Build a Nix environment you understand¶

nix-conf provides reusable NixOS, nix-darwin, and Home Manager modules, together with actively deployed Linux and Apple Silicon macOS configurations that serve as maintained examples. This guide starts with a small environment you can build without access to the deployed systems or their secrets.

Start the tutorial · Browse reusable recipes · See the architecture

Choose your starting point¶

You want to…	Start with
Try Nix configuration without changing your account	Build the starter
See a configured system boot	Run the disposable NixOS VM
Practice in a graphical Linux session	Run the Sway demo
Build a small Apple Silicon system configuration	Try the Darwin example
Improve an existing Home Manager environment	Git, file search, or the prompt
Understand the full workstation	Architecture and appearance
Adapt this structure to your hardware	Add a host
Maintain a configuration over time	Update and recover, recovery drills, and validation records

Small examples, real configuration¶

The starter has its own lockfile and a small set of public inputs. It does not import the deployed hosts, enable proprietary applications, or provision secrets. The recipes then show ordinary Home Manager modules from the actual repository.

The deployed workstations go further, including shared appearance settings, font selection, desktop services, and host-managed secrets. Their hardware and runtime requirements are explicit in the support table.

The repository also keeps detailed operational guides and research. Those notes explain individual decisions and recorded results. You do not need to read them all before starting.

Help improve the guide¶

A failed step is useful feedback. Report the page, source revision, platform, and smallest redacted reproduction using the guide feedback form. See contributing for manageable first contributions. If a recipe helps you, a GitHub star makes the project easier to find again.