nixos-maxxing

A heavily modularized, declarative NixOS configuration managing two hosts — a laptop and a desktop — with Nix Flakes, Home Manager, Stylix theming, and a curated selection of tools for development, gaming, and media.

Index

• Screenshots
• Overview
• Hosts
  • berzilinux (laptop)
  • terra (desktop)
• Architecture
  • Flake Structure
  • Module System
  • Secrets Management
  • Theming
• Directory Structure
• Window Managers
  • Niri
  • Hyprland
  • Noctalia Shell
• Programs
  • Browsers
  • Editors
  • Terminal & Shell
  • Gaming
  • Media & Streaming
  • Communication
  • Development
  • System Tools
  • Virtualization
• Custom Packages
• Scripts
• Disk Layout (terra)
• Getting Started
• See Also

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Overview

This repo declaratively manages two complete NixOS systems plus a standalone Home Manager configuration. Every package, service, keybind, and theme is defined in Nix — reproducible across rebuilds.

Key technologies: Nix Flakes, Home Manager, Stylix, Disko, SOPS/Agenix, and Niri/Hyprland window managers.

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Hosts

berzilinux (laptop)

Property	Value
User	berzi
GPU	AMD + NVIDIA hybrid (PRIME sync)
CPU	AMD
Root FS	ext4
WM	Hyprland
Shell	Zsh + oh-my-zsh + nitch
Timezone	Asia/Kolkata
Home Manager	Standalone (home-manager switch --flake)

terra (desktop)

Property	Value
User	chris
GPU	AMD
CPU	AMD
Root FS	btrfs + LUKS (via Disko)
WM	Niri
Shell	Nushell + Starship + Carapace + Atuin
Timezone	America/New_York
Home Manager	NixOS module (inline)

terra includes additional services not present on berzilinux: full media server stack (*arr + Jellyfin), Steam/Gamescope, Minecraft servers, Podman/Docker, SearXNG, Invidious, and Star Citizen.

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Architecture

Flake Structure

flake.nix
├── nixosConfigurations.berzilinux   ── Host-specific NixOS + system modules
│   └── homeConfigurations.berzi     ── Standalone Home Manager
├── nixosConfigurations.terra        ── Host-specific NixOS + system modules + HM as module
└── (shared) system/ & home/         ── Common modules imported by both hosts

Both hosts import from the shared system/ and home/ directories but selectively include only the modules they need.

Module System

Modules are organized by concern:

• system/ — NixOS-level config (packages, services, programs, shell, greeter)
• home/ — User-level config (window managers, programs, editors, browsers)
• hosts/ — Host-specific overrides (hardware, host-specific packages)

Each subdirectory typically has a default.nix entry point that imports its children.

Secrets Management

Two systems in use:

• SOPS (sops-nix): YAML-based encrypted secrets for service credentials (API keys, passwords for Jellyfin, *arr stack, qBittorrent, Mullvad, etc.)
• Agenix: age-encrypted individual secrets (e.g., Kagi API key)

Theming

• Stylix for system-wide theming with a Catppuccin Mocha base16 scheme
• Custom theme alternatives in assets/themes/base-16/ (noktis, oxocarbon, oled-lavender, oled-red)
• Consistent dark theme across all configured applications

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Directory Structure

nixos-maxxing/
├── assets/              Icons, wallpapers, and base16 color schemes
├── hosts/               Host-specific NixOS and Home Manager configs
│   ├── berzilinux/      Laptop config (AMD+NVIDIA, Hyprland)
│   └── terra/           Desktop config (AMD, Niri, btrfs+LUKS, Disko)
├── home/                Shared Home Manager modules
│   ├── hyprland/        Hyprland WM config (keybinds, rules, autostart, scripts)
│   ├── niri/            Niri WM config (keybinds, rules, autostart, scripts)
│   └── programs/        Browser, editor, terminal, game, and utility configs
├── pkgs/                Custom package definitions (AppImage/deb wrappers)
├── scripts/             Standalone shell scripts
├── secrets/             SOPS and Agenix encrypted secrets
├── system/              Shared NixOS modules
│   ├── environment.nix  Env vars, doas, polkit
│   ├── packages.nix     System-wide packages
│   ├── xdg.nix          XDG portal config
│   ├── greeter/         Greetd + tuigreet login manager
│   ├── programs/        System programs (Steam, Stylix, OBS, nix-ld, etc.)
│   ├── services/        System services (SSH, Flatpak, *arr, virtualization, etc.)
│   └── shell/           Zsh config
└── flake.nix            Flake entry point

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Window Managers

Niri

Used on terra. A scrollable tiling Wayland compositor.

• Dual monitor: DP-2 (3840x1600@144Hz VRR) + HDMI-A-1 (1920x1080@60Hz)
• Named workspaces, configurable gaps/struts
• DDC/CI brightness control script
• Config: home/niri/

Hyprland

Used on berzilinux. A dynamic tiling Wayland compositor.

• Same dual monitor layout
• Dindle layout, blur, shadows, animations
• DDC/CI brightness control script
• Config: home/hyprland/

Noctalia Shell

Both WMs use Noctalia Shell (built on Quickshell) for the desktop shell. Widgets include: Launcher, Clock, SystemMonitor, VPN status, ActiveWindow, Workspace indicators, MediaMini, AudioVisualizer, Tray, NotificationHistory, Volume, and ControlCenter.

Config is in home/{niri,hyprland}/noctaliashell.nix.

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Programs

Browsers

Browser	Host	Notes
Firefox	berzilinux	Extensions: DarkReader, SponsorBlock, uBlock, 1Password, Kagi. Privacy-hardened.
Zen Browser	terra	Custom workspaces, containers, search engines (Kagi, NixOS Wiki).
Chromium	both	Extensions managed declaratively.
LibreWolf	both	Privacy-hardened Firefox fork.
Vivaldi	both
Helium	both	Custom package (pkgs/helium.nix).

Config: home/programs/browsers/

Editors

Editor	Notes
Helix	Primary editor
Zed	Extensive settings configured
VSCodium	Large extension set, LSPs, themes
JetBrains	IntelliJ IDEA + RustRover + Toolbox
NixVim	Neovim config via NixVim (currently disabled)

Config: home/programs/editors/

Terminal & Shell

Component	berzilinux	terra
Terminal	Ghostty	Ghostty
Shell	Zsh + oh-my-zsh + nitch	Nushell + Starship + Carapace + Atuin
Smart cd	Zoxide	Zoxide

Config: home/programs/ghostty.nix, home/programs/terminal/

Gaming

• Steam with Gamescope session, Gamemode, ProtonTricks, Wine/Winetricks
• Minecraft: PrismLauncher, Lunar Client, multiple Java versions
• Minecraft server: PaperMC, Vanilla, Purpur via nix-minecraft
• Minecraft speedrunning: Waywall overlay with thin/wide/tall modes, NinjaBrain bot
• Star Citizen via nix-citizen
• BakkesMod for Rocket League
• MangoHud + MangoJuice (Catppuccin themed)
• Additional: Beyond All Reason, Starsector, iw4x (CoD), CLI games

Config: system/programs/steam.nix, system/programs/minecraft.nix, system/programs/mcsr/

Media & Streaming

Full self-hosted media stack (primarily on terra):

Service	Purpose
Jellyfin	Media server
Plex	Media server
Sonarr	TV + Anime management
Radarr	Movie management
Lidarr	Music management
Prowlarr	Indexer management
Bazarr	Subtitle management
Tautulli	Analytics
qBittorrent	Torrent client
Mullvad VPN	VPN for torrenting

Additional: FreeTube, Spotify, Cider-2, mpv, Cava (audio visualizer).

Config: system/programs/obs.nix, system/services/streaming.nix

Communication

• Discord via Nixcord/Equicord with 80+ plugins (code formatting, voice enhancements, UI tweaks)
• FluffyChat (Matrix client)
• Fastmail + ProtonMail desktop entries

Config: home/programs/discord.nix, home/programs/chat.nix, home/programs/email.nix

Development

Languages and tools: Go, Rust (cargo/rustc/rustup), Python3, GCC, GMake, Ollama, KoboldCpp, LM Studio, SillyTavern.

Game dev: Godot, Unity Hub.

Config: home/programs/gamedev/

System Tools

Yazi (file manager), eza, btop, fastfetch, nh (Nix helper), direnv, alejandra/nixfmt (Nix formatters), nil/nixd (Nix LSPs), Jujutsu (VCS), gitleaks, zoxide, tealdeer, tree, jq, socat, playerctl, waypaper, ddcutil, localsend, xremap (CapsLock -> Ctrl/Esc).

Config: system/packages.nix, home/programs/

Virtualization

Podman (with Docker compatibility), QEMU/Quickemu, Distrobox, kubectl, Kind.

Config: system/services/virtualization.nix

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Custom Packages

Packages in pkgs/ that aren't available in nixpkgs or NUR:

Package	Description
jackify	Wabbajack modlist installer for Linux (AppImage)
amethyst	Amethyst Mod Manager for Linux (AppImage)
helium	Helium browser — privacy-focused Chromium fork (AppImage, multi-arch)
iloader	iOS IPA sideloading tool (.deb)

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Scripts

Standalone scripts in scripts/:

Script	Purpose
disable_usb_wakup.sh	Disables USB devices from waking the system from suspend
eso-trade-update.sh	Downloads and extracts Elder Scrolls Online trade pricing data
fetch-firefox-addon.sh	Extracts Firefox extension IDs from addon URLs
proton-wine.sh	Runs Wine through a specific Proton version via steam-run
rdo-private.sh	Forces a private lobby in Red Dead Online via iptables rules
restart-noctalia.sh	Kills and restarts the Noctalia Shell (Quickshell) process
faf-setup.sh	Creates Proton run configuration for Supreme Commander: FAF

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Disk Layout (terra)

Managed declaratively with Disko:

• Root: LUKS-encrypted btrfs with subvolumes: root, home, nix, persist, log, lib, swap (64GB)
• Games SSD: btrfs with zstd compression (optional)
• Data HDD: btrfs with zstd compression (optional)

Config: hosts/terra/disk-config.nix, hosts/terra/disk-games.nix, hosts/terra/disk-data.nix

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Getting Started

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/nixos-maxxing.git

2. Replace the hardware-configuration.nix files with ones generated for your hardware:

   sudo nixos-generate-config --show-hardware-config > hardware-configuration.nix

3. Update flake.nix to define your own host or adjust the existing ones.

4. Change usernames, timezone, and any host-specific settings in the relevant hosts/<hostname>/ files.

5. Set up secrets if needed (SOPS/Agenix) or remove the secrets modules.

6. Build and switch:

   # For a NixOS configuration:
   sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#your-hostname
   
   # For standalone Home Manager:
   home-manager switch --flake .#your-username

Note: You may need to update flake.lock with nix flake update and adjust inputs to match your preferences.

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See Also

• NixOS — The declarative operating system used to make this all possible
• NixOS & Flakes Book — Incredible written learning resource for getting started
• Vimjoyer — Video resources for getting started with Nix concepts
• Niri — Window manager used for this setup. Offers infinite horizontal scrolling
• Noctalia Shell — Desktop shell built on Quickshell with extensive widget support
• Catppuccin — Lovely theme for nearly any application. Allows for cohesive and cozy styling
• Disko — Declarative disk partitioning for NixOS
• SOPS-nix — Secrets management for NixOS