My NixOS system

Preview

On the screenshot:

• helix editor
• btop system monitor
• rmpc mpd client

all with custom themes via stylix 🌈

Wallpapers

Coding

Launcher and powermenu

Reimagined adi1090x rofi configs

Lockscreen

(monokai theme), using betterlockscreen

Display Manager (SDDM)

my theme: kyoto

sddm theme: obscure-sddm-theme

Installation steps

Important

Backup your /etc/nixos folder before installation.

Getting started

1. Clone repo in any folder you'd like.
2. Add your host config in directory configuration/hosts/<host-name>
   • it must have default.nix
   • may write your own, may use nixos-generate-config
   • import common host modules (configuration/hosts/common) or add your own into (configuration/hosts/common/modules) and import them
   • refer to configuration/hosts/zep or configuration/hosts/nb
3. Add your user config in directory configuration/homes/<username>
   • it must have default.nix
   • import common user modules (configuration/homes/common) or add your own user-specific
   • refer to configuration/homes/plasmaa0
   • create configuration/homes/common/secrets/secrets.nix which may be empty (_: _), fill it with your secret options
   • put your new user's passowrd into configuration//homes/common/secrets/<usermame>_password.nix just as string. for example: "qwerty123"
   • put your intended root's password in the same directory into root_hashed_password via mkpasswd > root_hashed_password
4. Add entry to flake.nix:

nixosConfigurations = {
  <HOST_NAME> = mkSystem {
    system = "x86_64-linux"; # your architecture
    host = "<HOST_NAME>";
    homes = ["<username>"]; # may contain multiple user names in array
  };
};

5. If it's your first build run just rebuild-switch-specific HOST_NAME
6. If you already have activated derivation of system then just just rebuild-switch
7. *other versions of rebuilding also available (rebuild boot, update, test)

Personal data

Be careful when sharing these files, they contain personal information:

• homes/common/default.nix imports secrets/secrets.nix which sets up secrets e.g. github token:

{...}:{
  nix.settings.access-tokens = [
    "github.com=........"
  ];
  programs.git = {
    userName  = "...";
    userEmail = "...";
  };
}

My method of managing secrets is definitely not the best and secure. Check out this project: sops-nix to deal with secrets management.

Features

Most of the apps listed below are configured using home-manager and themed with stylix.

Honorable mentions

(configs that I'm proud of)

Applications:

• qutebrowser minimalist, keyboard-driven web browser with Vim-like keybindings and Qt backend link
• zathura ultra-lightweight PDF/PostScript viewer with minimal UI and powerful keyboard navigation link
• mime.nix my custom Nix module for declaratively defining file type handlers (e.g., pdf → zathura, epub → calibre) - no manual ~/.config/mimeapps.list editing needed
• rmpc lightweight, fast Rust-based MPD client with real-time lyrics fetching and album art display link
• helix vim killer modern, fast, modal terminal text editor with built-in LSP, tree-sitter, and ergonomic defaults - my daily driver for code and config. configured essential for me language servers (latex, python, c/c++, etc...). theme is somewhat tweaked from what default stylix gave me. link
• fish + starship fish shell with custom completions and functions, paired with starship for a visually rich, dynamic prompt - config ported from my old Garuda Linux setup link | link
• kitty/wezterm two terminal emulators both configured with matching colors and keybindings link | link
• betterlockscreen customizable lockscreen using i3lock + blur effects and dynamic wallpaper switching - visually polished and scriptable link
• xidlehook X11 idle hook daemon for screen locking and power management link
• fastfetch system info fetcher with custom NixOS logo link
• polybar old good status bar link
• eww highly customizable, YAML-driven widget engine used to build my modern status bar, music controls, and workspace indicators link
• i3status-rust lightweight, fast system status bar (CPU, RAM, battery, network) link
• picom compositor for drop shadows, transparency, and smooth animations - configured for performance with optional blur effects link
• rofi fast, themeable application launcher and power menu - uses Adi1090x themes for a clean, modern look link
• dunst.nix notification daemon with custom config link
• i3 Tiling window manager with custom keybindings, workspace layout, and startup scripts - still active for legacy sessions link
• yazi blazing fast terminal file manager with vim-like keybindings and live preview link
• lanzaboote secure boot (YES IT EXISTS ON LINUX) with link
• impermanence stateless system with empemeral root via link
• tlp advanced power management tool for laptops — optimizes battery life with smart CPU, disk, and USB power settings link

Other stuff that powers my system

(not as interesting as stuff above, but not less useful)

• flameshot screenshot daemon;
• copyq clipboard management tool;
• poweralertd daemon which notifies you some info about power of your battery and connected devices;
• udiskie automount devices daemon with nice tray widget;
• alacritty.nix great terminal site;
• autorandr.nix autorandr can save your monitor configurations and quickly change them. Very useful for laptops if you connect them to monitor at different places;
• texstudio Integrated LaTeX environment with syntax highlighting and real-time preview link
• prismlauncher + atlauncher minecraft launchers with modpack support and version management — prismlauncher for general use, atlauncher for specific modpacks link | link
• mangohud Vulkan/OpenGL overlay for FPS, CPU/GPU stats, and custom performance metrics link
• steam valve's gaming platform with library management and Proton compatibility link
• direnv environment switcher for directories — automatically loads/unloads variables based on project context (essential for Nix dev) link
• easyeffects advanced audio effects processor with system-wide equalizer and presets link
• vlc cross-platform multimedia player for video, audio, and streaming link
• nice plymouth themes from adi1090x
• nerd fonts (my favs: Iosevka, Victor, Fantasque...)
• vial tool for configuring custom keyboards (fork of qmk as i know)

Theming

See configuration/hosts/common/global-stylix.nix and configuration/homes/common/user-stylix.nix configs of stylix are there.

Stylix - a NixOS module which applies the same colour scheme, font and wallpaper to a range of applications and desktop environments. Sets up systemwide dark mode, color scheme, wallpaper, icon-pack (Papirus Dark), cursor-pack (Bibata Modern Ice), fonts. link;

To install more fonts add them to configuration/hosts/common/fonts.nix (this will just install them but not apply them everywhere). To apply fonts everywhere use stylix as described below.

To set the theme, wallpaper, fonts, cursors, icons you need to edit it in configuration/hosts/common/global-stylix.nix. More details at stylix wiki.

Stylix color schemes are now centrally managed through predefined theme files. Each theme (e.g., configuration/themes/dark/kyoto.nix) explicitly defines:

• wallpaper: relative path to wallpaper in configuration/wallpapers/
• polarity: "dark" or "light" mode enforcement (theme polarity in stylix terms)
• scheme (optional): Base16 color scheme name. When omitted, Stylix falls back to generating colors from wallpaper pixels - but I recommend against this as auto-generated schemes often suffer from poor contrast, limited color range, and lack of distinctive highlight colors.

To switch themes:

1. Edit configuration/hosts/common/global-stylix.nix to import your desired theme file
2. Set scheme explicitly in the theme file for consistent, high-quality color palettes
3. Run just rebuild-switch to apply changes system-wide (or just rebuild-test just to preview)

All handcrafted themes in configuration/themes/ guarantee proper contrast ratios and semantic color grouping for both light and dark modes. The wallpaper submodule (configuration/wallpapers/) contains all referenced assets.

Check out configuration/wallpapers directory for wallpapers that i use.

For 16 color themes: link

Note

Applications will get their theme from stylix almost in every case except for the apps listed below. I tweaked colors which they get so their look may be bad.

List of stylix targets which are explicitly disabled:

• plymouth
• i3
• helix

TODO

- [ ] sops-nix secret management

In case you can't even log into system

## Recovery steps. Load from usb. (In debug mode you won't be able to connect to wifi, so i'd prefer default mode) ### Mount everything: 1. As in `hardware-configuration.nix` (like with impermanence): ```bash mount -t tmpfs -o "defaults,size=25%,mode=755" tmpfs /mnt

mkdir -p /mnt/home mount -t tmpfs -o "defaults,size=25%,mode=755" tmpfs /mnt/home

mkdir -p /mnt/persist/home mount /dev/disk/by-uuid/74219b09-f02e-43f9-a15b-375ff4037772 /mnt/persist mount /dev/disk/by-uuid/12d128c8-46ef-4b58-9c59-f7cc2ce799c3 /mnt/persist/home

mkdir -p /mnt/boot mount -o "fmask=0077,dmask=0077" /dev/disk/by-uuid/B24C-64BF /mnt/boot

2. Or in a simple way:
```bash
mkdir -p /mnt/home
mount /dev/disk/by-uuid/74219b09-f02e-43f9-a15b-375ff4037772 /mnt
mount /dev/disk/by-uuid/12d128c8-46ef-4b58-9c59-f7cc2ce799c3 /mnt/home

mkdir -p /mnt/boot
mount -o "fmask=0077,dmask=0077" /dev/disk/by-uuid/B24C-64BF /mnt/boot

3. Or even simpler (if you haven't splitted /home and /)

mount /dev/disk/by-uuid/74219b09-f02e-43f9-a15b-375ff4037772 /mnt

mkdir -p /mnt/boot
mount -o "fmask=0077,dmask=0077" /dev/disk/by-uuid/B24C-64BF /mnt/boot

Activate and enter your system

chroot /mnt /nix/var/nix/profiles/system/activate
chroot /mnt /run/current-system/sw/bin/bash
# any recovery steps needed, for example:
passwd

Alternatively look into nix-enter