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Everything about NixOS

Linux distribution

NixOS is a Linux distribution built around the Nix package manager. Unlike traditional Linux distributions, NixOS is configured using Nix's functional programming language or one of Nix's forks. The operating system builds itself according to declarations written by the user within its config files, allowing them to manage and alter all aspects of their system, as well as install identical builds of that system on any other machine. From those files, NixOS generates complete system profiles, enabling reproducible deployments, atomic upgrades, and system rollbacks. Representing the primary implementation of the Nix package manager, NixOS is often just referred to eponymously as Nix. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: NixOSA 5-minute orientation
  2. Pick up a classic book: Один день Ивана ДенисовичаThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  3. Read the landmark paper: NixOS: A purely functional Linux distributionCited 39 times
  4. Go sideways: Nix (package manager)A closely related topic
  5. Go sideways: GNU GuixA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

No dictionary entry for this exact phrase.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. History
  2. Release version history
  3. Features
  4. Implementation
  5. Reception
  6. Community
  7. Community controversy

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics