NixOS Configuration

A reproducible NixOS configuration using Flakes + Home Manager with niri window manager, DankMaterialShell, CachyOS kernel, and Catppuccin theming.

Features

• Window Manager: niri (Wayland scrolling compositor)
• Desktop Shell: DankMaterialShell (replaces waybar, mako, fuzzel, swaylock, swayidle)
• Kernel: CachyOS patches for performance
• Theme: Catppuccin Mocha throughout
• Shell: Fish + Starship + Tmux
• Editor: Neovim (symlinked config for mutability)

Fresh Install

1. Partition the Disk

Boot NixOS minimal ISO and partition:

# Create partitions
gdisk /dev/nvme0n1
# p1: 512MB EFI (type EF00)
# p2: rest for LUKS (type 8300)

# Format EFI
mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/nvme0n1p1

# Setup LUKS
cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/nvme0n1p2
cryptsetup open /dev/nvme0n1p2 cryptroot

2. Create Btrfs Subvolumes

mkfs.btrfs /dev/mapper/cryptroot

mount /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@home
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@nix
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@log
umount /mnt

3. Mount Everything

mount -o subvol=@,compress=zstd,noatime /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/{home,nix,var/log,boot}
mount -o subvol=@home,compress=zstd,noatime /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt/home
mount -o subvol=@nix,compress=zstd,noatime /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt/nix
mount -o subvol=@log,compress=zstd,noatime /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt/var/log
mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot

4. Generate Hardware Config

nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
# Copy /mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix to repo

5. Clone and Install

mkdir -p /mnt/home/rxue
git clone <repo-url> /mnt/home/rxue/nixos-config
cd /mnt/home/rxue/nixos-config

# Update hardware-configuration.nix with generated one
# Update boot.nix LUKS UUID
# Update hosts/workstation/hardware-configuration.nix UUIDs

nixos-install --flake .#workstation

6. Post-Install

# After reboot and login
rustup default stable
opam init

Day-to-Day Usage

Rebuild System

# Full rebuild
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/nixos-config#workstation

# Test without making permanent
sudo nixos-rebuild test --flake ~/nixos-config#workstation

# Build only (check for errors)
sudo nixos-rebuild build --flake ~/nixos-config#workstation

Update Packages

# Update all inputs
cd ~/nixos-config
nix flake update
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#workstation

# Update specific input
nix flake update nixpkgs

Rollback

# Rollback to previous generation
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --rollback

# Or select from boot menu

Garbage Collection

# Manual cleanup
sudo nix-collect-garbage --delete-older-than 14d

# Automatic: configured weekly in hosts/workstation/default.nix

Adding Packages

Edit the appropriate module:

• CLI tools: modules/packages/cli.nix
• Languages: modules/packages/languages.nix
• Security tools: modules/packages/security.nix
• GUI apps: modules/packages/gui.nix
• User packages: home/default.nix

Then rebuild:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/nixos-config#workstation

Editing Neovim Config

The neovim config is symlinked from dotfiles/nvim/ for mutability. Edit directly without rebuilding:

nvim ~/nixos-config/dotfiles/nvim/lua/rxue/plugins/...

Editing Niri Config

Similarly, niri config is symlinked:

nvim ~/nixos-config/dotfiles/niri/config.kdl

Keybindings (Niri)

Key	Action
Mod+Return	Terminal (Kitty)
Mod+D	App launcher (DMS)
Mod+E	File manager (Thunar)
Mod+B	Browser (Zen)
Mod+Q	Close window
Mod+H/J/K/L	Focus left/down/up/right
Mod+Shift+H/J/K/L	Move window
Mod+1-9	Switch workspace
Mod+Shift+1-9	Move to workspace
Mod+F	Maximize column
Mod+Shift+F	Fullscreen
Print	Screenshot (selection)
Mod+Shift+E	Quit niri

Verification Checklist

After fresh install:

1. Boot into SDDM with Catppuccin theme
2. Login → niri starts → DMS panel visible
3. Open Kitty → fish + starship prompt
4. Run fastfetch → CachyOS kernel
5. Run nvidia-smi → GPU detected
6. Open neovim → plugins load
7. pactl list sinks → PipeWire working
8. DMS launcher works
9. Screenshot → grim+slurp+satty
10. Steam launches