NixOS Installation (Flake)

Dux Labs

NixOS Installation (Flake)

Dux Files ships a flake with a package, a NixOS module and a home-manager module. Both modules expose the same programs.dank-files options; the home-manager module adds settings.

Installation

1. Add the Flake Input

Add the Dux Files flake to your flake.nix:

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";

    dfiles = {
      url = "github:duxlabs-dev/dux-files";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
  };
}

2. Import a Module

For a per-user install, import the home-manager module:

imports = [
  inputs.dfiles.homeModules.dank-files
];

For a system-wide install, import the NixOS module instead:

imports = [
  inputs.dfiles.nixosModules.dank-files
];

homeModules.default and nixosModules.default are aliases.

3. Enable Dux Files

programs.dank-files.enable = true;

Rebuild and Dux Files is installed with Quickshell, the desktop entry and the FileManager1 activation file.

Configuration Options

programs.dank-files = {
  enable = true;

  # Use a custom package (optional)
  package = inputs.dfiles.packages.${pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.system}.default;

  # The Quickshell package that runs the UI
  quickshell.package = pkgs.quickshell;

  # Keep a resident instance so windows open fast and the portal answers at once
  systemd = {
    enable = true;
    target = "graphical-session.target";
    restartIfChanged = true;
  };

  # Serve other apps' open and save dialogs
  portal = {
    enable = true;      # register the dfiles backend with xdg-desktop-portal
    preferred = true;   # prefer it for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.FileChooser
    desktop = "niri";   # which xdg.portal.config entry gets the preference, "common" by default
  };
};

Option	Default	What it does
package	the flake package	The Dux Files package to install
quickshell.package	pkgs.quickshell	Quickshell used to launch the UI
systemd.enable	false	Installs and enables the dfiles user service
systemd.target	graphical-session.target	The target the service follows. The home-manager module defaults it to wayland.systemd.target
systemd.restartIfChanged	true	Restart the service when the package changes (NixOS module)
portal.enable	false	Adds the package to xdg.portal.extraPortals so the dfiles backend is registered
portal.preferred	false	Writes dfiles into xdg.portal.config.<desktop>."org.freedesktop.impl.portal.FileChooser"
portal.desktop	"common"	Which portal configuration gets the preference: a lowercased XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP name, or common

See Open and save dialogs for what the portal backend does and which apps use it.

UI Settings (home-manager)

The home-manager module can write the UI settings file for you. Keys match the Settings page and land in ~/.config/dfiles/ui-settings.json:

programs.dank-files = {
  enable = true;
  settings = {
    themeMode = "dark";
    radiusStrength = 50;
    defaultView = "list";
    vimKeys = true;
  };
};

warning

A managed settings file is read-only, so changes made in the app's Settings page do not persist across rebuilds. Leave settings empty if you prefer to configure Dux Files from its UI.

Rebuilding

# For home-manager standalone
home-manager switch

# For NixOS (with or without home-manager as a module)
sudo nixos-rebuild switch

Troubleshooting

Service doesn't start automatically

The service is off unless systemd.enable = true. Check it:

systemctl --user status dfiles
journalctl --user -u dfiles -f

Portal dialogs still come from the old backend

xdg-desktop-portal reads its configuration once at startup. After enabling portal.preferred, restart it:

systemctl --user restart xdg-desktop-portal.service

dfiles portal status shows which backend is active.

Next Steps

• Usage - Learn the CLI commands
• Settings - Every key the settings option accepts