NixOS Installation Guide: Difference between revisions

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For commodity PC hardware the [https://nixos.org/nixos/manual/index.html#ch-installation official manual] should covers the most use cases.
This guide is a companion guide for the [https://nixos.org/nixos/manual/index.html#ch-installation official manual]. It describes installation of [[NixOS]] as a complete operating system. For installation of [[Nix]] within an existing operating system, see [[Nix Installation Guide]].


== Installing NixOS from USB ==
In addition to describing the steps from the official manual, it provides known good instructions for common use cases. When there is a discrepancy between the manual and this guide, the supported case is the one described in the manual.


<!--
Use this guide as a step-by-step guide, choices will be presented, use only the selected section, and continue at the section it tells you to at the end.
Since NixOS 14.11 the installer ISO is hybrid. This means it is bootable on both CD and USB drives. It also boots on EFI systems, like most modern motherboards and Mac* systems. Please read the [[#Hybrid image]] section on how to burn the ISO.


For NixOS 14.04 and earlier, please read [[#Using Unetbootin]] and the other sections below.
== Installation target ==


NixOS can be installed on an increasing variety of hardware:


== Hybrid image ==
* regular (Intel or AMD) desktop computers, laptops or physically accessible servers, covered on this page
{{Note|This section applies to NixOS 14.11. For NixOS 14.04, please refer to [[#Using Unetbootin]].}}
* SBCs (like the Raspberry Pis) and other ARM boards, see [[NixOS on ARM]]
* cloud and remote servers, see [[NixOS friendly hosters]]


First, download a [http://nixos.org/nixos/download.html NixOS ISO image] or [[Creating a Nix OS live CD|create a custom ISO]]. Then plug in a USB stick large enough to accomodate the image. Then follow the platform instructions:
== Installation method ==


<ul>
NixOS, as with most Linux-based operating systems, can be installed in different ways.


<li>On Linux:
# The classic way, booting from the installation media. (Described below.)
# [[Installing from Linux|Booting the media from an existing Linux installation]]


<ol>
== Making the installation media ==
<li>Find the right device with <code>fdisk -l</code>, let's say <code>/dev/sdb</code>.</li>
<li>Burn with: <code>cp nixos-xxx.iso /dev/sdb</code></li> 
</ol>


{{Note|do not use /dev/sdb1 or partitions of the disk, use the whole disk /dev/sdb.}}
Since NixOS 14.11 the installer ISO is hybrid. This means it is bootable on both CD and USB drives. It also boots on EFI systems, like most modern motherboards and apple systems. The following instructions will assume the standard way of copying the image to a USB drive. When using a CD or DVD, the usual methods to burn to disk should work with the iso.
</li>
<li>On OS X:


<ol>
=== "Burning" to USB drive ===
<li>Find the right device with <code>diskutil list</code>, let's say <code>disk<b>2</b></code>.</li>
<li>Unmount with <code>diskutil unmountDisk disk<b>2</b></code>.</li>
<li>Burn with: <code>sudo dd if=<b>path_to_nixos.iso</b> of=/dev/<b>r</b>disk<b>2</b> bs=64k</code></li>
<li>Note the use of rdisk instead of disk, this makes a large speed difference. You can check the write speed with <code>iostat 2</code> in another terminal.</li>
</ol>


You could use Disk Utility to write the image but then you'd need to convert it first to a compatible format somehow.
First, download a [https://nixos.org/download.html#nixos-iso NixOS ISO image] or [[Creating a NixOS live CD|create a custom ISO]]. Then plug in a USB stick large enough to accommodate the image. Then follow the platform instructions:
</li>


<li>On Windows:
==== From Linux ====


<ol>
# Find the right device with <code>lsblk</code> or <code>fdisk -l</code>. Replace <code><i>/dev/sdX</i></code> with the proper device in the following steps.
<li>Download [http://sourceforge.net/projects/usbwriter/ USBwriter].</li>
# Copy to device: <code>cp nixos-xxx.iso <em>/dev/sdX</em></code>
<li>Start USBwriter.</li>
<li>Choose the downloaded ISO as 'Source'</li>
<li>Choose the USB drive as 'Target'</li>
<li>Click 'Write'</li>
<li>When USBwriter has finished writing, safely unplug the USB drive.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>


This should suffice to boot the installer. Otherwise look for other alternatives below.
{{note|do not use /dev/sdX1 or partitions of the disk, use the whole disk /dev/sdX.}}
-->


== UEFI note ==
Writing the disk image with <code>dd if=nixos.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fdatasync</code> also works.


The below is for BIOS installation. For UEFI installation see [http://nixos.org/nixos/manual/#sec-uefi-installation the manual].
==== From macOS ====


== Using Unetbootin ==
# Find the right device with <code>diskutil list</code>, let's say <code><i>diskX</i></code>.
# Unmount with <code>diskutil unmountDisk <i>diskX</i></code>.
# Burn with: <code>sudo dd if=<b>path_to_nixos.iso</b> of=/dev/<i>diskX</i></code>


It is possible to install NixOS from a USB stick, rather than from a CD. This is useful if you want to install NixOS on a machine that doesn't have a CD-ROM drive (such as most netbooks), or if you don't want to waste a blank CD. Here is how to do it:
{{tip|Using <code>rdiskX</code> instead of <code>diskX</code> can makes a large speed difference. You can check the write speed with <code>iostat 2</code> in another terminal.}}


<ol>
==== From Windows ====


<li>Download a [http://nixos.org/nixos/download.html NixOS ISO image] or [[Creating a Nix OS live CD|create a custom ISO]].</li>
# Download [http://sourceforge.net/projects/usbwriter/ USBwriter].
# Start USBwriter.
# Choose the downloaded ISO as 'Source'
# Choose the USB drive as 'Target'
# Click 'Write'
# When USBwriter has finished writing, safely unplug the USB drive.


<li>Obtain a USB stick formatted with the VFAT/FAT32 filesystem with enough free disk space to hold the contents of the ISO image.  {{Note|It's not necessary to erase the USB stick.}}</li>
=== Alternative installation media instructions ===


<li>Install [http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ UNetbootin], a tool that allows you to create a bootable USB stick from an ISO image.  UNetbootin runs on both Linux and Windows.  If you already have Nix/NixOS, you can install it by running <tt>nix-env -i unetbootin</tt>.  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tools_to_create_Live_USB_systems Other tools] may also work.</li>
The previous methods are the supported methods of making the USB installation media.


<li>Insert the USB stick, start UNetbootin, select the ISO file and target USB drive, and press Ok. This copies the contents of the ISO to the USB stick and installs the GRUB boot loader.</li>
Those methods are also documented, they can allow using the USB drive to boot multiple distributions. This is not supported, your mileage may vary.


<li>You should now be able to boot NixOS from the USB stick, and perform the installation as usual.</li>
* [[NixOS_Installation_Guide/Unetbootin|Using Unetbootin]]
* [[NixOS_Installation_Guide/Manual USB Creation|Manual USB Creation]]
* [[NixOS_Installation_Guide/multibootusb|multibootusb]]


</ol>
== Booting the installation media ==
{{expansion|Troubleshooting steps, and details are lacking.}}


{{Note|For EFI support you may need to change the label of the FAT filesystem. You can do this on Linux with mlabel, and on OS X with diskutil: `sudo diskutil rename OLDNAME NIXOS_ISO`.}}
Since the installation media is hybrid, it will boot both in legacy bios mode and UEFI mode.


== Using syslinux ==
Whatever mode is used to boot the installation media, your motherboard or computer's configuration may need to be changed to allow booting from a Optical Disk Drive (for CD/DVD) or an external USB drive.


=== Using syslinux.cfg ===
=== Legacy bios boot ===


If you have trouble booting from a USB drive or sdcard with Unetbootin (I just got a blinking cursor instead of a bootloader on an Asus eee 1000) the procedure described on http://knoppix.net/wiki/Bootable_USB_Key should work. After preparing the sdcard with mkdiskimage and syslinux you can mount it and copy all the content from the NixOS iso:
This is the only boot possible on machines lacking EFI/UEFI.


<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
=== UEFI boot ===
$ mount -o loop ~/Downloads/nixos-graphical-0.1pre27337-i686-linux.iso /media/iso
$ rsync -av --progress /media/iso/ /media/sd-card/
</syntaxhighlight>


The syslinux.cfg needs to be created manually, but the details can easily be derived from the grub.cfg on the NixOS install cd.
The EFI bootloader of the installation media is not signed and is not using a signed shim to boot. This means that Secure Boot will need to be disabled to boot.


I specified the root device by UUID, to get the UUID:
== Connecting to the internet ==


<pre>
The installation will '''definitely''' need a working internet connection. It is possible to install without one, but the available set of packages is limited.
blkid /dev/mmcblk0p1
</pre>


The relevant section from the live cd: /media/sd-card/boot/grub/grub.cfg
=== Wired ===


<pre>
For network interfaces supported by the kernel, DHCP resolution should already have happened once the shell is available.
menuentry "NixOS Installer / Rescue" {
  linux /boot/bzImage init=/nix/store/r7xhnzymi1ll49r4glf1dwr5y1alx0bl-system/init root=LABEL=NIXOS_INSTALL_CD_0.1pre27337 splash=verbose vga=0x317
  initrd /boot/initrd
}
</pre>


can be used in the syslinux config file: /media/sd-card/syslinux.cfg (you should just need to update the init path and the root UUID / LABEL or device path)
==Tethered (Internet Sharing)==


<pre>
If you can not connect to the internet via cable or wifi, you may use smartphone's tethering capability to share internet. Depending on your smartphones capabilities, only stock kernel drivers may be required which can help providing a working network connection.
DEFAULT linux
LABEL linux
  SAY Now booting the kernel from SYSLINUX...
  KERNEL /boot/bzImage
  APPEND init=/nix/store/r7xhnzymi1ll49r4glf1dwr5y1alx0bl-system/init root=UUID=509C-63E2 ro initrd=/boot/initrd splash=verbose
</pre>


'''Note''': in place of using mkdiskimage, you can simply format your SDCard as a fat32 system and install syslinux on it:
=== Wireless ===


<pre>
Network Manager is installed on the graphical ISO, meaning that it is possible to use <code>nmtui</code> on the command line to connect to a network.
mkdosfs -F32 /dev/mmcblk0p1
syslinux -s /dev/mmcblk0p1
</pre>


== Alternate method ==
Using the "Applications" tab at top
left or the launcher bar at bottom, choose a terminal application and from there launch <code>nmtui</code>. This will allow you to 'activate' a (wireless) connection - your local SSIDs should be visible in the list, else you can add a new connection.  When the wireless connection is active and you have tested it, it is likely the install app which launched on startup has not detected the new connection.  Close down the install app, and reopen it from the launcher bar at the bottom of the screen.  This should then find the new connection and proceed.


<ol>
On the minimal ISO, or if you are more familiar with <code>wpa_supplicant</code> then you can also run <code>wpa_passphrase ESSID | sudo tee /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf</code>, then enter your password and <code>systemctl restart wpa_supplicant</code>.
<li>Download the ISO image from http://nixos.org/nixos/download.html.</li>


<li>Prepare your USB stick. If it isn't yet partitioned to your liking, create a bootable partition on <code>/dev/sdb1</code>:
== Partitioning ==


<pre>
To partition the persistent storage run <code>sudo fdisk /dev/diskX</code> and follow instructions for DOS or (U)EFI.
fdisk /dev/sdb
A very simple example setup is given here.
</pre>


And format it with:
=== DOS ===


<pre>
* o (dos disk label)
mkdosfs /dev/sdb1
* n new
</pre>
* p primary (4 primary in total)
* 1 (partition number [1/4])
* 2048 first sector (alignment for performance)
* +500M last sector (boot sector size)
* rm signature (Y), if ex. => warning of overwriting existing system, could use wipefs
* n
* p
* 2
* default (fill up partition)
* default (fill up partition)
* w (write)


Add ext2 partitions if you like. If you want both 32-bit and 64-bit NixOS, you need at least two partitions.  You can directly use the entire disk without partition if that's what you like.  Once you have your VFAT (dosfs) block device, you should give it a label, within a 11-character limit, e.g.:
=== UEFI ===


<pre>
* g (gpt disk label)
dosfslabel /dev/sdb1 NIXBOOT
* n
</pre>
* 1 (partition number [1/128])
</li>
* 2048 first sector
* +500M last sector (boot sector size)
* t
* 1 (EFI System)
* n
* 2
* default (fill up partition)
* default (fill up partition)
* w (write)


<li>Mount the bootable USB partition with:
== Label partitions ==


<pre>
This is useful for having multiple setups and makes partitions easier to handle<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
mkdir -p /media/NIXBOOT
$ lsblk
mount /dev/sdb1 /media/NIXBOOT
$ sudo mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sdX1
</pre>
$ sudo fatlabel /dev/sdX1 NIXBOOT
</li>
$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX2 -L NIXROOT
$ sudo mount /dev/disk/by-label/NIXROOT /mnt
$ sudo mkdir -p /mnt/boot
$ sudo mount /dev/disk/by-label/NIXBOOT /mnt/boot
</syntaxhighlight>


<li>Mount the ISO image with:
== Swap file ==
<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/.swapfile bs=1024 count=2097152 (2GB size)
$ sudo chmod 600 /mnt/.swapfile
$ sudo mkswap /mnt/.swapfile
$ sudo swapon /mnt/.swapfile
</syntaxhighlight>


<pre>
== NixOS config ==
mkdir -p /media/iso
<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
mount -o loop ~/Downloads/nixos-graphical-0.2pre4463_5e88e9b-c877f45-x86_64-linux.iso /media/iso
$ sudo nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
</pre>
$ cd /mnt/etc/nixos/
</li>
$ sudo vim configuration.nix
</syntaxhighlight>Most essential changes:


<li>Copy the contents of the NixOS ISO (<code>/media/iso</code>) to your USB stick (<code>/media/NIXBOOT</code>) with:
* keyboard layout, ie <code>[[Keyboard Layout Customization|services.xserver.xkb.layout]]</code>
* <code>users.users.user</code> with adding entry <code>initialPassword = "pw123";</code>
* [[networking]] (wifi), see below for fix if it breaks
* <code>boot.loader.grub.device = "/dev/sda"; #or "nodev" for efi only</code>
* install editor to edit the configuration
* change hardware config to use labels


<pre>
The self-documenting NixOS options can be searched with [https://search.nixos.org/options NixOS options search].
rsync -av --progress /media/iso/ /media/NIXBOOT/
</pre>
</li>


<li>Install a complete and recent GRUB to the USB stick with:
== NixOS installation ==
<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
$ cd /mnt
$ sudo nixos-install
</syntaxhighlight>after installation: Run <code>passwd</code> to change user password.


<pre>
if internet broke/breaks, try one of the following:<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
grub-install /dev/sdb --root-directory=/media/NIXBOOT/
$ nixos-rebuild switch --option substitute false # no downloads
</pre>
$ nixos-rebuild switch --option binary-caches "" # no downloads
</li>
</syntaxhighlight>
 
* wpa_supplicant flags to connect to wifi
<li>Edit the file <code>/media/NIXBOOT/boot/grub/grub.cfg</code>. Start from an existing grub.cfg, say from your hard drive or from another working bootable USB stick (e.g., from GRML.org). Then, merge in the entry for NixOS from <code>/media/iso/boot/grub/grub.cfg</code>, modifying the LABEL to be that of your VFAT partition:
 
<pre>
menuentry "NixOS Installer / Rescue" {
  linux /boot/bzImage init=/nix/store/p94ckcksmhj90cr868cpcajrqgzwy57w-nixos-0.2pre4463_5e88e9b-c877f45/init root=LABEL=NIXBOOT
  initrd /boot/initrd
}
</pre>
</li>
 
<li>To share your USB stick with other distributions (e.g., GRML, or both 32- and 64- bit NixOS), you can move NixOS's bzImage and initrd to different location (e.g., <code>/boot/nix32/</code> and <code>/boot/nix64/</code>), and you appropriately edit the entries in your grub.cfg. If you have both nix32 and nix64, only one can have its <code>nix-store.squashfs</code> in the root of any given partition.  That's where you can use a second partition, for the second one.  For instance, copy the contents of your 64-bit NixOS to the first partition, with label <code>NIX64</code>, and copy the nix-store.squashfs of your 32-bit NixOS to the second partition with label <code>NIX32</code> (and create an empty nix/store). Copy the 32-bit kernel and initrd to <code>/boot/nix32/</code> on the bootable partition, and edit the grub.cfg of the bootable partition accordingly.</li>
 
<li>There you go: you have a bootable NixOS USB drive, possibly allowing you to boot NixOS 64-bit, NixOS 32-bit, GRML 64-bit, GRML 32-bit, FreeBSD, FreeDOS, boot-sector-tetris, etc. Just you convince your BIOS to let you boot off it.</li>
</ol>
 
== Build a custom installation image ==
 
NixOS provides an easy way to build a custom variant of the installation image. This might be useful to embed your own ssh key or enable additional features like zfs support. It allows to specify a custom <code>configuration.nix</code> which is used to build the image
This is explained in [[Creating a NixOS live CD]].
 
== Install Nixos on VPS/Cloud-Provider ==
 
Not all providers allow to upload own images or provide NixOS images for installation. However there are a few ways to install NixOS anyhow.
 
[https://github.com/jeaye/nixos-in-place nixos-in-place] and [https://github.com/elitak/nixos-infect nixos-infect] are generic approaches to install NixOS from an existing Linux.
 
A different approach is to build an kexec-based image to start the installer from an booted linux as shown in this [https://github.com/cleverca22/nix-tests/tree/master/kexec repo]
 
=== Installation Stories ===
 
Add the code you needed to run in order to deploy NixOS at $provider .
 
==== Hetzner ====
 
Hetzner provides an [https://wiki.hetzner.de/index.php/LARA/en#Installing_an_OS interface] to upload your own ISO-images. However you may want to build your own iso-image, which has openssh with ssh keys due the lack of a remote console. An easier method to install NixOS on Hetzner, is to use the existing integration into [https://nixos.org/nixops/manual/#idm140737318364240 NixOps]
 
==== Digitalocean ====
 
On Digitalocean the project [https://github.com/elitak/nixos-infect nixos-infect] can be used to transform an existing installation into NixOS. This method will be also used in [https://nixos.org/nixops/manual/#sec-deploying-to-digital-ocean NixOps].
 
==== Netcup ====
 
You can mount your own images similar to hetzner, see the [https://www.netcup-wiki.de/wiki/Server_Control_Panel_%28SCP%29#Eigene_DVDs official netcup documentation].
 
==== Linode ====
 
NixOS is official supported by Linode. Up to date documentation can be obtained from their [https://www.linode.com/docs/tools-reference/custom-kernels-distros/install-nixos-on-linode manual]


==== CloudAtCost ====
<hr />


==== Scaleway ====
== Additional notes for specific hardware ==


The <code>kexec</code> method above works well, but bear in mind it only works with the 'virtual' class of servers, as they run under a hypervisor which attaches the disks before the kernel boots. The 'bare-metal' servers rely on a special Linux kernel booting to attach network <code>/dev/nbdX</code> drives which works only with Scaleway supplied images.
These are collected notes or links for specific hardware issues.
 
==== Rackspace ====
 
See [[Install NixOS on Rackspace Cloud Servers]].
 
==== Online.net ====
 
See [[Install NixOS on Online.Net]].
 
==== <your vps provider here> ====
 
== Special hardware ==


* Blog post how to install NixOS on a [http://grahamc.com/blog/nixos-on-dell-9560 Dell 9560]
* Blog post how to install NixOS on a [http://grahamc.com/blog/nixos-on-dell-9560 Dell 9560]
* for embedded Hardware like the Raspberry Pi2 see [[NixOS on ARM]]
* Brand servers may require extra kernel modules be included into initrd (<code>boot.initrd.extraKernelModules</code> in configuration.nix) For example HP Proliant needs "hpsa" module to see the disk drive.
* Brand servers may require extra kernel modules be included into initrd (boot.initrd.extraKernelModules in configuration.nix) For example HP Proliant needs "hpsa" module to see the disk drive.
 
 
[[Category:Guide]]


[[Category:Installation]]
[[Category:Guide]][[Category:Deployment]]

Latest revision as of 16:00, 25 June 2024

This guide is a companion guide for the official manual. It describes installation of NixOS as a complete operating system. For installation of Nix within an existing operating system, see Nix Installation Guide.

In addition to describing the steps from the official manual, it provides known good instructions for common use cases. When there is a discrepancy between the manual and this guide, the supported case is the one described in the manual.

Use this guide as a step-by-step guide, choices will be presented, use only the selected section, and continue at the section it tells you to at the end.

Installation target

NixOS can be installed on an increasing variety of hardware:

  • regular (Intel or AMD) desktop computers, laptops or physically accessible servers, covered on this page
  • SBCs (like the Raspberry Pis) and other ARM boards, see NixOS on ARM
  • cloud and remote servers, see NixOS friendly hosters

Installation method

NixOS, as with most Linux-based operating systems, can be installed in different ways.

  1. The classic way, booting from the installation media. (Described below.)
  2. Booting the media from an existing Linux installation

Making the installation media

Since NixOS 14.11 the installer ISO is hybrid. This means it is bootable on both CD and USB drives. It also boots on EFI systems, like most modern motherboards and apple systems. The following instructions will assume the standard way of copying the image to a USB drive. When using a CD or DVD, the usual methods to burn to disk should work with the iso.

"Burning" to USB drive

First, download a NixOS ISO image or create a custom ISO. Then plug in a USB stick large enough to accommodate the image. Then follow the platform instructions:

From Linux

  1. Find the right device with lsblk or fdisk -l. Replace /dev/sdX with the proper device in the following steps.
  2. Copy to device: cp nixos-xxx.iso /dev/sdX
Note: do not use /dev/sdX1 or partitions of the disk, use the whole disk /dev/sdX.

Writing the disk image with dd if=nixos.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fdatasync also works.

From macOS

  1. Find the right device with diskutil list, let's say diskX.
  2. Unmount with diskutil unmountDisk diskX.
  3. Burn with: sudo dd if=path_to_nixos.iso of=/dev/diskX

From Windows

  1. Download USBwriter.
  2. Start USBwriter.
  3. Choose the downloaded ISO as 'Source'
  4. Choose the USB drive as 'Target'
  5. Click 'Write'
  6. When USBwriter has finished writing, safely unplug the USB drive.

Alternative installation media instructions

The previous methods are the supported methods of making the USB installation media.

Those methods are also documented, they can allow using the USB drive to boot multiple distributions. This is not supported, your mileage may vary.

Booting the installation media

Since the installation media is hybrid, it will boot both in legacy bios mode and UEFI mode.

Whatever mode is used to boot the installation media, your motherboard or computer's configuration may need to be changed to allow booting from a Optical Disk Drive (for CD/DVD) or an external USB drive.

Legacy bios boot

This is the only boot possible on machines lacking EFI/UEFI.

UEFI boot

The EFI bootloader of the installation media is not signed and is not using a signed shim to boot. This means that Secure Boot will need to be disabled to boot.

Connecting to the internet

The installation will definitely need a working internet connection. It is possible to install without one, but the available set of packages is limited.

Wired

For network interfaces supported by the kernel, DHCP resolution should already have happened once the shell is available.

Tethered (Internet Sharing)

If you can not connect to the internet via cable or wifi, you may use smartphone's tethering capability to share internet. Depending on your smartphones capabilities, only stock kernel drivers may be required which can help providing a working network connection.

Wireless

Network Manager is installed on the graphical ISO, meaning that it is possible to use nmtui on the command line to connect to a network.

Using the "Applications" tab at top left or the launcher bar at bottom, choose a terminal application and from there launch nmtui. This will allow you to 'activate' a (wireless) connection - your local SSIDs should be visible in the list, else you can add a new connection. When the wireless connection is active and you have tested it, it is likely the install app which launched on startup has not detected the new connection. Close down the install app, and reopen it from the launcher bar at the bottom of the screen. This should then find the new connection and proceed.

On the minimal ISO, or if you are more familiar with wpa_supplicant then you can also run wpa_passphrase ESSID | sudo tee /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, then enter your password and systemctl restart wpa_supplicant.

Partitioning

To partition the persistent storage run sudo fdisk /dev/diskX and follow instructions for DOS or (U)EFI. A very simple example setup is given here.

DOS

  • o (dos disk label)
  • n new
  • p primary (4 primary in total)
  • 1 (partition number [1/4])
  • 2048 first sector (alignment for performance)
  • +500M last sector (boot sector size)
  • rm signature (Y), if ex. => warning of overwriting existing system, could use wipefs
  • n
  • p
  • 2
  • default (fill up partition)
  • default (fill up partition)
  • w (write)

UEFI

  • g (gpt disk label)
  • n
  • 1 (partition number [1/128])
  • 2048 first sector
  • +500M last sector (boot sector size)
  • t
  • 1 (EFI System)
  • n
  • 2
  • default (fill up partition)
  • default (fill up partition)
  • w (write)

Label partitions

This is useful for having multiple setups and makes partitions easier to handle

$ lsblk
$ sudo mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sdX1
$ sudo fatlabel /dev/sdX1 NIXBOOT
$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX2 -L NIXROOT
$ sudo mount /dev/disk/by-label/NIXROOT /mnt
$ sudo mkdir -p /mnt/boot
$ sudo mount /dev/disk/by-label/NIXBOOT /mnt/boot

Swap file

$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/.swapfile bs=1024 count=2097152 (2GB size)
$ sudo chmod 600 /mnt/.swapfile
$ sudo mkswap /mnt/.swapfile
$ sudo swapon /mnt/.swapfile

NixOS config

$ sudo nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
$ cd /mnt/etc/nixos/
$ sudo vim configuration.nix

Most essential changes:

  • keyboard layout, ie services.xserver.xkb.layout
  • users.users.user with adding entry initialPassword = "pw123";
  • networking (wifi), see below for fix if it breaks
  • boot.loader.grub.device = "/dev/sda"; #or "nodev" for efi only
  • install editor to edit the configuration
  • change hardware config to use labels

The self-documenting NixOS options can be searched with NixOS options search.

NixOS installation

$ cd /mnt
$ sudo nixos-install

after installation: Run passwd to change user password. if internet broke/breaks, try one of the following:

$ nixos-rebuild switch --option substitute false # no downloads
$ nixos-rebuild switch --option binary-caches "" # no downloads
  • wpa_supplicant flags to connect to wifi

Additional notes for specific hardware

These are collected notes or links for specific hardware issues.

  • Blog post how to install NixOS on a Dell 9560
  • Brand servers may require extra kernel modules be included into initrd (boot.initrd.extraKernelModules in configuration.nix) For example HP Proliant needs "hpsa" module to see the disk drive.
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