Ben Gubler
Ben Gubler
•2 min read

Nix macOS Starter: Declarative Development Setup with Mise

Starter Nix config for macOS using nix-darwin, home-manager, and mise.

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I decided to learn Nix on Saturday. After hours of work, I came up with this configuration. Shoutout to my friend Ethan Niser who gave me the idea and whose config I started out with.

Setting up a new Mac for development is painful. You install Homebrew, Node via nvm, Python via pyenv, configure your shell, install GUI apps individually, and hope you remember everything when switching machines.

Nix makes your entire system configuration declarative and reproducible, but most configurations online are too complex for beginners or assume Linux knowledge.

nix-macos-starter is a beginner-friendly Nix configuration that includes development tools (mise for runtime management, CLI tools, formatters), GUI applications via Homebrew, and system configuration with sensible defaults.

Replace a few placeholders, run one command, and you have a fully configured development environment.

Installation

  1. Install Nix using the Determinate Systems installer. Download the graphical installer for macOS and restart your terminal after installation.

  2. Install Homebrew from brew.sh for GUI applications.

  3. Clone and configure:

    git clone https://github.com/nebrelbug/nix-macos-starter ~/.config/nix
cd ~/.config/nix

  4. For Intel Macs: Change "aarch64-darwin" to "x86_64-darwin" in flake.nix line 28.

  5. Replace placeholders in these files:

    • modules/git.nix: YOUR_NAME, YOUR_EMAIL, YOUR_USERNAME
    • modules/home-manager.nix: YOUR_USERNAME
    • platforms/darwin.nix: YOUR_USERNAME (appears 3 times)
    • hosts/my-macbook/configuration.nix: YOUR_USERNAME

  6. Build and switch:

    darwin-rebuild switch --flake .#my-macbook

After initial setup, use the nix-switch alias to rebuild your configuration.

Customization

  • Add CLI tools: Edit the packages array in modules/home-manager.nix
  • Add GUI apps: Edit the casks array in modules/homebrew-common.nix
  • Add development tools: Add ${pkgs.mise}/bin/mise use --global tool@version to the activation script in modules/home-manager.nix
  • Host-specific config: Use hosts/my-macbook/configuration.nix for machine-specific packages and settings

Repository: github.com/nebrelbug/nix-macos-starter

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