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Overview

Tatsumaki is a MacBook Air provided by university, configured using nix-darwin for declarative macOS management. This system is almost exclusively used at university for coursework and academic activities.
Named after the S-Class hero from One Punch Man, Tatsumaki brings the power of Nix configuration management to the macOS ecosystem.

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System specifications

Type

MacBook Air

OS

macOS (managed with nix-darwin)

Purpose

University coursework and academic use

Management

Declarative configuration via nix-darwin

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Configuration approach

Unlike the NixOS systems in the fleet, Tatsumaki uses nix-darwin to bring declarative configuration management to macOS: 
garden = {
  profiles = {
    laptop.enable = true;
    graphical.enable = true;
    workstation.enable = true;
  };
};
Reference: systems/tatsumaki/default.nix:4-10
nix-darwin allows you to manage macOS configuration declaratively, similar to NixOS, but working within the constraints of Apple’s operating system.

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Enabled profiles

Laptop

Power management and mobile-optimized settings

Graphical

Full desktop environment and applications

Workstation

Development tools and productivity apps
These profiles provide:
  • Battery optimization for mobile use
  • Full graphical application support
  • Development environment for coursework
  • Productivity tools for academic work

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User configuration

Isabel’s user environment on Tatsumaki includes essential applications for university work: 
home-manager.users.isabel = {
  programs = {
    discord.enable = true;
    fish.enable = true;
    zsh.enable = true;
    ghostty.enable = true;
  };

  garden.profiles.media.watching.enable = true;
};
Reference: systems/tatsumaki/users.nix:2-11

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Installed applications

Discord

Communication for study groups and university communities

Fish Shell

User-friendly interactive shell

Zsh

Alternative shell with extensive plugin support

Ghostty

Modern GPU-accelerated terminal emulator

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Media profile

The media watching profile enables:
  • Video playback applications
  • Streaming service support
  • Media player configurations
Having both Fish and Zsh enabled allows you to switch between shells depending on the task or environment requirements.

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What makes it unique

Tatsumaki is the only macOS system in the fleet, demonstrating how the configuration framework extends beyond NixOS to support nix-darwin.
Purpose-built for academic use, this system’s configuration emphasizes productivity and collaboration tools needed for coursework.
As university-provided hardware, Tatsumaki shows how to integrate institutional devices into a personal infrastructure.
With both Fish and Zsh configured, you can leverage the strengths of each shell for different tasks and environments.
Unlike the servers, Tatsumaki focuses purely on user applications without running background services, keeping it lightweight for mobile use.

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nix-darwin benefits

Declarative macOS

nix-darwin brings NixOS-style declarative configuration to macOS, allowing you to manage system settings, applications, and user environments reproducibly.
Advantages of using nix-darwin:
  • Reproducibility: Configuration can be versioned and shared
  • Rollbacks: Easy system rollback if changes cause issues
  • Home Manager integration: Consistent user environment across systems
  • Package management: Access to nixpkgs on macOS
  • Consistency: Similar configuration approach to NixOS systems

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Academic use considerations

When using university-provided hardware, be mindful of institutional policies regarding system modifications and software installation.

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Best practices

  1. Backup regularly: University systems may need to be wiped or returned
  2. Separate personal and academic: Keep coursework and personal projects organized
  3. Network compliance: Ensure configurations comply with university network policies
  4. Software licensing: Use appropriately licensed software for academic work
Since this is university-provided hardware, avoid storing sensitive personal data or running services that might conflict with institutional policies.

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Workflow integration

Tatsumaki integrates into the broader infrastructure:
  • Shell history sync: Could integrate with Atuin (hosted on Minerva)
  • Git configuration: Consistent across all systems via home-manager
  • SSH access: Can connect to other systems in the fleet
  • Shared Nix cache: Can leverage Attic cache from Aphrodite
Use the shared configuration framework to maintain consistency between Tatsumaki and your other systems, making context switching seamless.

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