lix-website/content/add-to-config.md

title	description	date	author
Switching To Lix	or: how to make your existing configruation Delicious	2024-04-27	Lix Team

If you have an existing configuration on NixOS or nix-darwin, the easiest way to switch to Lix is currently by using our provided NixOS module. Fortunately, this usually means adding only a couple of lines to your configuration.

Flake-based Configurations

Adding Lix to a flake-based configuration is relatively simple. First, add the Lix module to your flake inputs:

{
  inputs = {

    # Add this section to your flake inputs!
    #
    # Note that this assumes you have a flake-input called nixpkgs,
    # which is often the case. If you've named it something else, 
    # you'll need to change the `nixpkgs` below.
    lix = {
      url = "git+ssh://git@git.lix.systems/lix-project/lix";
      flake = false;
    };
    lix-module = {
      url = "git+https://git.lix.systems/lix-project/nixos-module";
      inputs.lix.follows = "lix";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };

  }

  # <rest of configuration omitted>
}

Next, add the lix-module as one of the arguments to your output function:

{
  # <configuration above omitted>

  # Add the `lix-module` argument to your output function, as below:
  outputs = {nixpkgs, lix-module, ...}: {
      # <rest of configuration omitted>
  }
}

Finally, add the Lix NixOS Module to your configuration:

{
  # <configuration above omitted>

  # Add the `lix-module` argument to your output function, as below:
  outputs = {nixpkgs, lix-module, ...}: {

      # The configuration here is an example; it will look slightly different
      # based on your platform (NixOS, nix-darwin) and architecture.
      nixosConfigurations.your-box = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
        system = "x86_64-linux"
        
        modules = [

          # This is the important part -- add this line to your module list!
          lix-module.nixosModules.default
        ];

      };
  }

  # <configuration below omitted>
}

Rebuild and switch into your new system (either using nixos-rebuild or darwin-rebuild). You should now be using Lix! You can verify this by asking the nix command to report its version:

$ nix --version
nix (Lix, like Nix) 2.90.0-lix

As long as you see Lix in the output, you're good! If you're not sure what to do now, it's a great time to check out some of the community's resources on Nix.

Non-Flake Configurations

If you're not using flakes, you can set up your configuration to automatically pull down a Lix release tarball, and then add it to your configuration.nix.

Open your /etc/nixos/configuration.nix in the editor of your choice. Find the imports section, and add the line provided in the configuration

This section is currently pending on a quick update.

{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
{
  imports =
    [ # Include the results of the hardware scan.
      ./hardware-configuration.nix

      # This is the core line -- it pulls down the Lix module and
      # includes it in your configuration. It looks much nicer with a let
      # binding -- but for clarity, we'll leave that as an exercise for the 
      # reader. :)
      #
      # Note that the tag (e.g. v2.90) in the URL here is what determines
      # which version of Lix you'll wind up with.
      (import 
        (
          (fetchTarball { url = "https://git.lix.systems/lix-project/nixos-module/archive/main.tar.gz"; }) + "/module.nix"
        ) 
        { 
          lix = fetchTarball { url = "https://git.lix.systems/lix-project/lix/archive/main.tar.gz"; }; 
        }
      )
    ];

  # <configuration below omitted>
}

Rebuild and switch into your new system (either using nixos-rebuild or darwin-rebuild). You should now be using Lix! You can verify this by asking the nix command to report its version:

$ nix --version
nix (Lix, like Nix) 2.90.0-lix

As long as you see Lix in the output, you're good! If you're not sure what to do now, it's a great time to check out some of the community's resources on Nix.

Having Trouble?

If you're having difficulty installing Lix, don't panic! Hop on over to our community page, and check out the various ways to find help.