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95 lines
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<title>Nix on macOS | Jan Kremer</title>
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<h1 class="title"><a href="/">Jan Kremer</a></h1>
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<time datetime="2024-03-14T00:00:00+00:00">2024-03-14</time>
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<h1>Nix on macOS</h1>
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<p class="lead">Moving from Homebrew to Nix. Mostly.</p>
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<p>For about a year, I’ve been fascinated by <a href="https://nixos.org">Nix and NixOS</a>. I don’t remember exactly what fascinated me at first, probably the possibility to setup and configure my system using a single file. A few weeks ago, I decided to give it a serious try.</p>
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<h2 id="installation">Installation</h2>
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<p>To be honest this is not my first time installing Nix on my machine. I tried the official Nix installer and the “old” way to use Nix which is basically the same as any other package manager. I didn’t see the point of having two package managers so I uninstalled Nix quickly after.</p>
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<p>Then, a few weeks ago, I came across <a href="https://nixcademy.com/2024/01/15/nix-on-macos/">this guide</a> and it instantly clicked with me. Having a single file in which I declare my complete system and then have it set up in a few minutes without rebooting is just infinitely cool. In Nix, this feature is called <em>flake</em>. The guide uses the <a href="https://github.com/DeterminateSystems/nix-installer">Determinate systems installer</a> which sets up flakes by default. It also explains how to install Nix Darwin.</p>
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<h2 id="nix-darwin">Nix Darwin</h2>
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<p>Nix Darwin is a set of Nix modules that brings declarative configuration to macOS. It includes a bunch of options such as for the dock, Finder or the keyboard for example. It also gives the user basic configuration options for various programs. However I prefer to set up terminal based programs using <a href="#home-manager">Home Manager</a> instead, because it supports even more programs.</p>
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<p>What I do use extensively is the <a href="https://brew.sh/">Homebrew</a> module to install not only GUI (graphical user interface) apps from Homebrew, but also from the App Store.</p>
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<h2 id="home-manager">Home Manager</h2>
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<p>For everything else, from terminal based programs to their configuration, I use <a href="https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager?tab=readme-ov-file">Home Manager</a>. It includes a huge set of modules and allows me to setup every non-GUI program in a declarative way. Still, sometimes you have to configure the “traditional way”, meaning in the original configuration language. But still, I much prefer this over my cluttered <code>.config</code> directory.</p>
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<h2 id="nixvim">Nixvim</h2>
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<p>In the process of writing my Nix configuration, I became unsatisfied with my Neovim setup. I used to use <a href="https://www.lazyvim.org">LazyVim</a> but it felt more and more bloated and slow on my 9 year old machine. For some time I used <a href="https://helix-editor.com/">Helix</a> which has great defaults, such as language server protocol (LSP) and fuzzy finder integration. I really think Neovim should go in this direction. Unfortunately it lacks some features to make it my main editor, mostly support for <a href="https://typst.app/">Typst</a> which is already added to the <code>master</code> branch. It also lacks a plugin system, but given such great defaults, there isn’t that big of a need for it. Helix also features its own set of motions, and although I think they are not bad, maybe even better than Vim motions, the latter are so ubiquitously implemented that I would essentially use both all the time.</p>
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<p>That’s when I saw a video by <em>ThePrimeagen</em> in which he recommended <a href="https://github.com/nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim/tree/master">Kickstart</a>, a minimal Neovim starter configuration mainly written by <em>TJ DeVries</em>. It almost everything you need to get started and has insanely great documentation.</p>
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<p>The only thing that bothered me was the use of <a href="https://github.com/williamboman/mason.nvim">Mason</a> as a LSP package manager. For some people this might be the best way to install LSPs, but I don’t understand why I would use a second package manager when I can just use Nix for everything. Helix has a list of supported LSPs and all you have to do is make sure they are in your <code>$PATH</code>.</p>
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<p>Luckily, others already had the same issues and decided to write <a href="https://github.com/nix-community/nixvim">Nixvim</a>. Nixvim is a NixOS / Nix Darwin / Home manager module that lets you configure Neovim (almost) entirely using Nix. It uses Nix as the plugin manager and has great defaults and documentation.</p>
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<p>I basically recreated Kickstart using Nixvim with some minor tweaks. It feels just as snappy as Helix and I love it.</p>
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<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
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<p>This is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg of what is possible with Nix. Next, I want to learn to write my own flakes to set up development environments. I should probably learn a bit of Nix language too. But to sum it up so far, I’m really happy and excited about this “new” way to manage my computer.</p>
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</article>
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<div class="tags">
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<ul>
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<li><a href="/tags/nix/">Nix</a></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<footer>
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<p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">BY-SA 4.0</a>   ☙   Jan Kremer   ❧
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  2021–2024</p>
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