GoKawiilWhat I love about NixOS has less to do with Linux and more to do with the Nix package manager.
To me, NixOS is the operating system artifact of a much more important idea: a deterministic and reproducible functional package manager. That is the core of why I love NixOS. It is not distro branding that I care about. It is the fact that I can construct a whole operating system as a deterministic result of feeding Nix DSL to Nix and then rebuild it, change it bit by bit, and roll it back if I do not like the result.
I love NixOS because most operating systems slowly turn into a pile of state. You install packages, tweak settings, try random tools, remove some of them, upgrade over time and after a while you have a machine that works but not in a way that you can confidently explain from first principles. NixOS felt very different to me. I do not have to trust a pile of state. I can define a system and build it.
I love NixOS because I can specify the whole OS including the packages I need and the configuration in one declarative setup. That one place aspect matters to me more than it might sound at first. I do not have to chase package choices in one place, desktop settings in another place and keyboard behavior somewhere else. Below are a couple of small Nix DSL examples.
GNOME extensions:
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [ gnomeExtensions.dash-to-dock gnomeExtensions.unite gnomeExtensions.appindicator libappindicator ]; services.desktopManager.gnome.extraGSettingsOverrides = '' [org.gnome.shell] enabled-extensions=['[email protected]', '[email protected]', '[email protected]'] [org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock] dock-position='BOTTOM' autohide=true dock-fixed=false extend-height=false transparency-mode='FIX' '';
Key mapping per keyboard:
services.keyd = { enable = true; keyboards = { usb_keyboard = { ids = [ "usb:kb" ]; settings.main = { leftcontrol = "leftmeta"; leftmeta = "leftcontrol"; rightalt = "rightmeta"; rightmeta = "rightalt"; }; }; laptop_keyboard = { ids = [ "laptop:kb" ]; settings.main = swapLeftAltLeftControl; }; }; };
Those are ordinary details of a working machine, but that is exactly the point. I can describe them declaratively, rebuild the system and keep moving. If I buy a new computer, I do not have to remember a long chain of manual setup steps or half-baked scripts scattered all over. I can rebuild the system from a single source of truth.
I love NixOS because it has been around for a long time. In my experience, it has been very stable. It has a predictable release cadence every six months. I can set it up to update automatically and upgrade it without the usual fear that tends to come with operating system upgrades. I do not have to think much about upgrade prompts, desktop notifications or random system drift in the background. It mostly stays out of my way. And if I want to be more adventurous, it also has an unstable channel that I can enable to experiment and get newer software.
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