bankrupt/INSTALL.md

Installation Guide

First-Time Setup

On macOS

1. Install Nix (if not already installed)

sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install)

2. Enable Flakes

Create or edit ~/.config/nix/nix.conf:

mkdir -p ~/.config/nix
cat <<EOF > ~/.config/nix/nix.conf
experimental-features = nix-command flakes
EOF

Restart your terminal or run:

. /nix/var/nix/profiles/default/etc/profile.d/nix-daemon.sh

3. Configure Your System

Edit the following files:

In flake.nix:

• Line 82-97: Replace your-hostname with your actual hostname (run hostname to find it)
• Line 94: Replace your-username with your actual username (run whoami)

In darwin/configuration.nix:

• Line 33-34: Set your hostname
• Line 45: Set your architecture:
  • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): "aarch64-darwin"
  • Intel: "x86_64-darwin"
• Line 48-51: Set your username

In home-manager/home.nix:

• Line 30: Set your username

In home-manager/development.nix (optional):

• Uncomment lines for your git name and email

4. Build and Apply

# Build the darwin configuration (first time)
nix build .#darwinConfigurations.YOUR-HOSTNAME.system --extra-experimental-features "nix-command flakes"

# Apply it
./result/sw/bin/darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#YOUR-HOSTNAME

After the first successful build, you can use:

darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#YOUR-HOSTNAME

5. Reload Your Shell

Close and reopen your terminal, or source your shell config:

# For zsh:
source ~/.zshrc

# For fish:
source ~/.config/fish/config.fish

# For bash:
source ~/.bashrc

On NixOS

1. Clone This Repository

# As root or with sudo
cd /etc/nixos
git clone <your-repo-url> .
# Or copy your files to /etc/nixos

2. Configure Your System

Edit the following files:

In flake.nix:

• Line 59-75: Replace your-hostname with your actual hostname
• Line 72: Replace your-username with your actual username

In nixos/configuration.nix:

• Line 38: Set your hostname
• Line 43-54: Configure your user account
• Uncomment line 47-51 if you want to set an initial password

In home-manager/home.nix:

• Line 30: Set your username

In home-manager/development.nix (optional):

• Uncomment lines for your git name and email

3. Generate Hardware Configuration

If you haven't already:

sudo nixos-generate-config --show-hardware-config > nixos/hardware-configuration.nix

4. Build and Apply

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#YOUR-HOSTNAME

5. Reboot (optional but recommended)

sudo reboot

Updating Your Configuration

Update Flake Inputs (packages)

nix flake update

Then rebuild:

# macOS:
darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#YOUR-HOSTNAME

# NixOS:
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#YOUR-HOSTNAME

Making Configuration Changes

1. Edit the relevant configuration files
2. Rebuild and switch:

# macOS:
darwin-rebuild switch --flake .

# NixOS:
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .

Testing Changes Before Applying

# macOS:
darwin-rebuild build --flake .

# NixOS:
sudo nixos-rebuild build --flake .

If the build succeeds, you can then apply with switch.

Common Customizations

Add User Packages

Edit home-manager/common.nix, home-manager/development.nix, or the platform-specific files:

home.packages = with pkgs; [
  firefox
  vscode
  ripgrep
];

Enable a Program

Most programs can be enabled via home-manager options:

programs.firefox.enable = true;
programs.git = {
  enable = true;
  userName = "Your Name";
  userEmail = "you@example.com";
};

Add System Packages

Edit common.nix or the platform-specific configuration:

environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  vim
  wget
  curl
];

Customize Shell

Edit home-manager/shell.nix to configure bash, zsh, fish, or starship prompt.

macOS System Defaults

Edit darwin/configuration.nix to customize macOS behavior (Dock, Finder, keyboard, etc.).

Troubleshooting

Build Fails with "experimental Nix feature 'flakes' is disabled"

Make sure you've enabled flakes in ~/.config/nix/nix.conf:

experimental-features = nix-command flakes

"error: collision between..."

This means two packages are trying to install the same files. Check for:

• Duplicate packages in system and home-manager configs
• Conflicting package versions

macOS: "Could not find nix-darwin"

On first install, you need to build with the full path:

nix build .#darwinConfigurations.YOUR-HOSTNAME.system
./result/sw/bin/darwin-rebuild switch --flake .

Home Manager File Conflicts

If home-manager tries to manage files that already exist, back them up:

# Create backups of existing files
for file in ~/.bashrc ~/.zshrc ~/.config/fish/config.fish; do
  [ -f "$file" ] && mv "$file" "$file.backup"
done

Or use the backup flag:

home-manager switch --flake . --backup-extension .backup

Can't Find Your Hostname

# macOS and Linux:
hostname

# If it's not what you expect, you can change it:
# macOS (temporarily):
sudo scutil --set HostName your-new-hostname

# NixOS: Set in configuration.nix

Rollback to Previous Generation

If a new configuration breaks something:

# macOS:
darwin-rebuild --rollback

# NixOS:
sudo nixos-rebuild --rollback

Next Steps

After installation:

1. Customize your configuration - Edit the home-manager modules to suit your workflow
2. Add your development tools - Uncomment languages/tools you need in development.nix
3. Configure Git - Set your name and email in development.nix
4. Set up shell - Choose your preferred shell and customize in shell.nix
5. Explore options - Check out Home Manager options

Getting Help

• NixOS Discourse
• Nix Discord
• r/NixOS
• Nix Documentation