I'm preparing a NixOS config for a new computer. It blows my mind (once again) that you can test and polish your config in a VM, so that when your computer arrives you just import the hardware-config, and boom, you're good to go! In theory. But for me, theory ≅ practice with #nixos so far.
Time to refurbishe my #nixos command line!
- List your generations 
"nixos generations list"
- Switch to n generation 
"nixos generation switch 43"
- Automatic rollback on failure.
And a lot more features!! 😍
 
      
  
            I'm happy to announce there will be a Nix and NixOS devroom at FOSDEM 2026!
I'm happy to announce there will be a Nix and NixOS devroom at FOSDEM 2026!
Time to refurbishe my #nixos command line!
- List your generations 
"nixos generations list"
- Switch to n generation 
"nixos generation switch 43"
- Automatic rollback on failure.
And a lot more features!! 😍
Starting to plan out my 2026 #linux talks. Mostly around #nixbook and the work I've been doing upcycling computers and giving them away.
Which of these catches your attention and makes you wanna know more about a talk?
“From E-Waste to Empowerment: The Story of Nixbook OS”
“Linux for Good: How I Turned Discarded Computers into Digital Lifelines”
“Making Linux Invisible (In a Good Way): Nixbook OS for Non-Tech Users”
“The Green Side of Linux: Using NixOS to Fight E-Waste”
Starting to plan out my 2026 #linux talks. Mostly around #nixbook and the work I've been doing upcycling computers and giving them away.
Which of these catches your attention and makes you wanna know more about a talk?
“From E-Waste to Empowerment: The Story of Nixbook OS”
“Linux for Good: How I Turned Discarded Computers into Digital Lifelines”
“Making Linux Invisible (In a Good Way): Nixbook OS for Non-Tech Users”
“The Green Side of Linux: Using NixOS to Fight E-Waste”
❄️ Organizing your Nix configuration without flakes / Kylie McClain
https://somas.is/note-organizing-nix-configuration-without-flakes.html
Ever built a "minimal" NixOS image and been shocked to find it's over 1.5GB? 🤯
Bloated images are a headache, but it doesn't have to be that way. The second article in our NixOS appliance image series is a deep dive into shrinking a NixOS appliance, taking it from 1.5GB all the way down to relatively lean ~360MB.
The new post shares practical, step-by-step "tricks" for hunting down and eliminating unnecessary dependencies. You'll learn how to use tools like `nix-store --query` and `nix why-depends` to find out why things like Perl, Python, or even speech synthesizers are ending up in your build.
If you're looking to optimize your NixOS systems, this is a must-read.
Check out the full guide here: https://nixcademy.com/posts/minimizing-nixos-images/
#NixOS #Linux #DevOps #ImageOptimization #EmbeddedSystems #Systemd #Performance
I needed a bit of distraction, so I looked at what kind of bloat my #NixOS configurations have, and why, and oh dear.
There's 423MiB of nixpkgs source, 249MiB of gcc, 107MiB of Python, and 62MiB of Perl. Would be nice to get rid of all of them!
Lets see what depends on them!
It's been a while I refreshed my pinned #introduction toot, and I figured today will be a fitting day to write a new one.
Hi! Despite the avatar, I'm not a furry1, I'm a boring cishet white dude. Despite my privileged status, I might be considered a "terrorist"2 in some weird jurisdictions, and some companies3 will consider me a "malicious actor", because I built myself a crawler defense system that serves them an infinite maze of garbage. To them, I say: fuck you. I'm a Vengeful Mouse.
I also have the privilege of being able to admire the human body in all shapes and forms, even such "grotesque" things as a female presenting nipple (like this one:  , not to be confused with the
, not to be confused with the  , an entirely different and totally not grotesque thing). I wish this was the norm, rather than a privilege.
, an entirely different and totally not grotesque thing). I wish this was the norm, rather than a privilege.
I'm a serial drive-by contributor, I have my fingerprints all over the internet. I have code in #QMK, #Kaleidoscope, and #Chrysalis, but I contributed to #Forgejo, #niri, and a whole lot of other things too. I find great joy in playing with new things, and submitting patches or other contributions. I used to be a #Debian developer, I've put #Hy in production, and lately I've been building #NixOS configurations not only as a literate #OrgMode document, with with #OrgRoam. I am extremely normal and neurotypical.
Apart from these very normal things, I use #NixOS to boot into #Emacs, which is the real operating system I use, like a very sane, completely neurotypical person would. I also tend to live-toot (very verbosely) all kinds of shenanigans I'm up to, because I always forget I have a blog.
While I do wrangle code for a living in a variety of languages (in whatever language necessary, I'm a generalist! But if I can choose, I turn to #Rust, although #Lisp languages are also very dear to me), if it were up to me, I'd much prefer wrangling other kinds of words4 than programming language symbols. Sadly, we're not living in a world that makes possible, so I had no choice but become a #luddite and so can you.
But I'm not all about tech5! I'm also Dad to wonderful Twins, and Husband to my Wife, who not only puts up with my crazy, but gently6 fans the flames too. I may occassionally toot about #parenting, too.
I may or may not have an unhealthy addiction to footnotes7.
- Nope, I'm not in denial stage, I do not work in infosec. ↩︎ 
- I'm anti-fascist. ↩︎ 
- Short stories like this toot, or The Tragedy of Byr (which might need an explanation to really understand what's going on). ↩︎ 
- I wish I could leave tech, really. ↩︎ 
- Where "gently" is either an eyeroll and more wood thrown onto the campfire, or straight up lighting up the neighbourhood, figuratively speaking. ↩︎ 
- ...if you haven't noticed yet... ↩︎ 
Ever built a "minimal" NixOS image and been shocked to find it's over 1.5GB? 🤯
Bloated images are a headache, but it doesn't have to be that way. The second article in our NixOS appliance image series is a deep dive into shrinking a NixOS appliance, taking it from 1.5GB all the way down to relatively lean ~360MB.
The new post shares practical, step-by-step "tricks" for hunting down and eliminating unnecessary dependencies. You'll learn how to use tools like `nix-store --query` and `nix why-depends` to find out why things like Perl, Python, or even speech synthesizers are ending up in your build.
If you're looking to optimize your NixOS systems, this is a must-read.
Check out the full guide here: https://nixcademy.com/posts/minimizing-nixos-images/
#NixOS #Linux #DevOps #ImageOptimization #EmbeddedSystems #Systemd #Performance
best video overview of #NixOS, pros & cons etc, for people fairly experienced with old skool Linux?
Running #nixos on a N150 mini pc as a router for ~6 months: reliable, efficient, and surprisingly capable. Setup notes + power quirks: https://blog.stark.pub/posts/n150-nixos-router/
If you're looking for a recommendation on how to vote in the upcoming #NixOS SC (steering committee) election this guide looks pretty solid.
> The candidates are sorted by their willingness to making the NixOS community a safe and welcoming environment for people of all identities, and their ability to standing up for those values when attacked.
If you're looking for a recommendation on how to vote in the upcoming #NixOS SC (steering committee) election this guide looks pretty solid.
> The candidates are sorted by their willingness to making the NixOS community a safe and welcoming environment for people of all identities, and their ability to standing up for those values when attacked.
Recently, srid, Jon Ringer and other banned nazis have put out a voting guide. Needless to say, they advice voting for 100% fash candidates, while also making legendary comments such as "prioritizes community health over tech, BAD".
Fear not! There's now a good voting guide. Spread wide and far, folx!  
 
Recently, srid, Jon Ringer and other banned nazis have put out a voting guide. Needless to say, they advice voting for 100% fash candidates, while also making legendary comments such as "prioritizes community health over tech, BAD".
Fear not! There's now a good voting guide. Spread wide and far, folx!  
 
 
      
  
            Instead of Condorcet and the SC, make #ThaigerSprint / #OceanSprint last three months and vote for elimination every half week. Other #Survivor rules apply as is. The Sole Survivor becomes #NixOS BDFL but for two years rather than FL.
 
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
             
      
  
              
           
      
  
             
      
  
               
      
  
            