dotfiles

NixOS configuration managed as a flake. This repo controls the full system configuration for the router host.

Structure

flake.nix              Entry point; defines nixosConfigurations
hosts/router/           Per-host config (hardware, networking, hostname)
modules/base/           Shared base settings (users, packages, flakes)
modules/client/         Desktop/GUI packages and services
modules/server/         Server services (SSH, Podman)
dynamic/                Dotfiles placed into $HOME via home-manager

How to make changes

1. Edit with opencode

opencode is installed on the system. Open it from the dotfiles directory:

cd ~/dotfiles
opencode

Describe what you want to change in plain language. For example:

• "Add ripgrep to system packages in the base module"
• "Enable docker instead of podman"
• "Add a new hyprland keybinding"

opencode will read the relevant files and make the edits for you.

2. Apply with nh

After making changes, rebuild and switch to the new configuration:

nh os switch

This uses the flake at ~/dotfiles (set by NH_OS_FLAKE). No need to remember nixos-rebuild flags.

To just build without activating (useful for checking errors):

nh os build

Recovering on a fresh NixOS install

If the machine dies, here's how to get back to this configuration from a NixOS live USB:

1. Install NixOS normally. The partition scheme doesn't matter much since nh will rebuild the whole system.

2. Install git and gh, then authenticate:

   nix-shell -p git gh
   gh auth login
   

3. Clone this repo:

   cd ~
   gh repo clone SystemConsultantGroup/dotfiles dotfiles
   

4. Regenerate the hardware config for the new machine. It must match the actual hardware (disk UUIDs, kernel modules, etc.):

   cd ~/dotfiles
   sudo nixos-generate-config --show > hosts/router/hardware-configuration.nix
   

   Review the generated file — make sure disk UUIDs and mount points are correct.

5. Rebuild:

   sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#router
   

   After this first manual rebuild, nh and opencode will be installed and the NH_OS_FLAKE env var will be set. From here on you can use nh os switch as normal.

Tips

• Check your edit before switching. nh os build catches eval and build errors without touching the running system.
• Look at existing modules first. The modules/ directory is split by role (base, client, server). Add packages and services to the right one.
• Home-manager files live in dynamic/ and are wired up in modules/client/home.nix via home-manager.users.scg.
• Adding a new host: copy hosts/router/ to a new directory, create a matching entry in flake.nix under nixosConfigurations, and run nh os switch --hostname <name>. For the initial rebuild use sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#<name>.