Ross ROSS = Recommend OSS · open-source software intelligence for agents

nix-darwin/nix-darwin

Manage your macOS using Nix observed · 2026-08-28

github.com/nix-darwin/nix-darwin · homepage · Nix · MIT (permissive) observed · 2026-08-28

Health v2 · maintenance only

76/100

  • Activity 97
  • Release rhythm 35
  • Longevity 100

Flags: no_releases

How is this computed?

round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-03. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.

  • gap_med: n/a
  • age_days: 3608
  • days_rel: n/a
  • days_push: 18
  • n_releases_24m: 0

Full methodology

Adoption not part of the score

5881 stars · 659 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded

nix-darwin is a declarative configuration system for macOS built on Nix and Nixpkgs, similar to NixOS. It lets users define their entire macOS system setup—including packages, launchd services, and dotfiles—in a configuration.nix file.

Use cases

  • manage macOS system configuration declaratively with Nix
  • set up dotfiles and packages reproducibly on a Mac
  • manage launchd services on macOS
  • keep multiple Macs configured identically
  • migrate from Linux NixOS-style setup to macOS
  • version control my entire macOS system setup

When to choose

  • you already use Nix and want declarative macOS management
  • you want reproducible, version-controlled system configuration on a Mac
  • you manage dotfiles and packages across multiple macOS machines

When to avoid

  • you want a simple GUI tool for macOS settings
  • you have no interest in learning the Nix language
  • you need to manage non-Apple systems (use NixOS instead)

Facets

framework · maturity active

configuration-management developer-tools package-manager operating-systems developer-tools apple-ecosystem cli nix declarative-configuration dotfiles launchd macos-system-management automation macos

2 sources

Member repositories

RepositoryRoleHealth v2
nix-darwin/nix-darwinmain76

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="nix-darwin/nix-darwin")

Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem