nixpkgs/nixos/doc/manual/man-nixos-install.xml

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<refmeta>
  <refentrytitle><command>nixos-install</command></refentrytitle>
  <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
  <refmiscinfo class="source">NixOS</refmiscinfo>
  <!-- <refmiscinfo class="version"><xi:include href="version.txt" parse="text"/></refmiscinfo> -->
</refmeta>

<refnamediv>
  <refname><command>nixos-install</command></refname>
  <refpurpose>install bootloader and NixOS</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>

<refsynopsisdiv>
  <cmdsynopsis>
    <command>nixos-install</command>
    <arg>
      <arg choice='plain'><option>-I</option></arg>
      <replaceable>path</replaceable>
    </arg>
    <arg>
      <arg choice='plain'><option>--root</option></arg>
      <replaceable>root</replaceable>
    </arg>
    <arg>
      <arg choice='plain'><option>--show-trace</option></arg>
    </arg>
    <arg>
      <arg choice='plain'><option>--chroot</option></arg>
    </arg>
    <arg>
      <arg choice='plain'><option>--help</option></arg>
    </arg>
  </cmdsynopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>


<refsection><title>Description</title>

<para>This command installs NixOS in the file system mounted on
<filename>/mnt</filename>, based on the NixOS configuration specified
in <filename>/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</filename>.  It performs
the following steps:

<itemizedlist>

  <listitem><para>It copies Nix and its dependencies to
  <filename>/mnt/nix/store</filename>.</para></listitem>

  <listitem><para>It runs Nix in <filename>/mnt</filename> to build
  the NixOS configuration specified in
  <filename>/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</filename>.</para></listitem>

  <listitem><para>It installs the GRUB boot loader on the device
  specified in the option <option>boot.loader.grub.device</option>,
  and generates a GRUB configuration file that boots into the NixOS
  configuration just installed.</para></listitem>

  <listitem><para>It prompts you for a password for the root
  account.</para></listitem>

</itemizedlist>

</para>

<para>This command is idempotent: if it is interrupted or fails due to
a temporary problem (e.g. a network issue), you can safely re-run
it.</para>

</refsection>

<refsection><title>Options</title>

<para>This command accepts the following options:</para>

<variablelist>

  <varlistentry>
    <term><option>--root</option></term>
    <listitem>
      <para>Defaults to <filename>/mnt</filename>. If this option is given, treat the directory
      <replaceable>root</replaceable> as the root of the NixOS installation.
      </para>
    </listitem>
  </varlistentry>

  <varlistentry>
    <term><option>-I</option></term>
    <listitem>
      <para>Add a path to the Nix expression search path. This option may be given multiple times.
        See the NIX_PATH environment variable for information on the semantics of the Nix search path.
        Paths added through <replaceable>-I</replaceable> take precedence over NIX_PATH.</para>
    </listitem>
  </varlistentry>

  <varlistentry>
    <term><option>--show-trace</option></term>
    <listitem>
      <para>Causes Nix to print out a stack trace in case of Nix expression evaluation errors.</para>
    </listitem>
  </varlistentry>

  <varlistentry>
    <term><option>--chroot</option></term>
    <listitem>
      <para>Chroot into given installation. Any additional arguments passed are going to be executed inside the chroot.
      </para>
    </listitem>
  </varlistentry>

  <varlistentry>
    <term><option>--help</option></term>
    <listitem>
      <para>Synonym for <command>man nixos-install</command>.</para>
    </listitem>
  </varlistentry>

</variablelist>

</refsection>


<refsection><title>Examples</title>

<para>A typical NixOS installation is done by creating and mounting a
file system on <filename>/mnt</filename>, generating a NixOS
configuration in
<filename>/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</filename>, and running
<command>nixos-install</command>.  For instance, if we want to install
NixOS on an <literal>ext4</literal> file system created in
<filename>/dev/sda1</filename>:

<screen>
$ mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1
$ mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
$ nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
$ # edit /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
$ nixos-install
$ reboot
</screen>

</para>

</refsection>

</refentry>