this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2023
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I use Arch btw


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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

NixOS is unique because it uses the only potent package manager (if we don't count that one reimplementation of Nix). Calling the others "package managers" becomes mostly a courtesy when NixOS enters the picture.

lalala with FS-level snapshots + flatpak + distrobox + a kitchen sink

look_what_they_need_to_mimic_the_fraction_of_our_power.png

[–] GuybrushThreepwo0d 15 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I don't consider myself a dumb person but I couldn't figure out nix when last I decided to play with it. Theoretically it seems super interesting to me, but I really just can't dedicate the time again now to learn that esoteric syntax.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The docs for NixOS aren't good. Much knowledge is on many blogs but who knows them all?

Having the OS defined declaratively is great but I also dislike the Nix language.

Once it's setup NixOS is great. Sharing configs with PC and laptop is awesome. Rollbacks are baked in.

Going off the https://github.com/Misterio77/nix-starter-configs helped me gettung started.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I absolutely loved NixOS on paper, and it's undoubtedly the best way to combat updates that break my dependency trees, but I still found myself spending a majority of my time attempting to hard-code various app configuration files into my convoluted configuration.nix with its esoteric syntax rather than actually using my computer. Am I missing something, or does a good install script covering my favorite packages and a git bare repo storing my dot-files get me 90% of the way there without the hassle of bending my whole OS around a single nix config monstrosity?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Agreed, I'm also considering switching to an install script + btrfs snapshots. It worked quite well a few years ago, altough it doesn't solve configuration drift.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Only if you reinstall every time you change the configuration. And never need to do anything remotely fancy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I found zero to nix to be a good tutorial

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The syntax is just the outer layer, the whole concept inside it is alien. It's like a smartphone for a person who's only seen books.