Home manager service failed to start after swapping to older generations and back

Help
1

I’ve been trying to style my system using stylix but decided to remove it because it’s not correctly styling the browser (it somehow chose a colour not defined in the base16 scheme).

Initially when I added stylix, I got the error that home-manager-username.service failed to start, and the suggested solution was to set home-manager.backFileExtension which I added and was able to install stylix without issues.

After removing stylix, I could still build new generations without issues. I was previously trying to fix the inconsistent cursor size where the cursor is tiny everywhere else except when I hover over waybar (which stylix somehow fixed). After removing stylix I noticed that the cursor is tiny even on waybar now (it’s consistent at least, this is because home-manager failed to start) so I went back to an earlier generation to check (generation 9 or something) and swapped back to the current generation (140+). But I noticed that home-manager failed to start and rebuilding gives me the same error I got when installing stylix

activating the configuration...
setting up /etc...
reloading user units for username...
restarting sysinit-reactivation.target
the following new units were started: sysinit-reactivation.target, systemd-tmpfiles-resetup.service
warning: the following units failed: home-manager-username.service

× home-manager-username.service - Home Manager environment for username
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/home-manager-username.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Wed 2024-07-24 11:17:52 AWST; 40ms ago
    Process: 7749 ExecStart=/nix/store/qznyj3wda5rqh2j67g6xhgnf9b1wgijw-hm-setup-env /nix/store/qhvd83q89vs38b5kvl5klgv7rcbbcyh8-home-manager-generation (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
   Main PID: 7749 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
         IP: 0B in, 0B out
        CPU: 88ms

Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom hm-activate-username[7837]: Please do one of the following:
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom hm-activate-username[7837]: - Move or remove the above files and try again.
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom hm-activate-username[7837]: - In standalone mode, use 'home-manager switch -b backup' to back up
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom hm-activate-username[7837]:   files automatically.
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom hm-activate-username[7837]: - When used as a NixOS or nix-darwin module, set
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom hm-activate-username[7837]:     'home-manager.backupFileExtension'
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom hm-activate-username[7837]:   to, for example, 'backup' and rebuild.
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom systemd[1]: home-manager-username.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom systemd[1]: home-manager-username.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Jul 24 11:17:52 rotom systemd[1]: Failed to start Home Manager environment for username.
warning: error(s) occurred while switching to the new configuration

backupFileExtension was still set to "backup" (I didn’t change it back), removing it also doesn’t do anything. I’m really not sure why it’s failing. My config files are below with most comments stripped.

flake.nix

{
  description = "Nixos config flake";

  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    hardware.url = "github:NixOS/nixos-hardware/master";
    systems.url = "github:nix-systems/default-linux";

    home-manager = {
      url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs"; # force HM to use same nixpkgs version as flake
    };

    hyprland.url = "git+https://github.com/hyprwm/Hyprland?submodules=1";
    hyprland-plugins = {
      url = "git+https://github.com/hyprwm/hyprland-plugins";
      inputs.hyprland.follows = "hyprland";
    };
  };

  outputs = {
    self,
    nixpkgs,
    home-manager,
    systems,
    ...
  } @ inputs: let
    inherit (self) outputs;
    lib = nixpkgs.lib // home-manager.lib;
    forEachSystem = f: lib.genAttrs (import systems) (system: f pkgsFor.${system});
    pkgsFor = lib.genAttrs (import systems) (
      system:
        import nixpkgs {
          inherit system;
          config.allowUnfree = true;
        }
    );
  in {
    inherit lib;
    devShells = forEachSystem (pkgs: import ./shell.nix {inherit pkgs;});

    nixosConfigurations = {
      rotom = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
        specialArgs = {inherit inputs outputs;};
        modules = [
          ./hosts/rotom/configuration.nix
          inputs.home-manager.nixosModules.default
        ];
      };

    };
  };
}

configuration.nix


{
  config,
  pkgs,
  inputs,
  home-manager,
  lib,
  ...
}: {
  imports = [
    ./hardware-configuration.nix
    inputs.hardware.nixosModules.framework-16-7040-amd
  ];


  system.stateVersion = "24.05"; # DO NOT CHANGE

  nix = let
    flakeInputs = lib.filterAttrs (_: lib.isType "flake") inputs;
  in {
    settings = {
      experimental-features = [
        "nix-command"
        "flakes"
      ];
      # Opinionated: disable global registry
      flake-registry = "";
      # Workaround for https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/9574
      nix-path = config.nix.nixPath;
    };

    # Opinated: disable channels
    channel.enable = false;

    # Opinionated: make flake registry and nix path match flake inputs
    registry = lib.mapAttrs (_: flake: {inherit flake;}) flakeInputs;
    nixPath = lib.mapAttrsToList (n: _: "${n}=flake:${n}") flakeInputs;

    # Garbage collector
    gc = {
      automatic = true;
      dates = "weekly";
      options = "--delete-older-than 14d";
    };

    # Perodic optimisation
    optimise.automatic = true;
    optimise.dates = ["09:00"];
  };

  system.autoUpgrade = {
    enable = true;
    flake = inputs.self.outPath;
    flags = [
      "--update-input"
      "nixpkgs"
      "-L" # Print build logs
    ];
    dates = "09:00"; # Update at this time
    randomizedDelaySec = "45min"; # random delay, reduce load if multiple system scheduled update
  };


  home-manager = {
    extraSpecialArgs = {inherit inputs;};
    users = {
      "username" = import ../../home/username/rotom.nix; # use home.nix only for "username"
    };
    useGlobalPkgs = true;
  };


  boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
  boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;

  networking.hostName = "rotom"; # Define your hostname.

  # Enable networking
  networking.networkmanager = {
    enable = true;
    wifi.backend = "iwd";
  };
  networking.wireless.iwd = {
    enable = true;
    settings = {
      IPv6 = {
        Enabled = true;
      };
      Settings = {
        AutoConnect = true;
      };
    };
  };



  # Set your time zone.
  time.timeZone = "Australia/Perth";

  # Select internationalisation properties.
  i18n.defaultLocale = "en_GB.UTF-8";

  i18n.extraLocaleSettings = {
    LC_ADDRESS = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_IDENTIFICATION = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_MEASUREMENT = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_MONETARY = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_NAME = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_NUMERIC = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_PAPER = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_TELEPHONE = "en_AU.UTF-8";
    LC_TIME = "en_AU.UTF-8";
  };

 
  # Disable the X11 windowing system, only use Wayland.
  services.xserver.enable = false;
  services.displayManager.sddm.wayland.enable = true;
  services.displayManager.sddm.enable = true;

  # Enable the KDE Plasma Desktop Environment.
  services.desktopManager.plasma6.enable = true;

  programs.hyprland = {
    enable = true;
    xwayland.enable = true;
    package = inputs.hyprland.packages.${pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.system}.hyprland;
  };

  # Enable CUPS to print documents.
  services.printing.enable = true;

  hardware.bluetooth = {
    enable = true;
    powerOnBoot = true; # powers up default Bluetooth controller
  };

  services.udisks2.enable = true; # For USB support
  services.gvfs.enable = true; # USB


  services.fwupd.enable = true;

  services.fstrim.enable = true;


  services.auto-cpufreq.enable = true;
  services.power-profiles-daemon.enable = false; # Conflict with auto-cpufreq


  # Enable sound with pipewire.
  hardware.pulseaudio.enable = false;
  security.rtkit.enable = true;
  services.pipewire = {
    enable = true;
    alsa.enable = true;
    alsa.support32Bit = true;
    pulse.enable = true;
  };

  users.users.username = {
    isNormalUser = true;
    description = "username";
    extraGroups = ["networkmanager" "wheel" "docker"];
    packages = with pkgs; [
      kdePackages.kate
      #  thunderbird
    ];
    shell = pkgs.zsh;
    openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = [
    ];
  };



  environment.plasma6.excludePackages = with pkgs.kdePackages; [
    konsole
    spectacle
  ];

  nixpkgs = {
    overlays = [

    ];

    config = {
      allowUnfree = true;
    };
  };

  programs.zsh.enable = true;
  programs.zsh.interactiveShellInit = ''eval "$(direnv hook zsh)" && neofetch'';

  # Desktop portal, handles program interaction, screensharing, file opening etc
  xdg = {
    portal = {
      enable = true;
      xdgOpenUsePortal = true;
    };
  };

  virtualisation.docker.enable = true;

  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    wget
    alejandra # Nix formatter
    kitty
    xwayland
    ntfs3g # For mounting USB drives
    exfat # USB?
    networkmanagerapplet

    (
      waybar.overrideAttrs (oldAttrs: {
        mesonFlags = oldAttrs.mesonFlags ++ ["-Dexperimental=true"];
      })
    )
    wlsunset
    brightnessctl
    hyprpicker # Colour picker
    libnotify # used by notification daemons
    wl-clipboard # system clipbloard
    playerctl # Controlling audio playback, pause, start etc
    rofi-wayland # App launcher, wayland-compatible version of rofi
    wpaperd
    hyprcursor # Hyprland cursor format, library and utilities
  ];
}

home.nix

{
  config,
  lib,
  pkgs,
  inputs,
  ...
}:
{
  home.stateVersion = "24.05"; # DON'T CHANGE

  home.username = "username";
  home.homeDirectory = "/home/username";


  nixpkgs.config = {
    allowUnfree = true;
    # Workaround for https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager/issues/2942
    allowUnfreePredicate = _: true;
  };
  # Nicely reload system units when changing configs
  systemd.user.startServices = "sd-switch";

  home.file = {
  };


  home.sessionVariables = {
    NIXOS_OZONE_WL = "1"; # For using VS Code and Brave under Wayland
  };


  imports = [
  ];

  wayland.windowManager.hyprland = import ./../../modules/hyprland.nix;

  services = {
    swaync = {
      enable = true;
    };

    playerctld.enable = true;
  };

  programs.wpaperd = {
    enable = true;
    settings = {
      default = {
        path = "/home/username/Pictures/Wallpaper/";
        duration = "30m";
        mode = "center";
      };
    };
  };


  home.packages = with pkgs; [
    okular
    vlc
    blender
    obsidian
    teams-for-linux
    vesktop # discord with screen sharing etc
    zotero

    docker
    devbox # Isolated development environment

    neofetch # I use nixos btw

    xwayland
    clipse # Clip board manager
    grim # Grab images from compositor
    slurp # select region in compositor and print to stdout
  ];


  programs = {
    # Let Home Manager install and manage itself.
    home-manager.enable = true;

    kitty.enable = true;
    vscode = import ./../../modules/vscode.nix pkgs;

    zsh = {
      enable = true;
      enableCompletion = true;
      autosuggestion.enable = true;
      syntaxHighlighting.enable = true;

      history = {
        size = 10000;
        path = "${config.xdg.dataHome}/zsh/history";
      };
    };

    neovim = {
      enable = true;
      defaultEditor = true;
      viAlias = true;
      vimAlias = true;
    };

    git = {
      enable = true;
    };

    direnv = {
      enable = true;
      nix-direnv.enable = true;
    };

    chromium = {
      enable = true;
      package = pkgs.brave.overrideAttrs (oldAttrs: {
        commandLineArgs = [
          "--disable-features=WebRtcAllowInputVolumeAdjustment --enable-features=UseOzonePlatform --ozone-platform-hint=auto"
        ];
      });
    };
  };
}

Any help is greatly appreciated…

Edit: I narrowed this behaviour down to generation 93 and 94. But the only differences between the two generations are

  1. removing in home.nix 
xdg.configFile."hypr/hyprland.conf".text = ''    bash -c
                        "swww init & hello!
                        swww img /home/username/Pictures/Wallpaper/2023-06-10_20-23_1.png &
                        nm-applet --indicator &
                        waybar &
                        dunst"
  '';
  1. Adding in home.nix under hyprland
exec-once = "bash -c 'swww init & swww img /home/username/Pictures/Wallpaper/2023-06-10_20-23_1.png & nm-applet --indicator & waybar & dunst'";

which shouldn’t be relevant at all, but home-manager starts in 94 but not 93??

1 Like
2

The error log that systemd is showing about home-manager-username.service has more than what appears. systemd only shows the last 10 lines of the log of the service that failed. Run journalctl --user --unit home-manager-username.service to get the full logs.

In any case, Home Manager seems to be complaining about seeing files in your home folder that is defined in your Home Manager configuration but does not match what is defined in the Nix code. Did you add any files in your home folder, not through editing Nix files but through something else like a text editor, when you were experimenting with styles? The full log from the above journalctl command would point to those extra files if they exist.

2 Likes
3

Running journalctl --user --unit home-manager-username.service didn’t produce any log files so I ran it without --user which produced these lines

Jul 24 13:14:13 rotom hm-activate-username[1670]: Starting Home Manager activation
Jul 24 13:14:13 rotom hm-activate-username[1670]: Activating checkFilesChanged
Jul 24 13:14:13 rotom hm-activate-username[1670]: Activating checkLinkTargets
Jul 24 13:14:13 rotom hm-activate-username[2142]: cmp: /nix/store/0d1ysya4bnxmhkiw1kqxmjsvlzpqawpg-home-manager-files/.vscode/extensions: Is a directory
Jul 24 13:14:13 rotom hm-activate-username[2116]: Existing file '/home/username/.vscode/extensions' is in the way of '/nix/store/0d1ysya4bnxmhkiw1kqxmjsvlzpqawpg-home-manager-files/.vscode/extensions'

Turns out the VSCode extension folder was in the way, I was trying to override the extensions inside a shell so that may have done something. Removing /home/username/.vscode/ fixed the issue, thank you very much for your help!!

2 Likes
4

Yep, it’s a system-level systemd service, not a user one.

1 Like