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Of all the Linux distros out there, the one that calls to me the most is NixOS. Do people use NixOS as their main OS? Does it have a "default desktop flavour",

by otikik 6y ago

Of all the Linux distros out there, the one that calls to me the most is NixOS. Do people use NixOS as their main OS? Does it have a "default desktop flavour", like Ubuntu does? (the manual seems to suggest XFCE - https://nixos.org/nixos/manual/index.html#sec-xfce https://nixos.org/nixos/manual/index.html#sec-xfce)

ghancock 6y ago
I do. When I installed it the default configuration had no desktop enabled but had commented-out lines to enable KDE. I think it's best to think of it as not having a default or preferred one, and you are instead required to pick one. (I haven't tried everything, so I don't have firsthand knowledge that they all work equally smoothly.)
- otikik 6y ago
  That's good to know, thanks for answering. > not having a default or preferred one, and you are instead required to pick one. If you don't mind my asking: how well did NixOS work for you, as a desktop environment, out of the box? Did you have to do annoying IT work when you installed it (screen resolution, wifi, sound, maintenance mode...)? How often do you need to fix issues like that?
  - ghancock 6y ago
    Nothing related to screen resolution. Wifi worked via the command-line tools mentioned in the manual, or the KDE interface. Similar for other things. I didn't stick with KDE--I switched to sway--so there were a number of things to deal with because of that, but that won't matter if you do use one. If you do encounter an issue it will be more work to deal with, because you both have to figure out the underlying issue and then figure out how to fit that into the Nix way of doing things. The biggest factor is handling downloaded pre-built binaries that assume various libraries will be in typical locations. Those generally require patchelf and then they work fine. I would only recommend NixOS for now for people who are willing to tinker a bit and learn how it works.

by otikik 6y ago

ghancock 6y ago

I do. When I installed it the default configuration had no desktop enabled but had commented-out lines to enable KDE. I think it's best to think of it as not having a default or preferred one, and you are instead required to pick one. (I haven't tried everything, so I don't have firsthand knowledge that they all work equally smoothly.)

otikik 6y ago
That's good to know, thanks for answering. > not having a default or preferred one, and you are instead required to pick one. If you don't mind my asking: how well did NixOS work for you, as a desktop environment, out of the box? Did you have to do annoying IT work when you installed it (screen resolution, wifi, sound, maintenance mode...)? How often do you need to fix issues like that?
- ghancock 6y ago
  Nothing related to screen resolution. Wifi worked via the command-line tools mentioned in the manual, or the KDE interface. Similar for other things. I didn't stick with KDE--I switched to sway--so there were a number of things to deal with because of that, but that won't matter if you do use one. If you do encounter an issue it will be more work to deal with, because you both have to figure out the underlying issue and then figure out how to fit that into the Nix way of doing things. The biggest factor is handling downloaded pre-built binaries that assume various libraries will be in typical locations. Those generally require patchelf and then they work fine. I would only recommend NixOS for now for people who are willing to tinker a bit and learn how it works.