NixOS Wiki

 Getting started

This is the official NixOS Wiki. It includes topics not covered in the NixOS Manual: NixOS user guides, configuration examples, and troubleshooting tips.

NixOS is a Linux operating system based on the Nix package manager and the Nixpkgs package repository.

Newcomers to NixOS are encouraged to read the Nix Core Ecosystem overview article to get a comprehensive orientation. For more specific introductions, see:

• NixOS
• Nix package manager
• Nixpkgs package repository
• Nix Language

If you want to try Nix standalone in another Linux distribution or on a Mac, take your first steps on nix.dev.

Much great additional tooling exists in the Nix ecosystem such as:

• Home Manager, a system for managing user profile & home directory contents
• Nix Flakes, an experimental feature for managing dependencies of Nix projects

These add complexity and may be confusing at first, and you may even decide that you don't need them. Start with plain Nix/NixOS, and only integrate Home Manager and/or Flakes into your setup once you're confident with Nix/NixOS and comprehend their significance.

 Setting up NixOS

• On desktop, with NixOS as a desktop
• On ARM, with NixOS on ARM
• In the cloud, with NixOS friendly hosters

 Documentation topics

First stop should be Resources, which serves as a gateway to the most important documentation. Some highlights below.

Primary reference material:

• NixOS manual
• Nix manual
• Nixpkgs manual
• Hydra manual

Major page categories:

• Software
• Hardware
• Desktop - how to setup PCs
• Server - how to setup servers
• Community - people, communication, work on NixOS

See also:

• FAQ
• Nix vs. Linux Standard Base
• Terms and Definitions in Nix Project
• Cheatsheet
• Comparison between Ubuntu and NixOS

 Special pages

• Overview of special pages
• All pages of wiki.nixos.org
• All categories of wiki.nixos.org
• Unpatrolled changes of wiki.nixos.org

 Get in touch

With the community

• Official NixOS website
• Official Teams
• Community overview
• Chats and forums
• Get support
• Events

About the Wiki

• Matrix chat for Wiki contributors #wiki:nixos.org
• Email wiki@nixos.org for contacting wiki.nixos.org regarding any wiki operational topics or requests
• Contribute to wiki and NixOS
• Manual of Style

 News

2024-09-02 — Wiki editors use Manual of Style

The Wiki team discussed and put into effect the Manual of Style for editing wiki articles. This is a huge step towards clear and consistent documentation. All editors are encouraged to follow this guide.

2024-08-22 — Wiki editors meeting

All interested wiki editors meet on 22th of August at 21:15 CEST in a Jitsi conference.

Agenda: https://pad.lassul.us/wiki-agenda?view

2024-07-05 — Wiki editors meeting

All interested wiki editors meet on 5th of July at 13:00 CEST in a Jitsi conference.

2024-04-01 — Launch of the wiki

The official NixOS wiki has taken off! If you want to find out why there is a new wiki effort, check out the FAQ.

... all news articles →