NixOS on ARM/Apple Silicon Macs
Apple Silicon Macs are supported in large part by the efforts of the Asahi Linux project. All M1 Macs should be supported currently, except for Mac Studio.
| Apple Silicon Macs | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Apple |
| Architecture | AArch64 |
| Bootloader | Asahi Linux Project m1n1 + U-Boot |
| Maintainer | tpwrules |
Status
NixOS should be at least as well supported as the official Asahi Linux distribution. Enough hardware works currently for a pleasant desktop and laptop Linux experience, including booting off the internal NVMe drive.
Board Specific Installation Notes
Apple's boot and security architecture is complex, but abstracting all that away into a standard UEFI environment is handled by the Asahi Linux installer and project. Those who want to learn more may want to read Introduction to Apple Silicon.
Currently, not enough hardware support is upstream for the official NixOS installer to work properly on Apple Silicon Macs. A comprehensive guide to using the Asahi Linux installer to install NixOS with a customized NixOS ISO is available.