Nix jargon, translated - The Nix Arms

A save point for your whole system. You can boot into any of them.

“Apply my changes.” You edit the file, then rebuild to make it real.

The cellar. Where every package lives, and the place you search for apps.

A recipe with the exact version of every ingredient written on it. Same pint, every time.

The same idea, for your own apps and dotfiles rather than the whole system.

Saying what you want, not the steps to get there. Like ordering, not brewing.

The main file that describes your machine. On a fresh install it lives in /etc/nixos/.

Which barrel you’re pouring from: a stable release (like 26.05) or unstable, which updates continuously.

The cellar floor, at /nix/store. Every package version sits in its own folder, so nothing overwrites anything else.

Nix’s word for a build recipe: the exact inputs and steps that produce one package.

A way to swap or tweak packages in nixpkgs. Your own house brew on the same tap.

A chunk of configuration you can switch on with one line, like programs.steam.enable = true;.

A temporary room with extra tools in it. Leave the room and the tools are gone.

Clearing the empties: nix-collect-garbage removes old generations and packages nothing uses any more.