Presenting

So you'd like to present Nix or NixOS to a group or organization?

Great, we have put together this page to help you get started!

We considered putting together a canned presentation, and maybe we still will but we think it's more compelling when an individual presents a message that they really own. Ideally, users will see your presentation and leave feeling excited to try NixOS.

Purpose

Begin by considering the purpose of your presentation:

• Make it personal to you
• Why do you want to give this presentation?
• Why is giving the presentation important?

Compelling components

Think about how you want to communicate the value or benefits of Nix:

• Telling a story
• Use the following needs-to-features framework:

1. Situation that leads to a problem
2. Implications of that problem, pain points
3. How does Nix or NixOS take care of that problem

• Live demos are exciting and compelling, but also risky, so be sure to practice and have contingency plans!

Bonus idea: fold these ideas together into a single cohesive whole.

What to focus on

When brainstorming your presentation, consider the following questions:

• What's important about Nix to you?
• What makes you excited about Nix?
• What do you usually show others when showing them Nix?
• When you're showing Nix to others, what gets them excited?
• What do they most like about Nix?

Answers to these questions could include:

• Reproducible Builds
• Managing Dependency Relationships
• Fearlessly making changes
• Constant time rollbacks
• Configuring from a single canonical location
• Being part of something big, early
• Building skills in Nix
• Learning basic semantics of system management on an as-needed basis

Live demos

The best live demos will be the unique ones you come up with yourself, but to get you started, we have a basic set of examples:

• Vignettes in the Examples on nixos.org.

A Generic Presentation Outline

This is a quick introduction to Nix, NixOS, and the basic Nix ecosystem, suitable for explaining Nix to your local Linux user group or ACM club.

What is Nix?

• Nix is a functional build system that is both reliable and reproducible.
• Core Features:
  • Declarative language and configuration.
  • Reproducible builds.
  • User-specific environments.

What are Nix Packages?

• Overview:
  • A collection of packages managed by the Nix package manager.
  • Centralized in the Nixpkgs repository.
• Advantages:
  • Multi-user package management.
  • Ability to use multiple versions of the same software side by side.

What is NixOS?

• Definition: A Linux distribution built on Nix and Nix Packages.
• Key Features:
  • Entire system configuration defined in a single Nix file.
  • Rollbacks for the entire system state.
  • Customizable and reproducible.

What is Home Manager?

• Definition: A tool for managing user environments with Nix.
• Uses:
  • Manage dotfiles and user applications, declaratively.
  • Works across NixOS and other Linux distributions.
• Advantages:
  • Consistent user environments on any machine.
  • Declarative user environment for when multiple users use one machine.
  • Centralized management of personal configurations.

What are Nix Flakes?

• Definition: A modern addition to the Nix ecosystem providing a standardized way to manage projects.
• Core Concepts:
  • Reproducible builds for projects.
  • Integration with Git repositories.
  • A clear and portable interface for Nix-based projects.
• Components:
  • `flake.nix` file for project definitions.
  • Specify inputs such as unstable/stable nixpkgs or home manager
  • Specify outputs like dev environments, applications, containers, and libraries.

Summary

• Nix provides a unified way to manage packages, system configurations, and user environments.
• Tools like NixOS, Home Manager, and Flakes extend its power for system and project management.
• The ecosystem is designed for reliability, reproducibility, and flexibility.

Questions?