NixOS installation guide
NixOS is a Linux distribution built around the Nix package manager, where the entire operating system is described as code. Instead of manually installing software and editing configuration files, you define your desired system state in configuration files.
Advantages include:
- Fully reproducible systems
- Atomic upgrades and rollbacks
- Declarative package management
- Reliable dependency isolation
- Easy migration between machines
- Excellent development environments
Part 1 – Preparation
Requirements
- 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB recommended)
- 30+ GB storage
- USB flash drive (4 GB or larger)
- Internet connection
- UEFI firmware (recommended)
Download the latest NixOS ISO and verify its checksum before writing it to a USB drive.
- Boot from the installation USB.
- Select the graphical installer or minimal installer.
- Open a terminal.
Become root if necessary:
sudo -iConfirm networking:
ping nixos.orgList disks:
lsblkExample:
nvme0n1
├─nvme0n1p1
├─nvme0n1p2Assume:
Disk:
/dev/nvme0n1Using GPT:
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- mklabel gptEFI partition:
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- mkpart ESP fat32 1MiB 512MiB
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- set 1 esp onRoot:
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- mkpart primary 512MiB 100%Format EFI:
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/nvme0n1p1Format root:
mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1p2mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/boot
mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/bootnixos-generate-config --root /mntFiles created:
/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
/mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nixEdit:
nano /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nixExample:
{ config, pkgs, ... }:
{
imports = [
./hardware-configuration.nix
];
boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;
networking.hostName = "desktop";
time.timeZone = "Europe/Bucharest";
i18n.defaultLocale = "en_US.UTF-8";
services.xserver.enable = true;
services.displayManager.gdm.enable = true;
services.desktopManager.gnome.enable = true;
users.users.alex = {
isNormalUser = true;
extraGroups = [ "wheel" "networkmanager" ];
};
networking.networkmanager.enable = true;
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
git
vim
wget
curl
];
system.stateVersion = "26.05";
}nixos-installSet root password.
Reboot:
rebootRemove the USB.
Edit:
/etc/nixos/configuration.nixAdd:
nix.settings.experimental-features = [
"nix-command"
"flakes"
];Rebuild:
sudo nixos-rebuild switchDirectory:
/etc/nixosCreate:
flake.nixExample:
{
description = "Desktop";
inputs = {
nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
};
outputs = { self, nixpkgs }:
{
nixosConfigurations.desktop =
nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
system = "x86_64-linux";
modules = [
./configuration.nix
];
};
};
}Rebuild:
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixos#desktopTemporarily:
nix shell nixpkgs#ripgrepRun once:
nix run nixpkgs#helloPermanent:
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
firefox
git
neovim
ripgrep
fd
htop
tmux
];Install Home Manager as a flake input.
Benefits:
- User configuration as code
- Dotfile management
- Reproducible shell configuration
- Declarative editor setup
- Version-controlled user environment
Example modules:
- Git
- Zsh
- Bash
- Neovim
- Alacritty
- Kitty
- VS Code
- SSH
- GPG
- Starship
Delete old generations:
sudo nix-collect-garbage -dAutomatic cleanup:
nix.gc = {
automatic = true;
dates = "weekly";
options = "--delete-older-than 30d";
};List generations:
sudo nix profile historyRollback:
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --rollbackYou can also select previous system generations directly from the bootloader if a rebuild prevents the system from booting.
Update flake inputs:
nix flake updateApply:
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixosSSH:
services.openssh.enable = true;Docker:
virtualisation.docker.enable = true;PipeWire:
services.pipewire = {
enable = true;
pulse.enable = true;
};Printing:
services.printing.enable = true;Bluetooth:
hardware.bluetooth.enable = true;Example development shell:
{
description = "Example dev shell";
inputs.nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
outputs = { self, nixpkgs }:
let
pkgs = import nixpkgs {
system = "x86_64-linux";
};
in {
devShells.x86_64-linux.default =
pkgs.mkShell {
packages = with pkgs; [
git
gcc
cmake
python3
];
};
}Enter:
nix developnixos/
├── flake.nix
├── flake.lock
├── hosts/
│ └── desktop
├── modules/
│ ├── networking.nix
│ ├── users.nix
│ ├── desktop.nix
│ ├── fonts.nix
│ └── services.nix
├── home/
│ ├── git.nix
│ ├── shell.nix
│ ├── nvim.nix
│ └── zsh.nixKeeping configuration modular makes it easier to reuse components across multiple systems and simplifies maintenance.
Configuration errors
Validate before switching:
sudo nixos-rebuild testBoot issues
- Confirm the EFI partition is mounted at
/boot. - Verify
boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;. - Ensure UEFI mode is enabled in firmware.
Network problems
Verify NetworkManager:
systemctl status NetworkManagerFlake errors
Refresh lock file:
nix flake updateOr remove flake.lock and regenerate it if dependency resolution becomes inconsistent.