nix-darwin

Nix modules for darwin, /etc/nixos/configuration.nix for macOS.

Install

bash <(curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LnL7/nix-darwin/master/bootstrap.sh)

This will link the system profile to /run/current-system. You have to create /run or symlink it to private/var/run. If you use a symlink, you'll probably also want to add services.activate-system.enable = true; to your configuration.

NOTE: the system activation scripts don't overwrite existing etc files, so files like /etc/bashrc won't be used by default. Either modify the existing file to source/import the one from /etc/static or remove it. Some examples:

• mv /etc/bashrc /etc/bashrc.orig
• echo 'if test -e /etc/static/bashrc; then . /etc/static/bashrc; fi' | sudo tee -a /etc/bashrc
• echo 'if test -e /etc/static/bashrc; then . /etc/static/bashrc; fi' | tee -a ~/.bashrc

Updating

The bootstrap installer will configure a channel for this repository.

nix-channel --update darwin
darwin-rebuild changelog

Example configuration

Check out modules/examples for some example configurations.

{ pkgs, ... }:
{

  # List packages installed in system profile. To search by name, run:
  # $ nix-env -qaP | grep wget
  environment.systemPackages =
    [ pkgs.nix-repl
    ];

  # Create /etc/bashrc that loads the nix-darwin environment.
  programs.bash.enable = true;

  # Recreate /run/current-system symlink after boot.
  services.activate-system.enable = true;

}

Manual Install

sudo ln -s private/var/run /run

# Configure the channel
nix-channel --add https://github.com/LnL7/nix-darwin/archive/master.tar.gz darwin
nix-channel --update
export NIX_PATH=darwin=darwin-config=$HOME/.nixpkgs/darwin-configuration.nix:$HOME/.nix-defexpr/channels:$NIX_PATH

# Or use a local git repository
git clone git@github.com:LnL7/nix-darwin.git ~/.nix-defexpr/darwin
export NIX_PATH=darwin=$HOME/.nix-defexpr/darwin:darwin-config=$HOME/.nixpkgs/darwin-configuration.nix:$NIX_PATH

cp ~/.nix-defexpr/darwin/modules/examples/simple.nix ~/.nixpkgs/darwin-configuration.nix

# you can also use this to rebootstrap nix-darwin in case
# darwin-rebuild is to old to activate the system.
$(nix-build '<darwin>' -A system --no-out-link)/sw/bin/darwin-rebuild build
$(nix-build '<darwin>' -A system --no-out-link)/sw/bin/darwin-rebuild switch

. /etc/static/bashrc

... or for fish:

(nix-build '<darwin>' -A system --no-out-link)/sw/bin/darwin-rebuild build
(nix-build '<darwin>' -A system --no-out-link)/sw/bin/darwin-rebuild switch

This will create and manage a system profile in /run/current-system, just like nixos.

The default NIX_PATH in nix-darwin will look for this repository in ~/.nix-defexpr/darwin and for your configuration in ~/.nixpkgs/darwin-configuration.nix. If you want to change these you can set your own with nix.nixPath = [ ];.

$ darwin-rebuild switch
building the system configuration...
these derivations will be built:
  /nix/store/vfad6xgjzr56jcs051cg6vzch4dby92y-etc-zprofile.drv
  /nix/store/cbmkscxsz0k02ynaph5xaxm1aql0p3vq-etc.drv
  /nix/store/r5fpn177jhc16f8iyzk12gcw4pivzpbw-nixdarwin-system-16.09.drv
building path(s) ‘/nix/store/wlq89shja597ip7mrmjv7yzk2lwyh8n0-etc-zprofile’
building path(s) ‘/nix/store/m8kcm1pa5j570h3indp71a439wsh9lzq-etc’
building path(s) ‘/nix/store/l735ffcdvcvy60i8pqf6v00vx7lnm6mz-nixdarwin-system-16.09’
setting up /etc...
setting up launchd services...
writing defaults...
$

$ darwin-option services.activate-system.enable                                                                                                                                            ~/src/nix-darwin
Value:
true

Default:
false

Example:
no example

Description:
Whether to activate system at boot time.

Modules

• environment
• launchd.daemons
• launchd.envVariables
• launchd.user.agents
• networking
• nix
• programs
• security
• services
• system.defaults
• system
• time

Tests

There are basic tests that run sanity checks for some of the modules, you can run them like this:

nix-build release.nix -A tests.environment-path

Contributing

Let's make nix on darwin awesome! Don't hesitate to contribute modules or open an issue.

To build your configuration with local changes you can run this. This flag can also be used to override darwin-config or nixpkgs, for more information on the -I flag look at the nix-build manpage.

darwin-rebuild switch -I darwin=.

Also feel free to contact me if you have questions,

• IRC - LnL, you can find me in #nixos or #nix-darwin on freenode.net
• @lnl7 on twitter