# nix-community/home-manager

Manage a user environment using Nix  [maintainer=@khaneliman, @rycee]

Repository: https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/home-manager
Homepage: https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/
Language: Nix
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: nix, nixpkgs, dotfiles, nixos, nix-dotfiles
Last push: 2026-08-26T21:15:49+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3518, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 10289, forks 2461 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:41.505857+00:00)

## What it is
Home Manager is a tool for declaratively managing a user's home environment using the Nix package manager and Nixpkgs. It handles user-specific (non-global) packages and dotfiles, usable standalone or as a NixOS/Darwin module.

## Use cases
- manage dotfiles declaratively with nix
- install user packages without root
- reproducible home directory configuration
- manage user environment on nixos
- version control my linux and macos setup
- sync shell and editor config across machines

## When to choose
- you already use Nix or NixOS and want declarative, reproducible user environments
- you want dotfiles and user packages managed together and versioned
- you want atomic rollbacks of your home configuration

## When to avoid
- you are not willing to learn the Nix language and its error messages
- you need a simple dotfile symlink manager without a package manager
- you run a distribution without Nix and don't want to install it

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: configuration-management, package-manager, developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems
- platform: cli
- tags: nix, dotfiles, declarative-configuration, nixos, user-environment, reproducibility, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- nix-community/home-manager (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:41.505857+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:19:19.959484+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nix-community/home-manager (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:41.505857+00:00, sha be8efc71b2f7)
  - homepage: https://nix-community.github.io/home-manager/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:18:36.948578+00:00, sha 3d75d368e748)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.