[Nix-dev] Nix as a dotfiles manager

[Sergey Mironov]

Hi. I've adopted the following compromise solution:
1) Add the file include/templatecfg.nix with the following contents
{ config, pkgs, ... } :

{
  environment.etc."template_XResources".source = ../cfg/Xresources;
  environment.etc."template_vimrc".source = ../cfg/vimrc;
  environment.etc."template_ssh_config".source = ../cfg/ssh_config;

  /* note, it should be possible to define inplace config here like following:
    environment.etc."template_ssh_config".source = textFile "dotbla" ''
      [dotbla config contents]
    '';
  */
}

2) put template configs mentioned there in the ../cfg folder

3) For every machine, add

  require = [
    ...
    ./include/templatecfg.nix
    ...];

Now, every time I want to update my $HOME/.dotfiles I copy them from
/etc/template_* files. From the other side, sometimes I want to commit
my changed .dotfiles back into Nix repository. In this case I copy
them from $HOME to the $HOME/proj/mynixcfg/..../cfg/

Here is the whole thing: https://github.com/grwlf/nixcfg/tree/master/src

Regards,
Sergey

2014-12-01 2:50 GMT+04:00 Nicolas Pierron <nicolas.b.pierron at gmail.com>:
> Hi,
>
> On Sun, Nov 30, 2014 at 9:29 PM, Arseniy Seroka <ars.seroka at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello!
>> I want to do smth like
>> `if networking.name = "foo"
>>     then writeFile "/home/user/.dorfile"
>>     else if networking.name = "bar" then ...`.
>
> What do you mean by networking.name, are you referring to the NixOS option?
>
>> But it turnes out that I have no idea how to do it.
>> So the questions are: is it a good idea to use nix as a dotfiles manager?
>
> I do not yet know.  I know I have been doing so without Nix for a
> while, and as this was a requested feature, I started making NixUP [1]
> (see the corresponding pull request)
>
>> And what is a best way to do it?
>
> If you are under NixOS, then you should use the activation script to
> copy it to the home directory of the user.  Nix is deliberately not
> capable of writing out-side the Nix store, but we can create & execute
> scripts which are sym-linking the files of the Nix store.
>
>> I thought smth like: now we are making pkgs and making symlinks to their
>> executable to ls `~/.nix-profile/bin/`.
>> Maybe there is a way for some derivation set the "output path" as a `~/` and
>> do smth like (write it in a ~/.nixpkgs/config.nix):
>
> No, the ~/ is replaced while building the derivations, such as we do
> not pollute user environment, and such that builds can be reproduced
> when multiple users are requesting the same derivation.
>
>> `configs = buildConfigEnv "~/" [
>>     { name = ".zshrc"; contents = ''#zshrc config''
>>   }
>> ]`
>> If it is possible, please give me some hints or smth and I will try to
>> implement it (if it is a good idea).
>
> The cleanest approach is what is done in NixOS for environment.etc,
> and identically for user.resourceFiles in NixUP.
>
>> This way, IMO, we would provide a good mechanism for a dotfiles managing at
>> several machines.
>
>
> [1] https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/4594
>
> --
> Nicolas Pierron
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolasbpierron - http://nbp.name/
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