The mdBook migration split the manual into one HTML page per section,
but same-page fragment links (e.g. [Standalone setup](#sec-flakes-standalone))
were left pointing at anchors that now live on other pages, so they
silently do nothing when clicked.
Rewrite all cross-page fragment links in docs/manual and
docs/release-notes to page-qualified relative links. Option anchor
links (#opt-*, #nixos-opt-*, #nix-darwin-opt-*) are untouched since
convert-markup.py rewrites those at build time.
Also give the previously empty-label [](#sec-tests) link in the 25.05
release notes a "Tests" label, since the mdBook renderer does not
auto-fill labels from the target heading.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Document how Home Manager handles activation-time file collisions in the usage manual, including standalone backup flags, NixOS and nix-darwin module options, per-file force handling, recursive directory behavior, and out-of-store symlink sources.
Also clarify the home.file-style ignorelinks option description so recursive symlink behavior is easier to understand from the generated option docs.
Describe update and release-upgrade workflows separately so users can tell when to update the current branch versus move to a new Home Manager release branch.
Expand routine update instructions for flake users by explaining that flake inputs are pinned in flake.lock, showing all-input and selected-input update commands, and separating the rebuild command for standalone, NixOS module, and nix-darwin module installations.
Keep channel instructions available for standalone and system-module users, including the different channel owner used by NixOS module setups. Also correct nix-darwin terminology in the installation and flakes docs so those sections do not use NixOS-specific wording.
Adds `home.services`, an attribute set of nixpkgs
[modular services](https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/unstable/#modular-services)
sourced from `<nixpkgs/lib/services/lib.nix>`. Each service exposes
`process.argv` and the upstream NixOS-style systemd schema
(`systemd.lib`, `systemd.mainExecStart`, `systemd.service`,
`systemd.services`, `systemd.sockets`) by re-exporting
`nixos/modules/system/service/systemd/service.nix`. Service modules
shipped with `_class = "service"` (e.g.
`pkgs.<name>.passthru.services.default`) drop in unchanged --
service portability across module systems is the point of modular
services.
Lifted units are evaluated and translated from NixOS-style attrs
(`wantedBy`, `serviceConfig`, `unitConfig`, `environment`, ...) into
the section-based INI shape (`{ Unit; Service; Install; }`) that
home-manager's `systemd.user.{services,sockets}` consumes; only the
common keys are mapped, uncommon options remain reachable via
`unitConfig` / `serviceConfig` / `socketConfig`. Sub-services and
their units are dashed under the parent service name;
`process.argv` becomes the default `ExecStart` for the service's
primary unit, which defaults to `WantedBy=default.target`.
Mirrors the surface of nixpkgs' portable systemd module (services +
sockets only); other unit kinds home-manager supports natively
(timers etc.) are intentionally not modeled until upstream grows
them.
Each service's `configData.<name>` entries are materialized at
`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/system-services/<service-prefix>/<name>` (mirroring
how `nixos/modules/system/service/systemd/{config-data-path,system}.nix`
lifts `configData` to `environment.etc`), with the absolute path
injected back into `configData.<name>.path` so the service can refer
to its files at a stable location.
Includes nmt tests covering: a basic `process.argv`-only service, a
service with a `configData` entry, and importing
`pkgs.ghostunnel.passthru.services.default` to assert the lifted user
unit contains the expected ExecStart flags and `LoadCredential`
entries.
- Add comprehensive documentation for upgrading Home Manager channels.
- Cover channel-based, flake-based, and NixOS module methods.
- Include troubleshooting section and state version updates.
- Update examples for NixOS 25.05 compatibility.
This commit deprecates profile management from the activation script.
The profile management is instead the responsibility of the driving
software, for example, the `home-manager` tool in the case of
standalone installs.
The legacy behavior is still available for backwards compatibility but
may be removed in the future.
The new behavior resolves (or moves us closer to resolving) a number
of long standing open issues:
- `home-manager switch --rollback`, which performs a rollback to the
previous Home Manager generation before activating. While it was
previously possible to accomplish this by activating an old
generation, it did always create a new profile generation.
This option has been implemented as part of this commit.
- `home-manager switch --specialisation NAME`, which switches to the
named specialisation. While it was previously possible to accomplish
this by manually running the specialisation activate script, it did
always create a new profile generation.
This option has been implemented as part of this commit.
- `home-manager switch --test`, which activates the configuration but
does not create a new profile generation.
This option has _not_ been implemented here since it relies on the
current configuration being activated on login, which we do not
currently do.
- When using the "Home Manager as a NixOS module" installation method
we previously created an odd `home-manager` per-user "shadow
profile" for the user. This is no longer necessary.
This has been implemented as part of this commit.
Fixes#3450
The `optionsDocBook` function is deprecated in nixpkgs since
nixos-23.11. This commit updates the manual and manpages to
use commonmark formatted documentation instead of the deprecated
docbook format.
