Nixos-rebuild from an local server: is it possible?

nPrevail · June 10, 2024, 6:37pm

I’m not sure if this topic’s been covered, but is it possible to run nixos-rebuild from an local server or create a local nix-channel?

My current system is about 75GBs, and I was wondering if it’s possible to store the necessary packages from my config file into a private drive, which would act as a server for other desktops. So, instead of pulling and building packages from a nix-channel, I could build it from a “private” nix-channel, hosted locally.

If this topic’s been discussed, feel free to let me know.

Thank you.

olmokramer · June 10, 2024, 8:26pm

Not exactly what you ask for, but you can specify the host on which packages are built with the --build-host flag. See man nixos-rebuild for more info (on my phone now…)

hugosenari · June 10, 2024, 10:07pm

You have two options:

Pull:

You run ‘build’ on target server, but instead of building it locally it pulls from channels/substituters
Substituters: Sharing Packages Between Machines - Nix Reference Manual
- HTTP
  - nix-serv
  - Attic
  - Cachix
  - Etc.
- SSH from another NixOS
  - Any other machine
  - Nixbuild.net
- S3 with any AWS S3 compatible API
  - AWS S3
  - MinIO
  - Any other cloud provider may work

Push:

You build your package in a computer and send it to another
- copy-closure (over ssh)
- deploy-rs
- Cachix Agents (is more or less a mix of pull and pushing)