/etc/nixos

WIP

This repository contains my system configs. I use Nix to manage my systems, with NixOS whenever possible, and Home Manager otherwise.

I use Nix Flakes. All NixOS and Home Manager configurations are specified as outputs in the flake.nix file.

The system configurations can be activated with the following commands:

$ home-manager switch --flake /etc/nixos/#host        # To activate Home Manager.
$ sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixos/#host  # To activate NixOS.

I currently have four hosts, all on NixOS:

splendor: (NixOS) My custom built desktop.
haiqin: (NixOS) My primary laptop, a Thinkpad X1 Carbon 9th Gen.
neptune: (NixOS) My secondary laptop, a Thinkpad X1 Carbon 5th Gen.
frieren: (NixOS) An OVH server.

Directory Structure

This repository is organized into the following directories:

home contains bundles of configurations for Home Manager. Each host selects the bundles that apply to it
os contains NixOS configurations for each host on NixOS.
pkgs contains an overlaid nixpkgs that's shared between all configs. My patches to nixpkgs are applied here, and my custom software is stored here.
services contains some of general Nomad & Consul specs that are not tied to another project of mine.

flake.nix is the entrypoint for the Nix code in home, os, and pkgs; it exports the Home Manager and NixOS configurations.

Screenshots

TODO

Philosophy

I favor running local software over SaaS and self-hosted software. I synchronize state between computers with Syncthing.
My workflows and tools generally follow the Unix philosophy. For example, my music system is the combination of three focused tools: rose, nnn, and mpv.
I like immutability, reproducibility, yada yada. Hence NixOS.

Personal Tools

Some of the little tools I wrote for my workflow are kept in this repository's pkgs directory instead of spun out into their own repositories. They are:

Backup Scripts: Manage my local and remote backups.
File Uploader: Upload files to various image and file hosting services.
EXIF & Last Modified Syncer: Sync an image's EXIF Created Date and filesystem Last Modified time.

Networking

All hosts are connected to each other via Tailscale VPN. There is an ACL, defined here.

The ACL is applied via GitOps; see the GitHub Action for the instructions.

File Synchronization

Machines synchronize files and application state with each other using Syncthing.

Backgrounds

I maintain a directory of desktop backgrounds in ~/backgrounds, which I periodically cycle through. Backgrounds are configured using xwallpaper.

Fonts

I maintain a separate repository of fonts for system usage and design projects in ~/fonts. This repository is symlinked to ~/.local/share/fonts/collection.

Bootstrapping

The following commands bootstrap a new laptop. These should be run after booting into a minimal NixOS installation media.

# Partition the drive into boot and primary.
$ DISK=/dev/nvme0n1  # Set to SSD device name.
$ parted "$DISK" -- mklabel gpt
$ parted "$DISK" -- mkpart ESP fat32 1MiB 512MiB
$ parted "$DISK" -- set 1 boot on
$ parted "$DISK" -- mkpart primary 512MiB 100%
$ BOOT=/dev/nvme0n1p1     # Set boot and primary.
$ PRIMARY=/dev/nvme0n1p2  # Get partition names from `lsblk`.
# Encrypt the primary partition with LUKS.
$ cryptsetup luksFormat "$PRIMARY"
$ cryptsetup luksOpen "$PRIMARY" enc
# Configure LVM with root+swap partitions.
$ pvcreate /dev/mapper/enc
$ vgcreate vg /dev/mapper/enc
$ lvcreate -L 16G -n swap vg
$ lvcreate -l '100%FREE' -n root vg
# Format boot, root, and swap partitions.
$ mkfs.fat -F 32 -n boot "$BOOT"
$ mkfs.ext4 -L root /dev/vg/root
$ mkswap -L swap /dev/vg/swap
# Mount disks into /mnt (for NixOS installer).
$ mount /dev/vg/root /mnt
$ mkdir /mnt/boot
$ mount "$BOOT" /mnt/boot
$ swapon /dev/vg/swap
# Generate NixOS config. Add the following lines to /etc/nixos/configuration.nix:
#
#   boot.initrd.luks.devices.root = {
#     device = "/dev/nvme0n1p2";  # Set this to "$PRIMARY".
#     preLVM = true;
#   }
#   nix.settings.experimental-features = [ "nix-command" "flakes" ];
#   nix.settings.max-jobs = 8;
#   environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [ git vim ];
#
# These lines configure boot for LUKS+LVM and prepare the system to build this
# repository's configs.
$ nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
# Connect to the internet. Skip this step # if on ethernet. Get `$iface` from
# the `ip l` command.
$ wpa_supplicant -B -i $iface -c <(wpa_passphrase SSID passphrase)
# Install NixOS and then nixos-enter into the new installation.
$ nixos-install
$ reboot
# Download this repository and switch, but keep the generated
# hardware-configuration.nix file. This step assumes that a NixOS flake has
# been pre-prepared for this host.
$ mv /etc/nixos /etc/nixos.backup
$ git clone https://github.com/azuline/nixos /etc/nixos
$ mv /etc/nixos.backup/hardware-configuration.nix /etc/nixos/os/host/
$ nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixos/#host
# And we're done!
$ reboot

The following commands bootstrap an OVH server. These should be run after booting into a minimal NixOS installation media.

# Partition the drives into boot and primary.
$ parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- mklabel gpt
$ parted /dev/nvme1n1 -- mklabel gpt
$ parted --script --align optimal /dev/nvme0n1 -- mklabel gpt mkpart 'BIOS-boot0' 1MB 2MB set 1 bios_grub on mkpart 'boot0' 2MB 2000MB mkpart 'primary0' 2001MB '100%'
$ parted --script --align optimal /dev/nvme1n1 -- mklabel gpt mkpart 'BIOS-boot0' 1MB 2MB set 1 bios_grub on mkpart 'boot1' 2MB 2000MB mkpart 'primary1' 2001MB '100%'
# Create RAID partitions for boot and primary.
$ mdadm --zero-superblock /dev/nvme0n1p1
$ mdadm --zero-superblock /dev/nvme0n1p2
$ mdadm --zero-superblock /dev/nvme1n1p1
$ mdadm --zero-superblock /dev/nvme1n1p2
$ mdadm --create --run --verbose /dev/md/boot --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --homehost=frieren --name=boot /dev/nvme0n1p2 /dev/nvme1n1p2 --metadata=0.90
$ mdadm --create --run --verbose /dev/md/root --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --homehost=frieren --name=root /dev/nvme0n1p3 /dev/nvme1n1p3
# Wipe filesystem signatures that might be on the RAID from some possibly
# existing older use of the disks (RAID creation does not do that).
# See https://serverfault.com/questions/911370/why-does-mdadm-zero-superblock-preserve-file-system-information
$ wipefs -a /dev/md/boot
$ wipefs -a /dev/md/root
# Disable RAID recovery. We don't want this to slow down machine provisioning
# in the rescue mode. It can run in normal operation after reboot.
$ echo 0 > /proc/sys/dev/raid/speed_limit_max
# Encrypt the primary partition with LUKS.
$ cryptsetup --batch-mode luksFormat /dev/md/root
# Configure LVM.
$ cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/md/root enc-pv
$ pvcreate /dev/mapper/enc-pv
$ vgcreate vg /dev/mapper/enc-pv
$ lvcreate --extents 95%FREE -n root vg
# Format partitions.
$ mkfs.fat -F 32 -n boot /dev/md/boot
$ mkfs.ext4 -F -L root /dev/mapper/vg-root
# Mount disks into /mnt for NixOS installer.
$ mount /dev/disk/by-label/root /mnt
$ mkdir /mnt/boot
$ mount /dev/disk/by-label/boot /mnt/boot
# Generate NixOS config. Modify boot parameters to match the configuration.nix
# in this repository.
$ nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
# Install NixOS.
$ nixos-install --root /mnt --max-jobs 40
# And we're done!
$ reboot

azuline / nixos