# Migration Guide ## Disaster recovery If you lose your laptop, you need exactly two things from memory: 1. AWS root credentials (email + password) — gets you into the console, which gets you to Lightsail, which means Vaultwarden at git.barrettruth.com is reachable 2. Vaultwarden master password — unlocks everything else (GitHub, email, etc.) If you have 2FA on either of these via an authenticator app, you also need recovery codes. Print them. Store them somewhere physical that isn't your laptop. All SSH keys, GPG keys, and .pem files are stored as attachments in Vaultwarden. Restoring them is step 10 below. ## Pre-migration (do this on Arch before wiping) ### Upload keys to Vaultwarden Open git.barrettruth.com and create a secure note entry for your keys. Export your GPG private key: ```sh gpg --export-secret-keys --armor A6C96C9349D2FC81 > /tmp/gpg-private.asc ``` Attach all seven files to the vault entry: | File | Path | |------|------| | `id_ed25519` | `~/.ssh/id_ed25519` | | `id_ed25519.pub` | `~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub` | | `git-keypair.pem` | `~/.ssh/git-keypair.pem` | | `git-keypair-old.pem` | `~/.ssh/git-keypair-old.pem` | | `uva_key` | `~/.ssh/uva_key` | | `uva_key.pub` | `~/.ssh/uva_key.pub` | | `gpg-private.asc` | `/tmp/gpg-private.asc` | Verify all attachments are downloadable, then clean up: ```sh rm /tmp/gpg-private.asc ``` By storing the same keys, the key IDs in `git.nix` stay valid, GitHub doesn't need updating, and git signing works immediately after restore. ### Store AWS credentials in Vaultwarden Create a separate secure note entry for AWS credentials. Store each profile's access key ID and secret access key as fields (or in the note body): - `barrett` — `AKIA6ODU5IDCSC3ZGB2D` - `projecta10` — `AKIA6ODU5IDC3T6IVW6Y` - `tcf` — `AKIAVY2PGOP7SHEKVCFP` Include both the access key ID and secret access key for each profile. The AWS config file (region, output format) is managed declaratively in `shell.nix` — only the credentials are secret. ### Push this repo ```sh cd ~/nix-config git push ``` ## Fresh install from zero ### 1. Flash the installer Download the NixOS minimal ISO from https://nixos.org/download (x86_64). ```sh dd bs=4M if=nixos-minimal-*.iso of=/dev/sdX status=progress oflag=sync ``` ### 2. Boot and connect to WiFi Boot from USB (F12 for boot menu on XPS 15). ```sh iwctl [iwd]# station wlan0 scan [iwd]# station wlan0 get-networks [iwd]# station wlan0 connect ``` Verify: `ping nixos.org` ### 3. Partition ```sh lsblk -f ``` #### Option A: fresh partition table ```sh fdisk /dev/nvme0n1 # 1. EFI System partition — 512M # 2. Linux swap — match your RAM # 3. Linux filesystem — rest of disk mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/nvme0n1p1 mkswap /dev/nvme0n1p2 mkfs.ext4 -L nixos /dev/nvme0n1p3 mount /dev/nvme0n1p3 /mnt mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot/efi swapon /dev/nvme0n1p2 ``` #### Option B: reuse existing partitions ```sh mkfs.ext4 -L nixos /dev/nvme0n1pX # formats root, wipes the old OS mount /dev/nvme0n1pX /mnt mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi mount /dev/nvme0n1pY /mnt/boot/efi swapon /dev/nvme0n1pZ ``` ### 4. Generate hardware config ```sh nixos-generate-config --root /mnt ``` This produces `/mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix`. You need this file — it describes your specific disk UUIDs, kernel modules, and firmware. The generated `configuration.nix` next to it is not used. ### 5. Clone the repo ```sh nix-shell -p git git clone https://github.com/barrettruth/nix-config /mnt/home/barrett/nix-config ``` Copy the hardware config into place: ```sh cp /mnt/etc/nixos/hardware-configuration.nix /mnt/home/barrett/nix-config/hosts/xps15/ ``` ### 6. Copy fonts (optional, can be done later) Fonts are proprietary and not in the repo. The build will succeed without them — home-manager prints a warning and fonts fall back to system defaults. When you're ready, populate `~/nix-config/fonts/`: - Copy from a USB drive - Copy from a backup - Download from wherever you originally purchased them - Pull from another machine via scp ```sh cp -r /path/to/your/fonts /mnt/home/barrett/nix-config/fonts/ ``` The `fonts/` directory is gitignored and symlinked to `~/.local/share/fonts` at activation time. ### 7. Install ```sh nixos-install --flake /mnt/home/barrett/nix-config#xps15 ``` This builds the entire system (kernel, drivers, services, user environment, home-manager) in one shot. It will ask you to set the root password at the end. ### 8. Reboot and set user password ```sh reboot ``` Remove the USB. Log in as root, then: ```sh passwd barrett logout ``` Log in as barrett. ### 9. Fix ownership The install created `~/nix-config` as root. Fix it: ```sh sudo chown -R barrett:users ~/nix-config ``` ### 10. Restore keys from Vaultwarden Open Zen browser and go to git.barrettruth.com. Log in with your master password. Open the vault entry containing your keys and download all attachments. #### SSH keys ```sh mkdir -p ~/.ssh cp ~/Downloads/id_ed25519 ~/.ssh/ cp ~/Downloads/id_ed25519.pub ~/.ssh/ cp ~/Downloads/git-keypair.pem ~/.ssh/ cp ~/Downloads/git-keypair-old.pem ~/.ssh/ cp ~/Downloads/uva_key ~/.ssh/ cp ~/Downloads/uva_key.pub ~/.ssh/ ``` Permissions are fixed automatically by the activation script in `git.nix` on the next rebuild. If you want them right now: ```sh chmod 700 ~/.ssh chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 ~/.ssh/git-keypair.pem ~/.ssh/git-keypair-old.pem ~/.ssh/uva_key chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub ~/.ssh/uva_key.pub ``` Set the repo remote to SSH for push access: ```sh cd ~/nix-config git remote set-url origin git@github.com:barrettruth/nix-config.git ``` #### GPG key ```sh gpg --import ~/Downloads/gpg-private.asc gpg --edit-key A6C96C9349D2FC81 trust ``` Select trust level 5 (ultimate), then `quit`. The key ID matches what's in `git.nix`, so git signing works immediately. #### AWS credentials Open the AWS credentials entry in Vaultwarden and create the credentials file. The config file (region, output) is managed by `shell.nix` — only the credentials are manual. ```sh mkdir -p ~/.config/aws cat > ~/.config/aws/credentials << 'EOF' [barrett] aws_access_key_id = aws_secret_access_key = [projecta10] aws_access_key_id = aws_secret_access_key = [tcf] aws_access_key_id = aws_secret_access_key = EOF chmod 600 ~/.config/aws/credentials ``` #### Clean up Delete the downloaded key files from `~/Downloads/`. ### 11. Rebuild After all manual steps are done: ```sh cd ~/nix-config sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#xps15 ``` ### 12. Verify - Terminal opens (ghostty) - Neovim works and plugins install on first launch - Browser opens (zen) - Waybar shows at top - Audio works (XF86 keys) - Git push works (SSH) - Git commits are signed (GPG) ## What's automated vs. what's manual ### Automated (handled by the flake) - All packages and their exact versions - Zsh, tmux, fzf, direnv, lf configuration - Ghostty terminal configuration - Hyprland, waybar, rofi, dunst, hypridle, hyprlock, hyprpaper - Git config, aliases, ignore patterns - SSH config (host definitions, not keys) - GPG agent config (not the keys themselves) - Keyd keyboard remapping - NVIDIA drivers and prime offload - Pipewire audio stack - Docker and libvirt - Systemd services and timers - XDG directories and MIME associations - Scripts in PATH via ~/nix-config/scripts - AWS config (region, output format) - Directory creation (~/dev, ~/dl, ~/img, ~/wp) - Cloning this repo to ~/nix-config on first activation - Wallpaper symlinks from the repo to ~/img/screen - Daily flake input updates ### Manual (you must do these yourself) - Flash and boot the installer - Partition and mount disks - Generate hardware-configuration.nix - Set root and user passwords - Restore SSH keys, GPG key, and .pem files from Vaultwarden - Restore AWS credentials from Vaultwarden - Copy fonts into nix-config/fonts/ (optional, can be done later) - Restore browser profile (~/.zen) if you want tabs/extensions back