Posts of the category how-to

Blog post image for post fh-updates
Sep 20, 2023 by Luc Perkins

Creating and modifying flakes using the FlakeHub CLI

The FlakeHub CLI, fh, now enables you to generate new flakes from scratch or modify existing flakes in place, providing major ergonomic benefits for working with flakes.

Blog post image for post instrumenting-axum
Jul 20, 2023 by Ana Hobden

Instrumenting Axum projects

Fitting the pieces together for pleasant errors and logs in Axum.

Blog post image for post declarative-gnome-configuration-with-nixos
Jun 1, 2023 by Ana Hobden

Declarative GNOME configuration with NixOS

When I first started using Linux in 2006, I remember dreaming of a Linux Console. It wasn't so far fetched, the PlayStation 3 had just been released with OtherOS support which allowed users to install Linux (or BSD). Still, it seemed that a Linux-first console seemed like it would only ever be a dream.

Blog post image for post open-policy-agent
May 22, 2023 by Luc Perkins

Packaging Open Policy Agent policies with Nix

How I used Nix to turn Open Policy Agent policies into standalone CLI tools

Blog post image for post extending-nixos-configurations
Mar 31, 2023 by Ana Hobden

Extending NixOS configurations

NixOS modules and configurations offer us a tantalizing way to express and share systems. My friends and I can publish our own flakes containing nixosModules or/and nixosConfigurations outputs which can be imported, reused, and remixed.

Blog post image for post moving-stuff-around-with-nix
Mar 22, 2023 by Luc Perkins

Moving stuff around with Nix

Don't just copy: copy declaratively.

Blog post image for post nix-on-the-steam-deck
Dec 21, 2022 by Ana Hobden

Nix on the Steam Deck

When I first started using Linux in 2006, I remember dreaming of a Linux Console. It wasn't so far fetched, the PlayStation 3 had just been released with OtherOS support which allowed users to install Linux (or BSD). Still, it seemed that a Linux-first console seemed like it would only ever be a dream.

Blog post image for post nix-to-kubernetes
Nov 21, 2022 by Luc Perkins

Deploying Nix-built containers to Kubernetes

While it's easy to fall in love with Nix and want to use it to build and configure just about everything, let's face it: few of us are in a position to do so, especially in the workplace. "Hey team, let's Nixify our entire stack!" is unlikely to endear you to your coworkers at daily standup.

Blog post image for post nix-github-actions
Oct 31, 2022 by Luc Perkins

Streamline your GitHub Actions dependencies using Nix

Make your CI pipeline both strictly declarative and reproducible across environments by replacing third-party Actions with Nix shell environments.

Blog post image for post qemu-fix
Oct 13, 2022 by Linus Heckemann

Make your QEMU 10 times faster with this one weird trick

NixOS uses virtual machines based on QEMU extensively for running its test suite. In order to avoid generating a disk image for every test, the test driver usually boots using a Plan 9 File Protocol (9p) share (server implemented by QEMU) for the Nix store, which contains all the programs...

Blog post image for post nix-run
Oct 7, 2022 by Luc Perkins

Using Nix to run software with no installation steps

All you need is the Nix CLI and a flake URL to run executables using Nix. There's nothing else quite like it in our industry.

Blog post image for post nix-direnv
Sep 23, 2022 by Luc Perkins

Effortless dev environments with Nix and direnv

Like many of you, I work on a lot of different projects. Even when a project is less serious—hey, I should check out this new JS framework!—I strive to reduce the friction involved with setting up the project's dev environment to the absolute bare minimum possible.

Blog post image for post nix-home-env
Sep 15, 2022 by Luc Perkins

Building a highly optimized home environment with Nix

How I used Home Manager and a personal project called Nome to declutter and optimize my home environment using Nix.

Blog post image for post hydra-deployment-source-of-truth
Oct 14, 2021 by Graham Christensen

How to Use Hydra as your Deployment Source of Truth

Hydra is a fantastic tool for building small and large software collections. It is also a great tool for orchestrating releases.