this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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As in, build a NixOS VM that's otherwise the exact same as your current system but with a different DE enabled.
nixos-rebuild build-vmThat's a really cool feature
wow. I gotta check out nixos. That is incredible. Do you happen to know if fedora silverbue or any of the other immutable distros do this, or is this something specific to nixos?
Guix might also be able to do this but I don't think the others can.
This relies on NixOS' declarative configuration which Silverbluae and the like do not have; they are configured imperatively.
I did some research yesterday and it looks like silver blue has some rebase command that does something similar. Universal Blue is using that to make it easy to switch between DEs, netting a very similar result!
Thanks for explaining. I've come across build-vm and I should really try it out. Rebooting just to roll back isn't fun
Well, you can roll back with a switch too; no reboot required.
The VM protects you from accidental state modification however (i.e. programs enabled by some DE by default writing their config files everwhere) and its ephemeral nature makes a few things easier.
I've had some changes where I had to logout after a switch, so this should help sometimes.