Template: No-Flake

The noflake template shows that Den works perfectly without Nix flakes. It uses npins for dependency management and works with stable Nix.

Initialize

Since this template doesn’t use flakes, clone it manually:

mkdir my-nix && cd my-nix
cp -r $(nix eval --raw 'github:vic/den#templates.noflake.path')/* .
npins update den

Or use nix flake init if you have flakes enabled:

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

Project Structure

default.nix        # entry point (replaces flake.nix)
with-inputs.nix    # input resolver (replaces flake.lock)
npins/
  default.nix      # npins fetcher
  sources.json     # pinned dependencies
modules/
  den.nix          # host/user declarations + aspects

File by File

default.nix — Entry Point

let
  outputs = inputs:
    (inputs.nixpkgs.lib.evalModules {
      modules = [ (inputs.import-tree ./modules) ];
      specialArgs = {
        inherit inputs;
        inherit (inputs) self;
      };
    }).config;
in
import ./with-inputs.nix outputs

This is the noflake equivalent of flake.nix. It uses lib.evalModules directly — the same mechanism Den uses internally.

with-inputs.nix — Input Resolution

This file resolves npins sources into a flake-compatible inputs attrset. It reads flake.nix from each dependency to discover transitive inputs and wires them together.

modules/den.nix — Configuration

{ inputs, ... }:
{
  imports = [ inputs.den.flakeModule ];

  den.default.nixos = {
    fileSystems."/".device = "/dev/fake";
    boot.loader.grub.enable = false;
  };

  den.hosts.x86_64-linux.igloo.users.tux = { };

  den.aspects.igloo = {
    nixos = { pkgs, ... }: {
      environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.vim ];
    };
  };

  den.aspects.tux = {
    nixos = {
      imports = [ inputs.nix-maid.nixosModules.default ];
      users.users.tux = {
        isNormalUser = true;
        maid.file.home.".gitconfig".text = ''
          [user]
            name=Tux
        '';
      };
    };
  };
}

Notable differences from the flake templates:

• Uses nix-maid instead of Home-Manager (lighter alternative)
• User config is done directly in nixos class (no HM class needed)

Build

npins update den
nixos-rebuild build --file . -A flake.nixosConfigurations.igloo

Or with nix-build:

nix-build -A flake.nixosConfigurations.igloo.config.system.build.toplevel

Note

Den places configurations under the flake attribute following the flake outputs schema, even without flakes. This is the default top-level attribute for Den output.

What It Provides

Feature	Provided
NixOS host configuration	✓
No flakes required	✓
npins dependency pinning	✓
nix-maid (HM alternative)	✓
Home-Manager	✗ (use nix-maid)
flake-parts	✗

Next Steps

• Read Use Without Flakes for more details on flake-free usage
• Consider the Minimal template if you want flakes but not flake-parts