nixos-config/AGENTS.md

AGENTS.md

Build Commands

Local Development

nix run .#build               # Build current host config
nix run .#build -- <hostname> # Build specific host (chidi, janet, michael, tahani)
nix run .#apply               # Build and apply locally (darwin-rebuild/nixos-rebuild switch)
nix flake check               # Validate flake

Remote Deployment (NixOS only)

nix run .#deploy              # Deploy to all NixOS hosts
nix run .#deploy -- .#michael # Deploy to specific NixOS host
nix run .#deploy -- .#tahani  # Deploy to specific NixOS host

When you're on tahani and asked to apply, that means running nix run .#deploy.

Formatting

alejandra .                   # Format all Nix files

Code Style

Formatter

• Tool: Alejandra
• Config: alejandra.toml specifies tabs for indentation
• Command: Run alejandra . before committing

File Structure

• Modules: modules/ - All configuration (flake-parts modules, auto-imported by import-tree)
  • hosts/ - Per-host composition modules
  • profiles/ - Shared host and user profile bundles
  • _lib/ - Utility functions (underscore = ignored by import-tree)
  • _darwin/ - Darwin-specific sub-modules
  • _neovim/ - Neovim plugin configs
  • hosts/_parts/ - Host-specific leaf files (disk-config, hardware, service fragments, etc.)
• Apps: apps/ - Per-system app scripts (Nushell)
• Secrets: secrets/ - SOPS-encrypted secrets (.sops.yaml for config)

Architecture

Framework: den (vic/den) — every .nix file in modules/ is a flake-parts module

Pattern: Feature/aspect-centric, not host-centric

Aspects: den.aspects.<name>.<class> where class is:

• nixos - NixOS-only configuration
• darwin - macOS-only configuration
• homeManager - Home Manager configuration
• os - Applies to both NixOS and darwin

Hosts: den.hosts.<system>.<name> declared in modules/inventory.nix

Profiles: shared bundles live under modules/profiles/{host,user} and are exposed as den.aspects.host-* and den.aspects.user-*

Defaults: den.default.* defined in modules/defaults.nix

Imports: Auto-imported by import-tree; underscore-prefixed dirs (_lib/, _darwin/, etc.) are excluded from auto-import

Deployment: deploy-rs for NixOS hosts (michael, tahani); darwin hosts (chidi, janet) are local-only

Nix Language Conventions

Function Arguments:

{inputs, pkgs, lib, ...}:

Use ... to capture remaining args. Let Alejandra control the exact layout.

Attribute Sets:

den.aspects.myfeature.os = {
  enable = true;
  config = "value";
};

One attribute per line with trailing semicolons.

Lists with Packages:

with pkgs;
[
  age
  alejandra
  ast-grep
]

Use with pkgs; for package lists, one item per line.

Aspect Definition:

{
  config,
  lib,
  pkgs,
  ...
}:
with lib; let
  cfg = config.den.aspects.myfeature;
in {
  options.den.aspects.myfeature = {
    enable = mkEnableOption "Feature description";
  };
  config = mkIf cfg.enable {
    # configuration
  };
}

• Use with lib; for brevity with NixOS lib functions
• Define cfg for config options
• Use mkIf, mkForce, mkDefault appropriately

Conditional Platform-Specific Code:

++ lib.optionals stdenv.isDarwin [
  _1password-gui
  dockutil
]
++ lib.optionals stdenv.isLinux [
  lm_sensors
]

Naming Conventions

• Aspect names: den.aspects.<name>.<class> for feature configuration
• Hostnames: Lowercase, descriptive (e.g., michael, tahani, chidi, janet)
• Module files: Descriptive, lowercase with hyphens (e.g., neovim-config.nix)

Secrets Management

• Use SOPS for secrets (see .sops.yaml)
• Never commit unencrypted secrets
• Secret definitions live in per-host modules (modules/hosts/michael.nix, modules/hosts/tahani.nix, etc.)
• Shared SOPS defaults (module imports, key paths) in modules/secrets.nix

Aspect Composition

Use den.aspects.<name>.includes to compose aspects:

den.aspects.myfeature.includes = [
  "other-aspect"
  "another-aspect"
];

Key Conventions

• No specialArgs — den batteries handle input passing
• No hostname string comparisons in shared aspects
• Host-specific config goes in den.aspects.<hostname>.*
• Shared config uses os class (applies to both NixOS and darwin)
• Non-module files go in _-prefixed subdirs