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msgid ""
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"title: Using NixOS as an stateless workstation\n"
"date: 2019-06-02\n"
"layout: post\n"
"lang: en\n"
"ref: using-nixos-as-an-stateless-workstation"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"Last week[^last-week] I changed back to an old[^old-computer] Samsung "
"laptop, and installed [NixOS](https://nixos.org/) on it."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"After using NixOS on another laptop for around two years, I wanted verify "
"how reproducible was my desktop environment, and how far does NixOS actually"
" can go on recreating my whole OS from my configuration files and personal "
"data. I gravitated towards NixOS after trying (and failing) to create an "
"`install.sh` script that would imperatively install and configure my whole "
"OS using apt-get. When I found a GNU/Linux distribution that was built on "
"top of the idea of declaratively specifying the whole OS I was automatically"
" convinced[^convinced-by-declarative-aspect]."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"I was impressed. Even though I've been experiencing the benefits of Nix "
"isolation daily, I always felt skeptical that something would be missing, "
"because the devil is always on the details. But the result was much better "
"than expected!"
msgstr ""
msgid "There were only 2 missing configurations:"
msgstr ""
msgid "tap-to-click on the touchpad wasn't enabled by default;"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"the default theme from the gnome-terminal is \"Black on white\" instead of "
"\"White on black\"."
msgstr ""
msgid "That's all."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"I haven't checked if I can configure those in NixOS GNOME module, but I "
"guess both are scriptable and could be set in a fictional `setup.sh` run."
msgstr ""
msgid "This makes me really happy, actually. More happy than I anticipated."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"Having such a powerful declarative OS makes me feel like my data is the "
"really important stuff (as it should be), and I can interact with it on any "
"workstation. All I need is an internet connection and a few hours to "
"download everything. It feels like my physical workstation and the installed"
" OS are serving me and my data, instead of me feeling as hostage to the "
"specific OS configuration at the moment. Having a few backup copies of "
"everything important extends such peacefulness."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"After this positive experience with recreating my OS from simple Nix "
"expressions, I started to wonder how far I could go with this, and started "
"considering other areas of improvements:"
msgstr ""
msgid "First run on a fresh NixOS installation"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"Right now the initial setup relies on non-declarative manual tasks, like "
"decrypting some credentials, or manually downloading **this** git repository"
" with specific configurations before **that** one."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"I wonder what some areas of improvements are on this topic, and if investing"
" on it is worth it (both time-wise and happiness-wise)."
msgstr ""
msgid "Emacs"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"Right now I'm using the [Spacemacs](http://spacemacs.org/), which is a "
"community package curation and configuration on top of "
"[Emacs](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/)."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"Spacemacs does support the notion of "
"[layers](http://spacemacs.org/doc/LAYERS.html), which you can declaratively "
"specify and let Spacemacs do the rest."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"However this solution isn't nearly as robust as Nix: being purely "
"functional, Nix does describe everything required to build a derivation, and"
" knows how to do so. Spacemacs it closer to more traditional package "
"managers: even though the layers list is declarative, the installation is "
"still very much imperative. I've had trouble with Spacemacs not behaving the"
" same on different computers, both with identical configurations, only "
"brought to convergence back again after a `git clean -fdx` inside "
"`~/.emacs.d/`."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"The ideal solution would be managing Emacs packages with Nix itself. After a"
" quick search I did found that [there is support for Emacs packages in "
"Nix](https://nixos.org/nixos/manual/index.html#module-services-emacs-adding-"
"packages). So far I was only aware of [Guix support for Emacs "
"packages](https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/en/html_node/Application-"
"Setup.html#Emacs-Packages)."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"This isn't a trivial change because Spacemacs does include extra curation "
"and configuration on top of Emacs packages. I'm not sure the best way to "
"improve this right now."
msgstr ""
msgid "myrepos"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"I'm using [myrepos](https://myrepos.branchable.com/) to manage all my git "
"repositories, and the general rule I apply is to add any repository specific"
" configuration in myrepos' `checkout` phase:"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"This way when I clone this repo again the email sending is already pre-"
"configured."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"This works well enough, but the solution is too imperative, and my "
"`checkout` phases tend to become brittle over time if not enough care is "
"taken."
msgstr ""
msgid "GNU Stow"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"For my home profile and personal configuration I already have a few dozens "
"of symlinks that I manage manually. This has worked so far, but the solution"
" is sometimes fragile and [not declarative at "
"all](https://git.sr.ht/~euandreh/dotfiles/tree/316939aa215181b1d22b69e94241eef757add98d/bash/symlinks.sh#L14-75)."
" I wonder if something like [GNU Stow](https://www.gnu.org/software/stow/) "
"can help me simplify this."
msgstr ""
msgid "Conclusion"
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"I'm really satisfied with NixOS, and I intend to keep using it. If what I've"
" said interests you, maybe try tinkering with the [Nix package "
"manager](https://nixos.org/nix/) (not the whole NixOS) on your current "
"distribution (it can live alongside any other package manager)."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"If you have experience with declarative Emacs package managements, GNU Stow "
"or any similar tool, *etc.*, [I'd like some tips](mailto:{{ "
"site.author.email }}). If you don't have any experience at all, I'd still "
"love to hear from you."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"[^last-week]: \"Last week\" as of the start of this writing, so around the "
"end of May 2019."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"[^old-computer]: I was using a 32GB RAM, i7 and 250GB SSD Samsung laptop. "
"The switch was back to a 8GB RAM, i5 and 500GB HDD Dell laptop. The biggest "
"difference I noticed was on faster memory, both RAM availability and the "
"disk speed, but I had 250GB less local storage space."
msgstr ""
msgid ""
"[^convinced-by-declarative-aspect]: The declarative configuration aspect is "
"something that I now completely take for granted, and wouldn't consider "
"using something which isn't declarative. A good metric to show this is me "
"realising that I can't pinpoint the moment when I decided to switch to "
"NixOS. It's like I had a distant past when this wasn't true."
msgstr ""
