this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2023
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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 !

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[–] Herbstzeitlose@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Because it’s the latest Cool Nerd Thing™ like Arch before it, and Gentoo before that. Most of the people raving about it probably don’t have much use for its features.

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[–] chris@lem.cochrun.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

I've been using it for over a year and love it. A config file for your entire system, and built in rollbacks anytime something goes wrong. One language to configure everything, although in practice that doesn't always work. But I love it.

Some others have started why it works, here is some how. Nixos completely disregards the fhs. Packages don't install to anywhere standard, every package and configuration change gets it's on directory in /nix/store but through smart use of tracking everything there, it symlinks all those files to proper places and sets up the environment for them to know where libraries are.

This is then also why you don't need sudo privileges to install things. Your profile has an environment that is aware of your users packages and configurations, the system itself isn't effected because everything is symlinked.

Then because every update means new directories in /nix/store you can role back to your last configuration because plasma broke something or whatever.

However, it's a LOT to learn. Best place I know of is https://piped.video/watch?v=AGVXJ-TIv3Y&t=0

This guy did a good job for me. Hope this helps!

[–] torafugu@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't get the hype. I'm staying with Arch, as Nix seems to be mainly for developers.

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[–] IncidentalIncidence@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago

I didn't get it either, but this video does a pretty good job explaining why it's different: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMQWirkx5EY

[–] slacktoid@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

Overlays. Good package management, and lot of stability stuff.

[–] buckyogi@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

I ran it in a VM for several months and was underwhelmed. Sticking with Fedora.

[–] datendefekt@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

[–] NathanUp@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Same. If I wanted to set up multiple PCs at once, I would definitely consider it, but for my workstation? I'd rather have the newer packages offered by the Arch repos. Even with that said, you can use KDE's apper to quickly install a bunch of packages.

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[–] Veritas@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (33 children)

The increasing popularity of NixOS can be attributed to several factors that make it stand out among other Linux distributions. Some of the key reasons why people are switching to NixOS include:

  1. Reproducibility: NixOS allows for reproducible builds and deployments, ensuring that the same code will produce the same output across different environments[1][2].

  2. Easy rollbacks: NixOS has built-in rollbacks, which means that if a configuration change causes the system to be unbootable, it is easy to roll back to a previous working install[1][3].

  3. Nix package manager: NixOS uses the Nix package manager, which simplifies package management and system configuration[1].

  4. Multiple versions of the same package: NixOS allows users to have multiple versions of the same package installed, which can be useful for testing and development purposes[1].

  5. Stability: NixOS is considered a very stable platform compared to other Linux distributions, such as Arch Linux[3].

  6. Declarative configuration: NixOS uses a declarative configuration approach, which offers benefits over the imperative approach used by more traditional operating systems[4].

In addition to these features, the recent introduction of the open-source platform flox has made it easier for developers and enterprises to adopt NixOS. Flox expands on Nix's unique approach to package management and system configuration, providing convenience, collaboration, and control throughout the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) [5]. This has led to an increase in the adoption of NixOS among developers and enterprises.

Overall, NixOS offers a combination of stability, reproducibility, and flexibility that appeals to developers and users who want a reliable and customizable Linux distribution.

Citations:

[1] https://itsfoss.com/why-use-nixos/

[2] https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/07/flox-raises-27m-to-bring-nix-to-more-developers/

[3] https://ramsdenj.com/2017/06/19/switching-to-nixos-from-arch-linux.html

[4] https://www.anthes.is/nixos-pros-cons.html

[5] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/flox-raises-27-million-introduces-140100442.html

[–] ItsYourBoyHalo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you use Nix, personally? Also, it's crazy that I found this post while thinking about distro hopping.

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[–] NathanUp@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

I would love to have #4 on Arch / EndeavourOS.I recently had my Scribus install (SVN from the AUR) break due to Arch moving to some newer library. There really isn't an easy way to solve this AFAIK.

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[–] authed@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Never tried NixOS but I think I will try Qubes-Whonix next: https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Qubes

[–] binboupan@lemmy.kagura.eu 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm using Void Linux and see no reason to move over to NixOS. The concept seems cool though.

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[–] TrippyTortuga@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I will switch as soon as I can get proprietary Nvidia drivers to work on my laptop.

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