NixOS

NixOS Linux

Release Status	Maintained
Release Model	Varied depending on user configuration
Package Manager	Nix
Default Desktops	Enlightenment, GNOME, KDE Plasma, LXQt, Xfce, MATE, Pantheon, Cinnamon
Usage Type	Desktop, Server
Architectures	i686, x86_64, aarch64
Website	nixos.org

NixOS desktop running GNOME 43.1 along with Neofetch.

NixOS is a Linux distribution built around the Nix package manager, which provides atomic upgrades, rollbacks, and a declarative configuration model. It was originally founded by Eelco Dolstra.

Home Manager

Home Manager is a NixOS module for configuring user environments in /home, often integrated directly into NixOS to enable unified system and user-level rebuilds. It provides a broad range of options beyond standard NixOS configurations, allowing users to manage dotfiles, install and configure applications, and customize environment settings for a tailored, reproducible setup.

Lix

Lix is a community fork of Nix. It uses the Meson build system, though the Lix team also plans to gradually introduce Rust to the source code. The project also aims to evolve the Nix language into the new Lix language—maintaining general syntactic compatibility with Nix but introducing refinements and new features.

Controversy

Anduril Sponsorship

NixCon 2023, a community conference dedicated to the Nix project, received a sponsorship from Anduril, a U.S.-based military defense contractor. Upon learning of the sponsorship, the event venue, TU Darmstadt, requested additional information from the Nix Foundation to assess whether the sponsorship aligned with its policies. In response, the Nix Foundation ultimately decided to withdraw Anduril's sponsorship.

Change of Leadership

Following an open letter criticizing the Nix Foundation and calling for the resignation of Eelco Dolstra, he eventually stepped down. After his resignation, a new board was established. Their first action was to lift the ban on a controversial user from the Nixpkgs contributor Zulip chat, sparking further debate.

Trivia

• NixOS uses a purely functional package management approach, ensuring that package installations do not interfere with one another.
• The Nix package manager allows for reproducible builds, making it ideal for development environments.