Config Management Camp 2024 Ghent

Using NixOS to generate all kinds of images
2024-02-06, 15:55–16:45, B.Con

Have you ever wondered if it'd be possible to generate different kinds of images with only one expression? One expression to generate a VM, Docker container, static binary, and more. Sounds good, right?


Nix and NixOS have a superpower. That superpower being it doesn't care what it's running on. Want to run your application inside a VM completely managed by NixOS/systemd, we've got you covered. Want to run that same application—with minimal changes—inside a Docker container, sure. What if I roll my own service management, and don't trust systemd or NixOS? Well, you could just build the static binary with that same Nix expression!

Using Nix/NixOS to generate "images" for your deployment target has many benefits when compared to other solutions. Let me show you how you can get started using Nix/NixOS in this way.

Bryan's been interested in computing for as long as he can remember. Even studying electronic engineering, just to understand how a computer could add 2 numbers together on a transistor level.

Recently, he's been interested in the smaller details of operating systems. How they work, why they look they way they do, and why LISP machines never took off.

Please don't hesitate to approach him about anything tech, or music, related. But, be warned, he has a tendency to just keep on talking once he gets going.

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