Linux (NixOS) Deployment

Guide to deploying this configuration on NixOS.

Status

📋 Planned - NixOS support is designed but not yet fully implemented.

This document describes the planned NixOS deployment strategy.

Overview

This configuration will support NixOS deployment with:

Shared modules with macOS (nix-darwin)
Linux-specific base configuration
Systemd service management
Multi-architecture support (x86_64, aarch64)

Prerequisites

NixOS installation media
x86_64 or aarch64 system
Administrator access
Network connectivity

Planned Structure

Linux Base Module

nix/modules/linux-base.nix (placeholder exists):

{ config, pkgs, lib, ... }:
{
  # NixOS base configuration
  boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
  boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;

  networking.networkmanager.enable = true;

  services.openssh.enable = true;

  system.stateVersion = "24.11";
}

NixOS Configuration

In flake.nix:

nixosConfigurations.linux-workstation = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
  system = "x86_64-linux";
  modules = [
    ./nix/modules/common.nix
    ./nix/modules/linux-base.nix
    ./nix/profiles/cloud-cli.nix
    ./nix/profiles/developer.nix
    ./hosts/linux-workstation.nix

    home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager
    {
      home-manager.users.wikigen = import ./home/users/wikigen.nix;
    }
  ];
};

Installation Steps (Planned)

1. Boot NixOS Installer

# Boot from USB/ISO
# Connect to network
sudo systemctl start wpa_supplicant

2. Partition Disk

# UEFI system
parted /dev/sda -- mklabel gpt
parted /dev/sda -- mkpart ESP fat32 1MiB 512MiB
parted /dev/sda -- set 1 esp on
parted /dev/sda -- mkpart primary 512MiB 100%

# Format
mkfs.fat -F 32 -n boot /dev/sda1
mkfs.ext4 -L nixos /dev/sda2

# Mount
mount /dev/disk/by-label/nixos /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/boot
mount /dev/disk/by-label/boot /mnt/boot

3. Clone Configuration

# Clone to /mnt
cd /mnt
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/Config.git /mnt/etc/nixos
cd /mnt/etc/nixos

4. Install NixOS

# Install
nixos-install --flake .#linux-workstation

# Set root password
nixos-install --root /mnt --no-root-passwd

# Reboot
reboot

5. Post-Install

# Update system
nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixos#linux-workstation

# Update flake
cd /etc/nixos
nix flake update
nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#linux-workstation

Differences from macOS

Package Manager

# macOS: Homebrew for GUI apps
homebrew.casks = [ "app" ];

# NixOS: All packages via Nix
environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.app ];

Services

# macOS: launchd
launchd.user.agents.myservice = { ... };

# NixOS: systemd
systemd.user.services.myservice = { ... };

User Management

# NixOS: Declarative users
users.users.wikigen = {
  isNormalUser = true;
  extraGroups = [ "wheel" "networkmanager" ];
  shell = pkgs.zsh;
};

Roadmap

Phase 1: Basic Support

Complete linux-base.nix module
Test on VM
Document installation process
Add example NixOS configuration

Phase 2: Feature Parity

All profiles working on Linux
Systemd service equivalents
Linux-specific optimizations
Multi-user support

Phase 3: Advanced Features

Impermanence setup
Secure boot
Full disk encryption
Remote deployment

Testing (When Implemented)

# Build VM for testing
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.linux-workstation.config.system.build.vm

# Run VM
./result/bin/run-linux-workstation-vm

# Test installation
nixos-rebuild build-vm --flake .#linux-workstation

Next Steps

Darwin Deployment - macOS deployment (current)
Cloud Deployment - EC2/GCE deployment (planned)
Design Doc - Architecture details

Structure Guide - Module system
Design Philosophy - Platform strategy

External References

NixOS Manual - Official docs
NixOS Installation - Install guide
NixOS Options - Configuration options

Status: 📋 Planned - Contribute on GitHub