Apps from repositories
Install and update apps from F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, custom F-Droid repositories, and GitHub, GitLab or Codeberg releases. Every APK is checked against its checksum and signing key.
Repositories and apps →Declarative Android, with Nix
Configure your phone the way you configure NixOS.
Nixup manages a rooted Android phone from a single configuration.nix: apps, app settings,
system settings, services and backups. Every build is checked before anything changes, and every change
can be rolled back.
Free and open source under GPL-3.0 · Android 11+ · arm64 · Magisk, KernelSU or APatch
configuration.nix
{ pkgs, ... }: {
# Apps from F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid, GitHub releases or Google Play
android.packages.fdroid = with pkgs.fdroid; [ com.termux ];
android.packages.playstore = [ "org.telegram.messenger" ];
# Per-app permissions, battery use and default apps
android.apps."org.thoughtcrime.securesms".permissions.camera = true;
# System settings, with NixOS's names where they exist
time.timeZone = "Europe/Istanbul";
android.settings.display.darkMode = true;
# NixOS services, running on the phone
services.tailscale.enable = true;
services.syncthing.enable = true;
# Encrypted backups of apps and folders
android.backup = {
repository = "/storage/XXXX-XXXX/Backup";
passwordFile = ./backup-password;
apps = [ "org.thoughtcrime.securesms" ];
};
}Why Nixup
NixOS runs on only a few phones, and Nix-on-Droid cannot manage Android itself. Nixup fills the gap: it keeps Android and your apps, and gives Nix the permissions to manage them.
01
One file describes the phone
Apps, permissions, settings, services and backups live in one config you can keep in git and share with your NixOS machines.
02
Checked before anything changes
A build reads and checks the whole config first. A typo, a missing app or a wrong key stops it, and nothing on the phone is touched.
03
Every change can be undone
Each build is saved as a generation you can switch back to. Remove a line, and the setting returns to how it was before Nixup.
What it manages
The parts of a phone you usually set up by hand, written down once.
Google Play, without Google Play
Download apps from Google Play the way Aurora Store does. No Play Store, Play services or GApps on the phone, only an account.
Google Play →App settings
Permissions, battery use, background data, special access, default apps, per-app language. Remove or disable apps the phone came with.
App settings →System settings
Display, navigation, sound, time, language and LineageOS options, with NixOS's names where they exist. Each setting is read back to confirm it took.
System settings →Packages and terminal
Programs from nixpkgs in a built-in root terminal, over SSH or adb. Nix itself is there too: nix shell, nix profile, nix-shell.
Services and timers
NixOS-style systemd.services, timers, sockets and path units, run by Nixup itself. They start at boot and restart when they fail.
NixOS service modules
Over sixty of nixpkgs' own modules run as they are: Syncthing, Tailscale, SSH, Jellyfin, Vaultwarden, nginx, ntfy, AdGuard Home and more.
Ready-made services →Encrypted backups
Apps (APK and data) and folders backed up by the phone with restic, after use and daily. Restore one app, or a whole new phone.
Backups →Generations and rollback
Build, dry run, upgrade and roll back like nixos-rebuild, from the app or from a PC over adb or SSH.
Works like nixos-rebuild
If you know NixOS, you already know the workflow. Build from the app, or from a computer.
| NixOS | Nixup |
|---|---|
nixos-rebuild switch | Build in the app |
nixos-rebuild dry-activate | Dry run |
nixos-rebuild switch --upgrade | Upgrade |
nixos-rebuild switch --rollback | Generations, then switch to one |
nixos-rebuild --target-host | nixup-rebuild switch --flake .#phone on a PC |
Get started
Nixup installs as a root module and comes with its own app.
Install
- Root the phone
Magisk (tested), KernelSU or APatch.
- Download the module
nixup-v<version>.zipfrom the releases page. - Install it
Magisk → Modules → Install from storage → pick the zip.
- Restart the phone
- Open Nixup
Allow root and notifications, then press New for a starter config.
Requirements
- A rooted phone with Magisk, KernelSU or APatch.
- Android 11 or newer, 64-bit ARM (arm64).
- A network connection for builds.
- Nix on a PC only if you want to build there.
Start a config on a PC
nix flake init -t github:by-architect/NixupRemoving the module puts back every setting Nixup changed and every app it removed. How uninstalling works.
Write it down once.
Read the full documentation for every option, or start from the template, which lists them all.