Nix Learning Index

Learning Nix on NixOS. Coming from a strong Linux background.

Study Material

• igray/dotfiles (vendor/dotfiles-main/) — Ian's clean single-machine NixOS + Home Manager config for a Framework 13 laptop. Good for understanding the basic structure.
• wimpysworld/nix-config (vendor/nix-config-main/) — Wimpy's production-grade multi-machine config (NixOS + macOS). Deep end, but very well documented. Featured on Linux Matters podcast ep. 7.

Lesson Log

#	Topic	File
01	What is Nix — concepts and vocabulary	01-what-is-nix.md
02	Flakes — the entry point of any config	02-flakes.md
03	NixOS vs Home Manager — what lives where	03-nixos-vs-home-manager.md
04	Ian's config tour — a simple real-world flake	04-ian-config-tour.md
05	Wimpy's config tour — advanced patterns	05-wimpy-config-tour.md
06	Installing packages and updating the system	06-installs-and-updates.md
07	Tiling window managers, bspwm, and sxhkd	07-tiling-wm-bspwm-sxhkd.md
08	nix-darwin — declarative macOS configuration	08-nix-darwin.md
09	COSMIC and Hyprland — modern Wayland desktops	09-cosmic-and-hyprland.md
10	Modern terminal toolkit	10-terminal-toolkit.md
11	Dev & code — git, direnv, editors	11-dev-and-code.md
12	Writing, notes & bookmarks	12-writing-notes-bookmarks.md
13	Communication & calls	13-communication-calls.md
14	Files, photos & passwords	14-files-photos-passwords.md
15	Reading & listening	15-reading-and-listening.md
16	Audio production & streaming	16-audio-production-streaming.md
17	Homelab — using the services	17-homelab-services.md
18	nixproject day-to-day workflow	18-nixproject-workflow.md

Running Notes

Things to remember that don't fit a lesson yet.

• nix flake update refreshes flake.lock — like apt update but pinned
• --show-trace is your friend when debugging build failures
• nixpkgs stable vs nixpkgs-unstable — two channels, can mix them
• The Nix store lives at /nix/store — immutable, content-addressed, never hand-edit it