Post #2315448
2026-05-08 15:28 UTC
@peritia@alovely.space I think to stay sane unless you want NixOS to take up all your time, you need to know when to _not_ nix something.
If you are testing something out, and its not in Nixpkgs, maybe just use the upstream method (like docker). I have qemu VMs that I use to keep docker/podman away from the rest of my system (I still dislike how they mess so heavily with my host network/firewall).
Nix gives you the abstractions, but nothing comes free, often someone else did the work to make it possible.
Replies (1)
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@kraftnix@noc.social 2026-05-08 15:33
@peritia@alovely.space Sometimes you just go NixOS light, let it manage your base system and package versions and manage config imperatively. Fully declarative configuration is great, but it frontloads a lot of the work (+ maintenance the moment upstream changes). But then you get the benefits when you do the work. It was a good post, it does illustrate the burdens of NixOS. Personally I still find that in the end Nix is soooo much easier and more maintainable, even if it can be very frustrating sometimes.