NixOS

NixOS is a declarative, reproducible Linux distribution built on the Nix package manager. It is designed for reliability, consistency, and automation—making it an ideal choice for DevOps professionals.

What is NixOS?

• Declarative Configuration: System state is described in a single configuration file (/etc/nixos/configuration.nix).

• Atomic Upgrades & Rollbacks: Every change is transactional. You can roll back to previous system states with a single command.

• Reproducibility: The same configuration yields the same result, on any machine.

• Isolation: Packages and services are isolated, reducing dependency conflicts.

Why NixOS for DevOps?

• Immutable Infrastructure: NixOS enables true Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for your OS, not just your applications.

• Consistent Environments: Developers, CI/CD, and production can all use the same configuration, eliminating "works on my machine" issues.

• Automation Friendly: Integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines, GitOps, and configuration management tools.

• Security: Minimal, auditable builds and easy rollbacks reduce risk.

• Multi-User & Multi-Project: Nix's user profiles and channels allow for isolated, per-project environments.

Running NixOS Everywhere

• PCs & Laptops: Install NixOS as your main OS for a fully declarative, reproducible workstation.

• MacBook (Darwin): Use Nix-Darwin to bring Nix's declarative configuration to macOS, including Homebrew-like package management and system settings.

• Windows (WSL): Use Nix on WSL to run NixOS inside Windows Subsystem for Linux, enabling reproducible dev environments on Windows.

• Cloud & Containers: NixOS images are available for major clouds and can be used as container base images for ultimate reproducibility.

Getting Started

• NixOS Manual
• Nix Pills (Learning Nix)
• Nix-Darwin
• NixOS-WSL

NixOS empowers DevOps teams to build, test, and deploy with confidence—on any platform.