To be clear, Nix isn't haskell. It has its own domain-specific language. The documentation is a total mess, and months into using NixOS, I still don't really understand it.
That being said, NixOS is the best damn OS I have ever used. Period.
Installing NixOS is a total breeze. It's magical.
1. Boot live CD
2. Mount partitions
3. Write a simple configuration.nix
4. nixos-install
5. Boot a complete system, and log in with the user you defined in your configuration.nix (with a hashed password and everything).
nix-env lets you install packages in your home directory (without root).
nix-shell lets you create a special environment with specific packages, etc. and run a shell in that environment.
nixos-rebuild [switch test boot] (as root) creates a new system according to your modified configuration.nix. If you use switch, it (re)starts updated/new services all on its own. If you broke your system, just reboot, and pick the second most recent boot entry, and you will be back where you started.
TL;DR NixOS is well worth the effort. The benefits far far outweigh the headaches, and there is only room for improvement. You will start with a system that you cannot break!
That being said, NixOS is the best damn OS I have ever used. Period.
Installing NixOS is a total breeze. It's magical.
1. Boot live CD
2. Mount partitions
3. Write a simple configuration.nix
4. nixos-install
5. Boot a complete system, and log in with the user you defined in your configuration.nix (with a hashed password and everything).
nix-env lets you install packages in your home directory (without root).
nix-shell lets you create a special environment with specific packages, etc. and run a shell in that environment.
nixos-rebuild [switch test boot] (as root) creates a new system according to your modified configuration.nix. If you use switch, it (re)starts updated/new services all on its own. If you broke your system, just reboot, and pick the second most recent boot entry, and you will be back where you started.
TL;DR NixOS is well worth the effort. The benefits far far outweigh the headaches, and there is only room for improvement. You will start with a system that you cannot break!