Newie nixos help

[kikus]

Hi all

Im new to nixos , i configured a laptop an nowadays my configuration is not usig flakes . i want to know the best way of creating multiple configs , i have two laptops with diferent hardware , should i put the nix configuration on different folders ?? how it can be done ??

also , i need a tutorial in order to install nixos with btrfs ( or ext ) and encripted partitions

thanks alll

[waffle8946]

system.nix will be a good option if you don’t use flakes:

Migrating NixOS configuration.nix inputs from nix-channel to npins and system.nix

Introduction From the 26.05 release notes: The system.nix file has been added as an alternative entry point to configuration.nix (and flake.nix) that allows configuring NixOS without using nix-channel. Motivated by this thread, which the source of most of what I wrote here, I’ve switched one of my machines from channels to npins and I wrote down the steps for myself. After a few days of updates without issues, I have applied it to another machine successfully and thought it could be useful t…

[magicquark]

@kikus

i need a tutorial in order to install nixos with btrfs ( or ext ) and encripted partitions

The NixOS Graphical Installer should allow you to perform a basic install with full disk encryption using LUKS.

Graphical Installation - NixOS Manual

Alternatively, you could use Disko when you are installing your system. There is an example for using BTRFS with LUKS. That said, this is more involved and I would recommend using the Graphical Installer if you are just starting out.

[withakay]

Not really a best way; it depends on your needs.

1. Just keep them completely separate and develop the configs separately
2. One git repo with 2 different host files that you call using --file hostname.nix/-f hostname.nix options of nixos-rebuild, so that each host has a different file as it’s entry point. See infra/build at main · NixOS/infra · GitHub for examples of this with the various hosts being haumea/pluto/titan/etc
3. A single entry point via either system.nix or flake, and you call the host using either --attr hostname/-A hostname for system.nix or .#hostname for flake.

#1 is the most similar to other operating systems, #2 and #3 are basically the same thing just depends on if you like the host files to be separate or not. Either way, #2 and #3 allow you more easily share parts of the config between computers, but also mean that you need to find a structure that you like for both computers.

For architecture, I like some of the ideas of dendritic pattern (modules should implement discrete features), but I don’t personally use it, and I don’t like various ideas like automagic loading of all modules within a tree or the strong preference against .enable options in user modules.

Having said that, throwing everything into a single configuration.nix is often easier for people who aren’t used to programming and is also a fine approach. For a multi-host system this could extend to a single sharedConfig.nix that is imported by the 2 hosts.