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by jt2190 763 days ago
I’m picking this nit:

> When is a build reproducible?

> “A build is reproducible if given the same source code, build environment and build instructions, any party can recreate bit-by-bit identical copies of all specified artifacts.”

> Neither Nix or NixOS gives you these guarantees.

This really makes me question whether all of the quirkiness of Nix is worth it if it can’t actually “pay off” with true reproducibility.

[1] “NixOS is not reproducible (2022) https://linderud.dev/blog/nixos-is-not-reproducible/

[2] “non reproducible issues in NixOS” https://github.com/orgs/NixOS/projects/30
3 comments
Cyph0n 763 days ago
Nonetheless, Nix/NixOS is more reproducible than the majority of other build systems and distros out of the box. But yes, if this is a hard requirement, you’ll be better off with a different choice.

Keep in mind that this is but one of the features NixOS provides. I would say the config-driven approach to OS management is extremely powerful.

As an example, I could bring up my homelab’s external reverse proxy on a generic VPS in a few minutes over SSH using a single command. This includes SSH keys, Telegraf, Nginx with LetsEncrypt certs, and automatic OS upgrades. No Ansible needed :)

See: https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-anywhere

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Yotsugi 763 days ago
It isn't worth it, if you care about freedom and configurability, Gentoo exists.

>reproducibility

would like to see people reproduce software that embeds build timestamp into the binary.

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walterbell 763 days ago
Does Guix offer guarantees of build reproducibility?
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