The release of NIXOS 23.11, based on the package manager NIX, has been presented. The release includes various developments that simplify system settings and support. NIXOS allows for system configuration through a single file, configuration.nix, and offers features such as rolling back to previous configurations, switching between system states, installing individual packages for users, and using multiple versions of a program.
The full installation image size for NIXOS with KDE is 2.5 GB, with GNOME it is 2.4 GB, and with the abbreviated console option it is 990 MB. More information can be found on the NIXOS website.
When using NIX, package assembly results are stored in a separate subdirectory in /NIX/Store. For example, the assembled Firefox package may be stored at /nix/store/1onlv6pc3ed4NSKG8EW4TWCFD0D5CE4EC5D4-firefox-120.1/, where the hash represents the dependencies and assembly instructions. Packages can also be downloaded from the hydra assembly service. Additionally, symbolic links to all packages are formed in a directory within the system or user profile, and this directory is added to the PATH list.
NIX is also the basis for the GNU GUIX package manager, and the package collection is available in the nixpkgs repository.
The main innovations in the NIXOS 23.11 release are:
- 9147 packages added, 4015 packages removed, and 18,700 packages updated.
- 49 new services added, including Wayfire composite server, Librenms monitoring system, remote access to Apache Guacamole, Systemd-Sysupdate, Ferretdb, NNCP, Virt-Manager, and Preload.
- The desktop in Fedora Workstation was updated with features such as a dynamic indicator of virtual desktops in the panel, improved search system performance, updated video and camera viewers, and changes to the display of side panels. The release also includes updates to GTK 4.12 and Libadwaita 1.4 libraries.
- The default version of LLVM is updated to version 16, previously proposing LLVM 11.