How to Install Blog on NixOS Latest

This tutorial will guide you through the steps required to install the Blog application from https://github.com/m1k1o/blog on NixOS Latest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

• NixOS Latest installed
• Git installed
• Basic knowledge of NixOS configuration files

Step 1 - Clone the GitHub repository

Start by cloning the blog repository from GitHub. Open a terminal and run the following command:

git clone https://github.com/m1k1o/blog

This will clone the repository to your current directory.

Step 2 - Install Nix

If you have not yet installed Nix, you can install it by running the following command:

sudo sh <(curl https://nixos.org/nix/install) --daemon

Step 3 - Create a NixOS Configuration File

Create a new NixOS configuration file by running the following command:

sudo nano /etc/nixos/configuration.nix

Add the following lines to the configuration file:

{ config, pkgs, ... }:

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

  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    git
    nodejs
    vim
    # Add any other packages you might need
  ];

  services.httpd = {
    enable = true;
    documentRoot = "/var/www";
    adminAddr = "admin@example.com";
    virtualHosts."blog.example.com" = {
      documentRoot = "/var/www/blog";
      extraConfig = ''
        RewriteEngine on
        RewriteRule (.*) http://localhost:3000$1 [P]
      '';
    };
  };

  systemd.services.blog = {
    description = "Blog Service";
    after = [ "network.target" ];

    # Add any other environment variables you need
    environment = {
      PORT = "3000";
      NODE_ENV = "production";
    };

    # Change this to the actual path of the cloned repository
    execStart = "${pkgs.nodejs}/bin/node /path/to/cloned/repository/bin/www";

    # Add any other dependencies you might need
    requires = [ "network.target" ];
    type = "simple";
    user = "root";
  };
}

Replace /path/to/cloned/repository/ with the actual path to the cloned blog repository.

The above configuration installs the required packages, sets up an HTTP server with a redirect to the blog service running on port 3000, and starts the blog service as a systemd service.

Step 4 - Activate the New Configuration

Activate the new configuration using the following command:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch

This will rebuild and switch to the new configuration.

Step 5 - Run the Blog Application

To run the blog application, navigate to the cloned repository directory and run the following command:

npm start

This will start the application on port 3000.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have shown you how to install the Blog application on NixOS Latest. With this knowledge, you can easily host your own blog and customize it to your liking.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!