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https://github.com/the-mikedavis/dotfiles

my dotfiles, managed by Nix
https://github.com/the-mikedavis/dotfiles

dotfiles nix nixos

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my dotfiles, managed by Nix

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# Dotfiles



My dotfiles, as managed by Nix, now with 100% more

[flakes](https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Flakes).



![mango desktop](assets/mango.png)



## Setup



1. clone this repo somewhere on the machine

1. `sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake path/to/this/repo#machinename`



Note that you must have one of my PGP private keys to decrypt secrets, so

this setup isn't directly usable for people who aren't me. You should be

able to use this repo as a reference to build your own configuration though

if you're interested in using flakes to manage all configuration.



## Repo structure



* `flake.nix` - the main configuration entrypoint for NixOS machines

    * the flake manifest imports configuration from all other nix expressions

      in the repo, such as `home.nix`

* `flake.lock` - lockfile for all flake dependencies, so that builds are

  reproducible across machines

* `users/michael.nix` - the [`home-manager`](https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager)

  configuration for my user on NixOS machines

    * this is where most of the configuration ends up, especially for user-space

      tools like `sway`, editors and browsers, etc.

    * documentation on all available options in home-manager can be found

      [here](https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/options.html)

    * `users/root.nix` is much thinner, it's just git config for root

* `.git-crypt` and `.gitattributes` control which directories get encrypted

  by `git-crypt`, allowing me to host secrets in a public repo

* `defaults/` contains configuration on a per-program basis

    * these configurations are typically imported by `home.nix`

* `modules/common.nix` is common NixOS configuration shared between machines

* `machines/` contains directories for each NixOS machine I have with an overall

  machine-specific `configuration.nix` module and a hardware-specific

  `hardware-configuration.nix` module

    * `mango` and `mango2` are custom-built desktop machines

* `colorschemes/` has program-specific color schemes setup as nix attribute

  sets

* `darwin/` darwin (MacOS) home-manager configuration



## Some specifics



* I have my root device setup to use `tmpfs`

    * see [this great guide](https://elis.nu/blog/2020/05/nixos-tmpfs-as-root/)

    * also see [the impermanence project](https://github.com/nix-community/impermanence)

    * this forces me to explicitly control what data I want stored in

      non-volatile memory, which helps give confidence that my configuration

      is fully described by nix and is reproducible across machines

    * this also reveals some annoyances like browsers asking to be defaults,

      and forces you to go find the configuration switch to turn off annoying

      behavior

    * I also use the `home-manager` integration so I have to be specific about

      what persists across reboots for my user. See `users/michael.nix` for the

      commented list.

* Non-volatile memory are luks-encrypted (including swaps but not `/boot`)

    * I recommend [this gist](https://gist.github.com/martijnvermaat/76f2e24d0239470dd71050358b4d5134)

      as a guide

    * also see the [NixOS full disk encryption](https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Full_Disk_Encryption)

      wiki page

* Window manager: [`sway`](https://github.com/swaywm/sway)

    * Wayland support is actually not bad these days

    * I find Wayland more consistent and less buggy than X

* Nix flakes

    * they're experimental and it's not clear when/if they will become stable

    * they're good for projects you work on actively or update often

    * pretty much everything in [@nix-community](https://github.com/nix-community)

      supports flakes

    * see [the Flakes wiki page](https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Flakes) for more info

      about flakes



## Exceptions



Using the `nix profile` command to install flakes is imperative and not

reproducible across machines. I use it for anything I hack on, like

[helix](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix) where I'll make a fork,

add a `flake.nix` if it's missing, and install it into the profile,

making sure to push any branches of consequence.