diff --git a/quickstart.md b/quickstart.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..18071d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/quickstart.md @@ -0,0 +1,129 @@ +# Disko quickstart + +This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing NixOS on a single +disk system using Disko. + +- 1. Download NixOS ISO images from the NixOS download page +(https://nixos.org/download.html#nixos-iso) and create a bootable USB drive +following the instructions in [Section 2.4.1 "Booting from a USB flash drive"](https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/index.html#sec-booting-from-usb) +of the NixOS manual. + +- 2. Identify the name of your system disk by using the lsblk command. + +``` +$ lsblk +NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS +nvme0n1     259:0    0   1,8T  0 disk +``` + +In this example, an empty NVME SSD with 2TB space is shown as "nvme0n1" disk. +Please note that Disko will reformat the entire disk and overwrite any existing +partitions. Dual booting with other operating systems is not supported. + + +- 3. Choose a disk layout from the [examples directory](https://github.com/nix-community/disko/tree/master/example) + +For those who are unsure of which layout to pick, use the hybrid configuration +found at https://github.com/nix-community/disko/blob/master/example/hybrid.nix +and save it as `/tmp/disko-config.nix`. This layout is compatible with both BIOS +and EFI systems. + +- 4. The following step will reformat your disk and mount it to `/mnt`. Replace + `` with the name of your disk obtained in step 1. + +Please note: This will erase any existing data on your disk. + +``` +$ sudo nix run github:nix-community/disko -- --mode zap_create_mount /tmp/disko-config.nix --arg disks '[ "/dev/" ]' +``` + +For example, if the disk name is `nvme0n1`: + +``` +$ sudo nix run github:nix-community/disko -- --mode zap_create_mount /tmp/disko-config.nix --arg disks '[ "/dev/nvme0n1" ]' +``` + + +After executing the command, the file systems will be mounted. You can verify +this by running the following command: + +``` +$ mount | grep /mnt +/dev/nvme0n1p1 on /mnt type ext4 (rw,relatime,stripe=2) +/dev/nvme0n1p2 on /mnt/boot type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro) +``` + +- 5. Generate and modify the NixOS configuration: + +You now need to create a file `/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix` that specifies +the intended configuration of the system. This is because NixOS has a +declarative configuration model: you create or edit a description of the desired +configuration of your system, and then NixOS takes care of making it happen. The +syntax of the NixOS configuration file is described in +[Chapter 6, Configuration Syntax](https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/index.html#sec-configuration-syntax), +while a list of available configuration options appears in +[Appendix A, Configuration Options](https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/options.html). +A minimal example is shown in +[Example: NixOS Configuration](https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/index.html#ex-config). + +The command nixos-generate-config can generate an initial configuration file for +you. + +``` +$ nixos-generate-config --no-filesystems --root /mnt +``` + +We will include `--no-filesystems` the flag here so it won't add any filesystem +mountpoints to the generated `/mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix` since +we will re-use our disko configuration for that. + +Next move the disko configuration as well to /etc/nixos + +``` +$ mv /tmp/disko-config.nix /mnt/etc/nixos +``` + +You should then edit /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix to suit your needs + +``` +$ nano /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix +``` + +While being in this file also add the disko nixos module as well as the +disko-config.nix in the imports section of your generated configuration: + +``` +imports = + [ # Include the results of the hardware scan. + ./hardware-configuration.nix + "${builtins.fetchTarball "https://github.com/nix-community/disko/archive/master.tar.gz"}/module.nix" + (pkgs.callPackage ./disko-config.nix { + disks = ["/dev/"]; # replace this with your disk name i.e. /dev/nvme0n1 + }) + ]; +``` + +If you went for the hybrid-partition scheme, than choose grub as a bootloader. +Otherwise consult the NixOS manual. The following configuration for Grub works +both EFI and BIOS systems. Add it to your configuration.nix while commenting out +the existing lines about `systemd-boot`: + +``` +# ... + #boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true; + #boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true; + # replace this with your disk i.e. /dev/nvme0n1 + boot.loader.grub.devices = [ "/dev/" ]; + boot.loader.grub.enable = true; + boot.loader.grub.version = 2; + boot.loader.grub.efiSupport = true; + boot.loader.grub.efiInstallAsRemovable = true; +# ... +``` + +Than finish the installation and reboot your machine + +``` +$ nixos-install +$ reboot +```