Prerequisites

After you've done basic instalation, mounted the filesystem and logged on, open the /etc/nixos/configuration.nix and add the following piece of code to it:

If you haven't already installed it, follow the NixOS Installation Guide for detailed instructions.

nix.settings.experimental-features = [ "nix-command" "flakes" ];

environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  git # To clone this repository
  vim # Optional
];

Then rebuild your system with sudo nixos-rebuild switch

After rebuild, copy this repository via

git clone https://github.com/necodrre/nix-config.git /home/$USER/

Installation: Using installation script

Only thing you have to do when installing with script is to run install.sh from the config directory (you can do it from wherever you want).

./install.sh

Script will ask you for all the required information and install (build) the system for yourself.

Installation: Manual

NixOS Configuration

Enter cloned directory.

cd /home/$USER/nix-config

Create a new folder in ./hosts named by your host (machine):

mkdir ./hosts/<hostname>

Then copy all the files from ./hosts/T460 into your new directory

cp -r ./hosts/T460 ./hosts/<hostname>

Replace hardware-configuration.nix with one generated by your nixos installation.

sudo mv /etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix ./hosts/<hostname>/

Comment (or simply delete) everything from hardware.graphics = { to services.xserver.videoDriver = [ "modesetting" ] in ./hosts/<hostname>/configuration.nix.

For more reference about setting up 3D graphics (if needed), visit official wiki page.

If you're not using laptop, but use PC, then comment the following line in ./nixos/modules/default.nix since you won't need it:

...
--  ./power-management.nix
++  # ./power-management.nix
...

Delete all the files located at /etc/nixos and replace them with a symlink to ./hosts/<hostname>/configuration.nix.

sudo rm -r /etc/nixos/* && sudo ln -s ./hosts/<hostname>/configuration.nix /etc/nixos/configuration.nix

Since configuration.nix imports your hardware-configuration.nix at the top of the file, there is no need to symlink hardware-configuration.nix too.

Finally, change ./flake.nix and ./home-manager/home.nix, if needed.

# flake.nix
...
  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, home-manager, ... }@inputs:
  let
    system = "x86_64-linux";
--  homeStateVersion = "25.05";
++  homeStateVersion = "<your-state-version>";
--  user = "rat";
++  user = "<your-username>";
--  name = "lynette";
++  name = "<your-name>";
    hosts = [
      { hostname = "T460"; stateVersion = "25.05"; }
++    { hostname = "<your-hostname>"; stateVersion = "<your-state-version>"}
    ];
...

# home-manager/home.nix
...
  home.sessionVariables = {
    TERMINAL = "kitty";
    EDITOR = "hx";
    VISUAL = "hx";
--  NH_FLAKE = "${config.home.homeDirectory}/.config/nix-config";
++  NH_FLAKE = "<absolute-path-to-config-root-directory>"
++  # Example: "/home/rat/nix-config" or "{config.home.homeDirectory}/nix-config"
  };
...

If you don't want to use virtual machine, then comment following lines.

Note: Installing Oracle VirtualBox virtual machine will compile the source code of VirtualBox, which can take some time.

...
--  # Install and configure VirtualBox
--  virtualisation.virtualbox.host.enable = true;
--  virtualisation.virtualbox.host.enableExtensionPack = true;   # Install Oracle VirtualBox Extensions.
--                                                               # Unfree software permission is required.
--  users.extraGroups.vboxusers.members = [ user ];
--  virtualisation.virtualbox.host.enableKvm = true;             # Enables KVM threading
--  virtualisation.virtualbox.host.addNetworkInterface = false;  # Because VirtualBox KVM only supports standard NAT networking for VMs
--  boot.kernelParams = [ "kvm.enable_virt_at_load=0" ];         # Fix the KVM issue
++  # # Install and configure VirtualBox
++  # virtualisation.virtualbox.host.enable = true;
++  # virtualisation.virtualbox.host.enableExtensionPack = true;   # Install Oracle VirtualBox Extensions.
++  #                                                              # Unfree software permission is required.
++  # users.extraGroups.vboxusers.members = [ user ];
++  # virtualisation.virtualbox.host.enableKvm = true;             # Enables KVM threading
++  # virtualisation.virtualbox.host.addNetworkInterface = false;  # Because VirtualBox KVM only supports standard NAT networking for VMs
++  # boot.kernelParams = [ "kvm.enable_virt_at_load=0" ];         # Fix the KVM issue
...

Finally, declare a variable called NH_FLAKE with an absolute path to this config root directory.

NH_FLAKE=$(pwd)

Rebuild your system and reboot.

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#<hostname> && reboot

Home-Manager Configuration

Create nixpkgs directory in ~/.config (if it is not present already).

mkdir -p ~/.config/nixpkgs

If it exists, recursively remove its contents with rm -r ~/.config/nixpkgs/*.

Create a symlink from /home/$USER/nix-config/home-manager/home.nix to /home/$USER/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix

sudo ln -s /home/$USER/nix-config/home-manager/home.nix /home/$USER/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix

Change the ./home-manager/modules/git.nix file, if needed:

{
  programs.git = {
    enable = true;
--  userName = "necodrre";
++  userName = "<username>";
--  userEmail = "necodrre@proton.me";
++  userEmail = "<email>";
    extraConfig = {
      # "master" by default. You can skip this step and keep it "main" like I do
--    init.defaultBranch = "main";
++    init.defaultBranch = "<desired-default-branch-name>";
    };
  };
}

Switch to your new home-manager configuration with

home-manager switch --flake .#<username>

Source the .zshrc file or simply reopen the terminal:

source ~/.zshrc

Congratulations! Now you're done!

Afterword

Take a look at home-manager/modules/zsh.nix. There's a lot of handful aliases to explore. You might want to delete some of them, that's up to you.

Also, consider nixos/modules/nh.nix. You'll may find it handy that you can setup cron to clean up your system regularly.