Linux Mint vs NixOS

Overview

NixOS

Stacks112

Followers96

Votes12

Linux Mint

Stacks288

Followers389

Votes77

Linux Mint vs NixOS: What are the differences?

Linux Mint and NixOS are both Linux-based operating systems. Linux Mint emphasizes user-friendliness and familiarity, while NixOS takes a unique approach to package management and system configuration. Here are some key differences between Linux Mint and NixOS:

Package Management: Linux Mint uses traditional package managers like APT (Advanced Package Tool) to manage software packages. NixOS, on the other hand, employs the Nix package manager, which employs a purely functional approach to package management, ensuring reproducibility and avoiding version conflicts.
Configuration Management: Linux Mint typically follows a configuration model similar to other Linux distributions, with configuration files stored in the standard locations. NixOS, in contrast, adopts a declarative approach to system configuration using the Nix language, allowing users to define their system configurations in a reproducible and atomic manner.
Rolling Release vs Fixed Release: Linux Mint follows a fixed release model, with regular stable releases and long-term support (LTS) versions. NixOS employs a rolling release model, providing continuous updates to packages and system components without the need for major version upgrades.
User Experience and Desktop Environment: Linux Mint focuses on delivering a user-friendly experience out of the box, often shipping with a preconfigured desktop environment like Cinnamon or Mate. NixOS is designed to be highly customizable and allows users to choose from various desktop environments during installation.
Configuration Rollbacks: NixOS offers a powerful feature called "NixOS Rollbacks," which allows users to easily roll back to previous system configurations, providing an additional layer of safety during system changes. Linux Mint does not have a built-in mechanism for this level of configuration rollback.
Package Isolation and Reproducibility: NixOS emphasizes package isolation and reproducibility by creating isolated environments for each package, preventing conflicts and ensuring that dependencies are managed consistently. Linux Mint follows a more traditional approach, which can sometimes lead to dependency conflicts.
Target Audience: Linux Mint is well-suited for users who prefer a straightforward and familiar Linux experience with easy access to software and a traditional package management system. NixOS appeals to users who value system reproducibility, configuration management, and customization and are willing to learn its unique package management and configuration concepts.
Community and Support: Linux Mint has a larger and more established user community, resulting in extensive documentation and user-contributed resources. NixOS has a smaller but growing community, with a focus on providing detailed documentation for its unique features.
Use Cases: Linux Mint is suitable for general desktop and laptop usage, offering a smooth transition for users coming from other operating systems. NixOS is favored for development environments, servers, and situations where configuration management, reproducibility, and consistency are crucial.

In summary, Linux Mint offers a familiar experience with traditional package management, while NixOS provides a unique approach to package management and system configuration for users who value reproducibility and customization.

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Advice on NixOS, Linux Mint

Gopi

Jun 21, 2020

Decided

I liked manjaro a lot, the huge support it has and the variety of tools it provides is just awesome. But due to its parent platform being Arch Linux it has bleeding-edge technology and that meaning, we get updated 'daily', and if we keep updating the system daily, due to the bugs in the recent updates the system sometimes used to crash, this made the OS really unstable. However, one can avoid such crashes using periodical and careful system/package updates. I now use LinuxMint which is based on Ubuntu, and this OS is completely stable with reliable(mostly tested) updates. And, since this OS is backed up by UBUNTU the concerns/questions one can encounter while using the OS can be easily rectified using the UBUNTU community, which is pretty good. Though this is backed up on UBUNTU it most certainly does NOT include the proprietary stuff of UBUNTU, which is on the bright side of the OS. That's it! Happy Computing.

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Detailed Comparison

NixOS	Linux Mint
It is a Linux distribution with a unique approach to package and configuration management. Built on top of the Nix package manager, it is completely declarative, makes upgrading systems reliable, and has many other advantages.	The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.
DevOps-friendly; atomic upgrades and rollbacks	-
Statistics
Stacks 112	Stacks 288
Followers 96	Followers 389
Votes 12	Votes 77
Pros & Cons
Pros 3 Atomic upgrades 2 Multi-user package management 2 Rollback for any changes 2 Reproducible environment 2 Declarative system configuration	Pros 16 Simple, Fast, Comfort and Easy to Use 15 Stable 13 Elegant 12 Good for beginners 11 Free to use Cons 3 Easy to mess up with a few settings (like the panel) 2 Security breaches 1 Idiots can break it because it is open source
Integrations
Apache Tomcat PostgreSQL	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to NixOS, Linux Mint?

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Arch Linux

A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

CentOS

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

Linux

A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Gentoo Linux

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

Manjaro

It is an accessible, friendly, open-source Linux distribution and community. Based on Arch Linux, it provides all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed.

Related Comparisons

Package Management: Linux Mint uses traditional package managers like APT (Advanced Package Tool) to manage software packages. NixOS, on the other hand, employs the Nix package manager, which employs a purely functional approach to package management, ensuring reproducibility and avoiding version conflicts.
Configuration Management: Linux Mint typically follows a configuration model similar to other Linux distributions, with configuration files stored in the standard locations. NixOS, in contrast, adopts a declarative approach to system configuration using the Nix language, allowing users to define their system configurations in a reproducible and atomic manner.
Rolling Release vs Fixed Release: Linux Mint follows a fixed release model, with regular stable releases and long-term support (LTS) versions. NixOS employs a rolling release model, providing continuous updates to packages and system components without the need for major version upgrades.
User Experience and Desktop Environment: Linux Mint focuses on delivering a user-friendly experience out of the box, often shipping with a preconfigured desktop environment like Cinnamon or Mate. NixOS is designed to be highly customizable and allows users to choose from various desktop environments during installation.
Configuration Rollbacks: NixOS offers a powerful feature called "NixOS Rollbacks," which allows users to easily roll back to previous system configurations, providing an additional layer of safety during system changes. Linux Mint does not have a built-in mechanism for this level of configuration rollback.
Package Isolation and Reproducibility: NixOS emphasizes package isolation and reproducibility by creating isolated environments for each package, preventing conflicts and ensuring that dependencies are managed consistently. Linux Mint follows a more traditional approach, which can sometimes lead to dependency conflicts.
Target Audience: Linux Mint is well-suited for users who prefer a straightforward and familiar Linux experience with easy access to software and a traditional package management system. NixOS appeals to users who value system reproducibility, configuration management, and customization and are willing to learn its unique package management and configuration concepts.
Community and Support: Linux Mint has a larger and more established user community, resulting in extensive documentation and user-contributed resources. NixOS has a smaller but growing community, with a focus on providing detailed documentation for its unique features.
Use Cases: Linux Mint is suitable for general desktop and laptop usage, offering a smooth transition for users coming from other operating systems. NixOS is favored for development environments, servers, and situations where configuration management, reproducibility, and consistency are crucial.

Linux Mint vs NixOS