Awesome-omni-skill nixos

NixOS and Nix flake development for multi-repo architectures, airgapped deployments, and K3s infrastructure. Use when working with flake.nix files, NixOS modules, derivations, devShells, overlays, OCI image packaging, or composing multiple flake repositories. Covers Nix language syntax, flake inputs/outputs, nixosModules exports, stdenv.mkDerivation, and home-manager integration.

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/diegosouzapw/awesome-omni-skill
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/diegosouzapw/awesome-omni-skill "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/devops/nixos" ~/.claude/skills/diegosouzapw-awesome-omni-skill-nixos && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: skills/devops/nixos/SKILL.md
source content

NixOS Development

Overview

Build and maintain NixOS configurations using Nix flakes. Focus on multi-repo composition, airgapped deployments, and declarative infrastructure.

Quick Reference

TaskCommand
Build package
nix build .#packageName
Enter devShell
nix develop
Update flake inputs
nix flake update
Update single input
nix flake lock --update-input nixpkgs
Show flake outputs
nix flake show
Check flake
nix flake check
Rebuild NixOS
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#hostname
Build ISO
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.iso.config.system.build.isoImage

Flake Structure

Standard multi-repo flake pattern:

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";

    # Pin dependent flakes to same nixpkgs
    other-flake.url = "git+ssh://gitlab.example.com/repo";
    other-flake.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, other-flake, ... }:
    let
      system = "x86_64-linux";
      pkgs = import nixpkgs { inherit system; };
    in {
      # NixOS system configurations
      nixosConfigurations.hostname = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
        inherit system;
        modules = [
          other-flake.nixosModules.default
          ./configuration.nix
        ];
      };

      # Reusable NixOS modules
      nixosModules.default = import ./modules;

      # Packages
      packages.${system} = { /* ... */ };

      # Development shells
      devShells.${system}.default = pkgs.mkShell { /* ... */ };
    };
}

NixOS Module Pattern

Export modules for composition:

# modules/default.nix
{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
{
  imports = [ ./service.nix ];

  options.myModule.enable = lib.mkEnableOption "my module";

  config = lib.mkIf config.myModule.enable {
    # configuration here
  };
}

OCI Image Packaging

For airgapped deployments, package images as store paths:

# Single image to OCI tarball
imagePackage = pkgs.runCommand "image-name" {
  buildInputs = [ pkgs.skopeo ];
} ''
  skopeo copy docker://registry/image:tag oci-archive:$out
'';

Helm + Kustomize in Nix

Render manifests at build time:

manifests = pkgs.runCommand "manifests" {
  buildInputs = [ pkgs.kubernetes-helm pkgs.kustomize ];
} ''
  helm template release ${./chart} --namespace ns > base.yaml
  kustomize build ${./overlays} > $out
'';

Detailed References

For comprehensive documentation on specific topics:

TopicReference File
Nix language syntax
references/nix-language.md
Flake inputs/outputs
references/flakes.md
NixOS modules & options
references/nixos-modules.md
Packaging & derivations
references/packaging.md
DevShells & overlays
references/devshells.md
Home Manager
references/home-manager.md

Common Patterns

Pin nixpkgs across repos

Use

inputs.X.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs"
to ensure consistent package versions.

Conditional module loading

imports = lib.optionals config.feature.enable [ ./optional-module.nix ];

Lazy evaluation with mkIf

Always use

lib.mkIf
for conditional config to avoid infinite recursion:

config = lib.mkIf config.myService.enable { /* ... */ };

Override priorities

  • lib.mkDefault
    (priority 1000) - easily overridable defaults
  • lib.mkForce
    (priority 50) - force value regardless of other definitions
  • lib.mkOverride N
    - custom priority (lower = higher priority)

Troubleshooting

"error: getting status of '/nix/store/...': No such file or directory"

Missing store path. Run

nix build
or ensure binary cache is configured.

"error: infinite recursion encountered"

Using config values in imports or not wrapping conditional config in

lib.mkIf
.

"error: attribute 'X' missing"

Check flake inputs match expected names. Verify

follows
directives.

Flake not seeing local changes

Run

git add .
- flakes ignore untracked files.