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howto-install-nixos-on-virtualbox.md

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How to install nixos on VirtualBox

Used software:

  • NixOS 19.09
  • VirtualBox 6.0

Download minimal iso

see https://nixos.org/nixos/download.html for latest iso

Create a virtual machine

Create a new virtual machine in VirtualBox with

  • Type: Linux
  • Version: Other Linux (64-bit)

In order to use automatic screen resizing you need to adjust these settings:

  • Display / Screen / Graphics Controller: VBoxVGA

Override video drivers in /etc/nixos/configuration.nix (xserver won't start with VBoxVGA and without this option)

services.xserver.videoDrivers = mkOverride 40 [ "virtualbox" "vmware" "cirrus" "vesa" "modesetting"];

Note: In order to use mkOverride ensure your configuration.nix

Installation

Mount latest iso for minimal installation and boot virtual machine.

Change keyboard if applicable.

sudo loadkeys de

Partioning depends 1) if you want to use mbr or gpt is partition table and b) if you need a swap partition. Most simple would be MBR + No Swap Partition. In this example a 2GB swap parition will be configured.

sudo su

# partition table
parted /dev/sda mktable msdos

# swap partition
parted /dev/sda -- mkpart primary linux-swap 0% 2GiB
mkswap -L swap /dev/sda1
swapon /dev/sda1

# root partition
parted /dev/sda -- mkpart primary ext4 2GiB 100%
parted /dev/sda set 2 boot on
mkfx.ext4 -L nixos /dev/sda2
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

Generate initial nixos configuration.

nixos-generate-configuration --root /mnt

Adjust configuration to your needs.

nano /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix

Example configuration

# Edit this configuration file to define what should be installed on
# your system.  Help is available in the configuration.nix(5) man page
# and in the NixOS manual (accessible by running ‘nixos-help’).

{ config, pkgs, lib, ... }:

with lib;

{
  imports =
    [ # Include the results of the hardware scan.
      ./hardware-configuration.nix
    ];

  # Use the GRUB 2 boot loader.
  boot.loader.grub.enable = true;
  boot.loader.grub.version = 2;
  # boot.loader.grub.efiSupport = true;
  # boot.loader.grub.efiInstallAsRemovable = true;
  # boot.loader.efi.efiSysMountPoint = "/boot/efi";
  # Define on which hard drive you want to install Grub.
  boot.loader.grub.device = "/dev/sda"; # or "nodev" for efi only

  # networking.hostName = "nixos"; # Define your hostname.
  # networking.wireless.enable = true;  # Enables wireless support via wpa_supplicant.

  # The global useDHCP flag is deprecated, therefore explicitly set to false here.
  # Per-interface useDHCP will be mandatory in the future, so this generated config
  # replicates the default behaviour.
  networking.useDHCP = false;
  networking.interfaces.enp0s3.useDHCP = true;

  # Configure network proxy if necessary
  # networking.proxy.default = "http://user:password@proxy:port/";
  # networking.proxy.noProxy = "127.0.0.1,localhost,internal.domain";

  # Select internationalisation properties.
  i18n = {
    consoleFont = "Lat2-Terminus16";
    consoleKeyMap = "de";
    defaultLocale = "en_GB.UTF-8";
  };

  # Set your time zone.
  time.timeZone = "Europe/Berlin";

  # List packages installed in system profile. To search, run:
  # $ nix search wget
  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    kate firefox git
  ];
  
  environment.etc."gitconfig".text = ''
    [user]
      name = Benjamin Asbach
      email = [email protected]
  '';

  # Some programs need SUID wrappers, can be configured further or are
  # started in user sessions.
  # programs.mtr.enable = true;
  # programs.gnupg.agent = { enable = true; enableSSHSupport = true; };

  # List services that you want to enable:

  # Enable the OpenSSH daemon.
  # services.openssh.enable = true;

  # Open ports in the firewall.
  # networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ ... ];
  # networking.firewall.allowedUDPPorts = [ ... ];
  # Or disable the firewall altogether.
  # networking.firewall.enable = false;

  # Enable CUPS to print documents.
  # services.printing.enable = true;

  # Enable sound.
  # sound.enable = true;
  # hardware.pulseaudio.enable = true;

  # Enable the X11 windowing system.
  services.xserver.enable = true;
  services.xserver.layout = "de";
  # services.xserver.xkbOptions = "eurosign:e";

  # Enable touchpad support.
  # services.xserver.libinput.enable = true;

  # Enable the KDE Desktop Environment.
  services.xserver.displayManager.sddm.enable = true;
  services.xserver.desktopManager.plasma5.enable = true;

  services.xserver.videoDrivers = mkOverride 40 ["virtualbox" "vmware" "cirrus" "vesa" "modesetting"];

  # Define a user account. Don't forget to set a password with ‘passwd’.
  users.users.vm = {
    isNormalUser = true;
    extraGroups = [ "wheel" "vboxsf" ]; # Enable ‘sudo’ for the user.
  };

  # This value determines the NixOS release with which your system is to be
  # compatible, in order to avoid breaking some software such as database
  # servers. You should change this only after NixOS release notes say you
  # should.
  system.stateVersion = "19.09"; # Did you read the comment?

}

Install nixos.

nixos-install