NixOS, Raspberry Pi and Me
Farid Zakaria upgraded his Raspberry Pi 4 with NixOS, improving his home network despite challenges in cross-compiling and module requirements, while advocating for better documentation and community feedback.
Read original articleFarid Zakaria discusses his experience setting up a Raspberry Pi 4 with NixOS, highlighting his dissatisfaction with his home networking setup and the steps he took to improve it. He installed Ubiquiti access points and created a home server, despite having limited internet speeds from Comcast. Zakaria shares his configuration for running NixOS on the Raspberry Pi, noting the challenges he faced, particularly with cross-compiling and the necessity of certain modules. He emphasizes the need for clearer guidance on setting up NixOS for Raspberry Pi, given its popularity in the Internet of Things space. His configuration includes disabling ZFS to expedite the image-building process and using emulation for building the image on an x86_64 machine. He invites feedback on his configuration and expresses a desire for a more straightforward setup process for NixOS on Raspberry Pi.
- Farid Zakaria upgraded his Raspberry Pi 4 to run NixOS while improving his home networking setup.
- He faced challenges with cross-compiling and module requirements during the setup process.
- Zakaria emphasizes the need for better documentation for NixOS on Raspberry Pi.
- His configuration includes specific adjustments to optimize the image-building process.
- He encourages community feedback to enhance his NixOS setup.
Related
The FreeBSD-native-ish home lab and network
The author details a complex home lab setup with a FreeBSD server on a laptop, utilizing Jails for services like WordPress and emphasizing security measures and network configurations for efficiency and functionality.
Moving to a RTOS on the RP2040
The article discusses transitioning to an RTOS on RP2040 for a hardware controller project. Initial challenges with FreeRTOS led to exploring NuttX and Zephyr, highlighting pros and cons for project utility.
Switching from Arch to NixOS
The author discusses their transition from Arch Linux to NixOS, highlighting improved system configuration management, challenges with documentation, and a smooth setup process, while noting a steep initial learning curve.
Arch is a gateway drug to NixOS
Many Linux users start with distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora, later exploring Arch Linux for customization. NixOS offers a more structured, declarative configuration model, simplifying system management and reinstallation.
NixOS Option Inspection
The blog post addresses challenges in identifying NixOS module options due to Nix Flakes' decentralized nature. It introduces definitionsWithLocations, a feature aiding in locating option definitions since 2022.
Meanwhile Fedora 40 installs like a champ from the default aarch64 iso with just a warning about EFI variables (which is expected since tow-boot is not really providing a complete uefi environment).
I suspect it’s probably some voodoo formula to manage the device trees. Those github flakes to generate imsges are pulling an entire root tarball from hydra so I’m assuming there is something done there that is not obvious.
Related
The FreeBSD-native-ish home lab and network
The author details a complex home lab setup with a FreeBSD server on a laptop, utilizing Jails for services like WordPress and emphasizing security measures and network configurations for efficiency and functionality.
Moving to a RTOS on the RP2040
The article discusses transitioning to an RTOS on RP2040 for a hardware controller project. Initial challenges with FreeRTOS led to exploring NuttX and Zephyr, highlighting pros and cons for project utility.
Switching from Arch to NixOS
The author discusses their transition from Arch Linux to NixOS, highlighting improved system configuration management, challenges with documentation, and a smooth setup process, while noting a steep initial learning curve.
Arch is a gateway drug to NixOS
Many Linux users start with distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora, later exploring Arch Linux for customization. NixOS offers a more structured, declarative configuration model, simplifying system management and reinstallation.
NixOS Option Inspection
The blog post addresses challenges in identifying NixOS module options due to Nix Flakes' decentralized nature. It introduces definitionsWithLocations, a feature aiding in locating option definitions since 2022.