Dotfiles for my Linux installation

For more information about Nix and NixOS check out my list of RESOURCES.md

Installation

Bootstrapping

sudo nixos-install --flake https://github.com/fabian-gubler/.dotfiles

Customized Build

Important Note: hardware-configuration.nix file must be customized to your system's hardware.

The following commands for a fresh system build:

# Clone the repository
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.git
git clone https://github.com/fabian-gubler/.dotfiles ~/.dotfiles

# Generate hardware-configuration and replace it
sudo nixos-generate config
cd ~/.dotfiles/
cp -f host/hardware-configuration /etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix 

# Install NixOS system
sudo nixos-install --flake .#<host>

Refactoring Ideas

Currently I am considering adding...

git-credential-oauth using home-manager programs.git-credential-oauth
toggle-theme to switch up aesthetics

Helpful tips

Running Non-Nix binaries

nix-shell -p steam-run --run "steam-run ./the-binary"

Check out many possible methods: Link

Structure

host everything that is system based (e.g. hardware, system packages, window manager)
shared home-manager and .dotfiles for my favorite programs
scripts collection of personal or modified scripts
templates reproducible development environments
pkgs custom written packages
overlays extend or change packages

TODO - Things I am considering at the moment

Wayland: Porting my setup from dwm to dwl
- Identify conflicting packages (e.g. xinit, dmenu etc.)
- Porting dwm configuration & patches

Philosophy: Non Functional Properties

The following are some personal non-functional benefits of using a nix-based system.

(1) NixOS:

Declared Configuration

Declared configuration for the entire system.
Has to be written once, easily bootstrap anytime

Reproducibility

Reproducible Builds using Lock files
Easily go back to previous states of entire systems (like timeshift)

(2) Nixpkgs & Home-Manager:

Vast amount

Biggest Offering of Packages (bigger than AUR)
Fairly well maintained and up to date (otherwise create overlay to make changes)
Quickly enable / try out packages in an isolated environment

Access on Multiple Hosts

Reuse on all platforms: Linux, WSL, Darwin based systems
Create alternative versions of configuration (e.g. server, desktop, laptop)

(3) Nix Language:

Package Management

Distro-agnostic
Nix is straight-forward for building & maintaining personal packages

Dev Environments

Useful for reproducible development environments (with shell.nix)
Replaces and extends virtual environments (e.g. conda)
Use for Declarative containers (e.g. docker images)