Hi everyone!

I saw that NixOS is getting popularity recently. I really have no idea why and how this OS works. Can you guys help me understanding all of this ?

Thanks !

  • @joshthetechie@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    12 years ago

    People love Nix because of the OS configuration based around a single config file. Essentially, you define your system configuration in this file, including installed programs, then you rebuild your system based on that configuration.

    The beauty here is that you can easily move this file to another machine running NixOS and reproduce your configuration there. You can also roll back changes by simply rebooting and choosing the last known good build and you’re back in business.

  • datendefekt
    link
    fedilink
    02 years ago

    Glancing over the website, I thought it’s an immutable OS, like Fedora Silverblue. I could imagine that it might be cool to use with Ansible and stuff. But for an average user? I can’t really see the advantages in respect to the work you have to put in.

    • @quantenzitrone@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      12 years ago

      NixOS is not immutable in the way Fodora Silverblue is, and way more declarative and reproducible than Ansible. But yeah it is not something you “need”. Other distros work too, but NixOS is way more fun.

    • @nani8ot@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      12 years ago

      It is an immutable distro, altough it isn’t image-based like Fedora’s rpm-ostree.

      NixOS basically replaces Ansible because the Nix package manager achieves the same goals already (configuration, deployment, …).

      But I agree, the work necessary to put into this non-standard distro makes it hard to recommend for a casual user.