DOSSIER 06 / 8 ARTICLES
NixOS system foundations and configuration
From installation and configuration organization to activation, generations, and variant maintenance.
Start with the first articleFollow the question further.
Installation and initialization provide the foundation. System configuration and Home Manager divide configuration responsibilities; the CLI, generations, and specialisations define operational and maintenance boundaries. Finally, examine the distinction between declared environments and writable data.
- 01
First understand the scope of the store, declarative configuration, and atomic profile switching.
NixOS: the foundations of a declarative system
Understand how NixOS works through configuration, build outputs, and generations.
Read article - 02
Before installation, verify devices, backups, and boot mode, and distinguish the live environment from the target system.
Installing NixOS: installation media, partitions, and initial configuration
Understand prerequisites and steps for both graphical and manual installation.
Read article - 03
Review your module definitions for boot, networking, accounts, software, and services.
NixOS configuration basics: options and modules
Organize a system configuration around boot, networking, users, packages, and services.
Read article - 04
Lock inputs with a Flake and separate system, user, and project development environments.
Managing a system with Flakes and Home Manager
Separate the responsibilities of dependency entry points, system modules, user configuration, and project development environments.
Read article - 05
Choose commands for the system, profiles, or temporary environments, and check whether they perform activation.
The NixOS command line: old and new interfaces and everyday maintenance
Distinguish commands for system activation, user profiles, temporary environments, and garbage collection.
Read article - 06
List and verify rollback points first, then limit history and storage cleanup to the intended profile.
NixOS generation management and garbage collection
Understand the generation lifecycle through inspection, activation, history removal, and storage reclamation.
Read article - 07
Learn inheritance and override rules, and check which variant changes require a reboot.
Specialisation: multiple configuration variants in one generation
Declare variants under a base configuration and distinguish runtime activation from changes that require a reboot.
Read article - 08
For each kind of preference, cache, and data, identify its manager, when it is written, and how to recover it.
If configuration is reproducible, why do apps still forget?
From GNOME defaults and Home Manager activation to Flatpak's management scope, distinguish declarations, preferences, and data.
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