NixOS is a Linux distribution where everything is described as code, with one exception: during installation, the disk partitioning and formatting are manual steps. disko aims to correct this sad clown_face omission.

This is especially useful for unattended installations, re-installation after a system crash or for setting up more than one identical server.

Overview 🔗

disko can either be used after booting from a Nixos installer, or in conjunction with nixos-anywhere if you're installing remotely.

Before using disko, the specifications of the disks, partitions, type of formatting and the mount points must be defined in a Nix configuration. You can find examples of typical configurations in the Nix community repository, and use one of these as the basis of your own configuration.

You can keep your configuration and re-use it for other installations, or for a system rebuild.

disko is flexible, in that it supports most of the common formatting and partitioning options, including:

Disk layouts: GPT, MBR, and mixed.
Partition tools: LVM, mdadm, LUKS, and more.
Filesystems: ext4, btrfs, ZFS, bcachefs, tmpfs, and others.

It can work with these in various configurations and orders, and supports recursive layouts.