NixOS Documentation
Complete reference for NixOS and the Nix ecosystem, auto-generated from official repositories:
The references/ directory contains full, unmodified documentation from those sources, updated daily.
How to Use
- Identify the topic from the user's question and read the matching reference file from the tables below.
- Base answers on those files. If more detail is needed, fetch the latest docs from the raw GitHub URLs in Live Fetching.
- Distinguish between NixOS module options (
services.nginx.enable = true;) and Nix language expressions (pkgs.mkDerivation { ... }).
- Show examples using current syntax (
configuration.nix or flake-based configs). When flakes are relevant, show both the classic (channels) and flakes approach.
- For packaging, prefer the
callPackage pattern over raw import.
- Beginners: start with
references/first-steps.md or references/nix-pills.md. Troubleshooting: check references/troubleshooting.md and references/faq.md first. System issues: references/nixos-administration.md.
Reference Files
Getting Started
| Topic |
File |
| Installing Nix package manager |
references/install-nix.md |
| NixOS installation (USB, PXE, VirtualBox, proxy, other distro) |
references/nixos-installation.md |
| First steps (ad-hoc shells, declarative shell, reproducible scripts) |
references/first-steps.md |
| Upgrading NixOS |
references/nixos-upgrading.md |
| Changing NixOS configuration |
references/nixos-changing-config.md |
| Glossary and terminology |
references/glossary.md |
| FAQ |
references/faq.md |
Nix Language & Concepts
| Topic |
File |
| Nix language tutorial |
references/nix-language.md |
| Flakes (concept and usage) |
references/flakes.md |
| callPackage design pattern |
references/callpackage.md |
| Module system (basics and deep dive) |
references/module-system.md |
| Working with local files in Nix |
references/working-with-local-files.md |
| Pinning nixpkgs versions |
references/pinning-nixpkgs.md |
| Nix Pills (progressive learning, 20 lessons) |
references/nix-pills.md |
NixOS Configuration
| Topic |
File |
| Configuration syntax, modularity, abstractions |
references/nixos-config-syntax.md |
| Package management (declarative, ad-hoc, custom packages) |
references/nixos-package-mgmt.md |
| User management |
references/nixos-user-mgmt.md |
| Networking (firewall, SSH, IPv4/6, wireless, NetworkManager) |
references/nixos-networking.md |
| Filesystems (LUKS, SSHFS, OverlayFS) |
references/nixos-filesystems.md |
| Display server (X11, Wayland, Xfce, GPU acceleration) |
references/nixos-display-server.md |
| Linux kernel configuration |
references/nixos-linux-kernel.md |
| Kubernetes |
references/nixos-kubernetes.md |
| Configuration profiles (minimal, graphical, headless, etc.) |
references/nixos-profiles.md |
NixOS Administration
| Topic |
File |
| Service management, logging, rollback, troubleshooting, boot problems |
references/nixos-administration.md |
| Containers (declarative, imperative, networking) |
references/nixos-containers.md |
NixOS Development
| Topic |
File |
| Writing NixOS modules (options, types, assertions) |
references/nixos-writing-modules.md |
| NixOS tests (writing, running, interactive) |
references/nixos-testing.md |
| Building NixOS images (ISO, systemd-repart) |
references/nixos-building-images.md |
Packaging & Build
| Topic |
File |
| Packaging existing software for nixpkgs |
references/packaging-tutorial.md |
| Cross-compilation |
references/cross-compilation.md |
Tutorials
| Topic |
File |
| NixOS configuration on a VM |
references/nixos-vm-tutorial.md |
| Building and running Docker images |
references/nixos-docker-tutorial.md |
| Building a bootable ISO image |
references/nixos-iso-tutorial.md |
| Integration testing with VMs |
references/nixos-testing-tutorial.md |
| Deploying NixOS with Terraform |
references/nixos-terraform-tutorial.md |
| Distributed builds setup |
references/nixos-distributed-builds.md |
| NixOS on Raspberry Pi |
references/nixos-raspberry-pi.md |
| Provisioning remote machines |
references/nixos-remote-machines.md |
| Binary cache setup |
references/nixos-binary-cache.md |
Guides & Recipes
| Topic |
File |
| Best practices |
references/best-practices.md |
| Troubleshooting |
references/troubleshooting.md |
| Recipes (direnv, CI, dependencies, Python env, binary cache, sharing deps) |
references/recipes.md |
Release Process
| Topic |
File |
| NixOS release process, roles, branch-off, beta, freeze |
references/release-process.md |
Live Fetching
When reference files are insufficient, fetch the latest docs from raw GitHub:
nix.dev
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nix.dev/master/source/<path>.md
NixOS Manual (nixpkgs)
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/nixos/doc/manual/<section>/<file>.md
Nix Pills
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nix-pills/master/pills/<NN>-<slug>.md
