NixOS distro & NIX package Manager
Thurs 16 Oct 2025
This abstract will likely be updated/replaced by our speaker before the
Thurs 16 Oct talk.
*NixOS* is a Linux distribution (ie a "distro") based on a package manager
named *Nix*.
Its use of a declarative programming configuration system allows
reproducibility and portability. It is free and open-source software with
an MIT License.
The Nix package manager is compared to Docker by some people. But, Nix is a
tool that takes a unique approach to package management and system
configuration.
Initial release date: 2003
Developer: NixOS contributors; NixOS Foundation
*Latest release: *25.05 / May 23, 2025; 4 months ago
===================
Imagine a world where system configuration is declarative, where builds are
reproducible, and where rolling back your OS is as easy as nixos-rebuild
switch --rollback.
But what about dependency hell?
In Nix, every package lives in its own isolated hash-based store path. No
conflicts. No DLL wars. It’s dependency heaven.
========================
From Google:Why isn't NixOS more popular?
NixOS is one of the few distros that have something genuinely different to
offer compared to Windows, Mac OS and 99% of all other Linux
distributions. Of the advanced distros, I have yet to encounter a problem
that I didn't cause by misinterpreting the docs, and the docs are, while
not as good as the Arch Wiki (or the Gentoo Wiki at its peak), really
really good. Moreover, unlike GNU GUIX, it can *support binary blobs in
the kernel, hence you can run not-strictly-foss drivers on it.*
Why isn't nixOS the go-to distribution? Why isn't anyone trying to create a
the Nix counterpart of Manjaro to Arch?
===============================
*"Nixpkgs" *is a collection of over 120,000 software packages that can be
installed with the Nix package manager.
===============================
SLUUG did a presentation on Nix & NixOS in Nov 2019. Tonite will be a
different speaker. It will be the same speaker who spoke at the StL 2600
mtng earlier this month.
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