Re: [PLUG] NixOS

[Wayne via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>]

Why not just package what you want in an AppImage. If it's done right it should run on just about everything.

Wayne

On 1/7/26 10:02 AM, Michael Lazin via plug wrote:
> This is fascinating to me because it seems to offer a way to make
> applications with dependencies portable without the use of containers.
> I once participated in a hack-a-thon where we had to build and defend
> an application and we never got off the ground because the
> application, written in Ruby, required a version of Firefox not
> available on Ubuntu Server, which we deployed on AWS.  My thoughts
> are: This is really neat.  This is not in any way portable in the same
> way containers are.  This can make porting an application easy but it
> doesn't mean it will work anywhere else.
>
> Michael Lazin
>
> .. τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ νοεῖν ἐστίν τε καὶ εἶναι.
>
> On Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 12:51 PM Matt Mossholder via plug
> <plug@lists.phillylinux.org> wrote:
> > I have a single server running it at home. Don't underestimate two things about it....
> >       1) How big of a change it is from other linux distros (positive)
> >             - Roll back any change
> >             - Store your configuration in git
> >             - All OS configuration stored in a single place
> >             - Coexistence of multiple versions of the same package without conflict
> >             - Isolated shells with packages that are different than what is installed in the OS
> >       2) How big of a change it is from other linux distros (negative)
> >             - New system for defining configurations to learn
> >             - A new language to learn if you want to build custom packages
> >             - No more just popping into an editor and directly changing an app's /etc/someconfig file
> >
> > The Nix language is not for the faint of heart, but it is also extremely powerful.
> >
> > Also keep in mind that Nix is also a package manager that can be run on other Linux distros, giving you the ability to have multiple revisions of a package coexist. You can dip your toes in there, and move to NixOS later after getting a feel for it.
> >
> >       --Matt
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 11:38 AM Morgan Jones via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org> wrote:
> > > This is the first I've heard of this, does anyone have experience or know if it in production elsewhere?
> > >
> > > https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7414312903463333890-xIXH
> > >
> > > -morgan
> > > ___________________________________________________________________________
> > > Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
> > > Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> > > General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> >
> > ___________________________________________________________________________
> > Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
> > Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> > General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> ___________________________________________________________________________
> Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
> Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug