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But it's an Arch base system. You will waste time fixing app pkgbuilds, rolling back unstable updates, cleaning root directory pollution, fighting unpolished AU

But it's an Arch base system. You will waste time fixing app pkgbuilds, rolling back unstable updates, cleaning root directory pollution, fighting unpolished AUR software, undoing unsafe defaults that require migration/mitigation fixes from the user, and learning a desktop that is based on an arbitrary dotfile stack instead of an HID standard like macOS, Windows or GNOME. I'm trying to be as sympathetic as possible here, but Omarchy has stepped on many of the same r/unixporn landmines that LARBS and ArchLabs did. Unlike LARBS and ArchLabs, the situation has progressed to the point that the developers are using AI to map out a distro-wide transition(!!!) to a radically different base system while also rejecting many of the native, determinate solutions that NixOS has to offer. If people just want idiot-proof rollback on a Linux machine, use an immutable-root distro like Silverblue instead. If you want Nix, then use NixOS. My question is this; how many more times will Omarchy have to do this? The last major NixOS rework was ~half a decade ago to promote flakes as an experimental feature. It took several years to develop and was carefully drip-fed into various Nix systems before being formalized and shipped as a default. I can understand why Omarchy would be attracted to this level of careful upkeep, but I don't think their philosophy is compatible with what makes Nix great.

machomaster 1mo ago
Premature optimization is a common sin in software development. One of the reasons is that in the beginning of the process you don't even understand the problem fully. Heck, often you don't understand it even when you actually encounter it. The solution is to have an iterative process, to work on problem at hand. DHH's first distro was based on Ubuntu. It was the right decision at the time until it wasn't. Omarchy needed to be based on something more dynamic, more maleable. Arch was the solution. It worked well for some time, but with more time, more experience was gained about pros and cons. Maybe Nix is part of the solution, maybe staying on Arch and fixing problems there, maybe something else. Omarchy team will figure it out in time. A year ago nobody could have predicted the level of success Omarchy would get. Heck, even a month ago nobody would. But within a month the situation (popularity, money, support, ambition, plans) changed dramatically. Now with the changed environment, fixing the underlying Arch issues became relevant and timely. Without the resources, Omarchy would still be happily on Arch, not going anywhere. This once again illustrates why one should not do "premature optimization", worry about things that may (or likely won't) become relevant only in the future.
- bigyabai 1mo ago
  If we admit that iteration is part of quality, then you've basically just described why Omarchy keeps stubbing it's toe on embarrassing issues like default container misconfiguration. > Maybe Nix is part of the solution, maybe staying on Arch and fixing problems there, maybe something else. Omarchy team will figure it out in time. This is the right attitude, and much better than entertaining a new base system on NixOS. The features of Nix and nixpkgs are modular and compatible with all the stuff they do on Arch. It's much easier to put Nix on Arch than it is to port your Arch plumbing to NixOS. My original "AI sycophancy" comment was total bewilderment that an LLM would rubberstamp an idea like switching the base system to NixOS while rejecting off-the-shelf solutions like home-manager. Nothing that Omarchy offers is worth keeping over the Nix equivalents if you're fully committed to a total distro migration. Seems like some Nix users reached out to clarify some stuff, so we'll see if he avoids this particular iceberg. A lot of these misconceptions could have been avoided by skipping the AI-generated outline and talking to Nix users, but I guess hindsight is 20/20.

machomaster 1mo ago

Premature optimization is a common sin in software development. One of the reasons is that in the beginning of the process you don't even understand the problem fully. Heck, often you don't understand it even when you actually encounter it. The solution is to have an iterative process, to work on problem at hand. DHH's first distro was based on Ubuntu. It was the right decision at the time until it wasn't. Omarchy needed to be based on something more dynamic, more maleable. Arch was the solution. It worked well for some time, but with more time, more experience was gained about pros and cons. Maybe Nix is part of the solution, maybe staying on Arch and fixing problems there, maybe something else. Omarchy team will figure it out in time. A year ago nobody could have predicted the level of success Omarchy would get. Heck, even a month ago nobody would. But within a month the situation (popularity, money, support, ambition, plans) changed dramatically. Now with the changed environment, fixing the underlying Arch issues became relevant and timely. Without the resources, Omarchy would still be happily on Arch, not going anywhere. This once again illustrates why one should not do "premature optimization", worry about things that may (or likely won't) become relevant only in the future.

bigyabai 1mo ago
If we admit that iteration is part of quality, then you've basically just described why Omarchy keeps stubbing it's toe on embarrassing issues like default container misconfiguration. > Maybe Nix is part of the solution, maybe staying on Arch and fixing problems there, maybe something else. Omarchy team will figure it out in time. This is the right attitude, and much better than entertaining a new base system on NixOS. The features of Nix and nixpkgs are modular and compatible with all the stuff they do on Arch. It's much easier to put Nix on Arch than it is to port your Arch plumbing to NixOS. My original "AI sycophancy" comment was total bewilderment that an LLM would rubberstamp an idea like switching the base system to NixOS while rejecting off-the-shelf solutions like home-manager. Nothing that Omarchy offers is worth keeping over the Nix equivalents if you're fully committed to a total distro migration. Seems like some Nix users reached out to clarify some stuff, so we'll see if he avoids this particular iceberg. A lot of these misconceptions could have been avoided by skipping the AI-generated outline and talking to Nix users, but I guess hindsight is 20/20.