NixCon 2024: The community is growing and thriving

The three-day NixCon 2024 took place in Berlin from October 25 to 27. Users and developers of the package manager Nix and the associated Linux distribution NixOS came together to discuss a wide range of topics relating to Nix and NixOS in around 40 presentations and seven workshops.

More than 400 participants attended this year's event in Berlin. Five years ago, fewer than 150 developers, enthusiasts and users met at NixCon 2019 in Brno, Czech Republic. The growth is no coincidence: Nix and NixOS have evolved from a specialized niche to a versatile ecosystem that covers many areas – from reproducible builds and declarative configuration management on numerous platforms such as laptops, servers or Raspberry Pis to reliable cloud deployments for DevOps teams. This year, the diversity of the projects presented stood out in particular. Moreover, even as a dedicated participant, it was not possible to meet all the developers present.

Wide range in the Nix ecosphere

The breadth of the Nix ecosystem was also evident at NixCon 2024: it ranges from small projects by independent developers to extensive applications for companies and research institutions. A particular highlight this year was the wealth of workshops and practice-oriented sessions. Those who wanted to delve deeper into specific topics such as deploying NixOS in larger server environments or creating highly customized development environments found plenty of opportunities to do so. These sessions not only proved to be technically sound, but also provided an important space for the community: knowledge and best practices were exchanged here and directly deepened in real projects during a hackathon on Sunday.

What made the event unusual was this year's decision to forgo sponsorship. NixCon should be supported by the community, without the influence of companies that want to see their products or services in the spotlight. The organization by volunteers worked remarkably well. This attitude generally suits a community that is increasingly organizing itself, going its own way and whose self-image is strongly characterized by independence.

The discussions about the governance of Nix, which had caused unrest earlier this year, did not seem to play a role. Instead, the focus was on a calm, professional exchange and working together on practical challenges. The upcoming election of the first Nix Steering Committee also shows how actively involved the community is in the development of the project. Around 840 eligible members have until November 3 to choose who will shape the future of Nix and NixOS.

In any case, the community is not only growing in numbers, but also in its diversity and depth. The joy and pride of being part of this vibrant community was evident to many participants. For many users, Nix and NixOS are more than just a technical tool – they stand for a philosophy that is committed to the principles of reproducible software and sustainable development.

Presentations available as video

The talks from Friday and Saturday are available on YouTube, there were none on Sunday due to the hackathon. NixCon 2024 has encouraged further development. Numerous exciting discussions and new collaborations created at the conference are likely to lay the foundation for various future developments. The community will meet again at the beginning of March at the North American "Planet Nix" conference in Pasadena, California.

(syt)