Declare Hosts & Users

import { Aside } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

Hosts and Users

Declare hosts with a single line per machine:

den.hosts.x86_64-linux.my-laptop.users.vic = { };
den.hosts.aarch64-darwin.macbook.users.vic = { };

This creates NixOS/Darwin configurations with users, ready for:

nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#my-laptop
darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#macbook

Customize Host Attributes

Expand the attribute set for full control:

den.hosts.x86_64-linux.my-laptop = {
  hostName = "yavanna";        # default: my-laptop
  class = "nixos";             # default: guessed from platform
  aspect = "workstation";      # default: my-laptop
  users.vic = {
    userName = "vborja";       # default: vic
    aspect = "oeiuwq";         # default: vic
    class = "homeManager";     # default: homeManager
  };
};

Standalone Home-Manager

For Home-Manager without a host OS:

den.homes.aarch64-darwin.vic = { };

Build with:

home-manager switch --flake .#vic

Multiple Hosts, Shared Users

The same user aspect applies to every host it appears on:

den.hosts.x86_64-linux.desktop.users.vic = { };
den.hosts.x86_64-linux.server.users.vic = { };
den.hosts.aarch64-darwin.mac.users.vic = { };

All three machines share den.aspects.vic configurations.

Freeform Attributes

Hosts and users accept arbitrary attributes. Use them for metadata that aspects can inspect:

den.hosts.x86_64-linux.my-laptop = {
  isWarm = true;          # custom attribute
  location = "home";      # custom attribute
  users.vic = { };
};

Then in an aspect: { host, ... }: if host.isWarm then ...

Base Modules

Add type-checked options to all hosts, users, or homes:

den.base.host = { host, lib, ... }: {
  options.vpn-alias = lib.mkOption { default = host.name; };
};

den.base.user = { user, lib, ... }: {
  options.main-group = lib.mkOption { default = user.name; };
};

den.base.conf = { lib, ... }: {
  options.org = lib.mkOption { default = "acme"; };
};

den.base.conf applies to hosts, users, and homes.

Custom Instantiation

Override how configurations are built:

den.hosts.x86_64-linux.wsl-box = {
  class = "nixos";
  instantiate = inputs.nixos-wsl.lib.nixosSystem;
  intoAttr = "wslConfigurations";
  users.vic = { };
};

Different nixpkgs channels per host:

den.hosts.x86_64-linux.stable-server = {
  instantiate = inputs.nixpkgs-stable.lib.nixosSystem;
  users.admin = { };
};