DannyDannyDanny 503ef7051a server-quickstart: suggest graphical installer when Ethernet not available

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2026-02-27 22:35:59 +01:00

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NixOS server quick-start

Get a new NixOS machine online as a server: hostname, user, SSH, and key-based login.

0. Installer choice

You can't always assume the machine has an Ethernet port (e.g. some laptops, thin clients). The minimal ISO has no GUI and Wi‑Fi on the live system is fiddly (wpa_supplicant, dhcpcd, no NetworkManager). For machines without Ethernet, prefer the graphical NixOS installer: it includes NetworkManager and a desktop, so you can join Wi‑Fi in the GUI, then open a terminal and follow the same config steps below. Download the graphical ISO from the same NixOS channel (e.g. nixos-graphical-*-x86_64-linux.iso instead of nixos-minimal-*).

1. Prerequisites

NixOS installed (minimal or graphical ISO)
Machine on the network (Ethernet or Wi‑Fi)
Console or existing SSH access

2. Hostname

In your config (e.g. /etc/nixos/configuration.nix or a flake module):

networking.hostName = "myserver";

3. User

Define a user in users.users (e.g. danny or admin). For key-only login you can leave the password empty or set a hashed one.

users.users.danny = {
  isNormalUser = true;
  extraGroups = [ "wheel" "networkmanager" ];
  # Optional: hashed password, or omit for key-only login
  # hashedPassword = "...";  # mkpasswd -m sha-512
};

4. SSH

Enable OpenSSH and add your public keys so you can log in without a password.

services.openssh.enable = true;

users.users.danny.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = [
  "ssh-ed25519 AAAA... your-key-comment"
  # Add more keys (e.g. from ~/.ssh/id_*.pub on your client)
];

Optional hardening (disable password auth, restrict root):

services.openssh.settings = {
  PasswordAuthentication = false;
  PermitRootLogin = "no";
};

5. Apply and test

Rebuild and switch:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch

If you use a flake:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake /path/to/dotfiles/nixos#hostname

From your main machine, test:

ssh danny@myserver

Replace danny and myserver with your user and hostname.

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