3.4 KiB
:material-clock-fast: Getting Started
Ready to create your own clan and manage a fleet of machines? Follow these simple steps to get started.
By the end of this guide, you'll have a fresh NixOS configuration ready to push to one or more machines. You'll create a new git repository and a flake, and all you need is at least one machine to push to. This is the easiest way to begin, and we recommend you to copy your existing configuration into this new setup!
Prerequisites
=== "Linux"
Clan depends on nix installed on your system. Run the following command to install nix.
```bash
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf -L https://install.determinate.systems/nix | sh -s -- install
```
If you already have installed Nix, make sure you have the `nix-command` and `flakes` configuration enabled in your ~/.config/nix/nix.conf.
The determinate installer already comes with this configuration by default.
```bash
# /etc/nix/nix.conf or ~/.config/nix/nix.conf
experimental-features = nix-command flakes
```
=== "NixOS"
If you run NixOS the `nix` binary is already installed.
You will also need to enable the `flakes` and `nix-commands` experimental features in your configuration.nix:
```nix
{ nix.settings.experimental-features = [ "nix-command" "flakes" ]; }
```
=== "Other"
Clan doesn't offer dedicated support for other operating systems yet.
Step 1: Add Clan CLI to Your Shell
Add the Clan CLI into your development workflow:
nix shell git+https://git.clan.lol/clan/clan-core#clan-cli --refresh
You can find reference documentation for the clan cli program here.
Alternatively you can check out the help pages directly:
clan --help
Step 2: Initialize Your Project
If you want to migrate an existing project, follow this guide.
Set the foundation of your Clan project by initializing it as follows:
clan flakes create my-clan
This command creates the flake.nix and .clan-flake files for your project.
It will also generate files from a default template, to help show general clan usage patterns.
Step 3: Verify the Project Structure
Ensure that all project files exist by running:
cd my-clan
tree
This should yield the following:
.
├── flake.nix
├── machines
│ ├── jon
│ │ ├── configuration.nix
│ │ └── hardware-configuration.nix
│ └── sara
│ ├── configuration.nix
│ └── hardware-configuration.nix
└── modules
└── shared.nix
5 directories, 9 files
??? info "Recommended way of sourcing the clan cli tool"
The default template also adds the clan cli tool to the development shell.
Meaning you can get the exact version you need directly from the folder
you are in right now.
In the `my-clan` directory run the following command:
```
nix develop
```
That way you will have the tool available in the shell environment.
We also recommend setting up [direnv](https://direnv.net/) for your shell, for a more convenient
experience.
clan machines list
jon
sara
!!! success
You just successfully bootstrapped your first clan directory.