So, I got into NixOS and installed it on a VPS a few days ago. I’ve previously used yunohost.org (a debian based all-in-one selfhosting solution) and docker-compose. But I (now) really like the Nix(OS) approach, the amount of packaged software and how everything ties together in a clean server configuration.

However… I need a bit more information on the server stuff. Are there nice configurations around which I can incorporate and learn from? Extensive tutorials from other people who run their own services or communities?

I mean the basic stuff isn’t a problem. I got Nextcloud and the most important stuff running, a DNS Adblocker, a chat server, nginx etc. But ultimately I’d like to share some services with friends and family. So I need single sign-on (SSO), preferably with an LDAP directory. An email server… And the Wiki and just googling it stop being helpful at this point.

Are there people who share their experience with LDAP/Authentik/Zitadel/Authelia/Keycloak / whatever SSO/Authentication software is packaged in Nix but I can’t find anything about from people who actually use it? A comparison of the several available email servers?

  • h3ndrik@feddit.deOP
    3·
    10 months ago

    Wow. Thanks. Guess the “your previous linux knowledge doesn’t really apply to NixOS” is correct. I already found the lengthy lists of stuff to read up on… I’ll add this to my “read later” list :-D

    Stalwart sounds nice, too. Since I’m just setting everything up, maybe I can try both mailservers. I’ve now had 2 people recommend the simple nixos-mailserver.

    • nrbray
      2·
      10 months ago

      Great, please may I ask if you would share other sources worth reading.

      I think previous Linux knowledge helps, just less needed for newcomers; NixOS has been described as capturing others’ 20 years experience for us to use. Nixos-mailserver is a great example. I used that out of the box and only with user knowledge of NixOS, none of mail tools. Otherwise mail servers are too hard I gathered.

      I’ve found lots more to learn about Nix for development environments.

      You might want to use nixos-mailserver first for production - after my research I was gobsmacked at how quickly it went. I relied totally on NixOS. Your milage might vary but I’d be shocked if it takes less than 10 times as long another way.

      • h3ndrik@feddit.deOP
        2·
        10 months ago

        Uh, just tried to install Stalwart, the Rust mailserver suite. It’s nice. But you have to switch to nixos-unstable to get some important features as of now. And then I can’t find any resources on how to set it up. Meaning there are no sane defaults floating around on the internet and it’s really a chore to learn the internals and come up with a proper config. Maybe the nix-mailserver is a better choice for now.

        • nrbray
          2·
          10 months ago

          Good that you tried. Nix simple mailserver is really neat. I am very pleased with it. I feel something like stalwart might take years to mature, but worth watching.