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diff --git a/content/blog/quietly_moving_on_from_nixos.md b/content/blog/quietly_moving_on_from_nixos.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c10e10c --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/quietly_moving_on_from_nixos.md @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ +--- +title: "Quietly moving on from NixOS?" +date: 2023-04-22T09:14:11+01:00 +draft: false +categories: ['Computing'] +tags: ['nixos'] +--- + +\- TLDR: *"I'm not clever enough and life is too short."*. + +The bald fact is that I spend a lot of time configuring stuff on computers. +Far more time than getting anything productive done. +I guess I am shooting for some kind of paradise state (free software, Unix-based, command-line focused, 100% configurable, reproducible, free from the pervasive tentacles of big tech, ads, spyware and anything that looks like Windows) which, as everyone knows, does not exist. + +Linux/Unix systems generally do offer the possibility of all that, and NixOS gets so much of it right. + +### OpenBSD + +Over the last year or two I've taken my distro-hopping into exotic territory and sinking a massive amount into this pursuit of happiness in these previously-undiscovered worlds. + +A Linux user since around 2006, I traditionally switch between the likes of Debian and Arch, both of which I understand really well and am *very* comfortable living in. + +But last year I tried OpenBSD, which I ran on all three of my laptops (I hate using VMs - it's bare metal or nothing), during which I endured the self-limiting but highly secure and minimalist approach to computing which that platform affords you. +I learned the strange file system and spent days trying to work out how to format a USB stick. +I joined the various mailing lists and experienced first hand the level of technical expertise that goes into maintaining a system like BSD, whose job is be effective without compromise - predominantly on the server. + +### NixOS + +Following OpenBSD, I switched to NixOS - about six months ago - and I've enjoyed my time learning about the Nix language, nixpkgs, NixOS and functional, declarative system management. + +The Nix package manager and NixOS itself is a brilliant idea that solves a real problem, that even me as an ageing tech hobbyist and sometime programmer feels the benefit from. + +Look at my [stream post for 2 January 2023](https://yulqen.org/stream/#monday-2-january-2023). + +Once you get your head round Nix, it's a fantastic experience - adding a line of config here and there, commiting the change in your git repository and running `sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#` is all it takes. + + +I went from having a single `configuration.nix` file, to a whole structure of files worthy of [its own git repository](https://github.com/yulqen/nixosconfig), the workings of which I cloned from someone else, but eventually it made sense to me and I was able to tailor it for my own use. + +### Flakes + +From the off, I used [Home Manager](https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/) and then advanced to the barely-documented world of [Flakes](https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Flakes), having fallen for the hype. +I installed Nix on three laptops, all configured from the same repo, with slight hardware differences easily accommodated for by flakes. +The principle behind flakes took me a long time to understand and of course - here's the kicker - I still don't really understand it. +I know this because when I want to do something slightly off script - which is the structure of my `flake.nix`, which I copied from somewhere - it all starts to fall down and feel too difficult. + +It's fair to say that the benefit of Nix for me is felt when maintaining those three laptops. +It is great to be able to replicate a system pretty much identically across different machines, just by doing a `git pull` and running `nixos-rebuild`. +I even found out how to manage my whole Firefox configuration using flakes - including extensions and *even bookmarks*. +Really, it's great when it all works. +But getting there can take hours. + +### Missing the FHS + +Problems arose recently when I wanted to use some bash and perl scripts I use on my Arch desktop machine and Nix being what it is, the realisation that there isn't the full [Filesystem Hierarchy Standard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard?ref=linuxhandbook.com) to drop a file into, add it to your `PATH`, `chmod +x` it and run it without thinking. +For full reproducibility, you basically either write a derivation for the script (which is great if you're doing it all the time and you *really* get Nix) or your incorporate it into your configuration, which is actually pretty easy to do. + +The other way to look at it is it's a total pain in the arse to something which is dead simple on a traditional Linux distribution. +Like run a Bash script. + +### Overlays + +Another issue is [overlays](https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Overlays). I get the requirement and I've had to implement one - for VSCode plugins, or something, which I wasted several hours trying to understand and then withdrew because actually I'd rather just use plugins from the marketplace, like everyone else - but I just don't have the brainspace to have to do this stuff all the time. + +### Laptop death + +Two of my laptops are suddenly dead: a x201 and x220 Thinkpad, with battery and network card problems, and therefore the benefit of having a reproducible system is slightly less. +When I make changes my remaining X1 Thinkpad, I am commiting the changes as ever, but I think now I am doing so in anticipation of coming back to Nix at some point in the future. +The git repo will still be there and all I'll need to do is clone it, move a few files around, enable flakes and then rebuild. +That's what I anticipate anyway. + +I need to stop writing now, so to conclude: I think I might go back to Debian. + +### Instructions to self + +For future reference, this is what I need to do. + +1. Install NixOS. +2. Clone the nixconfig repository to wherever. +3. Copy the generated `hardware-configration.nix` file to `nixconfig/machines/x1/` (assuming I am doing this for the X1). +4. Enable flakes. +5. Run `sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#`. + +That's about it. + + diff --git a/content/techjournal/quicknote_capture_23_april_23.md b/content/techjournal/quicknote_capture_23_april_23.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6cb8dbf --- /dev/null +++ b/content/techjournal/quicknote_capture_23_april_23.md @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +--- +title: "Quicknote capture 23 April 23" +date: 2023-04-23T09:34:24+01:00 +draft: false +categories: ['Tech'] +tags: ['quicknotes'] +--- + +- [sqlitedict - a Python library to persist dictionaries](https://github.com/RaRe-Technologies/sqlitedict) +- [Watch "Bash Scripting Full Course 3 Hours" on YouTube](https://youtu.be/e7BufAVwDiM ) +- [github](https://rwxrob.github.io/zet/dex/changes.html ) +- [An On-Ramp to Flow](https://census.dev/blog/an-on-ramp-to-flow? ) +- [Simply explained: how does GPT work? / Confused bit](https://confusedbit.dev/posts/how_does_gpt_work/? ) +- [AI-enhanced development makes me more ambitious with my projects](https://simonwillison.net/2023/Mar/27/ai-enhanced-development/ ) +- [Stop Using AI as a Service - (KoboldAI, InvokeAI, Nixified.AI)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ0D7MrPNOw ) +- [Guides - Nix language basics / Nix & NixOS](https://nixos.org/guides/nix-language.html ) +- [Nix flakes](https://zero-to-nix.com/concepts/flakes ) +- [I Made an App with GPT-4 in 72 Hours](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrC07M2XV1I ) +- [AutoGPT](https://github.com/Torantulino/Auto-GPT) +- [SVG Loaders - Sam Herbert](http://samherbert.net/svg-loaders/ ) +- [fastapi and htmx example](https://github.com/renceInbox/fastapi-todo) +- [fastapi and htmx example2](https://github.com/AutomationPanda/bulldoggy-reminders-app) +- [htmx server examples](https://htmx.org/server-examples/) +- [KLAX and music](https://www.lofiatc.com/?icao=KLAX) +- [Django Video Chat Website With Controls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxnz8Us1QAQ ) - lots of JavaScript usage. And Django! +- [Automuse: A System for Generating Fiction Novels - Xe Iaso](https://xeiaso.net/blog/automuse ) +- [Home / Impressionist Weather Report](https://www.weatherpainting.com/ ) +- [Building Django forms with django-crispy-forms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZwKoi0wu2Q ) +- [How I Used Stable Diffusion and Dreambooth to Create A Painted Portrait of My Dog - In this post, we walk through my entire workflow/process for bringing Stable Diffusion to life as a high-quality framed art print. We’ll touch on making art with Dreambooth, Stable Diffusion, Outpainting, Inpainting, Upscaling, preparing for print with Photoshop, and finally printing on fine-art paper with an Epson XP-15000 printer.](https://www.shruggingface.com/blog/how-i-used-stable-diffusion-and-dreambooth-to-create-a-painted-portrait-of-my-dog? ) +- [Git - Getting Git on a Server](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-on-the-Server-Getting-Git-on-a-Server ) +- [Auto-ripping, splitting and tagging Albums and Audiobooks from YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_CcQhbwINU ) +- [Intro to Binary Exploitation (Pwn) - Practical Buffer Overflow Challenges (for beginners)](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHUKi1UlEgOIc07Rfk2Jgb5fZbxDPec94 ) |