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The Home Manager modules provide a comprehensive set of configuration options for managing user environments across NixOS systems. These modules are organized into two main categories: core functionality and user applications.

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Module Structure

Home Manager modules are located in modules/home/ and are organized as follows: 
modules/home/
├── core/          # Essential system configuration
└── userapps/      # User-facing applications

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Core Modules

Core modules provide essential functionality that forms the foundation of your home environment:
  • Git Configuration - User identity, signing keys, and project organization
  • GitOps - Automated home configuration sync from Git repositories
  • Secrets Management - SOPS-based secret handling with age encryption
  • Shell Configuration - Fish shell, Starship prompt, and Fastfetch
  • SSH Management - Key deployment and SSH agent configuration
  • Health Checks - Environment validation and warnings
Learn more about core modules →

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User Applications

User application modules provide opt-in configurations for common software:
  • Browsers - Firefox, LibreWolf, Chrome, Floorp
  • Communication - Discord/Vesktop
  • Development Tools - Neovim, VSCode, AI agents, terminals
  • Data Fortress - Bitwarden, Nextcloud
  • Office Suite - Productivity applications
Learn more about user applications →

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Usage Example

Home Manager modules are configured in your user’s homes/<username>/default.nix: 
{pkgs, ...}: {
  # Core configuration
  core = {
    secrets = {
      enable = true;
      defaultSopsFile = ./secrets.yaml;
    };

    git = {
      userName = "soriphoono";
      userEmail = "[email protected]";
    };
  };

  # Optional applications
  userapps.development.editors.neovim.settings = import ./nvim {inherit pkgs;};
}

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Key Features

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Modular Design

Each module is self-contained with its own options and configuration logic. Enable only what you need.

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Type-Safe Configuration

All options are strongly typed using NixOS module system types, providing validation and documentation.

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Declarative Management

Your entire home environment is declared in Nix, making it reproducible across machines.

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XDG Integration

Modules follow XDG Base Directory specifications and integrate with system MIME types.

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Common Patterns

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Priority-Based Defaults

Many modules (browsers, editors) support priority values to determine which application becomes the default: 
userapps = {
  browsers = {
    librewolf.enable = true;  # priority = 10 (highest)
    firefox.enable = true;     # priority = 20
    chrome.enable = true;      # priority = 100 (fallback)
  };
};
Lower priority values win. This allows multiple applications to be installed while controlling which is the default.

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Secrets Integration

Core modules integrate with the secrets system automatically: 
core = {
  secrets.enable = true;
  ssh.publicKey = "ssh-ed25519 ...";
};
# SSH private keys are automatically provisioned from secrets

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Shell Customization

Shell aliases and environment variables are centralized: 
core.shells = {
  shellAliases = {
    g = "git";
    k = "kubectl";
  };
  sessionVariables = {
    EDITOR = "nvim";
  };
};

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