mads — NixOS config (one flake, two machines)

Declarative NixOS for:

host	`nixosConfigurations.<name>`	arch	notes
MacBook (M1 Pro, Asahi)	`mbp`	`aarch64-linux`	Apple Silicon support module + vendored firmware
Arbitrary x86 PC	`pc`	`x86_64-linux`	plain NixOS

Everything shared (Hyprland, greetd autologin, Zen+Tridactyl, neovim, zsh+starship, packages, user) lives in the common / home modules in flake.nix. Host-specific bits (Asahi firmware/cache vs. x86 boot) are the small inline modules per host.

flake.nix                     inputs + common/home modules + both hosts
hosts/mbp/hardware-configuration.nix   ← DUMMY, regenerate on the Mac
hosts/pc/hardware-configuration.nix    ← DUMMY, regenerate on the PC
config/   hypr eww fuzzel nvim         raw configs (sourced by home-manager)
firmware/                              Wi-Fi/BT blobs (Mac only, git-add at install)

Keep this repo private — the Mac firmware under firmware/ is non-redistributable.

The hardware-configuration.nix files are placeholders so the flake evaluates off-target; each is overwritten by nixos-generate-config during that machine's install.

Rename a host / set your timezone

Host name: change the nixosConfigurations.<name> key and its networking.hostName in flake.nix (e.g. pc → desktop).
time.timeZone is in the common module.

Install on the MacBook (Asahi + NixOS)

Follows the official guide — always check the latest, as steps change: https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-apple-silicon/blob/main/docs/uefi-standalone.md (this config tracks Asahi main; currently kernel linux-asahi 7.0.13).

⚠ Back up first. Damaging the GPT / first / last partition can brick the Mac and lose all data.

1. macOS → install the UEFI environment

In macOS Terminal (admin account):

curl https://alx.sh | sh

r — resize macOS, leave ≥ 20 GB free for NixOS
f — install into free space → UEFI environment only, name it NixOS
Reboot into recovery when told; set permissive security for the new OS.
It reboots into U-Boot (Asahi + U-Boot logos). Power off.

2. Build + write the installer USB

On any Linux box with Nix (or download a release ISO from the repo's Releases):

nix build github:nix-community/nixos-apple-silicon#installer-bootstrap -o installer
sudo dd if=installer/iso/nixos-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

(dd only — not unetbootin.)

3. Boot the installer, partition, mount

Boot the USB (U-Boot → GRUB → installer), then:

sudo su
sgdisk /dev/nvme0n1 -n 0:0 -s          # root fills free space
sgdisk /dev/nvme0n1 -p                  # find the new 8300 partition number (e.g. p5)
mkfs.ext4 -L nixos /dev/nvme0n1p5

mount /dev/disk/by-label/nixos /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/boot
mount /dev/disk/by-partuuid/$(cat /proc/device-tree/chosen/asahi,efi-system-partition) /mnt/boot

4. Hardware config + vendored firmware + this flake

nixos-generate-config --root /mnt

# get this repo onto the target (private remote or USB), e.g.:
git clone <your-private-remote> /mnt/etc/nixos/config && cd /mnt/etc/nixos/config

cp /mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix hosts/mbp/hardware-configuration.nix

# vendor the Wi-Fi/BT firmware (pure flakes can't read /boot/asahi)
mkdir -p firmware
cp /mnt/boot/asahi/all_firmware.tar.gz firmware/
cp /mnt/boot/asahi/kernelcache*        firmware/
git add -f hosts/mbp/hardware-configuration.nix firmware/*

5. Install

nixos-install --flake .#mbp     # sets root password at the end
reboot

Boot picker: hold the power button. greetd autologins mads into Hyprland. First thing after login: passwd (the config ships initialPassword = "changeme").

Install on an x86 PC

Standard NixOS install (https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/#sec-installation), just point nixos-install at .#pc.

1. Boot the NixOS ISO, get network, partition (UEFI/GPT)

sudo -i
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- mklabel gpt
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- mkpart ESP fat32 1MiB 512MiB
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- set 1 esp on
parted /dev/nvme0n1 -- mkpart primary 512MiB 100%

mkfs.fat -F32 -n BOOT /dev/nvme0n1p1
mkfs.ext4 -L nixos    /dev/nvme0n1p2

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

(The BOOT / nixos labels match the dummy hosts/pc/hardware-configuration.nix, but the generated one below replaces it with real UUIDs anyway.)

2. Hardware config + this flake + install

nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
git clone <your-private-remote> /mnt/etc/nixos/config && cd /mnt/etc/nixos/config
cp /mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix hosts/pc/hardware-configuration.nix

nixos-install --flake .#pc
reboot

Then passwd.

Day-to-day

# apply config changes
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/nixos#mbp     # or #pc

# update everything (nixpkgs + asahi + zen + addons), then rebuild
nix flake update
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/nixos#mbp

# roll back: pick a previous generation in the boot menu

Both apple-silicon and nixpkgs are cached (asahi via its Cachix), so updates download rather than compile.

Verify-on-first-boot (can't be checked off-machine)

greetd session — the command is uwsm start hyprland. If you land on a blank tty instead of Hyprland, change it to command = "Hyprland" in common.
Asahi hardware.asahi.* — firmware path / sound options, per the guide above.

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