Nix Configuration

Jordan Garrison's declarative system configurations for NixOS, macOS (nix-darwin), and WSL/Ubuntu (Home Manager) using Nix Flakes.

Quick Start

This repository uses nh for an improved Nix experience. All commands below assume nh is installed.

NixOS

# Clone and switch to a configuration
git clone https://github.com/jordangarrison/nix-config.git
cd nix-config
nh os switch .#<hostname>

Available NixOS hosts:

Host	Hardware	Description
endeavour	MSI B550-A Pro, AMD GPU	Main desktop workstation with GNOME, Hyprland, and Niri
opportunity	Framework 12 (13th Gen Intel)	Laptop with GNOME, Hyprland, and Niri. Tablet mode enabled (touchscreen gestures, auto-rotation, OSK)
voyager	MacBook Pro 12,1	MacBook Pro running NixOS
discovery	AMD-based system	Minimal GNOME setup

macOS (nix-darwin)

nh darwin switch .#<hostname>

Available Darwin hosts:

Host	Description
H952L3DPHH	Work MacBook with Home Manager integration

WSL/Ubuntu (Home Manager only)

nh home switch .#<config>

Available Home Manager configurations:

Config	Description
jordangarrison@normandy	WSL/Ubuntu standalone setup

Directory Structure

├── flake.nix                 # Central flake configuration
├── hosts/                    # Host-specific configurations
│   ├── endeavour/            # Desktop workstation + home server (NixOS)
│   ├── opportunity/          # Framework 12 laptop with tablet mode (NixOS)
│   ├── voyager/              # MacBook Pro (NixOS)
│   ├── discovery/            # AMD system (NixOS)
│   └── flomac/               # Work MacBook (nix-darwin)
├── modules/
│   ├── nixos/                # Shared NixOS modules (25 modules)
│   │   ├── common.nix        # Base system configuration
│   │   ├── gnome-desktop.nix # GNOME desktop environment
│   │   ├── niri-desktop.nix  # Niri scrollable compositor
│   │   ├── tablet-mode.nix   # Tablet mode (hardware sensors)
│   │   ├── development.nix   # Docker, Emacs, dev tools
│   │   ├── forgejo.nix       # Self-hosted Git server
│   │   ├── jellyfin.nix      # Media server
│   │   ├── nginx.nix         # Reverse proxy
│   │   └── ...               # And more (see AGENTS.md)
│   ├── home/                 # Home Manager modules (16 modules)
│   │   ├── niri/             # Niri user configuration
│   │   ├── tablet-mode/      # Tablet gestures and OSK
│   │   ├── tea/              # Forgejo CLI
│   │   ├── zed-editor/       # Zed IDE
│   │   ├── ghostty/          # Ghostty terminal
│   │   └── ...               # And more (see AGENTS.md)
│   └── *-overlay.nix         # Package overlays (9 modules)
├── packages/                 # Custom package definitions (10 packages)
├── users/                    # User configurations
│   ├── jordangarrison/       # Primary user
│   │   ├── configs/          # Application configs
│   │   ├── tools/            # Doom Emacs, nvf, scripts
│   │   └── wallpapers/       # Wallpaper collection
│   └── mikayla/, jane/, isla/ # Family member configurations
├── lib/                      # Nix helper functions
├── docs/                     # Documentation
│   ├── adr/                  # Architecture Decision Records
│   ├── plans/                # Implementation plans
│   └── lessons-learned/      # Post-implementation learnings
└── shell.nix                 # Development shell

Desktop Environments

The configuration supports multiple desktop environments, selectable at login:

DE	Description	Hosts
GNOME	Traditional desktop with extensions	All NixOS hosts
Hyprland	Dynamic tiling Wayland compositor	endeavour, opportunity, voyager
Niri	Scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor	endeavour

Managing the System

Update Dependencies

# Update all flake inputs
nix flake update

# Review changes
git diff flake.lock

Rebuild System

# NixOS
nh os switch .#<hostname>

# macOS
nh darwin switch .#<hostname>

# Home Manager only
nh home switch .#<config>

Other Commands

# Search for packages
nh search <package-name>

# Check flake configuration
nix flake check

# Clean up old generations
nh clean all

# Enter development shell
nix develop

Features

• Flake-based - Reproducible, version-locked configurations
• Multi-platform - NixOS, macOS, and WSL/Ubuntu support
• Multi-user - Family members have individual configurations
• Multiple DEs - GNOME, Hyprland, and Niri available
• Tablet mode - Touchscreen gestures, auto-rotation, and on-screen keyboard (opportunity)
• Home server - Self-hosted services on endeavour (Forgejo, Jellyfin, Searx, Greenlight)
• Modular - 25 NixOS modules + 16 Home Manager modules + 9 overlays
• Development ready - Emacs (Doom), Neovim (nvf), Zed, Docker, and more
• Custom packages - 10 custom utilities via packages/ directory

Documentation

• AGENTS.md - Comprehensive architecture documentation and AI agent guidance
• docs/adr/ - Architecture Decision Records
• docs/plans/ - Implementation plans for features
• docs/lessons-learned/ - Post-implementation learnings

Initial Setup

For non-NixOS systems, install Nix using the Determinate Systems installer:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf -L https://install.determinate.systems/nix | sh -s -- install