# Aider chat conversation:
USER: Let's add documentation for building a livecd using this flake to our `README.md`
ASSISTANT: To add documentation for building a livecd using this flake to the `README.md` file, we need to:
1. Append the new documentation to the end of the `README.md` file.
Here is the *SEARCH/REPLACE* block:
README.md
<source>
<<<<<<< SEARCH
=======
## Building a LiveCD
To build a livecd using this flake, you can use the following command:
```bash
nix build .#nixosConfigurations.<your-configuration>.config.system.build.isoImage
```
Replace `<your-configuration>` with the name of your configuration (for example, `athame` or `metatron`). This will create an ISO image that you can burn to a CD or write to a USB stick.
Please note that the resulting livecd will be a minimal system with the same packages and configuration as your system, but without any user data. It can be used for installation or recovery purposes.
>>>>>>> REPLACE
</source>
# Aider chat conversation:
USER: I ran this command:
nixos-rebuild build-vm --flake ./#athame
And got this output:
building the system configuration...
warning: Git tree '/home/traverseda/Code/nixos-config' is dirty
error:
… while calling the 'derivationStrict' builtin
at /builtin/derivation.nix:9:12: (source not available)
… while evaluating derivation 'nixos-vm'
whose name attribute is located at /nix/store/0yzh1r9mhsr4vp5w96y3i0jgz3m2qzv6-source/pkgs/stdenv/generic/make-derivation.nix:303:7
… while evaluating attribute 'buildCommand' of derivation 'nixos-vm'
at /nix/store/0yzh1r9mhsr4vp5w96y3i0jgz3m2qzv6-source/pkgs/build-support/trivial-builders/default.nix:87:14:
86| enableParallelBuilding = true;
87| inherit buildCommand name;
| ^
88| passAsFile = [ "buildCommand" ]
(stack trace truncated; use '--show-trace' to show the full trace)
error: attribute 'hostname' missing
at /nix/store/ds44l4g1yz0dd3ssqhlpv4r6wwh8p6r0-source/nixos/configuration.nix:77:25:
76| # TODO: Set your hostname
77| networking.hostName = inputs.hostname;
| ^
78|
ASSISTANT: The error message indicates that the attribute 'hostname' is missing. This is likely because the `inputs` in `nixos/configuration.nix` does not contain a `hostname` attribute.
The `hostname` attribute is defined in `flake.nix` under `nixosConfigurations` for each system (like `athame` and `metatron`). However, this `hostname` attribute is not being passed to `nixos/configuration.nix`.
To fix this, we need to modify `nixos/configuration.nix` to accept `hostname` as an argument.
Here is the *SEARCH/REPLACE* block:
nixos/configuration.nix
```nix
<<<<<<< SEARCH
{
inputs,
outputs,
lib,
config,
pkgs,
...
}: {
=======
{ inputs, outputs, lib, config, pkgs, hostname, ... }: {
>>>>>>> REPLACE
```
This change will allow `nixos/configuration.nix` to accept `hostname` as an argument. Now, when you run the command `nixos-rebuild build-vm --flake ./#athame`, the `hostname` attribute from `flake.nix` will be passed to `nixos/configuration.nix`, and the error should be resolved.
# Aider chat conversation:
USER: I'm a bit concerned about setting the hostname in `nixos/configuration.nix` , as I want to use the same basic configuration for all of my devices
ASSISTANT: I understand your concern. You can use a variable for the hostname in `nixos/configuration.nix` and pass it in from the `flake.nix` file when defining the `nixosConfigurations`. This way, you can have the same default `nixos/configuration.nix` for every system and just change the hostname for each system in the `flake.nix` file.
Here are the *SEARCH/REPLACE* blocks:
flake.nix
```nix
<<<<<<< SEARCH
athame = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
specialArgs = {inherit inputs outputs;};
=======
athame = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
specialArgs = {inherit inputs outputs; hostname = "athame";};
>>>>>>> REPLACE
```
flake.nix
```nix
<<<<<<< SEARCH
metatron = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
specialArgs = {inherit inputs outputs;};
=======
metatron = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
specialArgs = {inherit inputs outputs; hostname = "metatron";};
>>>>>>> REPLACE
```
nixos/configuration.nix
```nix
<<<<<<< SEARCH
networking.hostName = "your-hostname";
=======
networking.hostName = inputs.hostname;
>>>>>>> REPLACE
```
This will replace the hardcoded hostname in `nixos/configuration.nix` with a reference to the hostname defined in the `flake.nix` file.
# Aider chat conversation:
USER: Let's create the kde-desktop.nix
ASSISTANT: Sure, let's create a new file `nixos/kde-desktop.nix` with a basic KDE desktop configuration.
Here is the *SEARCH/REPLACE* block:
nixos/kde-desktop.nix
```nix
<<<<<<< SEARCH
=======
{ config, pkgs, lib, ... }:
{
# Enable the KDE Desktop Environment.
services.xserver.displayManager.sddm.enable = true;
services.xserver.desktopManager.plasma5.enable = true;
# Define a user account. Don't forget to set a password with ‘passwd’.
users.users.jane = {
isNormalUser = true;
extraGroups = [ "wheel" ]; # Enable ‘sudo’ for the user.
};
# This value determines the NixOS release from which the default
# settings for stateful data, like file locations and database versions
# on your system were taken. It‘s perfectly fine and recommended to leave
# this value at the release version of the first install of this system.
# Before changing this value read the documentation for this option
# (e.g. man configuration.nix or on https://nixos.org/nixos/options.html).
system.stateVersion = "23.05"; # Did you read the comment?
}
>>>>>>> REPLACE
```
This is a basic KDE desktop configuration. You can customize it according to your needs.
Alex Davies
traverseda