In this article, we introduce vars, a NixOS extension designed to automatically generate both secret and non-secret values.
Deploying NixOS machines is often not a one-click experience. Even when re-using existing NixOS configurations, there is usually some machine specific initialization overhead that needs to be dealt with manually. Machine IDs need to be generated, passwords set, and ssh key pairs generated, to name a few examples.
None of that is very satisfying as an admin, and it is definitely a problem for clan, where our goal is to enable non-technical people to administer NixOS machines by automating away as much as possible.
helloWhich VPN technology really stands out? How efficiently does it scale, and how does it perform under poor network conditions? These are the questions that arise when faced with the endless array of VPN options—yet hard data remains scarce. Often, if you ask around, you’ll hear someone say, “I tried $VPN and it works perfectly for me,” while another retorts, “But it kept crashing for me during $vacation.”
Well, I say enough with this hearsay! It’s time to move beyond anecdotal evidence and start benchmarking. Let’s establish a fully automated, reproducible testing approach so that we can clearly track improvements over time.
helloWhen building a consumer-facing project on top of NixOS, one crucial question arises: How can we provide type-safe interfaces within a polyglot software stack?
This blogpost discusses one method for creating type-safe interfaces in a software stack by using JSON-schema to maintain consistent models across layers of an application.
Within the clan project, we explored one possible solution to this challenge. Our tech stack is composed of three main components:
This architecture is a product of our guiding principles: We aim to encapsulate as much business logic as possible in pure Nix, ensuring that anyone familiar with Nix can utilize it.
helloIf you’ve ever installed NixOS, you’ll be familiar with a little Perl script called nixos-generate-config. Unsurprisingly, it generates a couple of NixOS modules based on available hardware, mounted filesystems, configured swap, etc.
It’s a critical component of the install process, aiming to ensure you have a good starting point for your NixOS system, with necessary or recommended kernel modules, file system mounts, networking config and much more.
As solutions go, it’s a solid one. It has helped many users take their first steps into this rabbit hole we call NixOS. However, it does suffer from one fundamental limitation.
helloOur goal with Clan is to give users control over their data. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and owning your data means you also need to take care of backups yourself.
In our experience, setting up automatic backups is often a tedious process as it requires custom integration of the backup software and the services that produce the state. More important than the backup is the restore. Restores are often not well tested or documented, and if not working correctly, they can render the backup useless.
helloWe’ve developed a new library designed to extract interfaces from NixOS modules and convert them into JSON schemas, paving the way for effortless GUI generation. This blog post outlines the motivations behind this development, demonstrates the capabilities of the library, and guides you through leveraging it to create GUIs seamlessly.
In recent months, our team has been exploring various graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to streamline NixOS machine configuration. While our opinionated Clan modules simplify NixOS configurations, there’s a need to configure these modules from diverse frontends, such as:
helloIn a digital age where users are guided increasingly toward submission and dependence, Clan reclaims computing and networking from the ground up.
Clan enables users to build any system from a git repository, automate secret handling, and join devices in a secure darknet. This control extends beyond applications to communication protocols and the operating system itself, putting you fully in charge of your own digital environment.
Our mission is simple: to restore fun, freedom, and functionality to computing as an open source project. We believe in building tools that empower users, foster innovation, and challenge the limitations imposed by outdated paradigms. Clan, in its essence, is an open source endeavor; it’s our contribution to a future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around.
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