Remember the days when everyone and their pet iguana was raving about Arch Linux? You couldn't escape the
ever-so-subtle "I use Arch BTW" remarks in every Linux forum. Well, move over, Arch, because NixOS is here to steal
your thunder! Nowadays, it seems that you can't browse YouTube or read a blog without stumbling upon someone
extolling the virtues of NixOS and how it is the epitome of computing perfection. But hey, who needs critical
analysis when we can jump on the hype train and declare NixOS as the new Arch? Because that's exactly what's going
on. NixOS has now become the self-proclaimed prodigy that's poised to dethrone Arch Linux as the holy grail of Linux
distributions. The time is calling, my friends! It's time for you – the seasoned Linux enthusiast – to dust off your
keyboard warrior capes and embark on a new crusade. So, grab your Tux plushie (or, your pitchforks if you belong to
the world of devils) and let's embark on an adventure through the enigmatic world of NixOS (and let the memes
commence)!
That’s the main crux with NixOS, it does a lot of stuff in the background for you that in my opinion you should know why it’s being done the way it is. As such I consider Arch a good distro for a beginner who wants to learn the inner workings of Linux, while NixOS is a better-engineered distribution that takes care of the system for you. Arch’s goal is to be simple for the maintainers which means it’s very close to what one might consider a “standard Linux”, and its wiki is mostly a documentation of exactly that.
That’s the main crux with NixOS, it does a lot of stuff in the background for you that in my opinion you should know why it’s being done the way it is. As such I consider Arch a good distro for a beginner who wants to learn the inner workings of Linux, while NixOS is a better-engineered distribution that takes care of the system for you. Arch’s goal is to be simple for the maintainers which means it’s very close to what one might consider a “standard Linux”, and its wiki is mostly a documentation of exactly that.