NixOS is a Linux distribution built on top of the Nix package manager.
The release of the new version of NixOS 23.05 codenamed “Stoat”, which comes thanks to the efforts of 1867 contributors, who created 36566 commits since the previous version. On NixOS 23.05, 16240 packages were added, 13466 packages were removed, and 13524 packages were updated.
For those who are unfamiliar with this Linux distribution, they should know that It is based on the Nix package manager and that provides a series of proprietary developments that simplify the configuration and maintenance of the system.
For example, NixOS uses a single system configuration file (configuration.nix), provides the ability to quickly roll back updates, supports switching between different system states, supports installation of individual packages by individual users.
When using Nix, packages are installed in a tree or subdirectory of directories / nix / store separate in the user's directory. The GNU Guix package manager takes a similar approach, which builds on the work of Nix.
Main news of NixOS 23.05
In this new version that is presented of NixOS 23.05 “Stoat”, the linux kernel has been upgraded from version 5.15 to 6.1, along with updated package versions of the GNOME 44, Cinnamon 5.6 and KDE 5.27 desktop environments.
Of the changes that stand out in this new version of NixOS 23.05 "Stoat" is the removal of weak hashes. This change affects user accounts on the local system, as well as the algorithms supported in many applications. Examples are mentioned as authentication services like OpenLDAP or PAM, databases like PostgreSQL, and more generally programming languages that offer a password hashing interface like Python.
The developers mention that interactively set passwords can be updated using passwd, new password hashes can be generated via mkpasswd.
Another of the changes that stands out in this new version is that by default, lthe option boot.bootspec.enable is enabled, This leads to the generation of a boot specification (boot.json, RFC-125) for each system, which, for example, allows you to implement UEFI SecureBoot support on NixOS, provide work with multiple initrds, unify boot scripts. installation of the bootloader and apply schemes with rotation of working disk partitions.
In addition to this, it is also highlighted that added support for the PEP 668 specification to avoid conflicts between python packages installed system-wide via "pip install" and the distribution's package manager, as well as added “–specialization” option to nixos-rebuild utility to change the specialization for the change and test commands.
On the other hand, we can also find that 63 new services added, including:
- Akkoma: A microblogging server from ActivityPub.
- Budgie Desktop - A modern and familiar desktop environment.
- Deepin Desktop Environment - a stylish, easy to use and reliable desktop environment.
- go2rtc - A camera streaming app that supports RTSP, WebRTC, HomeKit, FFMPEG, RTMP, and other protocols
- goeland: an alternative to rss2email written in Golang with many filters.
- Pixelfed – An Instagram-like ActivityPub server.
- PufferPanel – A game server administration panel designed to be easy to use.
- SFTPGo – A fully featured, highly configurable SFTP server with optional support for HTTP/S, FTP/S and WebDAV.
- webhook – A lightweight webhook server.
- wgautomesh – A simple utility to help connect cable protection nodes in a full mesh topology.
- wstunnel – A proxy that tunnels arbitrary TCP or UDP traffic over a WebSocket connection.
Finally if you are interested in knowing more about it About this new version of NixOS 21.05, you can check the details, as well as the documentation and distribution details in the following link
Download NixOS 23.05
For those who are interested in being able to download this Linux distribution to install or test it under a virtual machine, you can go to the official site of this and in its download section obtain the image.
The full install image with KDE 2.4 GB, GNOME 2.3 GB, reduced console version is 812 MB. Similarly, on the site you will find documentation that will help you in the installation process. The link is this.