Skip to content

ROADMAP_v0.2.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
289 lines (197 loc) · 8.08 KB

ROADMAP_v0.2.md

File metadata and controls

289 lines (197 loc) · 8.08 KB
Raw

Tomato v0.2 — Roadmap

Vision

v0.2 transforms Tomato from a single-file configuration.nix generator into a full flake-native, multi-machine NixOS configuration manager with Home Manager support.

1. Flake Backend

1.1 Flake Inputs as OODNs

Flake inputs map naturally to the OODN registry. Standard OODN keys for flakes:

Key Example Value Purpose
nixpkgs_url github:nixos/nixpkgs?ref=nixos-unstable Main nixpkgs input
home_manager_url github:nix-community/home-manager Home Manager input
flake_parts_url github:hercules-ci/flake-parts Flake-parts for composability
sops_nix_url github:Mic92/sops-nix Secrets management

The OODN editor gets a dedicated "Flake Inputs" section — each entry becomes an inputs.name.url in the generated flake.nix.

1.2 Walker FlakeBackend

New Tomato.Backend.Flake module alongside the existing NixOS backend. The walker's finalize/2 dispatches based on backend selection.

Generated output structure:

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs?ref=nixos-unstable";
    home-manager.url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
    home-manager.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    # ... from OODNs
  };

  outputs = { nixpkgs, home-manager, ... } @ inputs: {
    nixosConfigurations.${hostname} = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      system = "${system_arch}";
      modules = [
        ./hardware-configuration.nix
        # ... composed fragments from the DAG walk
      ];
    };
  };
}

1.3 Backend Selection

  • Add backend field to Graph struct (:nixos_traditional | :nixos_flake)
  • UI toggle in the sidebar header next to the Generate button
  • Walker dispatches to the appropriate finalize function
  • Deploy command adapts: nixos-rebuild switch vs nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#hostname

2. Multi-Machine Support

2.1 Machine as Root Gateway

Each machine gets its own root-level gateway node. The graph structure becomes:

Floor 0 (root)
  OODN (flake inputs, shared vars)
  ├── Gateway: "mimas" (workstation)
  ├── Gateway: "phoebe" (server)
  └── Gateway: "mbp" (macbook - home-manager only)

Floor 1 (inside "mimas")
  Input → Networking → System → Services (gateway) → Output
                                  │
Floor 2 (inside Services)         ▼
  Input → PostgreSQL → Gitea → Nginx → Output

2.2 Machine Config Node

A new node type or a special gateway property: machine metadata.

Field Example
hostname mimas
system aarch64-linux
stateVersion 24.11
type nixos or home-manager

These override OODN values for that machine's subtree — so ${hostname} resolves differently per machine.

2.3 Generation

Generate produces one of:

  • Traditional: separate configuration.nix per machine
  • Flake: single flake.nix with multiple nixosConfigurations entries

3. Module System

3.1 Reusable Modules

Currently leaf nodes hold raw Nix fragments. v0.2 introduces module nodes — leaf nodes that generate proper NixOS module structure:

{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {
  options.tomato.myService = {
    enable = lib.mkEnableOption "My Service";
    port = lib.mkOption { type = lib.types.port; default = 8080; };
  };

  config = lib.mkIf config.tomato.myService.enable {
    # ... service config
  };
}

The template library gets a "Module" category with option-based templates.

3.2 Module References

Leaf nodes can reference modules by name instead of inlining config:

tomato.myService.enable = true;
tomato.myService.port = 9090;

This maps to Nix's module system — define once in a module node, enable/configure in leaf nodes across machines.

4. Deploy Improvements

4.1 Multi-Target Deploy

  • Deploy to multiple machines from one graph
  • Machine selector in the deploy modal
  • Parallel or sequential deployment with per-machine status

4.2 Flake Deploy

# Instead of scp + nixos-rebuild
nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#hostname --target-host root@machine

Or with deploy-rs / colmena integration for fleet management.

4.3 Dry Run / Test Mode

  • nixos-rebuild test — activate without adding to boot menu
  • nixos-rebuild dry-activate — show what would change without applying
  • nixos-rebuild build — build only, don't activate
  • UI shows diff of what will change before applying

4.4 Rollback

  • nixos-rebuild switch --rollback button in the UI
  • Show current and previous generation numbers
  • One-click rollback to previous config

5. Home Manager Integration

5.1 Home Manager Nodes

New gateway type or tag: home-manager. Contains user-level configuration:

programs.git = {
  enable = true;
  userName = "Alessio";
  userEmail = "...";
};

programs.zsh.enable = true;
programs.tmux.enable = true;

5.2 Template Library Expansion

New category: Home Manager

  • Shell (zsh, fish, bash config)
  • Git
  • Editors (neovim, helix, emacs)
  • Terminal (alacritty, kitty, wezterm)
  • Desktop (i3, sway, hyprland)
  • Dev tools (direnv, nix-direnv)

5.3 Mixed Modules

Modules that apply to both NixOS and Home Manager (like in NobbZ's mixed/ directory). A special gateway type that appears in both trees.

6. UI Improvements

6.1 Graph Canvas

  • Minimap — small overview of the full graph in the corner
  • Snap to grid — optional grid alignment for node positions
  • Multi-select — shift+click to select multiple nodes, move/delete together
  • Search — find nodes by name or content across all floors
  • Undo/redo — revert last N mutations

6.2 Node Rendering

  • Content preview inside the node (first 2-3 lines of Nix content)
  • Status indicators — green dot for valid, red for syntax errors
  • Node groups — visual grouping without gateways (cosmetic borders)

6.3 OODN Node

  • Sections — group OODNs by category (Flake Inputs, System, Deploy)
  • Type hints — URL, string, number, boolean
  • Validation — check OODN values against expected format

6.4 Diff View

Before deploying, show a diff between:

  • Current on-disk configuration.nix (fetched via SSH)
  • Newly generated config

Side-by-side or unified diff in the deploy modal.

7. nixpkgs Integration

7.1 Options Search

Connect to NixOS option search (search.nixos.org/options API or local options.json):

  • When editing a leaf node, autocomplete NixOS options
  • Show option type, default, description inline
  • Validate that options exist before generating

7.2 Package Search

Search nixpkgs packages from the template picker:

  • environment.systemPackages autocomplete
  • Package description and version info
  • Dependency tree visualization

7.3 Deprecation Warnings

Parse nixos-rebuild output for deprecation warnings and surface them in the UI per-node — like the services.postgresql.port → services.postgresql.settings.port rename we caught live.

8. Persistence Improvements

8.1 Git-Backed Graphs

  • Optional: save graphs to a git repo instead of loose JSON files
  • Commit on every save with auto-generated message
  • History view — see who changed what, when
  • Branch support — test configs on a branch before merging to main

8.2 Import/Export

  • Import existing configuration.nix → parse into graph nodes
  • Import flake.nix → parse inputs as OODNs, modules as nodes
  • Export graph as standalone directory (flake-ready)

Priority Order

Phase Features Effort
Phase 1 Flake backend, backend selection, deploy --flake Medium
Phase 2 Multi-machine gateways, per-machine OODN override Medium
Phase 3 Home Manager nodes + templates Medium
Phase 4 Dry run, diff view, rollback Small
Phase 5 nixpkgs options search + autocomplete Large
Phase 6 UI improvements (minimap, multi-select, undo) Medium
Phase 7 Git-backed persistence, import/export Large
Phase 8 Module system (options, mkEnableOption) Large

Tomato v0.2 — from aperitivo prototype to real infrastructure tool.