Context
Hi, this is my first time using Linux desktop. (Because I heard 2025 is the year of linux desktop 
). I do have experience with Nix-Darwin, Home Manager, and NixOS on a VPS, but I’m now trying to set up a multi-user desktop environment with GNOME and I’m a bit stuck.
My desired setup
For my own user account, I want to keep everything Nix-native and manage all packages and configuration declaratively through standalone Home Manager.
For the other users (family members), the goal is the opposite: they have zero interest in Linux or the command line, so I want them to have a Windows/macOS-like experience where they can imperatively install and uninstall apps and manage their settings through a GUI.
My main questions:
- Is my desired setup even possible on NixOS?
- If so, what’s the best architecture to achieve it?
What I tried so far (which didn’t work):
I set up user-level Flathub remotes so that they could use GNOME Software to install/uninstall user level apps, and I enabled GNOME Extension Manager for them to manage their GNOME extensions and settings. However, GNOME Software doesn’t seem to honor the user-level Flathub remote - it keeps trying to install packages system-wide instead of at the user level.
So I’m wondering:
- Is there a way to fix my current setup so GNOME Software actually uses the user-level flatpak remotes?
- Or is there a better overall approach for achieving the “family-friendly imperative UX” for non-technical users while I keep my own environment fully declarative?
Any guidance or pointers would be hugely appreciated! Thanks in advance! 