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https://github.com/lnl7/nix-darwin

nix modules for darwin
https://github.com/lnl7/nix-darwin

darwin dotfiles launchd nix

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nix modules for darwin

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# nix-darwin



![Test](https://github.com/LnL7/nix-darwin/workflows/Test/badge.svg)



Nix modules for darwin, `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix` for macOS.



This project aims to bring the convenience of a declarative system approach to macOS.

nix-darwin is built up around [Nixpkgs](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs), quite similar to [NixOS](https://nixos.org/).



## Installing



To install nix-darwin, a working installation of [Nix](https://github.com/NixOS/nix#installation) is required.



If you wish to use nix-darwin with flakes, please refer to the [flakes](#flakes) section.



```bash

nix-build https://github.com/LnL7/nix-darwin/archive/master.tar.gz -A installer

./result/bin/darwin-installer

```



> NOTE: the system activation scripts don't overwrite existing etc files, so files like `/etc/bashrc` and `/etc/zshrc` won't be

> updated by default. If you didn't use the installer or skipped some of the options you'll have to take care of this yourself.

> Either modify the existing file to source/import the one from `/etc/static` or remove it. Some examples:



- `mv /etc/bashrc /etc/bashrc.before-nix-darwin`

- `echo 'if test -e /etc/static/bashrc; then . /etc/static/bashrc; fi' | sudo tee -a /etc/bashrc`



## Updating



The installer will configure a channel for this repository.



```bash

nix-channel --update darwin

darwin-rebuild changelog

```



> NOTE: If you are using Nix as a daemon service the channel for that will be owned by root.

> Use `sudo -i nix-channel --update darwin` instead.



## Uninstalling



To run the latest version of the uninstaller, you can run the following command:



```

nix --extra-experimental-features "nix-command flakes" run nix-darwin#darwin-uninstaller

```



If that command doesn't work for you, you can try the locally installed uninstaller:



```

darwin-uninstaller

```



## Example configuration



Configuration lives in `~/.nixpkgs/darwin-configuration.nix`. Check out

[modules/examples](https://github.com/LnL7/nix-darwin/tree/master/modules/examples) for some example configurations.



```nix

{ pkgs, ... }:

{

  # List packages installed in system profile. To search by name, run:

  # $ nix-env -qaP | grep wget

  environment.systemPackages =

    [ pkgs.vim

    ];



  # Auto upgrade nix package and the daemon service.

  services.nix-daemon.enable = true;

  nix.package = pkgs.nix;

}

```



## Flakes



nix-darwin aims for both non-flake and flake configurations to be well supported despite flakes being an experimental feature in Nix.



### Step 1. Creating `flake.nix`



Getting started from scratch




If you don't have an existing `configuration.nix`, you can run the following commands to generate a basic `flake.nix` inside `~/.config/nix-darwin`:



```bash

mkdir -p ~/.config/nix-darwin

cd ~/.config/nix-darwin

nix flake init -t nix-darwin

sed -i '' "s/simple/$(scutil --get LocalHostName)/" flake.nix

```



Make sure to change `nixpkgs.hostPlatform` to `aarch64-darwin` if you are using Apple Silicon.



Migrating from an existing configuration.nix




Add the following to `flake.nix` in the same folder as `configuration.nix`:



```nix

{

  description = "John's darwin system";



  inputs = {

    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixpkgs-24.05-darwin";

    nix-darwin.url = "github:LnL7/nix-darwin";

    nix-darwin.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";

  };



  outputs = inputs@{ self, nix-darwin, nixpkgs }: {

    darwinConfigurations."Johns-MacBook" = nix-darwin.lib.darwinSystem {

      modules = [ ./configuration.nix ];

    };

  };

}

```



Make sure to replace `Johns-MacBook` with your hostname which you can find by running `scutil --get LocalHostName`.



Make sure to set `nixpkgs.hostPlatform` in your `configuration.nix` to either `x86_64-darwin` (Intel) or `aarch64-darwin` (Apple Silicon).



### Step 2. Installing `nix-darwin`



Instead of using `darwin-installer`, you can just run `darwin-rebuild switch` to install nix-darwin. As `darwin-rebuild` won't be installed in your `PATH` yet, you can use the following command:



```bash

nix run nix-darwin -- switch --flake ~/.config/nix-darwin

```



### Step 3. Using `nix-darwin`



After installing, you can run `darwin-rebuild` to apply changes to your system:



```bash

darwin-rebuild switch --flake ~/.config/nix-darwin

```



#### Using flake inputs



Inputs from the flake can also be passed into `darwinSystem`. These inputs are then

accessible as an argument `inputs`, similar to `pkgs` and `lib`, inside the configuration.



```nix

# in flake.nix

nix-darwin.lib.darwinSystem {

  modules = [ ./configuration.nix ];

  specialArgs = { inherit inputs; };

}

```



```nix

# in configuration.nix

{ pkgs, lib, inputs }:

# inputs.self, inputs.nix-darwin, and inputs.nixpkgs can be accessed here

```



## Documentation



Reference documentation of all the options is available [here](https://daiderd.com/nix-darwin/manual/index.html).

This can also be accessed locally using `man 5 configuration.nix`.



`darwin-help` will open a HTML version of the manpage in the default browser.



Furthermore there's `darwin-option` to introspect the settings of a system and its available options.

> NOTE: `darwin-option` is only available to non-flake installations.



```

$ darwin-option services.activate-system.enable

Value:

true



Default:

false



Example:

no example



Description:

Whether to activate system at boot time.

```



There's also a small wiki https://github.com/LnL7/nix-darwin/wiki about

specific topics, like macOS upgrades.



## Tests



There are basic tests that run sanity checks for some of the modules,

you can run them like this:



```bash

# run all tests

nix-build release.nix -A tests

# or just a subset

nix-build release.nix -A tests.environment-path

```



## Contributing



Let's make Nix on macOS awesome!



Don't hesitate to contribute modules or open an issue.



To build your configuration with local changes you can run this. This

flag can also be used to override darwin-config or nixpkgs, for more

information on the `-I` flag look at the nix-build [manpage](https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/command-ref/nix-build.html).



```bash

darwin-rebuild switch -I darwin=.

```



If you're adding a module, please add yourself to `meta.maintainers`, for example



```nix

  meta.maintainers = [

    lib.maintainers.alice or "alice"

  ];



  options.services.alicebot = # ...

```



The `or` operator takes care of graceful degradation when `lib` from Nixpkgs

goes out of sync.



Also feel free to contact me if you have questions,

- Matrix - @daiderd:matrix.org, you can find me in [#macos:nixos.org](https://matrix.to/#/#macos:nixos.org)

- @LnL7 on twitter