# dot

NixOS configuration for `desktop`: the CachyOS setup from
[Eiziv/dotfiles](https://github.com/Eiziv/dotfiles), rewritten as a flake with
Home Manager. Hyprland (Lua config) under uwsm, logged in automatically and
started behind hyprlock, the patched Waybar and the Eww control centre, the CachyOS kernel and the CachyOS
system tweaks.

Moving from CachyOS: see [MIGRATION.md](MIGRATION.md). The install wipes the
NVMe drive and partitions it with [disko](https://github.com/nix-community/disko).

## Layout

```
flake.nix                  inputs, the desktop system, the packages below
hosts/desktop/             this machine: hostname, Home Manager
  disko.nix                the drive's partitions and btrfs subvolumes
modules/nixos/
  base.nix                 Nix, boot, locale, network, firewall, user
  cachyos.nix              CachyOS kernel + cachyos-settings, file by file
  nvidia.nix               RTX 3080 Ti, open kernel module
  desktop.nix              Hyprland, uwsm, autologin, audio, Bluetooth, fonts
  gaming.nix               Steam, proton-cachyos, gamemode, gamescope, ...
  apps.nix                 desktop apps, Claude Cowork, OpenDeck udev, Flatpak
  vm.nix                   the test VM
modules/home/
  desktop.nix              Hyprland, hyprlock, hypridle, hyprpaper, Waybar, dunst
  apps.nix                 kitty, fuzzel, neovim, Firefox
  files.nix                links the rest of config/ into ~/.config (was symlink.sh)
  services.nix             desktop background programs as systemd user services
  shell.nix                zsh (as cachyos-zsh-config), git, gh, ssh
  theming.nix              GTK, cursor, Qt (qt6ct, Kvantum, kdeglobals)
  packages.nix             tools the scripts call; imsh-clients, philly
config/                    the dotfiles themselves
pkgs/                      packages not in nixpkgs, or patched
tools/bench-compare        compares MangoHud logs from CachyOS and NixOS
```

## Everyday use

```bash
nixos-rebuild switch --sudo --flake ~/git/dot   # apply changes (alias: rebuild)
nix flake update --flake ~/git/dot              # newer packages; then rebuild (alias: update)
```

The alias, like the control centre's Desktop update (`tools/nixos-update`), leaves
the kernel alone: git.granstrm.com moves it to the latest CachyOS kernel every
night and builds it into its binary cache (the `ci` output in `flake.nix`), so
the update pulls that commit and downloads the kernel instead of compiling it.

Every rebuild is a boot menu entry, so a bad one is undone by picking the one
before it.

**Editing configs.** Apps with a Home Manager module are set in Nix, in
`modules/home/desktop.nix`, `apps.nix` and `theming.nix`: Hyprland, hyprlock,
hypridle, hyprpaper, Waybar, dunst, kitty, fuzzel, Firefox's prefs, qt6ct, Kvantum
and `kdeglobals`. Paths in them (wallpaper, icons, scripts, the terminal) come
from Nix, so change these there and `rebuild`.

What has no module, or is code rather than settings, stays in `config/` and is
linked straight to this checkout, like the old `symlink.sh` did, so edits apply
without a rebuild: Hyprland's startup rules (`hypr/startup.lua`), the scripts
under `hypr/scripts` and `waybar/scripts`, the Eww flyouts (`waybar/eww`),
fuzzel's launcher and favourites, nvim's `init.lua`, Firefox's `userChrome.css`,
the Kvantum themes, the Philly theme and `~/.p10k.zsh`. (Set
`dot.liveConfig = false` to have them copied into the Nix store instead.) If the
checkout is not at `~/git/dot`, set `dot.repoPath`.

Configs that programs write themselves (btop, micro, MangoHud/vkBasalt/vkSumi, `mimeapps.list`) are copied in only when missing and then left to
the program.

**Signal theme.** `config/signal/theme.css` is built into the Signal package
(`pkgs/signal-desktop-themed`), so after editing it run `rebuild` and then
`config/signal/restart`.

## Background programs

Everything Hyprland used to start from `hl.on("hyprland.start")` is a systemd
user service now, started with `graphical-session.target` by uwsm and restarted
if it crashes:

| Service | |
|---|---|
| `waybar`, `hypridle`, `hyprpaper`, `dunst`, `hyprpolkitagent` | the shell |
| `eww` | control centre and notification flyouts |
| `blueman-applet`, `nm-applet`, `xembedsniproxy` | tray (after Waybar) |
| `xwl-clipbridge` | X11 → Wayland clipboard for Wine/Proton games |
| `autostart-apps` | opens Signal, Discord, Faugus, OpenDeck and WowUp, each as its own unit |

```bash
systemctl --user status waybar
journalctl --user -u waybar -f
systemctl --user restart waybar
```

`config/hypr/startup.lua` keeps only what has to live in the compositor: the
startup window rules that place those apps and hide WowUp's window.

## Gaming

- Kernel: `linux-cachyos-latest-lto-zen4` from
  [xddxdd/nix-cachyos-kernel](https://github.com/xddxdd/nix-cachyos-kernel), the
  same build as CachyOS's znver4 `linux-cachyos` (EEVDF, 1000 Hz, ThinLTO, Zen 4).
  Built every night it changes by git.granstrm.com, and downloaded from
  `https://cache.git.granstrm.com`.
- cachyos-settings: sysctl, I/O schedulers, THP, ntsync, limits, oomd, PCI latency,
  ananicy-cpp with CachyOS's rules, bpftune; see `modules/nixos/cachyos.nix`.
- `proton-cachyos` is installed for Steam under CachyOS's own internal name
  (`proton-cachyos-slr`), so Steam's existing choice of it still applies.
  ProtonPlus-installed tools in `~/.steam` carry over as they are.
- Launch options: `game-performance %command%`, `gamemoderun %command%`,
  `dlss-swapper %command%`, `mangohud %command%`.

Not ported: CachyOS builds *all* its packages for x86-64-v3/v4; NixOS uses
generic x86-64 builds outside the kernel and Proton. The difference in games is
small.

`nix develop` opens a shell with nixos-anywhere and nixfmt, on this machine or
the Mac.

## Testing in a VM

```bash
./vm.sh
```

Boots this exact system in QEMU, without NVIDIA and with the configs copied in.
You land on the desktop; log out (Super+Delete) to see the login screen.

## Custom packages

| | |
|---|---|
| `waybar` | nixpkgs' Waybar with the three patches from the old PKGBUILD |
| `xembedsniproxy` | standalone build from plasma-workspace 6.7.5, three patches |
| `signal-desktop-themed` | Signal with `config/signal/theme.css` and a transparent window |
| `claude-desktop` | Anthropic's official Linux .deb, repackaged |
| `opendeck` | upstream release .deb, repackaged |
| `breezex-cursor` | BreezeX-Black cursor theme |
| `proton-cachyos` | CachyOS's Proton release, for Steam |
| `python3-desktop` | Python with PyGObject and python-xlib for the scripts |

Each builds on its own, e.g. `nix build .#waybar`. The `.deb`-based ones and
proton-cachyos say at the top of their file how to update them.