First Steps

First Steps After Installation

Welcome to NullOS! Here's what to do after your first successful login.

Initial Login

After installation and reboot, you should see:

1. SDDM login manager
2. Your username (from variables.nix)
3. Hyprland session should be auto-selected

Login with your user account.

1. Set Your Password

First thing - set a password for your user:

passwd

2. Learn the Essential Keybindings

Press SUPER + K to view all keybindings, or here are the essentials:

Core Shortcuts

Key	Action
SUPER + Return	Open terminal (Ghostty)
SUPER + SHIFT + Return	Application launcher (Rofi)
SUPER + W	Web browser
SUPER + E	File manager (Dolphin)
SUPER + C	VSCode
SUPER + S	Screenshot tool
SUPER + T	Scratchpad terminal
SUPER + M	Audio mixer (Pavucontrol)
SUPER + Q	Close window
SUPER + F	Fullscreen
SUPER + SHIFT + F	Toggle floating
SUPER + SHIFT + C	Exit Hyprland

Window Management

Key	Action
SUPER + H/J/K/L	Move focus (vim keys)
SUPER + Arrow Keys	Move focus (arrows)
SUPER + SHIFT + H/J/K/L	Move window
SUPER + ALT + H/J/K/L	Swap windows
SUPER + 1-9	Switch workspace
SUPER + SHIFT + 1-9	Move window to workspace
SUPER + Mouse1	Move window
SUPER + Mouse2	Resize window

System Controls

Key	Action
Volume Up/Down	Adjust volume (SwayOSD)
Brightness Up/Down	Adjust brightness (SwayOSD)
SUPER + SHIFT + N	Notification center

3. Set Your Wallpaper

Quick Method

Use the wallpaper setter script:

wallsetter

This opens a Rofi menu with wallpapers from the wallpapers/ directory.

Manual Method

1. Add your wallpaper to ~/NullOS/wallpapers/
2. Update variables.nix:

   stylixImage = wallpapers/yourwallpaper.jpg;

3. Rebuild:

   sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/NullOS#yourhostname --impure

Stylix will automatically generate a color scheme from your wallpaper.

4. Configure Git

Your git config is set from variables.nix, but verify:

git config --global user.name
git config --global user.email

If you need to change it, edit variables.nix and rebuild.

5. Test Key Features

Terminal

Press SUPER + Return to open a terminal. You should see:

• Zsh with Powerlevel10k prompt
• Starship prompt styling
• Theming from Stylix

Application Launcher

Press SUPER + SHIFT + Return for Rofi launcher:

• Type to search applications
• Arrow keys to navigate
• Enter to launch

Screenshot Tool

Press SUPER + S to take a screenshot:

• Select area with mouse
• Screenshot is copied to clipboard
• Opens in Swappy for annotation

Notifications

Test notifications:

notify-send "Test" "Notifications working!"

Press SUPER + SHIFT + N to open notification center.

Scratchpad Terminal

Press SUPER + T for a dropdown terminal:

• Appears from the top
• Press again to hide
• Always available, doesn't clutter workspace

6. Explore File Manager

Press SUPER + E for Dolphin file manager:

• Modern KDE file manager
• Tabs and split views
• Integrated with system theme

Or try the terminal file manager Yazi:

SUPER + Y  # Opens yazi in terminal

7. Check System Status

Waybar

Look at the top bar (Waybar) showing:

• Workspaces
• Window title
• System tray
• Clock
• System stats (CPU, RAM, etc.)

System Information

Check your system with fastfetch:

fastfetch

Or with bottom (process monitor):

btop  # or just 'bottom'

8. Customize Your Environment

Now that basics work, customize:

• Customization Guide - Detailed customization options
• Hyprland - Window manager tweaks
• Waybar - Status bar customization
• Theming - Color schemes and styling

9. Set Up Development Environment

If you're a developer:

Docker

Docker is pre-configured:

docker ps  # Verify docker works

Add your user to docker group if needed (should be automatic):

groups  # Check if 'docker' is listed

Virtualization

libvirt/KVM is available:

virsh list --all

Direnv

Project environments work automatically:

cd ~/your-project
echo "use nix" > .envrc
direnv allow

10. Verify Services

Check key services are running:

# Audio
pactl info

# Docker
systemctl status docker

# Tailscale (if you use it)
tailscale status

Common First-Time Issues

No Audio

Check PipeWire is running:

systemctl --user status pipewire

Open mixer:

pavucontrol

Screen Brightness Not Working

Try:

brightnessctl set 50%

If it doesn't work, check Troubleshooting.

NVIDIA Not Working

For hybrid graphics laptops, see NVIDIA configuration.

Check current GPU:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

Notifications Not Showing

Restart notification daemon:

swaync

Useful Commands

# List all installed packages
nix-env -qa

# Update system
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake ~/NullOS#yourhostname --impure

# Update flake inputs
cd ~/NullOS && nix flake update

# Check system configuration
nixos-option system.stateVersion

# View keybindings
list-keybinds

# Launch app launcher
rofi-launcher

Learning Resources

Hyprland

• Press SUPER + K for keybindings
• Check Hyprland Wiki
• See Hyprland page in this wiki

Nix/NixOS

• NixOS Manual
• Nix Pills
• NixOS Discourse

Home Manager

• Home Manager Manual
• Home Manager Options

Next Steps

Now that you're set up:

1. Customize - Make NullOS your own with Customization Guide
2. Learn Hyprland - Master the window manager with Hyprland
3. Add Software - Install more apps with Adding Applications
4. Set Up Backup - Configure backups with Backup

Getting Help

If something doesn't work:

1. Check Troubleshooting
2. Review error messages carefully
3. Search GitHub Issues
4. Open a new issue with details

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Enjoy your new NullOS system! 🎉