Initial NixOS flake: Hyprland (end-4 illogical-impulse), NVIDIA, gaming, dev tools

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01C5ydBQk68JYw8HXzUDLAyV

.gitattributes

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+* text=auto eol=lf

README.md

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+# nixos-pc
+
+NixOS flake for the desktop PC: Hyprland with [end-4's illogical-impulse](https://github.com/end-4/dots-hyprland) via [soymou/illogical-flake](https://github.com/soymou/illogical-flake), NVIDIA RTX 3080, Steam/gaming, dev tools.
+
+- Host: `nixos-pc` · User: `zephrynis` · Channel: nixos-unstable
+- Boot: systemd-boot on this install's **own ESP** on the 1TB WD SSD; **rEFInd** (on the 2TB NVMe's ESP) remains the top-level OS picker and auto-detects it.
+
+```
+hosts/nixos-pc/     host wiring, bootloader, user, hardware config
+modules/            core, desktop (hyprland/sddm/fonts), nvidia, gaming
+home/zephrynis.nix  illogical-impulse + git/direnv/vscode/CLI tools
+```
+
+Rebuild after changes: `sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#nixos-pc`
+Update inputs (one at a time is safer): `nix flake update <input>`
+
+---
+
+## Install procedure
+
+Target: ~250GB shrunk from the work-Windows partition on the **1TB WD SA500 SATA SSD**. The work Windows on that disk and everything on the 2TB NVMe (other Windows, Arch, rEFInd's ESP) must not be touched.
+
+### 1. Prep (from the work Windows)
+
+1. Back up anything important. If BitLocker is enabled on C:, **export the recovery key** and suspend BitLocker before repartitioning.
+2. Disable Fast Startup: `powercfg /h off` (admin) — otherwise NTFS is left dirty.
+3. Shrink C: by ~256000 MB: Disk Management → right-click C: → Shrink Volume. If it won't shrink enough (unmovable files): temporarily disable pagefile + System Restore on C:, reboot, retry, re-enable after.
+4. Push this repo somewhere reachable from the ISO (GitHub) or copy to a USB stick. **Flakes only evaluate git-tracked files** — commit everything.
+5. BIOS: disable Secure Boot (stock NixOS bootloader is unsigned). F11 = one-time boot menu.
+
+### 2. Partition & install (NixOS ISO, UEFI mode)
+
+```sh
+ls /sys/firmware/efi                      # must exist (UEFI mode)
+lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,FSTYPE,LABEL,MODEL     # identify disks
+```
+
+The 1TB WD (WDS100T1R0A) is likely `/dev/sda`. **Do not touch any NTFS partition, and nothing on the NVMe.** In the ~250G free space (parted `unit GiB`, `print free` to see exact bounds):
+
+```sh
+parted /dev/sda -- mkpart ESP fat32 <freeStart> <freeStart+1GiB>
+parted /dev/sda -- set <N> esp on
+parted /dev/sda -- mkpart root ext4 <freeStart+1GiB> 100%
+
+mkfs.fat -F 32 -n NIXBOOT /dev/sdaX       # the new 1GiB partition
+mkfs.ext4 -L nixos /dev/sdaY              # the new large partition
+
+mount /dev/disk/by-label/nixos /mnt
+mkdir -p /mnt/boot
+mount -o umask=0077 /dev/disk/by-label/NIXBOOT /mnt/boot
+```
+
+Get the flake and the real hardware config:
+
+```sh
+git clone <this-repo-url> /mnt/etc/nixos      # or copy from USB
+nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
+mv /mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix /mnt/etc/nixos/hosts/nixos-pc/hardware-configuration.nix
+rm /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
+git -C /mnt/etc/nixos add -A
+```
+
+Install (needs network — ethernet just works, else `nmtui`):
+
+```sh
+nixos-install --flake /mnt/etc/nixos#nixos-pc     # sets root password at the end
+nixos-enter --root /mnt -c 'passwd zephrynis'
+reboot
+```
+
+### 3. After first boot
+
+1. rEFInd should show a new NixOS/systemd-boot entry (it scans all ESPs). Windows and Arch entries must still work.
+2. If the firmware now boots straight into systemd-boot instead of rEFInd, fix the order from NixOS: `efibootmgr` to list, `sudo efibootmgr -o XXXX,YYYY,...` with rEFInd first.
+3. Optional rEFInd polish (edit `refind.conf` on the NVMe ESP): a `menuentry` stanza for a custom NixOS name/icon, and `dont_scan_files`/`dont_scan_dirs` to hide duplicate auto-detected kernel entries from the NIXBOOT ESP.
+4. Checks: `nvidia-smi`; `cat /sys/module/nvidia_drm/parameters/modeset` → `Y`; Hyprland session in SDDM; quickshell bar appears (Super for launcher); Steam runs a Proton title.
+   - If the `qs` (quickshell) binary is missing, add `inputs.illogical-flake.inputs.quickshell.packages.x86_64-linux.default` to `home.packages` and rebuild.
+   - Cursor invisible/glitchy: enable Hyprland `cursor:no_hardware_cursors = true`, or the commented `WLR_NO_HARDWARE_CURSORS` fallback in `modules/nvidia.nix`.
+
+### Follow-up (someday): separate rEFInd entries for the two Windows installs
+
+Both Windows currently share one Windows Boot Manager/BCD on the NVMe ESP, so rEFInd shows a single Windows entry with a second picker behind it. The new ESP on the 1TB SSD makes splitting easy:
+
+1. From the **work Windows**, assign the NIXBOOT ESP a letter (e.g. `S:` via `diskpart` → `assign`), then:
+   `bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI`
+   This creates an independent Windows Boot Manager + BCD on the 1TB SSD's ESP that boots only the work OS. 1GiB is plenty for both this and NixOS's kernels.
+2. rEFInd then shows two distinct Windows Boot Manager entries (one per ESP).
+3. Remove the work OS's entry from the old shared BCD (`msconfig` → Boot tab, or `bcdedit /delete <id>`) so each menu boots exactly one Windows.

flake.nix

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+{
+  description = "nixos-pc — NixOS + Hyprland (end-4 illogical-impulse)";
+
+  inputs = {
+    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
+
+    home-manager = {
+      url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
+      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
+    };
+
+    # end-4 dots-hyprland (illogical-impulse) home-manager port
+    illogical-flake = {
+      url = "github:soymou/illogical-flake";
+      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
+      # To pin or fork the end-4 dotfiles themselves, override the port's
+      # `dotfiles` input (this is the only source-override mechanism):
+      # inputs.dotfiles.url = "git+https://github.com/end-4/dots-hyprland?submodules=1&rev=<sha>";
+    };
+  };
+
+  outputs = { nixpkgs, home-manager, ... }@inputs: {
+    nixosConfigurations.nixos-pc = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
+      system = "x86_64-linux";
+      specialArgs = { inherit inputs; };
+      modules = [
+        ./hosts/nixos-pc
+
+        home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager
+        {
+          home-manager.useGlobalPkgs = true;
+          home-manager.useUserPackages = true;
+          home-manager.extraSpecialArgs = { inherit inputs; };
+          home-manager.backupFileExtension = "hm-bak";
+          home-manager.users.zephrynis = import ./home/zephrynis.nix;
+        }
+      ];
+    };
+  };
+}

home/zephrynis.nix

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+{ inputs, pkgs, ... }:
+
+{
+  imports = [ inputs.illogical-flake.homeManagerModules.default ];
+
+  home.username = "zephrynis";
+  home.homeDirectory = "/home/zephrynis";
+  # Matches the release era of system.stateVersion; never change afterwards.
+  home.stateVersion = "25.11";
+
+  programs.illogical-impulse = {
+    enable = true;
+    # All default to true — listed for discoverability
+    dotfiles = {
+      fish.enable = true;
+      kitty.enable = true;
+      starship.enable = true;
+    };
+    # hyprland.plugins = [ ]; # listOf package, loaded via hyprland's plugin mechanism
+  };
+
+  programs.git = {
+    enable = true;
+    userName = "zephrynis";
+    userEmail = "zephrynis.yt@gmail.com";
+  };
+
+  programs.direnv = {
+    enable = true;
+    nix-direnv.enable = true;
+  };
+
+  programs.vscode.enable = true;
+
+  home.packages = with pkgs; [
+    ripgrep
+    fd
+    fzf
+    jq
+    btop
+    eza
+    bat
+    tree
+    nixfmt-rfc-style
+    nil # Nix LSP
+  ];
+}

hosts/nixos-pc/default.nix

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+{ pkgs, ... }:
+
+{
+  imports = [
+    ./hardware-configuration.nix
+    ../../modules/core.nix
+    ../../modules/desktop.nix
+    ../../modules/nvidia.nix
+    ../../modules/gaming.nix
+  ];
+
+  networking.hostName = "nixos-pc";
+
+  # systemd-boot lives on this install's OWN ESP (on the 1TB WD SSD) and only
+  # serves NixOS generations. rEFInd on the NVMe ESP stays the top-level OS
+  # picker and auto-detects this as a new entry — do not add Windows/Arch
+  # entries here.
+  boot.loader = {
+    systemd-boot = {
+      enable = true;
+      configurationLimit = 10;
+    };
+    efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;
+  };
+
+  users.users.zephrynis = {
+    isNormalUser = true;
+    description = "zephrynis";
+    extraGroups = [ "wheel" "networkmanager" "video" "input" ];
+    shell = pkgs.fish; # end-4 dots are fish-centric
+  };
+  programs.fish.enable = true;
+
+  time.timeZone = "Europe/London";
+  i18n.defaultLocale = "en_GB.UTF-8";
+
+  # Set to the NixOS release of the ISO used at install time; never change afterwards.
+  system.stateVersion = "25.11";
+}

hosts/nixos-pc/hardware-configuration.nix

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+# PLACEHOLDER — on install day, overwrite this file with the one produced by
+#   nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
+# (it lands in /mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix), then `git add` it —
+# flakes only evaluate tracked files. The generated file adds the correct
+# boot.initrd.availableKernelModules for this machine.
+#
+# The labels below match the mkfs commands in README.md (mkfs.ext4 -L nixos,
+# mkfs.fat -n NIXBOOT), so this stub is bootable even before replacement.
+{ ... }:
+
+{
+  fileSystems."/" = {
+    device = "/dev/disk/by-label/nixos";
+    fsType = "ext4";
+  };
+
+  fileSystems."/boot" = {
+    device = "/dev/disk/by-label/NIXBOOT";
+    fsType = "vfat";
+    options = [ "fmask=0077" "dmask=0077" ];
+  };
+
+  swapDevices = [ ]; # 128GB RAM — no swap
+
+  hardware.cpu.intel.updateMicrocode = true;
+}

modules/core.nix

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+{ pkgs, ... }:
+
+{
+  nix.settings = {
+    experimental-features = [ "nix-command" "flakes" ];
+    auto-optimise-store = true;
+    trusted-users = [ "root" "@wheel" ];
+  };
+  nix.gc = {
+    automatic = true;
+    dates = "weekly";
+    options = "--delete-older-than 14d";
+  };
+
+  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
+
+  networking.networkmanager.enable = true; # required by illogical-flake
+
+  hardware.bluetooth = {
+    enable = true;
+    powerOnBoot = true;
+  };
+
+  services.pipewire = {
+    enable = true;
+    alsa.enable = true;
+    alsa.support32Bit = true;
+    pulse.enable = true;
+  };
+  security.rtkit.enable = true;
+
+  services.fstrim.enable = true;
+
+  # Read the Windows/data partitions when needed
+  boot.supportedFilesystems = [ "ntfs" ];
+
+  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
+    wget
+    curl
+    file
+    unzip
+    p7zip
+    pciutils
+    usbutils
+    efibootmgr # check/fix boot order so rEFInd stays first
+  ];
+}

modules/desktop.nix

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+{ pkgs, ... }:
+
+{
+  # System-side requirements of illogical-flake (the HM module does the rest)
+  programs.hyprland.enable = true;
+  services.geoclue2.enable = true; # QtPositioning — weather / night light widgets
+
+  services.displayManager.sddm = {
+    enable = true;
+    wayland.enable = true;
+  };
+
+  xdg.portal.extraPortals = [ pkgs.xdg-desktop-portal-gtk ]; # file pickers etc.
+
+  security.polkit.enable = true;
+  programs.dconf.enable = true;
+  services.gvfs.enable = true;
+  services.udisks2.enable = true;
+  services.upower.enable = true;
+
+  fonts.packages = with pkgs; [
+    # named by the illogical-flake README
+    rubik
+    nerd-fonts.ubuntu
+    nerd-fonts.jetbrains-mono
+    material-symbols
+    noto-fonts
+    noto-fonts-cjk-sans
+    noto-fonts-color-emoji
+  ];
+}

modules/gaming.nix

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+{ pkgs, ... }:
+
+{
+  programs.steam = {
+    enable = true;
+    remotePlay.openFirewall = true;
+    gamescopeSession.enable = true; # "Steam (gamescope)" session in SDDM
+    extraCompatPackages = [ pkgs.proton-ge-bin ];
+  };
+
+  programs.gamemode.enable = true;
+  programs.gamescope.enable = true;
+  # programs.gamescope.capSysNice = true; # left off — known to break gamescope under Steam
+
+  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
+    mangohud
+    protonup-qt
+  ];
+}

modules/nvidia.nix

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+{ config, ... }:
+
+{
+  services.xserver.videoDrivers = [ "nvidia" ];
+
+  hardware.graphics = {
+    enable = true;
+    enable32Bit = true; # Steam/Proton
+  };
+
+  hardware.nvidia = {
+    modesetting.enable = true; # nvidia-drm.modeset=1 — mandatory for Wayland
+    open = true; # RTX 3080 (Ampere): NVIDIA-recommended on driver >= 560
+    nvidiaSettings = true;
+    powerManagement.enable = true; # preserves VRAM across suspend — avoids Wayland resume corruption
+    powerManagement.finegrained = false; # desktop GPU
+    package = config.boot.kernelPackages.nvidiaPackages.stable;
+  };
+
+  boot.kernelParams = [ "nvidia_drm.fbdev=1" ];
+
+  environment.sessionVariables = {
+    LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME = "nvidia";
+    NVD_BACKEND = "direct";
+    ELECTRON_OZONE_PLATFORM_HINT = "auto";
+    # Fallbacks — only if symptoms appear (should be unnecessary with driver 560+ / explicit sync):
+    # WLR_NO_HARDWARE_CURSORS = "1";          # invisible/glitchy cursor
+    # __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME = "nvidia";   # Xwayland picks wrong GL vendor
+  };
+}