10 50 NixOS Learning Path
Nimmo edited this page 2026-09-13 13:14:49 +01:00

NixOS Learning Path

  • Type: Index
  • Status: Current
  • Scope: Repository-oriented NixOS learning
  • Canonical sources: Current repository examples and authoritative Nix/NixOS documentation
  • Last verified: Source commit 556df88494686003b1c4f20c8e0b99b5afc16a6e (2026-09-12)
  • Review triggers: Changes to teaching examples, repository architecture, linked upstream documentation, or the learning sequence

The learning path teaches Nix and NixOS through the live repository. It is one part of the knowledge base, not the organising model for the whole wiki. General-purpose reference belongs in authoritative upstream documentation; these pages should explain how the concepts appear here.

Current pages

  1. Guided Repository Tour — trace a registered host from flake.nix through its imports and Home Manager user.
  2. Nix Language Essentials — read the syntax and library calls actually used by the fleet modules.
  3. Declarative Configuration, Store, and Generations — separate source, build, activation, rollback, and mutable data.
  4. Flakes and Inputs — read the pinned dependency graph, shared host builder, and guarded input-to-host policy.
  5. NixOS Modules and Option Merging — trace imports, declarations, enable gates, and merge priorities.
  6. specialArgs and Home Manager Argument Flow — follow external inputs and host context into the two module scopes.
  7. Electra Specialisations: A Worked Example — trace three hardware-presence variants under one host target.
  8. Nix Troubleshooting Primer — classify evaluation, build, activation, and runtime failures.

The superseded generic course chapters remain in wiki Git history, not the current navigation. The learning-path rewrite and final cutover are tracked by issue #223.