home-manager

Apply home configuration from default location

$ home-manager switch

$ home-manager switch --flake [.#username]

$ home-manager build

$ home-manager generations

$ home-manager rollback

$ home-manager expire-generations "[30 days ago]"

$ home-manager edit

$ home-manager news

home-manager [options] command [args]

home-manager is a Nix-based tool for managing user environment configuration declaratively. It handles dotfiles, user packages, and environment settings through Nix expressions, enabling reproducible and versionable home directory setups.
Configuration is written in Nix language, typically in ~/.config/home-manager/home.nix or as part of a Nix flake. The configuration declares packages to install, programs to configure, files to manage, and services to run.
Many programs have dedicated Home Manager modules that generate configuration files automatically. For example, configuring programs.git generates ~/.gitconfig with proper syntax. This is more maintainable than managing dotfiles manually.
Generations provide configuration history. Each switch creates a new generation, and you can roll back to any previous state. This makes experimentation safe - broken configurations can be reverted instantly.
Home Manager can run standalone or integrate with NixOS. In standalone mode, it manages the user environment independently. With NixOS, it can be imported as a module for tighter integration.

switch

Build and activate new configuration.

Build configuration without activating.

List all configuration generations.

Revert to previous generation.

Remove generations older than period.

Remove specific generations by ID.

Open configuration in $EDITOR.

Show news entries about configuration.

List installed packages.

Show value of configuration option.

Use flake-based configuration.

Configuration file path.

Attribute to build from configuration.

Show what would be done without doing it.

Increase verbosity.

~/.config/home-manager/home.nix

Primary configuration file for standalone Home Manager installations. Defines packages, programs, files, and services to manage.

Flake-based configuration entry point when using Home Manager with Nix flakes.

Default location for flake-based Home Manager configuration.

Environment variable used to locate Nix channels for non-flake configurations.

Requires Nix package manager. Learning curve for Nix language. Some program configurations may conflict with manually managed dotfiles. Flake-based configs need experimental features enabled. Generation management requires manual cleanup to prevent disk usage growth.

Home Manager was created by Robert Helgesson (rycee) around 2017 to bring NixOS's declarative configuration approach to user home directories. It filled a gap for users who wanted Nix's reproducibility for their personal environment without running NixOS. The project has grown to include modules for hundreds of programs.

nix(1), nix-env(1), nixos-rebuild(8), chezmoi(1), stow(8)