NixOS Wiki – the unofficial user wiki(nixos.wiki)

48 pointsby c0baltvor 3 Jahren14 comments

https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Main_Page

14 comments

joooschavor 3 Jahren

One big issue with the NixOS wiki is that the maintainer of the web server is unresponsive for a long time [0]. Therefore, the wiki software is really out of date and using the page editor is a real pain in the butt [1].

I tried to write more for the wiki while learning things about NixOS. But it's so annoying to make changes that I eventually gave up.

I really like NixOS and Nix in general, it just lacks a central and organized, community maintained documentation like the Arch wiki. So, I hope either the maintainer will eventually become available again (unlikely IMO) and update the server, or we could mirror the current wiki on a new server.

[0] - https://github.com/nix-community/wiki/issues/46

[1] - https://github.com/nix-community/wiki/issues/40

winny314vor 3 Jahren

I share your concerns. I've been chatting with a few people about this and made various false starts... It might not be my project, but I felt I could write down the risks I saw in how the wiki is ran: https://nixos.wiki/wiki/User:Winny/WikiRisks (including vulnerable server software)

joooschavor 3 Jahren

The next big problem with NixOS documentation is that there are a lot of smaller tutorials scattered around the web. Every page with a different style, focus, and depth.

What we need is one central wiki, where any problem search can begin. This is what makes the Arch wiki so great.

freeerevor 3 Jahren

And why don't you setup a new server yourself but instead just complain and wait?

Also your cves if they are real why not showing how to exploit them?

Mic92vor 3 Jahren

Because forking is also expensive and people would need to discover the new domain. Otherwise I would already have done it. We already have the issue of having too many different sources of documentation. And hacking the wiki is the last thing I want to do... I don't want get visits from the police from $someone.

winny314vor 3 Jahren

Agreed. We want the wiki to listen to the community's needs and ensure continuity of it. This means a team is likely needed.

fortunateregardvor 3 Jahren

It would be useful if the wiki articles showed a 'last modified at' date. Articles like this [0] dominate search results, but it's not clear how outdated the info is.

In case anyone is looking for an up-to-date NixOS guide/cookbook, I've found lots of value in this [1] resource.

[0] - https://nixos.wiki/wiki/PulseAudio

[1] - https://nixos-and-flakes.thiscute.world/

qazxcvbnmvor 3 Jahren

[1] link doesn't work for me, any mirrors?

fortunateregardvor 3 Jahren

Here is the source on github in case you're still unable to access the page: https://github.com/ryan4yin/nixos-and-flakes-book

hollandheesevor 3 Jahren

Best thing about Arch is its documentation. Worst thing about Nix is its documentation.

Mic92vor 3 Jahren

The nixos module and their tests make it very discoverable how to run many services. Where in arch I actually have to read where programs put there configuration, in NixOS I can already start configuring. Also github search is very value just put the nixos option + lang:nix and you find tons of examples.

msm_vor 3 Jahren

It's not that bad if you just want to use/configure existing software - I often find exactly what I'm looking for by googling "[software i want to use] nixos". It gets harder when you start to write your own derivations.

ydlrvor 3 Jahren

That is true of any distro. Packaging software for NixOS is still easier than arch or Debian.

RealStickman_vor 3 Jahren

I maintain multiple packages on the AUR and PKGBUILDs are pretty easy to understand imo. I only had a look at one or two Nix package builds and they seemed much more complex to me.