# Should I use nix os?

**URL:** https://discourse.nixos.org/t/should-i-use-nix-os/29215
**Category:** Uncategorized
**Created:** [June 17, 2023, 10:18am UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/should-i-use-nix-os/29215 "2023-06-17T10:18:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 4

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### Author: ![dch82](https://discourse.nixos.org/user_avatar/discourse.nixos.org/dch82/32/8996_2.png) [@dch82](https://discourse.nixos.org/u/dch82)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/should-i-use-nix-os/29215/4 "2023-06-17T13:01:18Z")

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_Come over to the NixOS side…_

As an Arch user, you are probably familiar with reinstalling multiple times (an absolute pain in the neck unless you use `archinstall`) , and having to run long sequences of commands and edit dozens of configuration files in several configuration languages. How do I know? I was also once an Arch user.

But as a NixOS user, you will be able to do anything (well, almost everything) with almost no commands and (at minimum), one configuration file (`/etc/nixos/configuration.nix`) in one language (Nix), and a reproducible system in which you can provision as many identical systems as you want, and synchronise them to a Git repository and (while putting your secrets in a seperate `.gitignore`’d file), publish your configurations publicly for other NixOS users to use and fork.

Each time you reboot, you can set up your system to purge all but the vital directories (`/boot/` and `/nix` are the only ones needed to boot) and your precious work and files. By **Cleansing Your System ~~With Fire~~ ™** , you can instantly remove all decay and gunk that has built up in your system and make sure everything works _exactly_ as you intended in your configurations, nothing more or less.

You can install almost any program you would ever need with Nixpkgs, the [biggest package repository of all time](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/nixpkgs-has-been-the-largest-repository-for-months/10667/2), period. Just look at the top right corner:

![Look at the top right corner](https://repology.org/graph/map_repo_size_fresh.svg)

And if you still want _more_ (\*gasp\*), there are still the third-party flakes that some nix-related projects package themselves in.

And _if you still want **more** _, there are still the [Nix User Repositories](https://nur.nix-community.org/) to look through…

NixOS doesn’t provide enough configuration options? You can install third-party configuration systems that fit perfectly into a NixOS system. You want to manage your home environment? [Home Manager](https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager) to the rescue! You want to configure Neovim more powerfully? Use [NixVim](https://github.com/pta2002/nixvim)! You want something else, but nobody else made it? You can make it DIY and share it with everybody else!

And I could go on, but I think that you get the idea! 🙂

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_[View the full topic](https://discourse.nixos.org/t/should-i-use-nix-os/29215)._