudley you don’t really need any script for that. Flakes natively support defining multiple hosts as outputs. You can even share the same system config and only vary on the hardware-configuration.nix if you want
@@Flackon I can do it without a script but AFAIK I would still need to copy the new hardware-configuration.nix into the flake directory and make sure flake.nix imports it any time I set up a new machine. The script does that for me.
@@quickdudley you wouldn’t need to. One possible pattern, which I use and I’ve seen some others use, is to have all your hosts configs and hardware configs in the repo. The flake by default picks the current hostname when rebuilding. This workflow doesn’t require extraneos scripts and file copies, just simply git and flakes
@@Flackon you say in your description of that pattern "hosts configs and hardware configs in the repo". My script isn't there to be called during every rebuild it just adds a new host and hardware config to the repo - the pattern you describe is just doing the same thing manually.
tip: don't use sudo inside a shell script, instead check that the current user at the start of the script and require invocation of the script using sudo
It looks fun for tinkering but yeah this is not for everyone, especially if you don't install OS regularly on multiple machines. I just have 1 machine where I installed endeavours OS like a year or more so ago, and I am happy :)
id recommend it for laptops then
this may be my daily driver endgame
Maybe I'm not your audience. I'm enthusiastic about the subject and after spending 5 precious minutes of my day I had no clue as to why you love Nix and why I need to check it vs. any other distro (which is kind of what I was hoping to see with that title). Thanks for making that video. Keep up the hard work.
Exactly. There's no reason to love this over a regular distro for an average Linux user. Nix has potential for businesses but it's not for the norm
how do you get your bar to look like that? im using waybar rn and it looks nice but not as cool as that(yes i have configured it, just not super throughly)
Using border radius in the style.css - if you want me to walk you through it I am available on Discord a lot. 😉
i joined your discord, do i need to dm you or do i post in #tech-support?
Either one is good@@extenos
@@ZaneyOG ok thanks, will do later
For the loopback module or kernel or boot modules you can use in the configuration.nix file instead of the hardware-configuration.nix file. Generally, most people should leave the hardware-configuration.nix alone and let the system auto generate it.
I did not know you could manage kernel modules in the regular configuration. Thank you, learn something new all the time!
It's only a matter of taste. I consider drivers hardware configuration and I maintain many of those details in the hardware-configuration.nix file
Hello! I'm watching your recent live stream videos on nixos. Thanks for them and your dotfiles! A few days ago I grabbed your dotfiles to try and build your nixos system in a VM.
Recently, I updated it and noticed the flakes were gone - came to the repo to see you moved away from flakes for simplicity - can you say a bit more about why? In a previous video you said they were pretty great. I'm trying to learn more about nix, and would love to hear your opinion. Thanks!
Absolutely, phenomenal idea. That will be my next video.
The ironic thing is they don't even have a config file for installing the system, even Arch has the `archinstall` script for automation, I had to make my own script to install NixOS, which leads me to the next problem: NixOS doesn't have a CLI interface to modify the config files; g'dold string manipulation is all you got, which is not ideal.
hi, what do you use for file icons in kitty when doing ls and such? nice video btw :)
lsd, or ls deluxe ;D
you said a lot but i still understood next to nothing. It's a linux meta-distro? A linux-based image management system?
I bursted into laughter seeing the first command being neofetch. This couldn’t be more classic. It’s as if unix porn got a voice and got on CZcams.
Trying to move to nixos, it's a little difficult to learn but I'm getting there. This video was very helpful and hope you make more!
I don't understand your build file. Can't you just use a symlink?
Yes I could symlink everything I need to, I am not doing that just because I didn’t spend more than like 30 seconds on that script lol
@@ZaneyOG haha lol! Looked at your config! Will definitely try it out, looks like a good base to start learning. A lot of configs out there are so complex and nested! Thanks a lot!
Hey man, thank you for this video. I love how you setup your environment visual. Could you share some tips, like, how to replace the default gnome top bar with this resource monitor and how to enable this round border on the windows? thanks in advance
I am using a tiling window manager / wayland compositor called Hyprland instead of a desktop environment like GNOME. So I have inside it's configuration files, settings for the border colors, animations, rounded borders, etc. Then for the top bar I am using waybar which is a panel or bar that is highly configurable and built for Wayland. Then I have SwayNotificationCenter for notifications and rofi-wayland for my program launcher. So I have a very different work flow than what you might be used to with something like GNOME or KDE. I plan on putting out a video tomorrow covering my system from a beginner or pretty new to Linux ricing perspective. Definitely give that a watch it should clarify a lot. Hope this helped!
@@ZaneyOG thanks man, I would love to see it. I just discovered what it hyprland thanks to your video. Just one more question: is there any extension for hyprland that do a similiar job as gnome workplaces does? I mean, I just tap SUPER and I see all my desktops, open programs and I can move things everywhere, etc. Thank you so much
Great video, made me want to look into nix os. Can't find the link to the repo with your config files though. Edit: Forget what I said, just found it.
Hey Zaney, how do you get the nix icons for the files in /etc/nixos when you pulled an ls ?
I use lsd (ls deluxe) aliased to ls. I love it!
As someone who's not familiar with NixOS, I didn't get as much out of this video as I hoped. There was a lot of time spent going through the config files, and then explaining the files inside a repo and then some opinions. I didn't get to see what it's like to install/uninstall packages in Nix, what it means to rebuild, how a declarative system is different from other systems. I basically still have no idea what Nix is all about other than people saying "it's declarative." What does that mean?!
declarative basically is like you write all the packages you need in a file and then the system auto installs everything there. most programming package managers work like that. like cargo or npm.
on other systems, you run commands to install all programs individually
sudo nix-env -i packagename. Things like this are what they somehow never remember to show anyone .because it doesn't show how talented they are. Sometimes all you want is one thing
@@fge00 we don't show nix-env because it's a bad way of doing things in nixos. At that point, there's no reason to use nixos over something like arch. If you want to make using nixos worthwhile, use configuration .nix file
@@fge00Using nix-env is generally discouraged due to the fact that it disconnects your system from NixOS's declarative nature.
Adding your programs to configuration.nix will install them when rebuilding with nixos-rebuild.
6:50 bro never heard of folks modifying fstab for all sorts of reasons.
Do you game on NixOS or do you use your steam deck for that.
Yes I do. I like to game on both but my steam deck is really for just when I am on vacation
I liked the concept of NixOS, but not NixOS itself really - it was way too cumbersome. So I switched to Guix. Happy ever since.
Seems a bit like Docker but for VMs.
no polkit?
well, it's no arch...
I just started using it for the last couple of days and have found it to be superb. I tried to use btrfs and went to the nixos btrfs wiki but they gave incorrect info I just changed /mnt to /mnt/@ and /mnt/home to /mnt/@home and /mnt/nix to /mnt/@nix and it works fine now with timeshift. I'm currently using Gnome and going to move to sway after christmas. I also changed from systemd boot to grub with osprober enabled so I can switch between my nixos and arch i3 build. I love it. I first configured the configuration.nix file in virt-manager arch and when I was satisfied with the config file I copied it to my ventoy usb stick where I can use it in another virt machine or on bare metal..
Glad to hear you and so many others are having fun with NixOS. Besides the documentation, it really is rock solid and fun.
Is this "riced" from the get go? Superb anyway.
Yes, but I will be pushing my new flake setup here soon to my gitlab zaneyos repo. So just install NixOS with any desktop you want then just make sure you got git and enable flakes, clone the repo, go into it, run sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ./#workstation or #laptop for my intel laptop setup. You'll have my exact system.
Hope this helps and thank you for the nice words!
@@ZaneyOG Ok, thank you! I'm coming from PopOS but I just want to try this.
SO MUCH LOVE IN NIXOS!!!!!
To me, the name Nix is funny because "Nix" in German is short for "Nichts" which means "nothing". We have a saying "Nix, nix und wieder nix" meaning "nothing, nothing, and then again nothing" xD
Why does your mic sound so compressed? You're using the podmic arent you?...you sound like you're using a headset mic
It's my new audio interface. I need to get it dialed in and I have just been extremely lazy with fixing it.
Thank you for mentioning it, at least that way I am not under the impression that it's ok they way it is. Have a fantastic day!
@@ZaneyOGi'm really sensitive to sound quality, the podmic is in my opinion about 80% close to the shure sm7b with the right settings which is the go to youtuber mic. Your content is great tho and i'll always appreciate it when someone wants to put out the best quality content possible for their viewers.
So you're using Nixos like a game??? For HS.
"Here is why I prefer NixOS: read my config files" 😆
Not required for average Linux user. Maybe good for those who have multiple systems.
Yeah ! i9 9900 power !
Nixos is the new Arch then?
Nope.
seems like it. its already on that level
@@RenderingUser
For sure not.
@@DCM777. Why not? It's literally got more packages than even the AUR. Only thing it's ever lacking is documentation in certain areas.
You sounding a little sick. And is NixOS... cool. 😂😂😂
Matt gave me certified annoying! XD
I definitely fell your hyprland setup could be better it looks ok but not "extremely stylized".
Command line / Terminal Window / interesting command methods / different package managers.... I get all of that. Config Files - not so much. Why isn't there an effort to just include one simple pimple - SINGLE USER DESKTOP ?
Nix OS is neat.
What's rhat ls with logos?
That's lsd, ls deluxe - exa is great too
how do I add bluetooth support
In your configuration.nix:
hardware.bluetooth = {
enable = true;
powerOnBoot = true;
};
You'll also prabably want to install blueman outside of where most programs are declared with
services.blueman.enable = true;
Your system is looking excellent, and it seems like it is going smoothly - I bet it makes sense now as to why NixOS won that vote a couple of times a bit ago 😁
Also, for the Patreon screen, you should add the second L at the end of my name 😅 (don't worry, it commonly gets dropped by people very often lol)
Edit: Also, potentially upcoming game development content sounds sweet!
Thanks and yes it does. I will fix your name for the next video. My b brother sorry 😅
NixOs is for Guys with a feeling for 1970. Not even a usable Desktop.
wat??
I just installed it and chose Gnome. The desktop worked out of the box. Not sure what you're on about?
Subscribed because of "et-c" pronunciation.
Seems like an OS for smart people. Ill stick to Arch
Imagine all these config, but in actual code, instead of a config file. So it can be linted and build for errors.
It actually _is_ code! Nix is in fact a full turing-complete functional programming language. It's interpreted and dynamically typed, so there's not as much linting as there could be otherwise though.
I'm sure you can't game on it
nixos is just tradeoffs for me. get a few different features. lose a few features. unfortunately, the features I lose, I prefer by leaps and bounds.
Which features do you lose?
do you always assume everybody knows what you know and therefore can skip any explanation and just speak to clones of yourself?
No, I just do it sometimes as I have been using Linux for a long time and do have a skewed perspective on what is "common knowledge." I try to do my best to explain and go into detail about what I am talking about, but definitely make mistakes. If you would like to have a discussion about other concepts I need to go into or preface these kinds of videos with please reach out on Discord, would love to talk about how I could improve! Have a good day!
Thanks for your kind reply to my snarky comment@@ZaneyOG It's just that you say that you're going to tell us why you fell in love with Nix OS and then it's just a walkthrough of what you did in your configuration files stating 'things' that if we are not familiar with them have no meaning. I was expecting that by telling me why you fell in love, maybe I could follow your perspective and see why it's so likeable, in your eyes... and maybe try it. Going straight in the minutiae of some settings and sub-settings didn't seem in-line with the intentions you stated yourself for the video - or the title "basic introduction". I'm looking forward to seeing more of your content, just hoping introduction in title = introduction in content ;-) Thanks for showing up!
adding to this - I see comments here that say that NixOS made them stop distro-hopping and that is what I would like - just stop with the endless comparisons and find 'my distro' that I'd become good at and have that 'shoe that fits well' feeling of having found my place in the jungle-like-linux-world... just saying.
Had the exact same thought. Just a clickbait title.
Just wait until flakes
Check out my latest video 😉🤣
"Nix and NixOS are developed and used by a diverse and welcoming community from all around the world.
The NixOS Foundation aims to promote participation without regard to gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, age, or similar personal characteristics.
We want to strive to create and foster community by providing an intentionally welcoming and safe environment where all feel valued and cared for, and where all are given opportunity to participate meaningfully. The Foundation will work with the community in service of this goal."
I'll pass on any distro with a 'code of conduct' or a 'DEI statement'.
You would have seemed a lot smarter if you'd simply not said that.
More annoying than Arch users?
Hey! I use Arch (Btw)!
Fwiw, nothing bad happens if you move your current /etc/nixos aside as a backup then "sudo ln -s /place/to/your/vc/controlled/nixos /etc/nixos"
Me too @zaney ;-)
don't need you to tell me to like and subscribe, if I want to, I will, otherwise I don't want to hear, don't care if it helps your channel, lots of channels on the net that don't tell me what to do
Have a wonderful rest of the day, thanks for commenting!