If your machine doesn't currently have an operating system installed, you can still run nixos-anywhere remotely to automate the install. To do this, you would first need to boot the target machine from the standard NixOS installer. You can either boot from a USB or use netboot.
The NixOS installation guide has detailed instructions on how to boot the installer.
When you run nixos-anywhere, it will determine whether a NixOS installer is present by checking whether the /etc/os-release file contains the identifier VARIANT_ID=installer. This identifier is available on releases NixOS 23.05 or later.
If an installer is detected, nixos-anywhere will not attempt to kexec into its own image. This is particularly useful for targets that don't have enough RAM for kexec or don't support kexec.
NixOS starts an SSH server on the installer by default, but you need to set a password in order to access it.
NixOS is a Linux distribution where everything is described as code, with one exception: during installation, the disk partitioning and formatting are manual steps. disko aims to correct this sad 🤡 omission.
This is especially useful for unattended installations, re-installation after a system crash or for setting up more than one identical server.
Setting up a new machine is time-consuming, and becomes complicated when it needs to be done remotely. If you're installing NixOS, the nixos-anywhere tool allows you to pre-configure the whole process including:
- Disk partitioning and formatting
- Configuring and installing NixOS
- Installing additional files and software
You can then initiate an unattended installation with a single CLI command. Since nixos-anywhere can access the new machine using SSH, it's ideal for remote installations.
Once you have initiated the command, there is no need to 'babysit' the installation. It all happens automatically.
You can use the stored configuration to repeat the same installation if you need to.
Setting up a new machine is time-consuming, and becomes complicated when it needs to be done remotely. If you're installing NixOS, the nixos-anywhere tool allows you to pre-configure the whole process including:
- Disk partitioning and formatting
- Configuring and installing NixOS
- Installing additional files and software
You can then initiate an unattended installation with a single CLI command. Since nixos-anywhere can access the new machine using SSH, it's ideal for remote installations.
Once you have initiated the command, there is no need to 'babysit' the installation. It all happens automatically.
You can use the stored configuration to repeat the same installation if you need to.