this has been problematic for me since i cant get it working and actually cant just figure out now what is the issue and what i need to do. Got pretty frustrated and this would be so nice to get to working state so i can start clean my configs better.
would like pretty monkey friendly guide how to setup this one
In general follow the Home Manager Manual , section Installation.
If you are on NixOS, use the Module. Otherwise, follow https://nix.dev/install-nix#install-nix and then follow the standalone Installation steps from the home-manager manual.
If you get stuck or encounter an error, post it in this thread/discourse or on another community forum. Specifying your target platform and previous steps might help.
thankyou followed the link and i got it working and been moving files etc to home-manager now, but run small issue when running ´home-manager switch´ i get this error and spend hours to trying to figure this one out but i just cant figure what…
error:
… while evaluating the attribute 'activationPackage'
at /nix/store/kn954wchjva0zk5a72hhrp9kq0nvhxiz-home-manager-25.11.tar.gz/home-manager/modules/default.nix:63:7:
62|
63| activationPackage = module.config.home.activationPackage;
| ^
64|
… while evaluating a branch condition
at /nix/store/cyhkpcc06gv501j5780x3spgwk5d8blw-nixos-25.11/nixos/lib/lists.nix:142:18:
141| len = length list;
142| fold' = n: if n == len then nul else op (elemAt list n) (fold' (n + 1));
| ^
143| in
(stack trace truncated; use '--show-trace' to show the full, detailed trace)
error: The option `home-manager' does not exist. Definition values:
- In `/home/phatle/.config/home-manager/home.nix':
{
backupFileExtension = "backup";
}
{ config, pkgs, ... }:
let
# A helper for packages that are part of the 'kdePackages' set
kdepkgs = with pkgs.kdePackages; [
kate
audiotube
plasmatube
kdenlive
];
# List of all desired packages, including powerlevel10k for OMZ
userPackages = with pkgs; [
# Zsh Theme Package (Required for Oh My Zsh to find the theme)
zsh-powerlevel10k
# --- Multimedia / Graphics ---
blender
darktable
gimp
inkscape
] ++ kdepkgs ++ [
# --- Communication / Productivity ---
thunderbird
libreoffice
signal-desktop
# --- Gaming ---
steam
# --- Security / VPN ---
protonvpn-gui
protonmail-bridge-gui
proton-pass
];
in
{
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 1. HOME MANAGER BASICS
## -------------------------------------------------------------
home.username = "phatle";
home.homeDirectory = "/home/phatle";
home.stateVersion = "25.11";
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 2. USER PACKAGES (Applications installed for the 'phatle' user)
## -------------------------------------------------------------
home.packages = userPackages;
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 3. PROGRAM CONFIGURATION
## -------------------------------------------------------------
### Zsh Shell Configuration
programs.zsh = {
enable = true;
enableCompletion = true;
history = {
path = "${config.home.homeDirectory}/.zsh_history";
size = 10000;
save = 10000;
};
# Oh My Zsh (OMZ) Configuration
oh-my-zsh = {
enable = true;
theme = "powerlevel10k";
plugins = [ "git" "sudo" ];
};
initExtra = ''
[[ ! -f ~/.p10k.zsh ]] || source ~/.p10k.zsh
'';
};
### Web Browsers
programs.firefox.enable = true;
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 4. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES & DOTFILES
## -------------------------------------------------------------
home.sessionVariables = {
EDITOR = "kate";
};
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 5. NIXPKGS CONFIGURATION (Allow Unfree Packages)
## -------------------------------------------------------------
nixpkgs.config = {
allowUnfree = true;
};
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 6. HOME MANAGER CONFIGURATION (Backup Fix)
## -------------------------------------------------------------
# This resolves the clobbering issue by setting the option at the correct root level.
home-manager.backupFileExtension = "hm-backup";
# Note: Removed programs.home-manager.enable = true; as it is redundant when used
# as a NixOS module, and its options were conflicting with the root-level options.
}
home-manager.backupFileExtension is a nixos option (though one only available when you’ve set up home-manager as a nixos module), not a home-manager option.
so i am trying it on from file it needs to be on configuration.nix file, that explains it alot
i think i have done and gotten 95% working just could use some help on checking is all good and should be and i am having melt down to setup by ohMyZSH/powerlevel10k working on home-manager side something i have missed on something or just hitting the end of line on my daily energy
{ config, pkgs, ... }:
{
# -------------------------------------------------------------------
# 1. SYSTEM-LEVEL IMPORTS (MODULES)
# -------------------------------------------------------------------
imports =
[ # Include the results of the hardware scan.
./hardware-configuration.nix
# IMPORTANT: Keep the home-manager/nixos module here to integrate
# Home Manager into the NixOS system.
<home-manager/nixos>
];
# Bootloader, Kernel, and Luks
boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;
boot.kernelPackages = pkgs.linuxPackages_latest;
boot.initrd.luks.devices."luks-8edb1b27-5162-4113-8d34-8b440a45ef52".device = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/8edb1b27-5162-4113-8d34-8b440a45ef52";
# Networking
networking.hostName = "nixos";
networking.networkmanager.enable = true;
# Firewall Configuration
networking.firewall.enable = true;
# Log refused connections is a good system-wide security setting
networking.firewall.logRefusedConnections = true;
# networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 22 ]; # Uncomment if you enable SSH service
# Localization and Time
time.timeZone = "Europe/Helsinki";
i18n.defaultLocale = "en_US.UTF-8";
i18n.extraLocaleSettings = {
LC_ADDRESS = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_IDENTIFICATION = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_MEASUREMENT = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_MONETARY = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_NAME = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_NUMERIC = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_PAPER = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_TELEPHONE = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
LC_TIME = "fi_FI.UTF-8";
};
# Console Keymap (System-level console/TTY setting)
console.keyMap = "fi";
# Display Server and Desktop Environment (System-wide services)
services.xserver.enable = true;
services.displayManager.sddm.enable = true;
services.desktopManager.plasma6.enable = true;
# X11 Keymap Configuration (System-level X server setting)
services.xserver.xkb = {
layout = "fi";
variant = "nodeadkeys";
};
# Printing
services.printing.enable = true;
# Audio (Pipewire is the recommended modern audio system)
services.pulseaudio.enable = false; # Disabled as you are using Pipewire
security.rtkit.enable = true;
services.pipewire = {
enable = true;
alsa.enable = true;
alsa.support32Bit = true;
pulse.enable = true;
# jack.enable = true; # Uncomment if needed
};
# Graphics Hardware and Drivers (System-level hardware configuration)
hardware.graphics.enable = true;
services.xserver.videoDrivers = [ "modesetting" "nvidia" ];
hardware.nvidia = {
open = false;
modesetting.enable = true;
powerManagement.enable = true;
prime = {
offload.enable = true;
# Use the correct Bus IDs for your system!
intelBusId = "PCI:0:2:0";
nvidiaBusId = "PCI:1:0:0";
};
};
# User Definition
# The user definition MUST remain here, but the user's packages and zsh config are MOVED.
users.users.phatle = {
isNormalUser = true;
description = "Marko Jokinen";
extraGroups = [ "networkmanager" "wheel" ];
# REMOVED: packages = with pkgs; [ ... ]; -> MOVED to home.nix
};
# Shell Configuration (System-level availability and default)
environment.shells = with pkgs; [ zsh ];
users.defaultUserShell = pkgs.zsh;
# and ensure PATH is set up correctly for all Zsh users (including root).
programs.zsh.enable = true;
# Global System Packages (Small, essential tools that should be available system-wide)
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
# vim # Essential editor, keep if you want it globally accessible
git
nodejs # Nodejs is often used for system-level build tools
btop
nvtopPackages.full
trash-cli
];
# Allow unfree packages (Needed for Nvidia, Steam, etc.)
nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
# Custom Fonts (System-level font installation for all users/applications)
fonts.packages = [ pkgs.nerd-fonts.jetbrains-mono ];
# Nix Configuration and Optimization
nix.settings.experimental-features = [ "nix-command" "flakes" ];
nix = {
settings = {
max-jobs = "auto";
cores = 0;
auto-optimise-store = true;
};
gc = {
automatic = true;
dates = "weekly";
options = "--delete-older-than 30d";
};
};
# Home manager back-up
# This resolves the clobbering issue by setting the option at the correct root level.
home-manager.backupFileExtension = "old";
home-manager.backupCommand = "${pkgs.trash-cli}/bin/trash";
# Note: Removed programs.home-manager.enable = true; as it is redundant when used
# as a NixOS module, and its options were conflicting with the root-level options.
# Final state version
system.stateVersion = "25.11";
}
{ config, pkgs, ... }:
let
# A helper for packages that are part of the 'kdePackages' set
kdepkgs = with pkgs.kdePackages; [
kate
audiotube
plasmatube
kdenlive
];
# List of all desired packages, including powerlevel10k for OMZ
userPackages = with pkgs; [
# Zsh Theme Package (Required for Oh My Zsh to find the theme)
zsh-powerlevel10k
# --- Multimedia / Graphics ---
blender
darktable
gimp
inkscape
] ++ kdepkgs ++ [
# --- Communication / Productivity ---
thunderbird
libreoffice
signal-desktop
# --- Gaming ---
steam
# --- Security / VPN ---
protonvpn-gui
protonmail-bridge-gui
proton-pass
];
in
{
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 1. HOME MANAGER BASICS
## -------------------------------------------------------------
home.username = "phatle";
home.homeDirectory = "/home/phatle";
home.stateVersion = "25.11";
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 2. USER PACKAGES (Applications installed for the 'phatle' user)
## -------------------------------------------------------------
home.packages = userPackages;
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 3. PROGRAM CONFIGURATION
## -------------------------------------------------------------
### Zsh Shell Configuration
programs.zsh = {
enable = true;
enableCompletion = true;
history = {
path = "${config.home.homeDirectory}/.zsh_history";
size = 10000;
save = 10000;
};
# Oh My Zsh (OMZ) Configuration
oh-my-zsh = {
enable = true;
theme = "powerlevel10k";
plugins = [ "git" "sudo" ];
};
initContent = ''
[[ ! -f ~/.p10k.zsh ]] || source ~/.p10k.zsh
'';
};
### Web Browsers
programs.firefox.enable = true;
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 4. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES & DOTFILES
## -------------------------------------------------------------
home.sessionVariables = {
EDITOR = "kate";
};
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 5. NIXPKGS CONFIGURATION (Allow Unfree Packages)
## -------------------------------------------------------------
nixpkgs.config = {
allowUnfree = true;
};
}
i finally cracked this one too i was missing configuration.nix file home.manager somehow still so adding that to there and rebuild fixed home-manager switch not working. the second part was to get pwerlevel10k to working the fix was using ohMyZsh with zsh-powerlevel10k that is set to home-manager userPackages and then just fixing the file where i always got the system complaining that powerlevel10k is not found etc similar so adding default theme = “robbyrussel” on config fixes that too and powerlevel10k is still dominant but this is the way now
## -------------------------------------------------------------
## 3. PROGRAM CONFIGURATION
## -------------------------------------------------------------
### Zsh Shell Configuration (REVISED)
programs.zsh = {
enable = true;
enableCompletion = true;
history = {
path = "${config.home.homeDirectory}/.zsh_history";
size = 10000;
save = 10000;
};
# Oh My Zsh (OMZ) Configuration
oh-my-zsh = {
enable = true;
#Set theme to "robbyrussell" or similar dummy theme
# This prevents OMZ from complaining about not finding "powerlevel10k"
theme = "robbyrussell";
plugins = [ "git" "sudo" ];
};
initExtra = ''
# 1. Source the theme file from the Nix store path
source ${pkgs.zsh-powerlevel10k}/share/zsh-powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme
# 2. Source your custom configuration file (.p10k.zsh)
[[ -f ~/.p10k.zsh ]] && source ~/.p10k.zsh
'';
};
thank you for all helping and pointing me to go deeper and deeper and trying and doing great community