Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Nix with flakes enabled (or use without flakes)
• Basic familiarity with Nix modules

Quick Start — Launch the Demo VM

Try Den instantly without installing anything:

nix run github:vic/den

Initialize a New Project

Create a fresh Den-based flake:

mkdir my-infra && cd my-infra
nix flake init -t github:vic/den
nix flake update den

This creates a project with:

flake.nix          # inputs and entry point
modules/           # your Den modules go here
  hosts.nix        # host and user declarations
  aspects/         # aspect definitions

Your flake.nix

The generated flake.nix imports Den and uses import-tree to load all modules:

{
  outputs = inputs:
    inputs.flake-parts.lib.mkFlake { inherit inputs; }
      (inputs.import-tree ./modules);

  inputs = {
    den.url = "github:vic/den";
    flake-aspects.url = "github:vic/flake-aspects";
    import-tree.url = "github:vic/import-tree";
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixpkgs-unstable";
    flake-parts.url = "github:hercules-ci/flake-parts";
  };
}

Declare a Host

In modules/hosts.nix, declare your first host:

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

This single line creates:

• A NixOS host named my-laptop on x86_64-linux
• A user vic with Home-Manager support
• Aspects den.aspects.my-laptop and den.aspects.vic

Build It

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

Available Templates

Template	Description
default	Batteries-included layout
minimal	Minimalistic Den flake
noflake	No flakes, no flake-parts
example	Examples and patterns
ci	Feature test suite
bogus	Bug reproduction

nix flake init -t github:vic/den#minimal

Next Steps

• Your First Aspect — write cross-class configs
• Context-Aware Configs — make aspects react to context