Re:NixOS is a good server OS, except when it isn't
by soraminazuki on Wednesday October 02, 2024 @07:59AM
(#41719622)
For other distros, that kind of behind the scenes changes are triggered by package installation and ad-hoc commands. It's not always easy to figure out exactly what has changed, especially after the fact. This, in turn, makes changes difficult to revert.
NixOS is much better because you can inspect the changes after the fact. You also know which code to look for, which is a luxury. If the code seems too much, there's the repl to help. Changes are also much easier to revert.
Re:NixOS is a good server OS, except when it isn't
by SuperSandro2000 on Wednesday October 02, 2024 @06:29AM
(#41719066)
nixos-rebuild repl and then you can inspect things like config.services.resolved.enable or :p options.services.resolved.enable.definitionsWithLocations
With a default config you start with a console, systemd, dbus and some things to make it boot. There is barely anything.
Re:NixOS is a good server OS, except when it isn't
by anon291 on Wednesday October 02, 2024 @10:51AM
(#41721212)
You instantiate the nix config and then lookup the value
`nix-instantiate --eval -A config.services.resolved.enabled /etc/nixos/configuration.nix`
This is way better than a stateful package manager making a non-revertible change without even telling me.
But I think this also stems from the fact that the default state of nixos is "a general purpose linux system" and so instead of just starting at 0 and adding the things you need, you have to mix adding and removing things which IMO makes things much more complicated (except maybe for newbies to linux who don't know what's necessary for a running system).