Re:Zero to Nix, an unofficial, opinionated, gentle introduct...
by QuiCasseRien on Tuesday January 24, 2023 @06:01AM
(#34502118)
Zero to Nix and its NixOS section is elegant and simple.
It has already been said many times but NixOS suffer from a poor and a fragmented documentation.
The Official Nixos Manual is a very good start to install Nixos. But that's it.
It does not explain all the logic behind NixOS for already experienced user. Because yes, Nixos is absolulety not for beginners !
Nixos is a kind of blackbox where once you've luckily found the site https://search.nixos.org/options it comes with all the options you were looking for.
You need a sysadmin background to understrand theses options like (ie: services.nginx.virtualHosts.<name>.locations.<name>.extraConfig). A reverse dictionary of how we used to do things with traditionnal distro and how to do with Nixos should be a very good start !
At least, the extrem big fucking issue is the complete mess between Nixos/Nix/Flake/Home Manager. Theirs documentation and definition are often "recursive dependant" in a way you are completely lost.
If i compare to AUR (ArchLinux User Repository), the learning curve to create a custom package is quite easy. For Nix, it requires an amount of concentration, reads and skills to do the same. This discourage users.
It has already been said many times but NixOS suffer from a poor and a fragmented documentation.
The Official Nixos Manual is a very good start to install Nixos. But that's it.
It does not explain all the logic behind NixOS for already experienced user. Because yes, Nixos is absolulety not for beginners !
Nixos is a kind of blackbox where once you've luckily found the site https://search.nixos.org/options it comes with all the options you were looking for.
You need a sysadmin background to understrand theses options like (ie: services.nginx.virtualHosts.<name>.locations.<name>.extraConfig). A reverse dictionary of how we used to do things with traditionnal distro and how to do with Nixos should be a very good start !
At least, the extrem big fucking issue is the complete mess between Nixos/Nix/Flake/Home Manager. Theirs documentation and definition are often "recursive dependant" in a way you are completely lost.
If i compare to AUR (ArchLinux User Repository), the learning curve to create a custom package is quite easy. For Nix, it requires an amount of concentration, reads and skills to do the same. This discourage users.