NixOS on WSL Development Environment

A modern, reproducible development environment using NixOS on WSL, featuring seamless Windows SSH agent integration, comprehensive development tools, and intelligent shell configuration.

Features

• 🚀 Full NixOS environment running on WSL
• 🔒 Windows SSH agent integration
• 🏠 Home Manager configuration
• 🛠️ Development-ready with common tools
• ⚡ Fast package management with nh
• 🐚 Modern shell experience with Zsh, Starship, and more
• 🔍 Smart command-not-found suggestions
• 📦 Ephemeral package execution with comma

Prerequisites

1. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2)
2. NixOS-WSL installed (Installation Guide)
3. npiperelay.exe installed on Windows (via WinGet or Chocolatey)

   # Using WinGet
   winget install npiperelay
   
   # Or using Chocolatey
   choco install npiperelay

Initial Setup

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone <repository-url> ~/nixos-config
   cd ~/nixos-config

2. Update Git configuration in home.nix:

   programs.git = {
     userName = "Your Name";
     userEmail = "your.email@example.com";
   };

3. Apply the configuration:

   sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#nixos

Daily Usage

System Management

• Update system and home configuration:

  nosa  # Alias for "nh os switch . && nh home switch ."

• Preview changes before applying:

  nos   # Dry-run of system and home-manager changes

• View system differences:

  ndiff  # Compare current and new system configurations

Package Management

1. Install a package temporarily (ephemeral):

   , hello  # Run 'hello' without installing
   , python  # Start a Python REPL

2. Install a package permanently:

   • Add to home.packages in home.nix for user packages
   • Add to environment.systemPackages in configuration.nix for system-wide packages

3. Search for packages:

   nsc package-name  # Search NixOS packages

Development Environments

1. Create a new development environment:

   mkdir my-project && cd my-project
   devenv init

2. Enter the environment:

   devenv shell

System Maintenance

• Garbage collection:

  ngc   # Clean old generations
  ngcd  # Dry-run of garbage collection

• Update Flake inputs:

  nix flake update  # Update all inputs

Shell Features

Enhanced Commands

• Modern alternatives to traditional commands:
  • ls → eza (with icons and git integration)
  • cat → bat (with syntax highlighting)
  • cd → z (smart directory jumping)
  • find → fd (user-friendly find)
  • grep → rg (ripgrep)

Git Aliases

• git st - status
• git co - checkout
• git br - branch
• git ci - commit
• git unstage - reset HEAD
• git last - show last commit

SSH Agent Integration

The system automatically connects to the Windows SSH agent. Your SSH keys managed in Windows will be available in NixOS-WSL.

To verify:

ssh-add -L  # Should list your Windows SSH keys

Customization

1. Add new packages: Edit home.nix and add to home.packages:

   home.packages = with pkgs; [
     your-package
   ];

2. Add system packages: Edit configuration.nix and add to environment.systemPackages:

   environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
     your-system-package
   ];

3. Add shell aliases: Edit home.nix and add to programs.zsh.shellAliases:

   programs.zsh.shellAliases = {
     your-alias = "your-command";
   };

Troubleshooting

1. SSH agent issues:

   • Verify npiperelay.exe installation
   • Check the systemd service: systemctl --user status ssh-agent-proxy
   • Verify SSH_AUTH_SOCK: echo $SSH_AUTH_SOCK

2. Rebuild fails:

   sudo rm /run/current-system
   sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#nixos

3. Clear nix store:

   nix-collect-garbage -d

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests!

License

MIT