78 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
78 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
# NixOS server quick-start
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Get a new NixOS machine online as a server: hostname, user, SSH, and key-based login.
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## 0. Installer choice
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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-*`).
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## 1. Prerequisites
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- NixOS installed (minimal or graphical ISO)
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- Machine on the network (Ethernet or Wi‑Fi)
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- Console or existing SSH access
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## 2. Hostname
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In your config (e.g. `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix` or a flake module):
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```nix
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networking.hostName = "myserver";
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```
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## 3. User
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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.
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```nix
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users.users.danny = {
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isNormalUser = true;
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extraGroups = [ "wheel" "networkmanager" ];
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# Optional: hashed password, or omit for key-only login
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# hashedPassword = "..."; # mkpasswd -m sha-512
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};
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```
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## 4. SSH
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Enable OpenSSH and add your public keys so you can log in without a password.
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```nix
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services.openssh.enable = true;
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users.users.danny.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = [
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"ssh-ed25519 AAAA... your-key-comment"
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# Add more keys (e.g. from ~/.ssh/id_*.pub on your client)
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];
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```
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Optional hardening (disable password auth, restrict root):
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```nix
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services.openssh.settings = {
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PasswordAuthentication = false;
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PermitRootLogin = "no";
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};
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```
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## 5. Apply and test
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Rebuild and switch:
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```bash
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sudo nixos-rebuild switch
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```
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If you use a flake:
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```bash
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sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake /path/to/dotfiles/nixos#hostname
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```
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From your main machine, test:
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```bash
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ssh danny@myserver
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```
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Replace `danny` and `myserver` with your user and hostname.
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