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diff --git a/post/nixos-p1.typ b/post/nixos-p1.typ new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d248c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/post/nixos-p1.typ @@ -0,0 +1,459 @@ +#import "/global/common.typ": * + +#let doc = [ +Almost a guide to getting started with NixOS the modern (2023) way. + +There seems to be a shortage of written guides on the Internet for setting up +NixOS the "modern" way - Flakes + Home Manager. It doesn't help that Nix's +official docs are very disjointed so hopefully this will fill in some gaps that +I observed when setting it all up. + +#fig("nixos-p1/fox.jpg", alt: "meme") + +#quote(block: true)[ + Warning: NixOS is not exactly beginner friendly - you should have + familiarity installing Linux distros before trying this. +] + += But Why NixOS? + +Eh... FOMO regarding all the +#extlink("https://www.google.com/search?q=nixos+memes&tbm=isch")[memes]. + +There is one particular feature that is intriguing - the ability to roll-back +your entire system (not incl. BIOS) in case of a misconfiguration or a broken +update. *You can't do this with Ansible.* This allows you (in theory) to get +the benefits of a rolling release as well as the stability benefits of a +traditional distro. + +#quote(block: true)[ + It takes the idea of reproducible builds, and extends it to the OS. +] + +For example, NixOS will present you with all previous "builds" at boot time for +you to revert to in case something gets messed up. + +#fig("nixos-p1/boot.png", alt: "boot prompt") + += Things I want to explore as part of this exercise: + ++ How hard is it to go from a minimal install to productive? At minimum I need + a graphical environment with working vol, mic, camera, wifi, and hibernation. + Is it harder than doing the same in something like Manjaro? ++ Is Wayland truly ready? ++ Try out #extlink("https://github.com/djpohly/dwl")[`dwl`] (the Wayland port + of `dwm` by the #extlink("https://suckless.org")[suckless] folks) + += Constraints + ++ I want to stick to the "Nix" way of doing things as much as possible _where + it makes sense to me_. ++ Stick to Wayland only applications as much as possible. + += Spoilers! (End result) + +#fig("nixos-p1/rice.png", alt: "my rice") + +(Probably too ugly for r/unixporn, but works for me :) + += Installation + +== Getting a Live USB going + +- I used the #extlink("https://nixos.org/download.html#nixos-iso")[minimal iso]. +- Create a bootable USB with the usual - `sudo dd if=/path/to/iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M`. +- Boot up. +- Then start following the steps for + #extlink("https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/index.html#sec-installation-manual")[manual + installation] from the official guide to complete the install. + +#quote(block: true)[ + Make sure to give SWAP as much space as your memory capacity for + hibernation to work properly. +] + +#quote(block: true)[ + Wifi did not work for me out of the box. So I used my phone to tether via + USB. +] + += First boot + +If everything went well, you should be presented with a TTY prompting you to +login: + +``` +NixOS ... +Login: <your username> +Password: <your password> +``` + +Once you login, you will still just have a TTY, but we can now go ahead and +start installing our graphical environment. + += Housekeeping + +- You should have two NixOS config files in `/etc/nixos/`: + +``` +configuration.nix +hardware-configuration.nix +``` + +- Edit the `configuration.nix` file by setting the correct values for hostname, + networking, timezone and users. I also add a few basic system-wide packages + here such as `git, rsync, neovim, htop` etc. + +- To _apply and use_ your changes to any of these files you need to run: + +```bash +sudo nixos-rebuild switch +``` + +- Since we want all our configuration to be version controlled, I copied these + files to live under my user's config: `~/.config/{nix, nixpkgs}/`: + +```bash +cp /etc/nix/nix.conf ~/.config/nix/nix.conf +cp /etc/nixos/configuration.nix ~/.config/nixpkgs/configuration.nix +``` + +Nix will now use these user-specific files to read its config :) + +== Flakes Support + +Nix (the pkg mgr) does not come with Flakes support out-of-the-box. So we need +to enable it: + ++ In `~/.config/nix/nix.conf` add: + +``` +experimental-features = nix-command flakes +``` + ++ Apply it: + +```bash +sudo nixos-rebuild switch +``` + +Read about #extlink("https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Flakes")[Flakes]. + +== Home Manager Support + +Now we can install the Home-Manager flake. + ++ Init our base flake: + +```bash +cd ~/.config/nixpkgs +nix flake init +``` + +This should generate two files: + +``` +flake.nix +flake.lock +``` + ++ Next we tell `flake.nix` to manage all our configuration (system + home) for + our system: + +```nix +{ + description = "NixOS configuration"; + + inputs = { + nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable"; + home-manager.url = "github:nix-community/home-manager"; + home-manager.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs"; + nixos-hardware.url = "github:NixOS/nixos-hardware/master"; + }; + + outputs = inputs@{ nixpkgs, home-manager, nixos-hardware, ... }: { + nixosConfigurations = { + # Change below to use your hostname from configuration.nix + "art-sr" = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem { + system = "x86_64-linux"; + modules = [ + ./configuration.nix + nixos-hardware.nixosModules.framework + home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager + { + home-manager.useGlobalPkgs = true; + home-manager.useUserPackages = true; + # Change below to use your username from configuration.nix + home-manager.users.kdam0 = import ./home.nix; + + # Optionally, use home-manager.extraSpecialArgs to pass + # arguments to home.nix + } + ]; + }; + }; + }; +} +``` + +#quote(block: true)["art-sr" is my hostname for this machine.] + +In my case, I also have the following two lines specifically to load settings +for my hardware: + +``` + nixos-hardware.url = "github:NixOS/nixos-hardware/master"; + ... + nixos-hardware.nixosModules.framework +``` + +you will need to modify these values based on your +#extlink("https://github.com/NixOS/nixos-hardware")[hardware support]. + ++ Create a `~/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix` file with your values: + +```nix +{ config, pkgs, ...}: +{ + home.username = "kdam0"; + home.homeDirectory = "/home/kdam0"; + + programs.home-manager.enable = true; + home.stateVersion = "22.11"; + + services.gpg-agent = { + enable = true; + defaultCacheTtl = 1800; + enableSshSupport = true; + }; +} +``` + ++ Apply: + +```bash +sudo nixos-rebuild switch +``` + +#quote(block: true)[ + It took a few attempts to get NixOS to re-build successfully. I ran into a + few different issues involving users, and hostnames while following the + official docs until I arrived at the configs above which worked. +] + +Read about +#extlink("https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/index.html#ch-nix-flakes")[Home + Manager flake]. + +*This would be a good time init a git repo in `~/.config/nixpkgs/` and publish +your progress.* + += Setting up the GUI + +== Window Manager + bar + system info. + +Getting `dwl` is easy enough. In my `home.nix`: + +``` + home.packages = [ + pkgs.dwl + ... + ]; +``` + +This will install `dwl` on a rebuild. Then I can run it with `dwl`. + +Oh it fails...something about permissions... In +`~/.config/nixpkgs/configuration.nix` make sure you have: + +``` + security.polkit.enable = true; +``` + +Oh it fails again with GLE errors :( Add: + +``` + hardware.opengl = { + enable = true; + driSupport = true; + }; +``` + +*Sweet now it launches!* + +But of course I need to configure the keys - that's the whole point of a WM. +Additionally, `dwl` requires a re-build on every config change... + +*How do I tell Nix to use my config file while installing/building `dwl`?* + +Lucking all packages (`pkgs.*`) build files are defined on their GitHub. We can +see that we are allowed to pass in a `conf` argument to +#extlink("https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/applications/window-managers/dwl/default.nix")[this] +file. + +After a bit of digging around, I arrived at how to do it: + ++ First copy your `config.h` to `~/.config/nixpkgs/dwl/config.h`. ++ Then point to it in your `home.nix`: + +``` + home.packages = [ + (pkgs.dwl.override { + # trying to supply config.home.homeDirectory here leads to "impure" usage. + # so disabling it for now. + # conf = (builtins.readFile "${config.home.homeDirectory}/.config/dwl/config.h"); + conf = ./dwl/config.h; + }) + ... + ]; +``` + +#quote(block: true)[ + I know I can just clone the source myself and build it, but I like to use + the default package manager whenever possible to manage packages. +] + +Of course since `dwl` is as minimal as it gets, it does not ship with a bar. We +have many options for which bar to use, I have very little use for a bar, so I +kept it very simple and went with `somebar`: + +``` + home.packages = [ + ... + pkgs.somebar + ... + ]; +``` + +If you want status info on your bar you can use something like `someblocks` - +which will let you script simple scripts with text output you want displayed in +each block. This will need to be cloned and built manually as it is not +available in the Nix repos. + +Oh but you probably don't have `make` or any requirements to actually build +it...fear not: + +```bash +nix-shell -p gnumake +``` + +which put you in a temporary environment with all the common build tools +available. Now you can: + +```bash +sudo make install +``` + +`wbg` is a simple background setter for Wayland......aaaand BAM! + +#fig("nixos-p1/dwl.png", alt: "dwl pic") + +== Terminal + +I use #extlink("https://codeberg.org/dnkl/foot")[`foot`]. + +Create the config file in `~/.config/nixpkgs/foot/foot.ini`: + +``` +# for transparency # +[colors] +alpha=0.7 +``` + +Use it in `home.nix`: + +``` + home.file.".config/foot/foot.ini".source = ../../common/foot/foot.ini; +``` + +#quote(block: true)[I use this pattern for pretty much all my _dotfiles_:] + +``` + # script that sets a bg. + home.file."bg.sh".source = common/bg.sh; + # script that starts my gui env. + home.file."start.sh".source = common/start.sh; + # foot config + home.file.".config/foot/foot.ini".source = common/foot/foot.ini; + # wofi config (app launcher) + home.file.".config/wofi/style.css".source = common/wofi/style.css; + # mako config (notifications) + home.file.".config/mako/config".source = common/mako/config; +``` + +== Sound + +In my `configuration.nix`: + +``` + security.rtkit.enable = true; + services.pipewire = { + enable = true; + alsa.enable = true; + alsa.support32Bit = true; + pulse.enable = true; + wireplumber.enable = true; + media-session.enable = false; + jack.enable = true; + systemWide = false; + }; +``` + +== Nextcloud + +I want a purely CLI way to handle this, and a periodic sync is sufficient for +me. We do this with `systemd-timers` (Nix advises against `cron`). In my +`home.nix`: + +``` + systemd.user.services = { + nextcloud-sync = { + Unit = { + Description = "Auto sync Nextcloud"; + After = "network-online.target"; + }; + Service = { + Type = "simple"; + EnvironmentFile = "${config.home.homeDirectory}/.nextcloud.env"; + ExecStart = '' + ${pkgs.nextcloud-client}/bin/nextcloudcmd \ + -h --non-interactive \ + --user "''${NEXTCLOUD_USER}" \ + --password "''${NEXTCLOUD_PASSWORD}" \ + ''${NEXTCLOUD_DIR} \ + ''${NEXTCLOUD_URL} + ''; + TimeoutStopSec = "180"; + KillMode = "process"; + KillSignal = "SIGINT"; + }; + Install.WantedBy = ["multi-user.target"]; + }; + }; + systemd.user.timers = { + nextcloud-sync = { + Unit.Description = "Automatic sync files with Nextcloud when booted up after 5 minutes then rerun every 10 minutes"; + Timer.OnUnitActiveSec = "10min"; + Install.WantedBy = ["multi-user.target" "timers.target"]; + }; + }; + systemd.user.startServices = true; +``` + += Conclusions + ++ Yes setting things up from a minimal iso is harder than in Manjaro. Although + I got everything I wanted working, there were many times I felt like giving + up. (Aside: I am _so grateful_ for Manjaro, and Arch wikis). That said, I + expect this friction is a one-time cost for building familiarity with Nix, + and well worth the benefits that come with it. ++ You bet Wayland is ready. Multi-monitor works out-of-the-box, all my apps + support it, and things just _feel_ more polished than I have ever felt with + Xorg. ++ `dwl` is as awesome as I had hoped! This is my daily driver now. + += My configs + +All the configs discussed (and more) are in my +#extlink("https://gitlab.com/kdam0/dotfiles-nix")[nixdotfiles repo]. +] |