Open Source Ready
Reproducible infrastructure with Graham Christensen
Episode 38
Podcasts featuring Graham
Reproducible infrastructure with Graham Christensen (opens in a new tab)
Webinars from Graham
Nix at enterprise scale with Determinate (opens in a new tab) Webinar
Nix at enterprise scale with Determinate
Join Determinate Systems co-founder and CEO Graham Christensen to hear how Determinate Nix enables enterprise-grade development and deployment at scale. Learn how your organization can streamline software delivery with enterprise-ready features including MDM support, secure authentication, a hardened release process, and more. Whether you are a Principal Engineer, Architect, CTO, or CISO, this webinar empowers you with practical solutions for deploying Nix across your enterprise while maintaining security, compliance, and operational efficiency.
Graham Christensen
Blog posts by Graham
Changelog: Determinate Nix 3.21.7 
Changelog: Determinate Nix 3.21.7
4 min readAn all-and-sundry batch of performance work, a faster
nix copy, multi-threaded store optimization, and speedier binary caches, remote stores, and parallel evaluation, plus some changes to Determinate Secure Packages and flake schemasGraham ChristensenFlakeHub now has FedRAMP High Authorization 
FlakeHub now has FedRAMP High Authorization
6 min readFlakeHub, our platform providing secure Nix binary caching, private flakes, and more, has achieved FedRAMP High Authorization and is now listed in the FedRAMP Marketplace, bringing enterprise Nix to federal agencies and contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information
Graham ChristensenIntroducing Nixpkgs cooldowns Introducing Nixpkgs cooldowns
3 min readMaking package cooldowns for Nixpkgs available to all Determinate users by default
Graham ChristensenChangelog: Determinate Nix 3.21.0 Changelog: Determinate Nix 3.21.0
3 min readSupport for CNSA algorithms, a new
nix servecommand,fetchTarballis now lazy, and more.Graham ChristensenThe Nix moment 
The Nix moment
8 min readThe stars are aligning in unmistakable ways for Nix and we are leading the charge.
Graham ChristensenChangelog: Determinate Nix 3.17.3 Changelog: Determinate Nix 3.17.3
4 min readAn important security update plus some improvements
Graham ChristensenSupport for AWS GovCloud and European Sovereign Cloud 
Support for AWS GovCloud and European Sovereign Cloud
2 min readNixOS AMIs for Determinate are now available in AWS GovCloud and AWS European Sovereign Cloud, providing a better option for teams with strict data residency and regulatory requirements
Graham ChristensenDeterminate is the future of Nix today: Wasm, provenance, and flake schemas 
Determinate is the future of Nix today: Wasm, provenance, and flake schemas
6 min readThis updates we're shipping this week are making Determinate Nix a different beast entirely
Graham ChristensenChangelog: a new command for visualizing active Nix builds and much more Changelog: a new command for visualizing active Nix builds and much more
6 min readA new
nix pscommand, some prettier output, some flake registry improvements, and other goodiesGraham ChristensenDropping upstream Nix from Determinate Nix Installer 
Dropping upstream Nix from Determinate Nix Installer
3 min readFocusing on our core strength: delivering the best Nix experience we can
Graham ChristensenParallel evaluation comes to Determinate Nix Parallel evaluation comes to Determinate Nix
3 min readParallel evaluation drastically cuts evaluation time and improves import-from-derivation (IFD) performance.
Graham ChristensenChangelog: build-time flake inputs and unauthenticated upgrades Changelog: build-time flake inputs and unauthenticated upgrades
4 min readDeterminate Nix introduces a new type of flake input for sources and
determinate-nixd upgradenow works without logging in.Graham ChristensenChangelog: Determinate now has a nix-darwin module, plus loads of performance perks Changelog: Determinate now has a nix-darwin module, plus loads of performance perks
5 min readLoads of UX and performance improvements in Determinate Nix, plus a nix-darwin module
Graham ChristensenChangelog: Determinate Nix 3.8.1 with important security updates Changelog: Determinate Nix 3.8.1 with important security updates
2 min readNix users on macOS should upgrade to Determinate Nix 3.8.1 as soon as possible.
Graham ChristensenChangelog: a faster `nix flake check`, improved flake locks, and lazy trees rolled out to 20% of users Changelog: a faster
nix flake check, improved flake locks, and lazy trees rolled out to 20% of users3 min readDeterminate Nix 3.8.0 (based on Nix 2.30) cuts minutes from CI runs, fixes a bug involving flake inputs, and rolls out lazy trees to more users.
Graham ChristensenChangelog: faster CI, deep flake overrides, and a better `nix store delete` in Determinate Nix 3.7.0 Changelog: faster CI, deep flake overrides, and a better
nix store deletein Determinate Nix 3.7.03 min readPerformance and UX improvements across the board, plus lazy-trees rolling out to some users.
Graham ChristensenChangelog: lazy trees and security improvements Changelog: lazy trees and security improvements
3 min readLazy trees are ready to roll out, and an improvement to the sandboxing security.
Graham ChristensenChangelog: macOS Tahoe, lazy trees, and docs in Determinate Nix 3.6.6 Changelog: macOS Tahoe, lazy trees, and docs in Determinate Nix 3.6.6
4 min readSupport for macOS Tahoe and nearing general availability for lazy trees
Graham ChristensenChangelog: docs, diagnostics, and resilience improvements Changelog: docs, diagnostics, and resilience improvements
8 min readShell auto-completion scripts for Determinate Nixd, improved installation and garbage collection, more intelligible log messages, and more.
Graham ChristensenChangelog: improved support for self-hosted GitHub Actions runners Changelog: improved support for self-hosted GitHub Actions runners
1 min readOur
determinate-nix-actionnow succeeds on many more self-hosted environments, including Kubernetes-backed CI environments.Graham ChristensenDeterminate Nix 3.0 Determinate Nix 3.0
6 min readBusiness-class Nix for critical infrastructure, complete with a flake stability guarantee
Graham ChristensenChangelog: improved nix-darwin support for Determinate! Changelog: improved nix-darwin support for Determinate!
2 min readEasy nix-darwin integration, Determinate Nix updates, and other bug fixes.
Graham ChristensenEnd of life for the free tier of the Magic Nix Cache 
End of life for the free tier of the Magic Nix Cache
4 min readSome unfortunate decisions by GitHub have forced us to wind down free caching with the Magic Nix Cache by 1 February 2025
Graham ChristensenChangelog: customer binding, nix.conf, and yanked Nix 2.25.4 Changelog: customer binding, nix.conf, and yanked Nix 2.25.4
3 min readUpdates in Determinate Nix 0.3.0 and nix-installer 0.33.0.
Graham ChristensenDeterminate Nix now supports migrating from other caches 
Determinate Nix now supports migrating from other caches
2 min readDeterminate Nix supports loading customer-specified credentials for authenticating with additional caches.
Graham ChristensenThe future of software is Nix 
The future of software is Nix
13 min readI've known this since before I found Nix in 2016
Graham ChristensenDiscontinuing support for macOS Monterey 
Discontinuing support for macOS Monterey
2 min readDeterminate software will no longer support macOS Monterey (version 12), following Apple's dropped support.
Graham ChristensenFully automated Nix installation for macOS on AWS EC2 
Fully automated Nix installation for macOS on AWS EC2
3 min readSkip the unskippable: eliminate the macOS Full Disk Access approval on AWS EC2 with Determinate.
Graham ChristensenSolving enterprise TLS certificates for Nix on macOS 
Solving enterprise TLS certificates for Nix on macOS
3 min readDeterminate solves a key problem with TLS/SSL certificates on macOS.
Graham ChristensenPrepare Nix for macOS Sequoia Prepare Nix for macOS Sequoia
2 min readNix fully supports the upcoming macOS Sequoia, but you'll have to repair the build users first.
Graham ChristensenDiscontinuing support for i686-linux in the Determinate Nix Installer 
Discontinuing support for i686-linux in the Determinate Nix Installer
2 min readUsage patterns suggest unambiguously that the Determinate Nix Installer no longer needs to support this system type.
Graham ChristensenKVM on GitHub Actions KVM on GitHub Actions
2 min readNixOS tests, Firecracker VMs, and more, now available to Nix users on GitHub Actions with one line of code.
Graham ChristensenA graphical installer for Nix A graphical installer for Nix
3 min readAn even easier way to install Nix on macOS—and trustworthy and ripe for integration to boot.
Graham ChristensenLessons from 1 million Nix Installs 
Lessons from 1 million Nix Installs
10 min readIn celebration of installing Nix over a million times, let's take a look at some of the lessons we've learned while building a safer and more reliable Nix installer.
Graham ChristensenNix Survival Mode: sheltering Nix from macOS upgrades Nix Survival Mode: sheltering Nix from macOS upgrades
2 min readFor years, macOS upgrades have broken Nix. We've updated the Determinate Nix Installer to ensure that this no longer happens, eliminating yet another annoyance for macOS users.
Graham ChristensenFlakeHub updates: lightning-fast mirroring and webhook integrations 
FlakeHub updates: lightning-fast mirroring and webhook integrations
2 min readChecking in on FlakeHub one month after launch
Graham ChristensenExperimental does not mean unstable 
Experimental does not mean unstable
4 min readUsers love flakes, and we're committing to maintaining forward compatibility.
Graham ChristensenIntroducing FlakeHub 
Introducing FlakeHub
8 min readA new home for your Nix flakes. Semantic versioning, flake exploration, automated publishing using GitHub Actions, and more.
Graham ChristensenIntroducing the Magic Nix Cache 
Introducing the Magic Nix Cache
6 min readNix builds at speeds you never thought possible.
Graham ChristensenIntroducing the Determinate Nix Installer Introducing the Determinate Nix Installer
6 min readA fresh new alternative to the official Nix installation scripts.
Graham ChristensenIntroducing Riff Introducing Riff
4 min readRiff is a tool that automatically provides external dependencies for Rust projects.
Graham ChristensenWe want to make Nix better 
We want to make Nix better
4 min readIntroducing Determinate Systems, a company devoted to bringing the immense benefits of Nix to the software world. Our values, our mission, and what the future holds.
Graham ChristensenHow to Use Hydra as your Deployment Source of Truth 
How to Use Hydra as your Deployment Source of Truth
8 min readHydra is a fantastic tool for building small and large software collections. It is also a great tool for orchestrating releases.
Graham Christensen
Other Determinate Systems team members
Alex Ford
Software Engineer
Cole Helbling
Software Engineer
Cole Mickens
Senior Software Engineer, Minnows Tech Lead
Dominique Hummel
Senior Software Engineer
Eelco Dolstra
Co-founder, creator of Nix
Jeff Martens
Chief Executive Officer
Luc Perkins
Head of Technical Communications
Mo Lawler
Technical Program Manager
Tristan Ross
Security Engineer
