Casey J Robinson nt76022

Summary

After spending significant time using NixOS, I decided to move back to a more traditional Linux distribution. This wasn’t because NixOS is bad — it’s powerful — but because it wasn’t aligned with my current learning and career goals.

What I Loved About NixOS

NixOS is a declarative operating system. Instead of manually installing packages one by one, everything is defined in configuration files.

That means:

• Reproducible systems
• Clean rollbacks
• Immutable infrastructure
• Powerful DevOps-style workflows

It gave me the “immutable system” I always wanted.

Why

To remove friction from my daily workflow, to never waste time searching, and to have my environment anticipate my needs.
My desktop is not a playground of floating windows or clutter like Microsoft Windows — it is a streamlined system that has grown over years of refining, testing, and learning from others.

Core Principles

1. Never Search For Anything

• Every app has a home.
• I keep at least three essentials open at all times:
  1. Terminal → to destroy and rebuild my system as needed.
  2. Web Browser → to consume, test, and overload my memory.
  3. Notes App → to capture thoughts, configs, and system insights.
• These live in workspaces 1–3 in Hyprland. No digging. No hunting. Always there.

Philosophy: If it’s important, it already has a place. I’m not “finding” — I’m jumping.

I love NixOS. It’s one of the most unique and powerful Linux distributions out there. The idea of a fully declarative system—where everything is managed in a single configuration file—is amazing. It gives me confidence and clarity. I always know what’s on my machine, where things are configured, and how to recreate it exactly on another system.

But ironically, the same thing I love about NixOS is also why I’m stepping away from it—for now.