Building

Build Commands

Command	Purpose
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.<host>.config.system.build.toplevel	Build a host's NixOS system
nix build .#homeConfigurations.<user>@<host>.activationPackage	Build a Home-Manager activation
nix fmt	Format code and check syntax
nix flake check	Evaluate all configurations and run linters
nix flake show	Display available outputs
nix develop	Open development shell
nix develop --command true	Test that devShell can be entered

DevEnv Requirement

This repository uses devenv for devShells and checks. You must provide the devenv-root input override for nix flake check and nix develop:

nix flake check --override-input devenv-root "file+file://$PWD/.devenv/root"

nix develop --override-input devenv-root "file+file://$PWD/.devenv/root"

Common Build Patterns

Build a specific host

# Build nixdev server
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.nixdev.config.system.build.toplevel

# Build nixmi desktop
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.nixmi.config.system.build.toplevel

Build a user's home configuration

# Build racci's config on nixmi
nix build .#homeConfigurations."racci@nixmi".activationPackage

Evaluate without building

# Check if configuration evaluates
nix eval .#nixosConfigurations.nixdev.config.system.build.toplevel --apply 'x: "ok"'

# Get a specific option value
nix eval .#nixosConfigurations.nixdev.config.networking.hostName

Format specific files

# Format changed files
nix fmt path/to/file.nix

# Format multiple files
nix fmt modules/nixos/services/*.nix

Troubleshooting Builds

If a build fails:

1. Check the error message for the failing derivation
2. Try nix log <drv> to see build logs
3. Use --show-trace for evaluation errors: nix build .#... --show-trace
4. For infinite recursion, check for circular imports or option definitions