How to install Lemmy on NixOS Latest

Lemmy is a self-hosted federated alternative to Reddit which is written in Rust. It allows users to share and discuss content in communities known as "instances". In this tutorial, we will explain the steps to install Lemmy on NixOS Latest.

Step 1: Installation of NixOS

Before we can install Lemmy on NixOS, we first need to install NixOS. The following steps will guide you through the process of installing NixOS:

1. Download the NixOS ISO from the official website.
2. Burn the ISO to a USB drive using a tool like dd or Rufus.
3. Boot from the USB drive in your target machine.
4. Follow the instructions for installation provided by the NixOS installer.

Step 2: Adding the NixOS Community Channels

After installing NixOS, we need to add the NixOS community channels. This will enable us to install packages that are not available in the official NixOS repository. To do this, simply run the following command:

sudo nix-channel --add https://nixos.org/channels/nixos-20.09 nixos-community

Step 3: Installation of Docker

Lemmy can be installed using Docker. Therefore, we first need to install Docker on NixOS. This can be done using the following command:

sudo nix-env -i docker

Step 4: Installation of Lemmy

After installing Docker, we can now proceed to install Lemmy using Docker. The following steps will guide you through the process of installing Lemmy:

1. Create a new directory for Lemmy using the following command:

   sudo mkdir /var/lib/lemmy
   

2. Download the Lemmy Docker image using the following command:

   sudo docker pull dessalines/lemmy:latest
   

   This command will download the latest version of the Lemmy Docker image.

3. Start the Lemmy Docker container using the following command:

   sudo docker run -d --name=lemmy -p 127.0.0.1:8536:8536 -v /var/lib/lemmy:/data dessalines/lemmy:latest
   

   This command will start the Lemmy Docker container and make it available on port 8536.

4. Open your web browser and go to http://localhost:8536.

   You should see the Lemmy login page. You can now create a new account and start using Lemmy.

   NOTE: If you want to make Lemmy accessible from other machines on your network, you will need to change the -p option to the IP address of your machine.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have explained the steps to install Lemmy on NixOS Latest using Docker. Lemmy is a great open-source alternative to Reddit and can be self-hosted to give users control over their data on the platform.

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!