Windows Quick Reference - NixOS VMs

Quick reference for Windows users wanting to try NixOS virtual machines.

Quick Start (2 Minutes)

Method 1: Pre-built VMs (Easiest)

# 1. Download VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org/
# 2. Get VM: https://github.com/olafkfreund/nixos-template/releases
# 3. Import OVA file in VirtualBox
# 4. Login: nixos / nixos

Method 2: Build with Docker

# 1. Install Docker Desktop
# 2. Build VM
mkdir C:\NixOS-VMs
cd C:\NixOS-VMs
docker run --rm -v "${PWD}:/workspace" olafkfreund/nixos-vm-builder:latest virtualbox --template desktop

VM Templates

Template Size Description Best For
Desktop 20GB GNOME + apps New users
Gaming 80GB Steam + tools Gamers
Development 60GB Full dev env Programmers
Server 40GB CLI only Servers
Minimal 10GB Basic system Learning

VM Platform Support

Platform File Format Windows Version
VirtualBox .ova All Windows
Hyper-V .vhdx Pro/Enterprise
VMware .vmdk All Windows
QEMU .qcow2 Advanced users

Common Commands

# List available templates
docker run --rm olafkfreund/nixos-vm-builder:latest --list-templates

# Build specific template
docker run --rm -v "${PWD}:/workspace" olafkfreund/nixos-vm-builder:latest [FORMAT] --template [TEMPLATE]

# Build all formats
docker run --rm -v "${PWD}:/workspace" olafkfreund/nixos-vm-builder:latest all --template desktop

First Steps in NixOS

# Change password (IMPORTANT!)
passwd

# Update system
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --upgrade

# Search packages
nix search firefox

# System info
nixos-version

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
VM won’t boot Enable virtualization in BIOS
Slow performance Increase RAM to 4GB+
No internet Use NAT networking
Graphics issues Install VM guest tools

Documentation

Tips

Need detailed help? See Complete Windows How-To Guide

Ready to start? Download from Releases or build with Docker!