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I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

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Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#11

Post by k_g_b_ »

hurricanepootis wrote: post #6

I wish Arch could learn some lessons from NixOS packaging. One thing that really bothers me about Arch is how many pain points there are in the packaging tooling. Furthermore, I wish AUR packagers used utilities like namcap and chroot building to check their packages before pushing their slop onto the AUR; whenever I use new software from the AUR, I check the PKGBUILD to see how well it was made.

Compared to other Linux distribution's package tooling Arch's is pretty nice and painless, I think.

Agreed with namcap/chroot - I think there should be even more mandatory checks on pushing stuff to AUR. But even so - regarding your last point: you absolutely need to check all PKGBUILDs from AUR or potentially get malware.

https://bertptrs.nl/2026/01/30/how-to-review-an-aur-package.... is a nice recent article by one of the maintainers that follows up on last year's AUR malware.

The final point sums it up, though: the AUR was built without the security mechanisms - technical and social - we want and need today.

Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#12

Post by nylonstrung »

dangus wrote: post #4

Everything I've heard about NixOS...well, it sucks. Sorry. The ideas behind it are interesting. The reality of living with it, the benefits are basically minimal/none and you have to learn a whole big thing that isn't applicable anywhere else. In the container era it makes even less sense.

> the benefits are basically minimal/none

Sounds like you've never used it. I've daily driven it for ~2 years and would never go back

It works great with containers, you can use Nix to build extremely lean OCI images. Mercury uses it this way- the book NixOS in production discusses it

Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#15

Post by suby »

nylonstrung wrote: post #13

It's unfair to act like NixOS just breaks "randomly" or is inherently unreliable It's essentially deterministic and fully reproducible. Issues with Bluetooth, electron etc as described are essentially irrelevant to NixOS and have to do with your configuration

It's possible I have no idea what I'm talking about, but my understanding is that nixos relies on fetching things from third party URLs which may simply die. I feel a bit misled by the promises of nixos, because I cannot actually take the configuration files in 10 years and setup the system again due to link rot.

I was also under the impression that I could install DE's side by side on nixos and not have things like one DE conflicting with files from another DE, but this apparently isn't true either - I installed KDE, and then installed Sway and Sway overwrote the notification theming for KDE.

NixOS is very impressive but the marketing around it feels misleading. The reproducible claim needs a giant asterisk due to link rot.

Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#16

Post by dangus »

nylonstrung wrote: post #12
dangus wrote: post #4

Everything I've heard about NixOS...well, it sucks. Sorry. The ideas behind it are interesting. The reality of living with it, the benefits are basically minimal/none and you have to learn a whole big thing that isn't applicable anywhere else. In the container era it makes even less sense.

> the benefits are basically minimal/none Sounds like you've never used it. I've daily driven it for ~2 years and would never go back It works great with containers, you can use Nix to build extremely lean OCI images. Mercury uses it this way- the book NixOS in production discusses it

Just seems like it’s a solution for a problem I don’t have.

I have to learn a whole new language that’s only used for NixOS just to do things I already have no difficulty doing with existing tooling.

I enthusiastically say, no, I’ve never used it, because, like I said, having that kind of learning curve just to set up an OS is kind of insane. Doesn’t matter if it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#17

Post by Macha »

atmanactive wrote: post #14

Is there a NixOS tool that can retroactively record what I did and translate the changes into the config file or do I have to write down each and every change manually again and again?

It’s generally best to make the change in your configuration.nix or flake.nix rather than with the imperative tools. Then you just version control that file (or files if you break it up)

Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#18

Post by Havoc »

Loved the idea of it but hated that there are multiple ways of doing things. In the main config , in flakes and one other way I forgot rn. Very beginner hostile because whatever problem you’re trying to solve if you google it you likely get the wrong flavour of answer. A bit like trying to solve a kde issue and the results are all gnome

I’ll probably give it another go at some point because I could see the vision but that above really dented my enthusiasm.

Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#19

Post by mpalmer »

MadVikingGod wrote: post #10

While I too love the promise of Nix, I never was able to handle the configuration of nix. And at this point I've given up on it. What I wonder is if there is a medium between Nix's build everything from the ground up, and the traditional get everything delivered. I've been excited about the Fedora Atomic collections, silverblue etc., as it gives me a lot of the roll back and isolation of nix with the workflow closer…

What would you say NixOS config starters are missing? I'm teetering on abandoning Apple unless they can right the UX ship, and I was hoping to build on one of those when I switch.

Re: I stopped using NixOS and went back to Arch Linux

#20

Post by theamk »

nylonstrung wrote: post #13

It's unfair to act like NixOS just breaks "randomly" or is inherently unreliable It's essentially deterministic and fully reproducible. Issues with Bluetooth, electron etc as described are essentially irrelevant to NixOS and have to do with your configuration

Imagine a program with a compile error, nicely wrapped into reproducible build system (like a docker with tools or nix).

It is deterministic - compilation fails at the same line every time.

It is fully reproducible - anyone can get the same compilation error.

And yet it is not reliable at all, it's completely broken.

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