Voila!

Nix-Darwin & Home Manager: Your macOS dotfiles, perfected.

Harnessing Nix,Flakes,Nix-Darwin, and Home Manager to manage macOS system settings and dotfile configurations

Structure

├── Makefile
├── README.md
├── configs
├── flake.lock
├── flake.nix
└── modules
    ├── darwin
    │   ├── custom
    │   ├── default.nix
    │   ├── services
    │   └── settings
    │       ├── default.nix
    │       ├── environment.nix
    │       ├── nix-settings.nix
    │       └── system.nix
    └── home-manager
        ├── cliPkgs.nix
        ├── default.nix
        ├── manual.nix
        └── programs

Top-Level Files

• Makefile: Contains commands to simplify common tasks, such as updating and building configurations.
• flake.lock: Lock file for the Nix flake, ensuring reproducibility.
• flake.nix: Main entry point for the Nix flake, defining inputs, outputs, and configuration.

Modules

Darwin (System Configuration)

• default.nix: Main entry point for system configuration.
• modules/customServices: Custom services configuration.
  • borders.nix: Configuration for window borders.
  • default.nix: Default custom services configuration.
• services: Configuration for system services.
  • borders.nix: Service configuration for borders.
  • default.nix: Default services configuration.
  • sketchybar.nix: Configuration for SketchyBar.
  • skhd.nix: Configuration for Skhd (hotkey daemon).
  • yabai.nix: Configuration for Yabai (window manager).
• settings: System settings configuration.
  • default.nix: Default system settings.
  • environment.nix: Environment variables.
  • nix-settings.nix: Nix-specific settings.
  • system.nix: System-wide settings.

Home Manager (User Configuration)

• cliPkgs.nix: CLI packages configuration.
• default.nix: Main entry point for Home Manager configuration.
• manual.nix: Post-activation and manual scripting, such as file moving and symlink creation.
• programs: Specific program configurations.
  • fzf.nix: Configuration for FZF (fuzzy finder).
  • misc.nix: Miscellaneous program settings.
  • starship.nix: Configuration for the Starship prompt.

Configs

• sketchybar: Contains the configuration files and plugins for SketchyBar.
  • plugins: Contains various shell scripts used by SketchyBar.
  • sketchybarrc: Main configuration file for SketchyBar.

Usage

Prerequisites

Ensure you have Nix and Nix-Darwin installed on your macOS system.

Setting Up

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd <repository>

2. Build and Apply Configuration:

   make build
   make switch

   The Makefile contains targets to simplify the process:

   • make build: Builds the configuration.
   • make switch: Switches to the new configuration.
   • make darwin-refresh: Refreshes the Nix-Darwin configuration.

Updating

To update the configuration or dependencies, use the following commands:

nix flake update
make build
make switch

Key Features

• System Preferences: Configure macOS system settings such as network configurations, Dock preferences, and power settings.
• System Services: Enable and configure system services such as SSH, NFS, and other daemons.
• Package Management: Install and manage system-wide packages.
• Hardware Configuration: Manage hardware settings like display resolution and sound settings.
• User Environment: Configure user-specific settings and environment variables using Home Manager.

Post-Activation and Manual Scripting

The manual.nix file contains scripts and configurations for handling post-activation tasks and manual operations, such as file moving and symlink creation for services like SketchyBar.

Script Details

• Home Manager Activation:

  { lib, pkgs, ... }:
  {
    home.activation.sketchybar = lib.hm.dag.entryAfter ["writeBoundary"] ("${pkgs.sketchybar}/bin/sketchybar --reload");
  
    home.file = {
      ".config/sketchybar".source = ../../configs/sketchybar;
    };
  }

• Post-Activation Script in Darwin Configuration:

  system.activationScripts.postUserActivation.text = ''
    # Following line should allow us to avoid a logout/login cycle
    /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SystemAdministration.framework/Resources/activateSettings -u
    # To reflect Dock Changes (Risky)
    killall Dock
  '';

  • /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SystemAdministration.framework/Resources/activateSettings -u: Applies system settings immediately, avoiding the need for a logout/login cycle.
  • killall Dock: Restarts the Dock to apply any changes made to its configuration.

Warning

Comment the above activation script if you are not aware

• Forcefully restarting the Dock can disrupt the user experience and may result in lost data if any applications are open in the Dock.
• If you are unsure about the implications of these commands, it is recommended to comment out this section by adding # at the beginning of each line.

Customization

Feel free to customize the configuration files to suit your needs. The modular structure allows for easy addition and modification of settings and services.

Contribution

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues or pull requests to improve this configuration.

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This README provides an overview and guide for using and customizing your Nix-Darwin and Home Manager setup. Feel free to adjust the details according to your specific setup and preferences.