Many people have used Linux for several years. They initially chose Kali Linux , but it turned out not to be an ideal starting point, so quite a few left the ecosystem within a few years. Their next choice was Zorin OS, one of the most aesthetically pleasing Linux distributions. Since then, many have used Fedora, Debian, Arch, Ubuntu , and Manjaro . Currently, Linux Mint is the operating system of daily use.
However, NixOS became popular, especially thanks to its declarative configuration model, which allowed for the creation of atomically reproducible and undoable systems. So, for a whole week, many people decided to try it as their primary distribution. At the very least, it changed the way they thought about Linux.
The collapse of the snowflake system
How can installing Linux no longer be a historical accident?
Based on my experience using Linux, after a while, your computer gradually becomes the result of everything you've ever done on it. Even packages you install for simple, one-time tasks last much longer than necessary. Over time, configuration files are modified, overwritten, and only half restored. So even with two installations of the same distribution, they can still be significantly different.
NixOS addresses this type of bias. The distribution treats the system as something you create, not something you constantly modify. It allows the original file system to be recreated at any time from the configuration. Many people come from distributions where the /etc directory is considered sacred, so this initially makes them uncomfortable.
However, things became clear when they realized they could rebuild the system, with no part of the new build depending on previous actions. The system simply didn't care about past trials or errors, and only reflected what had been clearly defined. This week-long experiment was the first time many people experienced a Linux distribution with a clearly defined system rather than a personal product.
Logical configuration, not ritual.
Learn to think in Unix instead of bash.
The most shocking thing for those who have tried many different Linux distributions is realizing that the existing Linux intuition is often wrong. They constantly search for commands to manually patch configuration files and install missing dependencies, only to find that this doesn't work on NixOS.
Initially, this seemed complicated. People were used to simple edits and familiar patterns. But NixOS's language describes relationships, options, and results. It brought precision, and after a few days, people started to appreciate it. They proactively enabled services and declared dependencies instead of assuming them. It was easier to understand why a process was working and fix it from the configuration when it wasn't.
Damaging the operating system is no longer a stressor.
How generations and restoration have changed anxieties about updates
In just one week of using NixOS, some people messed it up more than once. But surprisingly, messing it up didn't have a major impact. There were no misconfigurations or failed rebuilds that damaged the system, and there was always a previous working version intact and ready to boot.
Generations of NixOS fundamentally changed how people viewed and used Linux. Rebuilding the system created a complete, bootable version of the operating system. They could revert to it if any problems occurred, instead of having to troubleshoot a broken system. It's like an enhanced version of Windows System Restore, where the entire system state (kernel, drivers, applications, configuration) is saved, and the system is mathematically guaranteed to be exactly as it was originally. There's no need to configure snapshots, and it eliminates guesswork when troubleshooting.
The development environment does not cause pollution to the system.
How NixOS solves complex dependency issues without containers.
Many people are surprised to find that global installations start to feel unreliable. But this makes perfect sense because tools and libraries on NixOS can only exist where needed. They don't need to remain on the system permanently.
This also means that tools exist when you enter the project shell, and disappear when you leave. Using a nix-shell or similar environments immediately feels different from a virtual environment or version manager. Each project has its own reality, and nothing persists or contaminates the system.
With Flakes (Nix's reproducible package format), you can explicitly version lock. When combined with binary caching, this feels very purposeful; compared to Docker, it's a lighter and more integrated approach. It's also cleaner than traditional setups, and the system won't accumulate unnecessary development components.