# Migrating an existing NixOS machine to Nomarchy (no reinstall)

If your machine already runs NixOS, you do **not** need the installer or a
reformat to adopt Nomarchy. Nomarchy is a flake; "installing" it onto an
existing NixOS box means pointing `nixos-rebuild` at a Nomarchy‑based flake
that reuses your current `hardware-configuration.nix`. Nothing repartitions,
and your `/home` is never written to by an activation.

This guide is written generically, with **TuringMachine** — a Lenovo AMD
Ryzen 7840U / Radeon 780M laptop, LUKS + btrfs, systemd‑boot — as the
concrete worked example. Substitute your own values where called out.

> **The promise:** every step below is reversible. You keep three
> independent rollback nets (NixOS generations, a btrfs snapshot, and the
> fact that `nixos-rebuild test` never changes the boot default), and your
> files live on a separate subvolume that no config switch touches.

---

## 0. Is your machine a good candidate?

Migration is cleanest when your machine already matches Nomarchy's
assumptions. Check each:

| Nomarchy expects | Check it | If it differs |
|---|---|---|
| **systemd‑boot** | `bootctl status` → "Product: systemd‑boot" | GRUB works too; keep your loader config in `system.nix` |
| **btrfs** with `@`/`@home` subvolumes | `findmnt -t btrfs` | ext4/xfs boot fine — you just don't get snapshots |
| `@snapshots` + `@home-snapshots` subvols | in `findmnt` output | snapper features need them; create them or skip snapshots |
| **LUKS** (optional, themed prompt) | `lsblk -f` shows `crypto_LUKS` | none — LUKS is optional |
| Already a **flake** config | `test -f /etc/nixos/flake.nix` | fine either way; you'll write a fresh flake regardless |

**Installer vs migration snapshot layout.** A fresh Nomarchy install
(disko) creates a top-level `@snapshots` subvolume mounted at
`/.snapshots`, then a first-boot oneshot makes a *nested*
`/home/.snapshots` under `@home` for snapper's home timeline — it does
**not** create a separate top-level `@home-snapshots`. Migration machines
(e.g. TuringMachine) may already use top-level `@snapshots` **and**
`@home-snapshots`; that is fine. Snapper only needs a `.snapshots` path
under each tracked subvolume (`/` and `/home`), so either layout works —
reuse what you have, or create the missing pieces if you want snapper
without reformatting.

TuringMachine matches all of these, including the `@snapshots` /
`@home-snapshots` subvolumes — so snapper works with zero disk work.

**Version note.** Nomarchy pins `nixos-26.05`. If you're on an older release
(TuringMachine is on **25.11**), the migration folds a one‑release upgrade
into the switch. That's normal and supported — read the
[NixOS 26.05 release notes](https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/release-notes)
for option/package renames, and lean on generations if something regresses.

---

## 1. The two rules that protect your data

1. **Never bump `system.stateVersion`.** It is an on‑disk/service
   compatibility marker tied to when the machine was *first installed* — not
   the nixpkgs version. Nomarchy's template ships `26.05`; you **must** change
   it back to your machine's original value. Find yours:

   ```console
   $ nixos-option system.stateVersion   # or: nix eval .#nixosConfigurations.<host>.config.system.stateVersion
   "24.11"
   ```

   *(TuringMachine: `24.11`.)*

2. **`/home` is never touched by an activation.** A `nixos-rebuild switch`
   swaps the system generation; your data subvolume is untouched. The Phase 0
   snapshot is belt‑and‑suspenders, not a necessity for file safety.

---

## Phase 0 — Safety net (nothing changes yet)

```bash
# Read-only btrfs snapshots of root and home — instant rollback targets.
sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /       /.snapshots/pre-nomarchy-root
sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /home   /home/.snapshots/pre-nomarchy-home

# Freeze your current config as a clean git baseline.
cd /etc/nixos && git add -A && git commit -m "pre-nomarchy baseline" || true
```

You are currently booted in a known‑good generation; it remains in the
systemd‑boot menu throughout. Worst case at any later step: reboot and pick
it.

---

## Phase 1 — Build the Nomarchy flake alongside (no switch)

Stand the new config up in a working directory and **build** it without
activating. This is the real safety line: iterate here until it builds green
before anything touches the running system.

```bash
git clone https://git.bemagri.xyz/bernardo/nomarchy.git ~/nomarchy-migrate
cd ~/nomarchy-migrate
# Or start from the downstream template:
#   nix flake init -t "git+https://git.bemagri.xyz/bernardo/nomarchy.git?ref=v1"
#   (produces flake.nix/system.nix/home.nix/…)
```

A Nomarchy downstream flake owns exactly five files. Assemble them:

### `hardware-configuration.nix` — reuse yours unchanged

Copy your **existing** hardware config in verbatim. This is what preserves
your disks, LUKS, btrfs subvolumes and swap — the reason no reinstall is
needed.

```bash
cp /etc/nixos/hosts/TuringMachine/hardware-configuration.nix ./hardware-configuration.nix
```

### `flake.nix` — one `mkFlake` call (from the template)

```nix
{
  description = "TuringMachine — Nomarchy";
  inputs.nomarchy.url = "git+https://git.bemagri.xyz/bernardo/nomarchy.git?ref=v1";

  outputs = { nomarchy, ... }:
    nomarchy.lib.mkFlake {
      src = ./.;
      username = "bernardo";                 # <- your login name
      # Optional nixos-hardware profile(s) for your model. For an AMD laptop:
      #   hardwareProfile = [ "common-cpu-amd-pstate" "common-gpu-amd" "common-pc-laptop-ssd" ];
      # Names: https://github.com/NixOS/nixos-hardware  (verify before use)
      # Full hardware story (firmware, fingerprint, unsupported machines):
      #   docs/HARDWARE.md in the Nomarchy repo
    };
}
```

### `system.nix` — machine specifics + your decisions

This is where your three migration decisions land: **PPD power (no
ryzenadj)**, **no Secure Boot**, and the **stateVersion override**.

```nix
{ pkgs, username, ... }:

{
  # Plain systemd-boot — no lanzaboote / Secure Boot.
  boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
  boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;

  networking.hostName = "TuringMachine";
  time.timeZone = "Europe/London";           # your zone
  i18n.defaultLocale = "en_US.UTF-8";

  users.users.${username} = {
    isNormalUser = true;
    extraGroups = [ "wheel" "networkmanager" "video" "input" ];
  };

  # ── Power: Nomarchy's PPD (drops all custom ryzenadj/TLP tuning) ──────
  nomarchy.system.power = {
    enable = true;
    backend = "ppd";                         # power-profiles-daemon
    laptop = true;
    batteryChargeLimit = 80;                 # optional longevity cap
  };

  # ── AMD 7840U / Radeon 780M ──────────────────────────────────────────
  nomarchy.hardware.amd.enable = true;       # amd-pstate + radeonsi VA-API
  # nomarchy.hardware.amd.rocm.enable = true; # opt-in GPU compute (multi-GB)

  # Auto-login is NOT set here: it lives in state.json
  # (settings.greeter.autoLogin) so System › Auto-login can move it — a line
  # here would outrank the state and pin it. Turn it on after the first boot
  # with `nomarchy-autologin on` (what nomarchy-install seeds on encrypted
  # installs: the LUKS passphrase already gates access).

  # CRITICAL: keep your ORIGINAL install's value — never Nomarchy's 26.05.
  system.stateVersion = "24.11";
}
```

> **Dropped on purpose (decisions 1 & 2):** your old
> `modules/services/power-management.nix` ryzenadj stack, the `lanzaboote`
> input, and the `power-max`/`power-stealth` scripts. PPD's
> performance/balanced/power‑saver profiles (switchable from the Waybar
> battery/profile icons and `nomarchy-menu`) replace them.

### `home.nix` — your apps on top of Nomarchy's desktop

Start from the template's `home.nix` (it ships the default app set) and add
your personal packages/config. Carry over anything you still want (e.g. your
emacs setup).

```nix
{ pkgs, lib, ... }:

{
  # Nomarchy hardcodes home.stateVersion = "26.05". Moving home-manager's
  # stateVersion is low-risk, but if you want to pin your original:
  home.stateVersion = lib.mkForce "24.11";

  home.packages = with pkgs; [
    # your extras — e.g. emacs, language toolchains, …
  ];
}
```

### `state.json`

Copy the template's `state.json` (or let `nomarchy-menu theme` write
it after the switch). Your old `nomarchy-state.nix` prototype (schema
`nomarchy.theme = "nord"` …) is **retired** — the current distro uses this
JSON. `nord` is a shipped Nomarchy theme, so you lose nothing.

### The build gate

```bash
nixos-rebuild build --flake ~/nomarchy-migrate#default
```

Zero activation — this only evaluates and builds the system closure. Fix any
eval/build error here, in isolation, before touching the running machine.
Expect to resolve a few 25.11→26.05 option renames.

---

## Phase 2 — Reversible activation

```bash
# Activates now, but does NOT become the boot default. If the session
# breaks, REBOOT and you are back in your old generation, untouched.
sudo nixos-rebuild test --flake ~/nomarchy-migrate#default

# Bring the desktop (home-manager) up BEFORE the first graphical login.
# Hyprland without an HM generation shows the yellow "autogenerated
# config" banner (and no Nomarchy theming) — finish this step first.
home-manager switch --flake ~/nomarchy-migrate#bernardo -b bak
```

Log into Hyprland and sanity‑check: Waybar renders, `SUPER+M` opens the
menu, theming is coherent, `SUPER+?` shows the cheatsheet, **no** yellow
Hyprland autogenerated banner. Confirm the machine‑specific things you
care about still work — suspend/hibernate, the AMD GPU (`vainfo` →
radeonsi), display brightness.

You should also get a one-shot **You're set** toast (menu / themes /
keys). If it never appears: `systemctl --user status nomarchy-first-boot`
and re-try with
`nomarchy-state-sync set settings.firstBootShown false --no-switch`
then log out/in.

If anything is wrong: **reboot → old generation.** Nothing is committed as
default yet.

---

## Phase 3 — Reconcile

- **Power:** verify `powerprofilesctl get` works and the Waybar battery /
  power‑profile icons open the power menu. Your ryzenadj scripts are gone;
  if you miss a specific TDP behaviour, that's a follow‑up, not a blocker.
- **Theme:** `nomarchy-menu theme` → pick a preset (writes
  `state.json`).
- **Snapshots:** `nomarchy-menu` → System → Snapshots should see your
  existing `@snapshots` subvolume.
- **Fingerprint:** `fingerprint.enable = true` only starts **fprintd**
  (enrollment). Login/sudo finger auth is **`fingerprint.pam`** and is
  opt-in — leave it commented until you've enrolled. NixOS defaults PAM
  on whenever fprintd is enabled; Nomarchy forces PAM to follow the
  `pam` flag, but only after a **system** rebuild. Verify with
  `grep pam_fprintd /etc/pam.d/sudo` (should be empty when pam is off).
  With pam on, the prompt accepts password *or* finger in parallel by
  default (`fingerprint.parallel = false` for stock sequential) — see
  HARDWARE.md §5.
- **Browser profiles:** Nomarchy does not manage Chromium/Firefox state.
  Bookmarks/extensions live under `~/.config/chromium` (or
  `~/.config/google-chrome` / ungoogled paths if that was your previous
  browser). **If your old Home Manager config declared
  `programs.chromium.extensions`, carry that block into `home.nix`
  *before* first launch** — HM installs those via
  `External Extensions/*.json`, and when the JSONs vanish Chromium
  treats every extension as externally uninstalled and deletes it
  **together with its stored data** (`Local Extension Settings` —
  wallet vaults, password-manager pairings). Bookmarks survive, which
  makes it look minor; it isn't. Recovery: close the browser, copy
  `Default/Local Extension Settings/<id>` (plus any
  `Default/IndexedDB/chrome-extension_<id>_*`) back from your Phase-0
  `pre-nomarchy-home` snapshot, then reinstall each extension — from
  the Web Store (ids are stable, so the data reattaches) or by
  re-declaring the ids if you want them declarative again.
- **Thunderbird / Firefox — “all my email is gone” (it isn’t):** Mozilla
  apps find your data through **one small text file**,
  `~/.thunderbird/profiles.ini` (and `~/.mozilla/firefox/profiles.ini`),
  which names the profile directory to open. Lose that file and the app
  does not error — it does what it does on a brand-new machine: creates
  an empty profile and cheerfully opens *that*. Every account, folder and
  message is still on disk, in the profile dir it stopped looking at.
  This bit us on a real migration (2026‑07‑16): a 30 GB profile with 19 GB
  of `ImapMail` went “missing”; the fix was eight lines of `profiles.ini`.
  **Before first launch,** check the file exists and names your real
  profile:
  ```console
  $ ls ~/.thunderbird/            # bernardo/  ← the fat one is your profile
  $ cat ~/.thunderbird/profiles.ini
  ```
  **If an app opens empty, do not restore a snapshot** — look first:
  ```console
  $ du -sh ~/.thunderbird/*/      # a multi-GB dir = your data is fine
  ```
  If a fat profile is sitting there, this is a pointer problem, not data
  loss. Close the app, then write (`Path=` is the directory name, relative
  to the `.thunderbird` dir):
  ```ini
  [Profile0]
  Name=default
  IsRelative=1
  Path=<your-profile-dir>
  Default=1

  [General]
  StartWithLastProfile=1
  Version=2
  ```
  Keep the empty profile listed as `[Profile1]` (no `Default=`) if you
  want it out of the way rather than deleted. The **restore is the risk
  here**, not the bug: rolling a snapshot over a good 30 GB profile to
  “recover” data that was never lost can cost you the mail that arrived
  since. Same shape as the Chromium bullet above — a file HM used to
  manage disappears and the app reads its own absence as “first run” —
  but inverted: Chromium *deletes* quietly, Thunderbird *loses nothing*
  and looks catastrophic.
- **VPN:** NetworkManager connections survive under
  `/etc/NetworkManager` and your home. System › VPN lists NM
  `vpn`/`wireguard` profiles; import any that lived outside NM.
  Tailscale is opt-in (`nomarchy.services.tailscale.enable`).
- **Secrets/services:** if you relied on agenix‑managed secrets for a
  service, layer `agenix` back into `system.nix` as a machine‑specific
  import (Nomarchy doesn't manage secrets). If you don't need them, leave
  them out — this is a full cutover.

---

## Phase 4 — Cutover

Once a test boot is solid:

```bash
# Move the flake to its canonical home and make it the boot default.
mv ~/nomarchy-migrate ~/.nomarchy
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/.nomarchy#default
home-manager switch --flake ~/.nomarchy#bernardo

# Point /etc/nixos at the flake (optional but conventional).
sudo mv /etc/nixos /etc/nixos.pre-nomarchy
sudo ln -s ~/.nomarchy /etc/nixos
```

From here you're on the standard Nomarchy update flow: `sys-update` (lock +
system) then `home-update` (desktop) — always in that order (a lock bump
before the home switch, or desktop changes are skipped against the old
lock).

---

## Rollback, at any point

| Net | How |
|---|---|
| **NixOS generation** | Reboot → pick the previous entry in the systemd‑boot menu. |
| **`nixos-rebuild test`** | Never sets the boot default; a reboot reverts it. |
| **btrfs snapshot** | Restore `/.snapshots/pre-nomarchy-root` (see `docs/RECOVERY.md`). |
| **git baseline** | `/etc/nixos.pre-nomarchy` (and the pre‑nomarchy commit) is your old config verbatim. |

`/home` is untouched by all of the above.

---

## Post‑migration cleanup (once you're confident)

- Delete the safety snapshots: `sudo btrfs subvolume delete /.snapshots/pre-nomarchy-root` (and the home one).
- Remove `/etc/nixos.pre-nomarchy` and the old per‑host modules you cut
  (ryzenadj power‑management, lanzaboote, the `nomarchy-state.nix`
  prototype).
- Prune old generations: `sudo nix-collect-garbage -d`.

### `/var/lib` machine state survives migration

A migration reconciles the **flake** — packages, services, dotfiles — and
nothing else. Everything under `/var/lib` is left exactly as the previous
OS wrote it, including settings the flake can neither see nor express. That
state doesn't show up in `git diff`, doesn't get touched by `sys-rebuild`,
and can sit there for months quietly shaping how the machine behaves.

Worked example: user lingering. Run `loginctl show-user $USER -p Linger` —
on a Nomarchy machine the answer should be `no`, because the flake never
sets it. On our own QA box a leftover `Linger=yes` from a pre‑Nomarchy setup
kept the user's systemd instance alive across logouts, and it took six
months to trace a string of subtle session bugs back to that one marker.
Fix: `sudo loginctl disable-linger <user>`.

`nomarchy-doctor` now flags this specific case as a warning. More broadly:
after migrating, if the machine ever behaves in a way the flake can't
explain, suspect inherited state under `/var/lib` before you suspect the
flake.

---

## Enabling hibernation on an existing machine (no reinstall)

New Nomarchy installs are hibernation-ready out of the box — the installer
defaults the swapfile to **= RAM** on its own `@swap` subvolume and wires the
resume offset. This section is for machines that have **no hibernate swap**:
one installed with `swap = 0`, one migrated here whose reused
`hardware-configuration.nix` carries no swapfile, or an older install
predating the default. If `swapon --show` already lists `/swap/swapfile`,
you have nothing to do.

Hibernation writes RAM to disk, and zram (compressed *RAM*) can't hold that
image across a power-off — so you need a real disk swap ≥ the RAM you use.
Nomarchy puts it on an `@swap` subvolume *inside* the encrypted volume, so
the image is encrypted at rest and the initrd LUKS unlock gates resume.

> **Reversible:** this is one subvolume plus four config lines. Remove them
> and rebuild — or just boot the previous generation — to undo. `/home` is
> never touched.

Worked example below is **this machine**: LUKS mapper `cryptroot`, btrfs `@`.
Substitute your own device/UUID/offset where shown.

### 1. Size and locate

```bash
# Swap = RAM, rounded up to whole GiB (matches the installer default).
ram_gb=$(awk '/MemTotal/ {print int(($2 + 1048575) / 1048576)}' /proc/meminfo)

# The decrypted BTRFS device backing / (strip the [subvol] suffix) and its
# filesystem UUID — the same UUID resolves to the mapper once initrd unlocks.
dev=$(findmnt -no SOURCE / | sed 's/\[.*//')       # e.g. /dev/mapper/cryptroot
fsuuid=$(findmnt -no UUID /)                        # e.g. d8e2b02d-…
echo "swap=${ram_gb}G  dev=$dev  uuid=$fsuuid"
```

### 2. Create the `@swap` subvolume + swapfile

```bash
# Create the subvolume at the BTRFS top level (subvolid=5), beside @, @home…
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/btrfs-top
sudo mount -o subvolid=5 "$dev" /mnt/btrfs-top
sudo btrfs subvolume create /mnt/btrfs-top/@swap
sudo umount /mnt/btrfs-top && sudo rmdir /mnt/btrfs-top

# Mount it and create the swapfile. `mkswapfile` applies the BTRFS NOCOW
# requirements automatically (a copy-on-write swapfile would corrupt).
sudo mkdir -p /swap
sudo mount -o subvol=@swap,noatime "$dev" /swap
sudo btrfs filesystem mkswapfile --size "${ram_gb}g" --uuid clear /swap/swapfile
```

### 3. Read the resume offset

```bash
sudo btrfs inspect-internal map-swapfile -r /swap/swapfile   # prints the offset
```

### 4. Wire it into `system.nix`

Add these to your machine's `system.nix`, substituting your `$fsuuid` and the
offset from step 3. The `fileSystems."/swap"` mount is **required** on this
path — a fresh install inherits it from disko-generated
`hardware-configuration.nix`, but a hand edit must declare it so `/swap` is
mounted before swap activates:

```nix
  # Hibernation: encrypted swapfile on the @swap subvolume.
  fileSystems."/swap" = {
    device = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/<fsuuid>";
    fsType = "btrfs";
    options = [ "subvol=@swap" "noatime" ];
  };
  swapDevices = [{ device = "/swap/swapfile"; }];
  boot.resumeDevice = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/<fsuuid>";
  boot.kernelParams = [ "resume_offset=<offset>" ];
```

zram stays on by default (Nomarchy sets `zramSwap` at priority 100 in
`modules/nixos/oom.nix`); this disk swapfile sits lower, so day-to-day
paging stays in compressed RAM and the file is reserved for the hibernate
image — exactly the intent.

### 5. Rebuild and test

```bash
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/.nomarchy#default
systemctl hibernate      # or nomarchy-menu → Power → Hibernate
```

The machine powers off; on the next boot you unlock LUKS once and land back
in your session. If you get a *fresh* boot instead, the usual cause is a
wrong `resume_offset` or a swapfile smaller than in-use RAM — re-read the
offset (step 3) and confirm `swap ≥ RAM`.

**No LUKS?** Same steps; `dev`/`$fsuuid` point at the plain BTRFS partition
and the image is unencrypted at rest. **`swap = 0` opt-out** stays valid — if
you don't want hibernation, skip all of this; the Power-menu Hibernate row
just reports that no swap is configured.

---

## State file rename (`theme-state.json` → `state.json`, #107)

The machine flake's git-tracked state file is **`state.json`** (appearance +
menu settings). Older checkouts may still have `theme-state.json`.

- **Eval:** `lib.mkFlake` and the reader accept either name (prefer
  `state.json`).
- **Write:** `nomarchy-state-sync` (and the menu) always write `state.json`
  and remove a leftover `theme-state.json` so you never have two sources.
- **CLI:** `nomarchy-state-sync` is the real name; `nomarchy-theme-sync`
  remains a symlink for scripts and muscle memory. Drop the alias after the
  next stable release notes call it out.

No action required on pull: the next theme apply or menu write migrates you.
To migrate by hand: `mv theme-state.json state.json && git add state.json`
(and `git rm theme-state.json` if it was tracked).

---

## TuringMachine — the decisions, at a glance

| Item | Choice |
|---|---|
| Power | Nomarchy **PPD** (`backend = "ppd"`); **all ryzenadj/TLP tuning dropped** |
| Secure Boot | **Off** — plain systemd‑boot, `lanzaboote` dropped |
| Scope | **Full cutover** to Nomarchy's structure |
| `system.stateVersion` | **`24.11`** (preserved from original install) |
| Hardware | `nomarchy.hardware.amd.enable = true` (7840U / Radeon 780M) |
| Bootloader | systemd‑boot (unchanged — already matched) |
| Filesystem | LUKS + btrfs, existing subvolumes reused (incl. snapshot subvols) |
