Automatic system upgrades - Revision history

34j at 14:00, 28 September 2026

2026-09-28T14:00:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:00, 28 September 2026
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	<syntaxhighlight lang="console">		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
	# systemctl start home-manager-auto-upgrade.service		# systemctl --user start home-manager-auto-upgrade.service
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

34j at 13:59, 28 September 2026

2026-09-28T13:59:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:59, 28 September 2026
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	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

	Or, to see the ~~full~~ log:		Or, to see the log:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="console">		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">

34j: Add note about Persistent=true

2026-09-28T13:58:57Z

Add note about Persistent=true

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:58, 28 September 2026
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	};		};
	</nowiki>}}		</nowiki>}}

			{{Note\|The update service should be immediately triggered if it missed the last start time (for example due to the system being powered off), since <code>Persistent</code> is set to <code>true</code> both in <code>nixos-upgrade.timer</code> and <code>home-manager-auto-upgrade.timer</code>. (See https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Systemd/Timers#Realtime_timer for more details on <code>Persistent</code> option.)}}

	== Monitoring ==		== Monitoring ==
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	<syntaxhighlight lang="console">		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
	# systemctl start home-manager-auto-upgrade		# systemctl start home-manager-auto-upgrade.service
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

34j: Add about Home Manager

2026-09-28T13:50:26Z

Add about Home Manager

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:50, 28 September 2026
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	Previously, this page advised to set the flags <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">--update-input nixpkgs</syntaxhighlight> to trigger an update of the nixpkgs input. However, that flag will only be passed to nixos-rebuild, where it was deprecated. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this issue] for details and resolutions.		Previously, this page advised to set the flags <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">--update-input nixpkgs</syntaxhighlight> to trigger an update of the nixpkgs input. However, that flag will only be passed to nixos-rebuild, where it was deprecated. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this issue] for details and resolutions.

			==== Home Manager ====

			To enable unattended automatic updates for [[Home Manager]] packages on a flake-enabled host, use {{home manager\|services.home-manager.autoUpgrade}} option:

			{{file\|~/.config/home-manager/home.nix\|nix\|<nowiki>
			services.home-manager.autoUpgrade = {
			enable = true;
			useFlake = true;
			flakeDir = "/path/to/flake";
			frequency = "03:00";
			preSwitchCommands = [ "nix flake update" ];
			};
			</nowiki>}}

	== Monitoring ==		== Monitoring ==
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	Check that automatic system upgrades run successfully. Force an automatic system upgrade by running:		Check that automatic system upgrades run successfully. Force an automatic system upgrade by running:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="~~bash~~">		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
	# systemctl start nixos-upgrade		# systemctl start nixos-upgrade
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>
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	Check the upgrade log with:		Check the upgrade log with:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="~~bash~~">		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
	# systemctl status nixos-upgrade.service		# systemctl status nixos-upgrade.service
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>
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	Or, to see the full log:		Or, to see the full log:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="~~bash~~">		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
	# journalctl -u nixos-upgrade.service		# journalctl -u nixos-upgrade.service
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>
Line 61:		Line 75:
	To see the status of the upgrade timer, run:		To see the status of the upgrade timer, run:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="~~bash~~">		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
	# systemctl status nixos-upgrade.timer		# systemctl status nixos-upgrade.timer
			</syntaxhighlight>

			=== Home Manager ===

			Force upgrade by running:

			<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
			# systemctl start home-manager-auto-upgrade
			</syntaxhighlight>

			To see the full log:

			<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
			# journalctl --user -u home-manager-auto-upgrade.service -f
			</syntaxhighlight>

			To see the status of the upgrade timer, run:

			<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
			# systemctl --user status home-manager-auto-upgrade.timer
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

Noewaeda: Reformat names, as per Manual_of_Style#Title_of_works

2026-09-26T16:37:47Z

Reformat names, as per Manual_of_Style#Title_of_works

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:37, 26 September 2026
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	</nowiki>}}		</nowiki>}}

	Previously, this page advised to set the flags <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">--update-input nixpkgs</syntaxhighlight> to trigger an update of the ~~<code>~~nixpkgs~~</code>~~ input. However, that flag will only be passed to ~~<syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">~~nixos-rebuild~~</syntaxhighlight>~~, where it was deprecated. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this issue] for details and resolutions.		Previously, this page advised to set the flags <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">--update-input nixpkgs</syntaxhighlight> to trigger an update of the nixpkgs input. However, that flag will only be passed to nixos-rebuild, where it was deprecated. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this issue] for details and resolutions.

	== Monitoring ==		== Monitoring ==
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	=== Git "repository is not owned by current user" ===		=== Git "repository is not owned by current user" ===

	The flake repository directory is not owned by ~~<syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">~~root~~</syntaxhighlight>~~, which ~~<syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">~~nixos-upgrade~~</syntaxhighlight>~~ runs as. To fix this, add the following to <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/root/.gitconfig</syntaxhighlight>:		The flake repository directory is not owned by root, which nixos-upgrade runs as. To fix this, add the following to <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/root/.gitconfig</syntaxhighlight>:

	{{file\|/root/.gitconfig\|gitconfig\|<nowiki>		{{file\|/root/.gitconfig\|gitconfig\|<nowiki>
Line 77:		Line 77:

	=== Git "fatal: unable to auto-detect email address" ===		=== Git "fatal: unable to auto-detect email address" ===
	The root user doesn't have specified the user and email in the git configuration. To fix this, you can extend the ~~<syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">~~nixos-upgrade~~</syntaxhighlight>~~ service with:		The root user doesn't have specified the user and email in the git configuration. To fix this, you can extend the nixos-upgrade service with:
	{{file\|auto-upgrade.nix\|nix\|<nowiki>		{{file\|auto-upgrade.nix\|nix\|<nowiki>
	systemd.services.nixos-upgrade.environment = {		systemd.services.nixos-upgrade.environment = {

Noewaeda: Fix broken formatting

2026-09-23T13:15:39Z

Fix broken formatting

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:15, 23 September 2026
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	systemd.services.nixos-upgrade.environment = {		systemd.services.nixos-upgrade.environment = {
	GIT_AUTHOR_NAME = "NixOS Auto-upgrade";		GIT_AUTHOR_NAME = "NixOS Auto-upgrade";
	GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL = "root@<your-hostname>";		GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL = "root@{your hostname}";
	GIT_COMMITTER_NAME = "NixOS Auto-upgrade";		GIT_COMMITTER_NAME = "NixOS Auto-upgrade";
	GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL = "root@<your-hostname>";		GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL = "root@{your hostname}";
	};		};
	</nowiki>}}		</nowiki>}}

	[[Category:NixOS]]		[[Category:NixOS]]

Noewaeda: make commands use syntaxhighlight

2026-09-23T13:07:47Z

make commands use syntaxhighlight

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:07, 23 September 2026
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	</nowiki>}}		</nowiki>}}

	Previously, this page advised to set the flags <~~code~~>--update-input nixpkgs</~~code~~> to trigger an update of the <code>nixpkgs</code> input. However, that flag will only be passed to <~~code~~>nixos-rebuild</~~code~~>, where it was deprecated. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this issue] for details and resolutions.		Previously, this page advised to set the flags <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">--update-input nixpkgs</syntaxhighlight> to trigger an update of the <code>nixpkgs</code> input. However, that flag will only be passed to <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">nixos-rebuild</syntaxhighlight>, where it was deprecated. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this issue] for details and resolutions.

	== Monitoring ==		== Monitoring ==

Noewaeda: Copyediting

2026-09-23T13:04:15Z

Copyediting

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:04, 23 September 2026
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	Automatic system upgrades can be used to upgrade a system regularly at a specific time. This can help to reduce the time period of applying important security patches to your running software but might also introduce some breakage in case an automatic upgrade fails. For automatic upgrades an automatic [[Garbage Collection\|garbage collection]] is important to prevent full <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/boot</syntaxhighlight> and <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/</syntaxhighlight> partitions.		Automatic system upgrades can be used to upgrade a system regularly at a specific time. This can help to reduce the time period of applying important security patches to your running software, but might also introduce some breakage in the case that an automatic upgrade fails. For automatic upgrades, automatic [[Garbage Collection\|garbage collection]] is important to prevent full <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/boot</syntaxhighlight> and <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/</syntaxhighlight> partitions.

	== Configuration ==		== Configuration ==
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	=== Channel-based systems (default) ===		=== Channel-based systems (default) ===

	Most NixOS installations use channels by default. If you're unsure which you're using, check with <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">nix-channel --list</syntaxhighlight>. If that returns results, you're using channels.		Most NixOS installations use channels by default. If you're unsure which you're using, check with <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">nix-channel --list</syntaxhighlight>. If that returns any results, you're using channels.

	For channel-based systems, use this configuration:		For channel-based systems, use this configuration:
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	=== Flake-based systems ===		=== Flake-based systems ===

	To enable unattended automatic system updates on a flake-enabled host, add following ~~part~~ to your configuration:		To enable unattended automatic system updates on a flake-enabled host, add following to your configuration:

	{{file\|auto-upgrade.nix\|nix\|<nowiki>		{{file\|auto-upgrade.nix\|nix\|<nowiki>
Line 35:		Line 35:
	randomizedDelaySec = "45min";		randomizedDelaySec = "45min";
	};		};
	</nowiki>}}Previously this page advised to set the flags <code>--update-input nixpkgs</code> to trigger ~~updating a specific~~ input. However that flag will ~~just~~ be ~~handed through~~ to <code>~~nix build~~</code> where it was deprecated ~~and removed~~. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this ~~Bug~~ for details and resolutions].		</nowiki>}}

			Previously, this page advised to set the flags <code>--update-input nixpkgs</code> to trigger an update of the <code>nixpkgs</code> input. However, that flag will only be passed to <code>nixos-rebuild</code>, where it was deprecated. Follow [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/349734 this issue] for details and resolutions.

	== Monitoring ==		== Monitoring ==

	Check that automatic system upgrades run successfully. Force an automatic system upgrade by running		Check that automatic system upgrades run successfully. Force an automatic system upgrade by running:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">		<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
Line 45:		Line 47:
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

	Check the upgrade log with		Check the upgrade log with:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">		<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
Line 51:		Line 53:
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

	Or, to see the full log		Or, to see the full log:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">		<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
Line 57:		Line 59:
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>

	To see the status of the upgrade timer run		To see the status of the upgrade timer, run:

	<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">		<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
Line 67:		Line 69:
	=== Git "repository is not owned by current user" ===		=== Git "repository is not owned by current user" ===

	The flake repository directory is not owned by <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">root</syntaxhighlight> (which <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">nixos-upgrade</syntaxhighlight> runs as). To fix this, add the following to <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/root/.gitconfig</syntaxhighlight>:		The flake repository directory is not owned by <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">root</syntaxhighlight>, which <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">nixos-upgrade</syntaxhighlight> runs as. To fix this, add the following to <syntaxhighlight inline lang="bash">/root/.gitconfig</syntaxhighlight>:

	{{file\|/root/.gitconfig\|gitconfig\|<nowiki>		{{file\|/root/.gitconfig\|gitconfig\|<nowiki>

B1ack3ye: Added filename and syntax highlighting

2026-08-02T22:52:45Z

Added filename and syntax highlighting

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:52, 2 August 2026
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	For channel-based systems, use this configuration:		For channel-based systems, use this configuration:

	{{file\|~~auto-upgrade.nix~~\|~~nix~~\|<nowiki>		{{file\|\|\|<nowiki>
	system.autoUpgrade = {		system.autoUpgrade = {
	enable = true;		enable = true;
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	allowReboot = false; # Set to true if you want automatic reboots		allowReboot = false; # Set to true if you want automatic reboots
	};		};
	</nowiki>\|name=\|lang=}}		</nowiki>\|name=auto-upgrade.nix\|lang=nix}}

	<strong>Important:</strong> Do not use flake-specific flags with channel-based systems, as they will cause the upgrade to fail silently.		<strong>Important:</strong> Do not use flake-specific flags with channel-based systems, as they will cause the upgrade to fail silently.

B1ack3ye: /* Channel-based systems (default) */

2026-08-02T22:36:56Z

Channel-based systems (default)

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:36, 2 August 2026
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	system.autoUpgrade = {		system.autoUpgrade = {
	enable = true;		enable = true;
	~~flags = [~~
	~~"--print-build-logs"~~
	];
	dates = "02:00";		dates = "02:00";
	randomizedDelaySec = "45min";		randomizedDelaySec = "45min";
	allowReboot = false; # Set to true if you want automatic reboots		allowReboot = false; # Set to true if you want automatic reboots
	};		};
	</nowiki>}}		</nowiki>\|name=\|lang=}}

	<strong>Important:</strong> Do not use flake-specific flags with channel-based systems, as they will cause the upgrade to fail silently.		<strong>Important:</strong> Do not use flake-specific flags with channel-based systems, as they will cause the upgrade to fail silently.