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# Garuda Linux Begins Nixification By Promoting Its Sybsystem
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/garuda-linux-nixification/
- Published: 2026-09-21T13:16:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-21T13:16:46.000Z
- Description: The Nix subsystem now installs as a standalone distro and is available in the Dr460nized and Mokka flavors.
- Author: Sourav Rudra
- Tags: News

Garuda Linux has started nudging its userbase toward [Nix](https://nixos.org/?ref=itsfoss.com). The distro's maintainers have just renamed the [Garuda Nix Subsystem](https://nix.garudalinux.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) to ***Garuda Nix***, and you will find that the move is more nuanced than something purely cosmetic.

What used to be a side project for dual-booting NixOS is now also its own bootable installer. The [flake](https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/Flakes?ref=itsfoss.com) ships a dedicated ISO with a Calamares GUI, alongside a command-line `install-garuda-nix` tool for scripted setups.

This isn't something new. As a subsystem, it has offered a way to run NixOS alongside Garuda on the same drive, keeping both separate through a BTRFS subvolume rather than a dedicated partition.

## So what does it offer?

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/09/garuda-nix-mokka-demo.jpeg)

![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/09/garuda-nix-dr460nized-demo.jpeg)

**Garuda Nix 'Mokka' and 'Dr460nized' flavors (Source:* [**dr460nf1r3*](https://forum.garudalinux.org/u/dr460nf1r3/summary?ref=itsfoss.com)**).*

**Suggested Read 📖:** *Get started* [*using NixOS*](https://itsfoss.com/tag/nix-os/) *with us.*

If you set out [to install this](https://nix.garudalinux.org/iso/install?ref=itsfoss.com), you will find that Calamares handles most of it, asking you to select an edition, *Dr460nized* or *Mokka*, and letting you opt for extras to gain better gaming and printing support along the way.

The CLI tool is where it gets interesting; it covers the basics of installing a Linux distro such as this one, while also providing presets for desktop, laptop, server, and handheld setups, plus eight partition layouts spanning ext4 and BTRFS, encrypted and unencrypted alike.

**Impermanence, though, is the real draw**. Switch it on, and the root filesystem gets wiped clean each time the machine restarts, either through a BTRFS rollback to a saved snapshot or by running root out of tmpfs on ext4 systems.

Don't worry, those wipes don't touch login credentials. Both the *user* and *root* passwords go through [yescrypt](https://www.openwall.com/yescrypt/?ref=itsfoss.com) hashing before landing in the generated config, which is what lets them persist across a rollback.

Garuda Nix also keeps a handful of essentials persistent by default, so things like your Wi-Fi credentials and per-user config folders stay safe. Anything outside that short list needs to be declared manually, or [Impermanence](https://wiki.nixos.org/wiki/Impermanence?ref=itsfoss.com) deletes it along with everything else on the next restart.

## It's already live

Both editions are available now [as daily ISO builds](https://iso.builds.garudalinux.org/iso/garuda/?ref=itsfoss.com). Anyone already running NixOS can skip the download entirely and pull the installer straight from the published flake with a single `nix run` command.

That flake reference points at the same stable branch by default, irrespective of the installation method you used to set things up. Keeping a system current from there is nothing exotic, just the usual `nixos-rebuild switch` command NixOS users already know.

[Download Now!](https://iso.builds.garudalinux.org/iso/garuda/?ref=itsfoss.com)

On the other hand, **if you are new to NixOS**, then you will have to take some time out to learn your way around, since nearly everything here gets configured through text files rather than a settings panel.

Also, this isn't the first time the Garuda Linux team has done something of this magnitude. Their [FireDragon](https://itsfoss.com/news/firedragon-v13-release/) offering is a web browser that was rewritten from scratch to deliver an improved browsing experience.