diff --git a/lib/build-clan/default.nix b/lib/build-clan/default.nix
index f7d05b2d8..00cd42766 100644
--- a/lib/build-clan/default.nix
+++ b/lib/build-clan/default.nix
@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ let
           clanCore.machineName = name;
           clanCore.clanDir = directory;
           nixpkgs.hostPlatform = lib.mkForce system;
+
+          # speeds up nix commands by using the nixpkgs from the host system (especially useful in VMs)
+          nix.registry.nixpkgs.to = {
+            type = "path";
+            path = lib.mkDefault nixpkgs;
+          };
         }
       ];
     inherit specialArgs;
diff --git a/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix b/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix
index 8545ecd70..725c89313 100644
--- a/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix
+++ b/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
       ./zerotier
       ./meshnamed
       ./networking.nix
+      ./packages.nix
       inputs.sops-nix.nixosModules.sops
       # just some example options. Can be removed later
       ./vm.nix
diff --git a/nixosModules/clanCore/packages.nix b/nixosModules/clanCore/packages.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3481b3ecc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixosModules/clanCore/packages.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }: {
+  # essential debugging tools for networked services
+  environment.systemPackages = [
+    pkgs.dnsutils
+    pkgs.tcpdump
+    pkgs.curl
+    pkgs.jq
+    pkgs.htop
+  ];
+}