NixOS
Install
The graphical installer is trivial. However, the minimal ISO doesn't handle partitioning for you.
Partitioning and Formatting
# Create a new GPT partition table
parted /dev/sda -- mklabel gpt
# Create the EFI Boot partition
parted /dev/sda -- mkpart ESP fat32 1MB 512MB
parted /dev/sda -- set 1 esp on
# Create the Root partition (ext4)
parted /dev/sda -- mkpart primary ext4 512MB 100%
# Format partitions
mkfs.fat -F 32 -n boot /dev/sda1
mkfs.ext4 -L nixos /dev/sda2
# Mount the root partition
mount /dev/disk/by-label/nixos /mnt
# Mount the boot partition
mkdir -p /mnt/boot
mount /dev/disk/by-label/boot /mnt/boot
# Create a 4GB swapfile (adjust size as needed)
dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/swapfile bs=1M count=4096
chmod 600 /mnt/swapfile
mkswap /mnt/swapfile
swapon /mnt/swapfile
Generate a config and install
nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
# Edit the config to your desire
nano /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
nixos-install
Example config:
{ config, pkgs, ... }:
{
imports = [ ./hardware-configuration.nix ];
# Bootloader settings
boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;
# 1. ZFS Support for additional drives
boot.supportedFilesystems = [ "zfs" ];
networking.hostId = "8425e349"; # Required for ZFS; use 8 random hex digits
# 2. Static IP Configuration
# Replace 'eth0' with your actual interface name found via 'ip link'
networking.useDHCP = false;
networking.interfaces.eth0.ipv4.addresses = [{
address = "192.168.1.50";
prefixLength = 24;
}];
networking.defaultGateway = "192.168.1.1";
networking.nameservers = [ "1.1.1.1" "8.8.8.8" ];
# 3. Swapfile declaration
swapDevices = [ {
device = "/swapfile";
size = 4096; # In MB
} ];
# Standard System Settings
system.stateVersion = "24.11"; # Check the current version on the ISO
}
Install on VPS
For a VPS, first install Ubuntu or Debian. Then run https://github.com/elitak/nixos-infect.