Nixos-rebuild - Revision history

Squeebly Joe: Updated --use-remote-sudo flag to newer --sudo flag

2026-02-08T18:44:08Z

Updated --use-remote-sudo flag to newer --sudo flag

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:44, 8 February 2026
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	<code>--build-host</code> and <code>--target-host</code> can be used simultaneously, even with different hosts.		<code>--build-host</code> and <code>--target-host</code> can be used simultaneously, even with different hosts.

	If you are rebuilding a remote host as a non-root user, use the <code>-~~-use-remote~~-sudo</code> option to elevate on the remote machine during the rebuilding process:		If you are rebuilding a remote host as a non-root user, use the <code>--sudo</code> option to elevate on the remote machine during the rebuilding process:
	<~~syntaxHighlight~~ lang=console>		<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
	$ nixos-rebuild --target-host user@example.com -~~-use-remote~~-sudo switch		$ nixos-rebuild --target-host user@example.com --sudo switch
	</~~syntaxHighlight~~>		</syntaxhighlight>

	To enter a password while using remote sudo, prefix the command with <code>NIX_SSHOPTS="-o RequestTTY=force"</code>, or add <code>--ask-sudo-password</code> with <code>nixos-rebuild-ng</code>.		To enter a password while using remote sudo, prefix the command with <code>NIX_SSHOPTS="-o RequestTTY=force"</code>, or add <code>--ask-sudo-password</code> with <code>nixos-rebuild-ng</code>.

Mightyiam: Correct position of references and categories

2025-12-26T06:50:21Z

Correct position of references and categories

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:50, 26 December 2025
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	* Add the resulting derivation to the system profile in <code>/nix/var/nix/profiles</code>, i. e. create a new generation in the system profile.		* Add the resulting derivation to the system profile in <code>/nix/var/nix/profiles</code>, i. e. create a new generation in the system profile.
	* Add the new generation to the bootloader menu as the new default and activate it. If you've manually built the system derivation, this can also be done with <code>result/bin/switch-to-configuration switch</code>.		* Add the new generation to the bootloader menu as the new default and activate it. If you've manually built the system derivation, this can also be done with <code>result/bin/switch-to-configuration switch</code>.

	~~[[Category:NixOS]]~~
	~~<references />~~

	== See also ==		== See also ==
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	* [https://nixcademy.com/posts/nixos-rebuild/ Magic Deployments with nixos-rebuild, Nixcademy]		* [https://nixcademy.com/posts/nixos-rebuild/ Magic Deployments with nixos-rebuild, Nixcademy]
	* [https://nixcademy.com/posts/nixos-rebuild-remote-deployment/ Remote Deployments with nixos-rebuild, Nixcademy]		* [https://nixcademy.com/posts/nixos-rebuild-remote-deployment/ Remote Deployments with nixos-rebuild, Nixcademy]

			== References ==

			<references />

			[[Category:NixOS]]

Mightyiam: Links to Nixcademy blog posts on nixos-rebuild

2025-12-26T06:41:56Z

Links to Nixcademy blog posts on nixos-rebuild

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:41, 26 December 2025
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	[[Category:NixOS]]		[[Category:NixOS]]
			<references />

			== See also ==

			* [https://nixcademy.com/posts/nixos-rebuild/ Magic Deployments with nixos-rebuild, Nixcademy]
			* [https://nixcademy.com/posts/nixos-rebuild-remote-deployment/ Remote Deployments with nixos-rebuild, Nixcademy]

Arch is the best: Mention nixos-rebuild-ng and --use-substitutes for remote hosts

2025-10-21T17:48:50Z

Mention nixos-rebuild-ng and --use-substitutes for remote hosts

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:48, 21 October 2025
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	'''nixos-rebuild''' is the NixOS command used to apply changes made to the system configuration. It can also be used for a variety of other tasks related to managing the state of a NixOS system.		'''nixos-rebuild''' is the NixOS command used to apply changes made to the system configuration. It can also be used for a variety of other tasks related to managing the state of a NixOS system.

			<code>nixos-rebuild-ng</code> is a rewrite of <code>nixos-rebuild</code> in Python instead of Bash which has better performance and more features, and will become the default in NixOS 25.11.

	== Usage ==		== Usage ==
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	# nixos-rebuild --build-host user@example.com switch		# nixos-rebuild --build-host user@example.com switch
	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>
			Add the flag <code>--use-substitutes</code> to make the remote host use substitutes instead of copying from your host to the remote host.

	To build the system locally and deploy it on a remote host, use:		To build the system locally and deploy it on a remote host, use:
	<syntaxHighlight lang=console>		<syntaxHighlight lang=console>
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	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>

	To enter a password while using remote sudo, prefix the command with <code>NIX_SSHOPTS="-o RequestTTY=force"</code>.		To enter a password while using remote sudo, prefix the command with <code>NIX_SSHOPTS="-o RequestTTY=force"</code>, or add <code>--ask-sudo-password</code> with <code>nixos-rebuild-ng</code>.

	{{Note\|When rebuilding a remote host, you may see similar errors to the following:		{{Note\|When rebuilding a remote host, you may see similar errors to the following:

DoggoBit: Minor formatting changes, add {{cleanup}} and section about deploying on different target arch

2025-06-15T07:23:08Z

Minor formatting changes, add {{cleanup}} and section about deploying on different target arch

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:23, 15 June 2025
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			{{DISPLAYTITLE:nixos-rebuild}}{{Cleanup}}

	'''nixos-rebuild''' is the NixOS command used to apply changes made to the system configuration. It can also be used for a variety of other tasks related to managing the state of a NixOS system.		'''nixos-rebuild''' is the NixOS command used to apply changes made to the system configuration. It can also be used for a variety of other tasks related to managing the state of a NixOS system.

	==~~=Basic functionality=~~==		== Usage ==
	NixOS follows a "declarative configuration" approach, which means that the proper way to modify your system is to make changes to your system configuration (typically <code>/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</code>), and then ''rebuild'' your system with <code>nixos-rebuild</code>:		NixOS follows a "declarative configuration" approach, which means that the proper way to modify your system is to make changes to your system configuration (typically <code>/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</code>), and then ''rebuild'' your system with <code>nixos-rebuild</code>:

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	* <code>--upgrade</code>: Update the <code>nixos</code> channel of the root user before building the configuration.		* <code>--upgrade</code>: Update the <code>nixos</code> channel of the root user before building the configuration.

			=== Deploying on other machines ===
	<code>nixos-rebuild</code> can also be used to build and deploy system configurations on remote hosts via SSH. To use a remote host to build your system and deploy it on the current host, use:		<code>nixos-rebuild</code> can also be used to build and deploy system configurations on remote hosts via SSH. To use a remote host to build your system and deploy it on the current host, use:
	<syntaxHighlight lang=console>		<syntaxHighlight lang=console>
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	For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.		For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.

			==== Deploying on a different architecture ====
			There is currently a regression within <code>nixos-rebuild</code> that causes the local <code>nixos-rebuild</code> to invoke the binaries for the target architecture on the local system. This will naturally fail, throwing an ''"Exec format error".''<ref>https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/166499</ref> This can be bypassed by running <code>nixos-rebuild</code> with the <code>--fast</code> flag.

	===Rolling back to a specific generation===		===Rolling back to a specific generation===

Fidgetingbits: Add note about using nixos-rebuild to switch to a specific generation

2024-12-02T01:38:17Z

Add note about using nixos-rebuild to switch to a specific generation

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:38, 2 December 2024
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	For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.		For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.

			===Rolling back to a specific generation===

			As noted earlier, it possible to switch to the previous generation using the command <code>nixos-rebuild switch --rollback</code>

			As of December 2024, <code>nixos-rebuild</code> doesn't have built-in functionality to switch to a generation earlier than the previous. However, there is an [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/105910/files open pull request] that adds this functionality.

			It is possible to manually simulate the behavior from this PR in the meantime. Run the following command to list your generations:

			<syntaxHighlight lang=console>
			$ nixos-rebuild list-generations
			Generation Build-date NixOS version Kernel Configuration Revision Specialisation
			1054 current 2024-12-02 08:47:16 24.11.20241130.62c435d 6.12.1 *
			1053 2024-12-02 08:44:23 24.11.20241130.62c435d 6.12.1 *
			1052 2024-12-02 08:25:54 24.11.20241130.62c435d 6.12.1 *
			...
			</syntaxHighlight>

			Run the command <code>/nix/var/nix/profiles/system-N-link/bin/switch-to-configuration switch</code> where <code>N</code> is the generation number you want to switch to.

			You can manually see that <code>/nix/var/nix/profiles/</code> contains symlinks to the system closures associated with the listed generations by <code>nixos-rebuild list-generations</code> above:

			<syntaxHighlight lang=console>
			$ ls -l /nix/var/nix/profiles/
			lrwxrwxrwx - root root 2 12月 08:25 system-1052-link -> /nix/store/a5sh1kam9j42gcgca11ax5wg0iaiccab-nixos-system-onyx-24.11.20241130.62c435d
			lrwxrwxrwx - root root 2 12月 08:44 system-1053-link -> /nix/store/nhba65kybj6y0gyd307mf9wj3089rf08-nixos-system-onyx-24.11.20241130.62c435d
			lrwxrwxrwx - root root 2 12月 08:47 system-1054-link -> /nix/store/97wrfk1dmgbivw35wrkmrg0d0c1zhviw-nixos-system-onyx-24.11.20241130.62c435d
			</syntaxHighlight>

	===Specifying a different configuration location===		===Specifying a different configuration location===

LoHertel: added note, that all flake files need to be tracked by the repo to rebuild successfully

2024-10-27T10:29:51Z

added note, that all flake files need to be tracked by the repo to rebuild successfully

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:29, 27 October 2024
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	# nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixos#hostname		# nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixos#hostname
	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>

			{{Note\|If your flake files are part of a Git repository, only tracked files are considered for building. Nix flakes deliberately ignores untracked files in the repository and do not copy them over to the Nix store. You need to stage untracked files first if they are relevant for your flake config. Otherwise, an error will be raised that the untracked file could not be found at the flake's Nix store path.}}

	===Internals===		===Internals===

imported>Williamvds: Entering a password with remote sudo

2023-10-29T17:39:17Z

Entering a password with remote sudo

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:39, 29 October 2023
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	$ nixos-rebuild --target-host user@example.com --use-remote-sudo switch		$ nixos-rebuild --target-host user@example.com --use-remote-sudo switch
	</syntaxHighlight>		</syntaxHighlight>

			To enter a password while using remote sudo, prefix the command with <code>NIX_SSHOPTS="-o RequestTTY=force"</code>.

	{{Note\|When rebuilding a remote host, you may see similar errors to the following:		{{Note\|When rebuilding a remote host, you may see similar errors to the following:

imported>Raboof: /* Basic functionality */ update error message, for better search engine matching

2023-03-12T12:44:53Z

Basic functionality: update error message, for better search engine matching

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:44, 12 March 2023
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	{{Note\|When rebuilding a remote host, you may see similar errors to the following:		{{Note\|When rebuilding a remote host, you may see similar errors to the following:
	<blockquote>error: cannot add path '/nix/store/...' because it lacks a ~~valid~~ signature</blockquote>		<blockquote>error: cannot add path '/nix/store/...' because it lacks a signature by a trusted key</blockquote>
	If this occurs, add your non-root user or group to the <code>trusted-users</code> list in <code>/etc/nix/nix.conf</code>, which is the <code>nix.settings.trusted-users</code> option in NixOS.}}		If this occurs, add your non-root user or group to the <code>trusted-users</code> list in <code>/etc/nix/nix.conf</code>, which is the <code>nix.settings.trusted-users</code> option in NixOS.}}

	For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.		For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.

	===Specifying a different configuration location===		===Specifying a different configuration location===
	====without Flakes====		====without Flakes====

imported>Williamvds: Add --use-remote-sudo option and hints

2022-10-12T21:49:20Z

Add --use-remote-sudo option and hints

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:49, 12 October 2022
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	Note that this will often require using a different configuration than the one in <code>/etc/nixos</code>. See the '''Specifying a different configuration location''' section for details.		Note that this will often require using a different configuration than the one in <code>/etc/nixos</code>. See the '''Specifying a different configuration location''' section for details.
	<code>--build-host</code> and <code>--target-host</code> can be used simultaneously, even with different hosts.		<code>--build-host</code> and <code>--target-host</code> can be used simultaneously, even with different hosts.

			If you are rebuilding a remote host as a non-root user, use the <code>--use-remote-sudo</code> option to elevate on the remote machine during the rebuilding process:
			<syntaxHighlight lang=console>
			$ nixos-rebuild --target-host user@example.com --use-remote-sudo switch
			</syntaxHighlight>

			{{Note\|When rebuilding a remote host, you may see similar errors to the following:
			<blockquote>error: cannot add path '/nix/store/...' because it lacks a valid signature</blockquote>
			If this occurs, add your non-root user or group to the <code>trusted-users</code> list in <code>/etc/nix/nix.conf</code>, which is the <code>nix.settings.trusted-users</code> option in NixOS.}}

	For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.		For a full list of sub-commands and options, see the <code>nixos-rebuild</code> man page.