NOTE: Quite a bit of the info in this README is currently outdated, including the structure info. I'm planning on fixing it soon.

WHAT IS THIS?

This is my own nixos configuration for both my desktop and laptop. Currently it provides a base configuration, as well as per-host modules on top of the base.

HOW IS IT ORGANIZED?

The current high-level structure is organized like this:

project
└───base
│   └───core
│   └───gnome
│   └───software
│   └───terminal
|   |   baseVars.nix
└───host1
│   └───core
│   └───gnome
│   └───software
│   └───terminal
|   |   host1Vars.nix
|   |   hardware-configuration.nix
└───host2
│   └───core
│   └───gnome
│   └───software
│   └───terminal
|   |   host2Vars.nix
|   |   hardware-configuration.nix
└───resources
│   └───documentation
|   |   shell.nix
│   flake.nix
│   mkHosts.nix

DIVING DEEPER

Facilitation

The flake.nix utilizes a function, which automatically creates hosts. This means that you can create a new host via the file structure without having to write a config for it in the flake!

Home-manager and nixos separation

This configuration utilizes home-manager, which you've likely heard of before if you're reading this. However, home-manager is an external project, and thus uses different options than the base NixOS. This means that a configuration requires separated directories to not cause issues.

The most frustrating part of this for me is that I never remember if something is a home file, or a nixos one. To solve this, I have this separation at the lowest level. This means that if something isn't in the home directory, it'll be in the nixos one right alongside it. I recommend adopting the same structure for your configuration.

Structure

To simplify everything, I use a basic structure for both my base configuration and my hosts. This means that to be properly imported into the flake, a host should follow this structure. The base configuration can be thought of as its own host whose configuration is included in any other host.

The basic structure for a host is listed here.

Variables

There are two types of variables: general variables, and host-specific variables. General variables are host-independent, such as the directory of the nixos configuration. Host-specific variables are set based on the host, like the hostname and email.

Files can request a value from hostVars without knowing which host is being used. For example, files in the base configuration can use values set in hostVars.

HOW DO I USE THIS?

Just kidding. Nobody actually uses a random person's NixOS configuration. Unless it's Misterio's and you want to cause yourself pain and suffering.

Anyways, I think this is a pretty good reference. I try to keep things readable and well-commented so everything is reproducible for a casual observer. Here's a quick list of things you should steal from me:

• My rebuild function is awesome. I wrote some really cool logic with rbld -f, so it gets flake updates, then checks whether those flake updates necessitate a rebuild. Check it out here.

• I have a cool little import function that imports all *.nix files in a folder, without the need for a default.nix file. Check it out here.

• I have a lot of software that I've heavily configured, like Firefox, Kitty, Gnome extensions, etc. Steal it all! I think it looks pretty, which makes it objectively the best configuration out there.

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps you as a resource.