Welcome to my NixOS configuration! This is my personal setup running on a Dell Latitude 7490, featuring a sleek Qtile window manager with a Tokyo Night theme aesthetic. Built for coding, gaming, and general tech tinkering.

📚 Documentation

New to this repo? Start here:

⚡ Quick Start Guide - Get up and running in minutes
🏗️ Architecture Overview - Understand how everything fits together
📦 Module Guide - Deep dive into each configuration module

📂 Repository Structure

nixos-dotfiles/
├── flake.nix              # Main flake configuration
├── flake.lock             # Dependency lock file
│
├── hosts/                 # Host-specific configurations
│   └── nixos-btw/        # This machine's config
│       ├── default.nix          # Entry point
│       ├── hardware-configuration.nix
│       └── home.nix             # Home Manager config
│
├── modules/               # Reusable configuration modules
│   ├── nixos/            # System-level (requires sudo)
│   │   ├── core.nix            # Boot, networking, users
│   │   ├── packages.nix        # System packages & fonts
│   │   ├── services.nix        # System services
│   │   └── wallpapers.nix      # Custom wallpapers
│   │
│   └── home-manager/     # User-level (no sudo)
│       ├── apps.nix            # User packages
│       ├── git.nix             # Git configuration
│       ├── shell.nix           # Bash configuration
│       └── devshell-scripts.nix # Dev environment scripts
│
├── config/                # Application dotfiles
│   ├── nvim/             # Neovim configuration
│   ├── qtile/            # Qtile WM configuration
│   ├── rofi/             # Rofi launcher
│   ├── picom/            # Compositor
│   └── kitty/            # Terminal emulator
│
└── docs/                  # Documentation
    ├── ARCHITECTURE.md         # System architecture
    ├── QUICK_START.md          # Installation guide
    └── MODULE_GUIDE.md         # Module documentation

🎨 The Setup

OS: NixOS 25.05 (Stable)
WM: Qtile
Terminal: Kitty with Lilex Nerd Font
Editor: Neovim (heavily customized)
Launcher: Rofi
Compositor: Picom
Theme: Tokyo Night everywhere

✨ Features

🎯 Declarative Configuration: Everything is version-controlled and reproducible
🌊 Flakes-Based: Modern Nix flakes for dependency management
🏠 Home Manager Integration: User-level package and config management
🔧 LSP-Powered Neovim: Pre-configured for Lua, PHP, TypeScript, Rust, Zig, C/C++, Nix, Haskell, and more
🎨 Consistent Theming: Tokyo Night colors across all applications
⚡ Performance Optimized: Lightweight and snappy on a Dell Latitude 7490
🐳 Docker Ready: Rootless Docker setup included

📦 Key Applications

Development

Neovim with LSP, Treesitter, Telescope, and Harpoon
Kitty terminal with custom Tokyo Night theme
Git + Lazygit + GitHub CLI
Language servers for multiple languages (no Mason, pure system packages!)
Zellij and Tmux for terminal multiplexing

Productivity

Firefox as default browser
LibreOffice suite
Rofi for application launching
Yazi terminal file manager
Custom shell aliases for efficiency

System Tools

Flatpak support for additional apps
Tailscale for secure networking
Blueman for Bluetooth management
Dunst for notifications
Screenshot tools (Maim + Slop)

🎯 Quick Start

For First-Time Users

Read the documentation first:
- Start with Quick Start Guide
- Understand the Architecture
- Review Module Guide for customization
Clone and customize:

git clone https://github.com/BalrajSinghGidda/nixos-dotfiles ~/nixos-dotfiles
cd ~/nixos-dotfiles

Important: Update for your system:
- Copy your hardware config: sudo cp /etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix hosts/nixos-btw/
- Update username in hosts/nixos-btw/home.nix and modules/nixos/core.nix
- Update Git info in modules/home-manager/git.nix
Apply the configuration:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/nixos-dotfiles/#nixos-btw

See the Quick Start Guide for detailed instructions!

🔥 Custom Aliases

I've set up some handy aliases that make life easier:

nc          # Open Neovim in nixos-dotfiles directory
btw         # Echo "I use NixOS, btw" (obviously)
nrs         # Rebuild NixOS system
edit-config # Edit system configuration
ls          # Enhanced ls with eza (icons, git status, etc.)
cd          # Smart directory jumping with zoxide

⌨️ Neovim Keybinds

My Neovim setup is highly customized. Here are some key bindings:

Leader key: <Space>

Essential Binds

<leader>cd - Open file explorer
<leader>ff - Find files (Telescope)
<leader>fg - Live grep
<leader>fb - Browse buffers
<leader>a - Add file to Harpoon
<C-e> - Toggle Harpoon menu
<leader>u - Toggle Undotree

LSP

gd - Go to definition
gr - Show references
K - Hover documentation
<F2> - Rename symbol
<F3> - Format code
<F4> - Code actions

Check config/nvim/README.md for the complete keybind list!

🎨 Theme Customization

The Tokyo Night theme is applied consistently across:

Qtile status bar and window decorations
Kitty terminal colors
Neovim syntax highlighting
Rofi launcher

Want to change themes? Update the color schemes in:

config/kitty/kitty.conf
config/nvim/lua/plugins/colors.lua
config/rofi/tokyonight.rasi
config/qtile/config.py

🛠️ Development Environments

I use direnv for project-specific development environments. Create dev shells easily:

make-py-devshell   # Python development shell
make-cpp-devshell  # C++ development shell

📱 System Specs

My setup runs on:

Model: Dell Latitude 7490
CPU: Intel (with KVM support)
Storage: NVMe SSD
Audio: PipeWire + PulseAudio
Bluetooth: Bluez with experimental features

🔧 Troubleshooting

Rebuilding fails?

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/nixos-dotfiles/#nixos-btw --show-trace

LSP not working?

Check if language servers are installed:

# Example for Lua
which lua-language-server

# Example for PHP
which intelephense

Home Manager conflicts?

Home Manager creates backups with .backup extension. Check those files if configs aren't applying.

🛠️ Makefile Commands

This repo includes a Makefile for common tasks:

make switch   # Apply configuration
make test     # Test without switching
make build    # Build without activating
make update   # Update dependencies
make clean    # Remove old generations
make check    # Validate flake
make fmt      # Format Nix files

🤝 Contributing

Want to improve this configuration? Check out CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines!

Quick tips:

Fork and customize for your own use
Open issues for bugs or questions
Submit PRs for improvements
Keep changes focused and well-documented

📚 Resources

🤝 Contributing

Found something cool? Want to suggest improvements? Feel free to open an issue or PR!

📄 License

This is my personal configuration, but you're free to use, modify, and share it. No formal license - just have fun with it!

🎮 Fun Facts

This config has been battle-tested through countless coding sessions
The entire setup can be reproduced on any NixOS machine in minutes
My terminal startup time shows nitch stats because why not? 😎
The 80-column guide in Neovim keeps my code clean and readable

📞 Connect

GitHub: @AnonoyStar-Coder
LinkedIn: Balraj Singh
X (Twitter): @Balraj77306947
Bluesky: @balraj.link

Made with ❤️ and lots of ☕ by Balraj Singh Gidda

P.S. Yes, I do use NixOS. And yes, I will tell you about it. 😄