summary refs log tree commit diff
path: root/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/config-syntax.chapter.md
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'nixos/doc/manual/configuration/config-syntax.chapter.md')
-rw-r--r--nixos/doc/manual/configuration/config-syntax.chapter.md19
1 files changed, 19 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/config-syntax.chapter.md b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/config-syntax.chapter.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..56d093c0f6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/configuration/config-syntax.chapter.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# Configuration Syntax {#sec-configuration-syntax}
+
+The NixOS configuration file `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix` is actually
+a *Nix expression*, which is the Nix package manager's purely functional
+language for describing how to build packages and configurations. This
+means you have all the expressive power of that language at your
+disposal, including the ability to abstract over common patterns, which
+is very useful when managing complex systems. The syntax and semantics
+of the Nix language are fully described in the [Nix
+manual](https://nixos.org/nix/manual/#chap-writing-nix-expressions), but
+here we give a short overview of the most important constructs useful in
+NixOS configuration files.
+
+```{=docbook}
+<xi:include href="config-file.section.xml" />
+<xi:include href="abstractions.section.xml" />
+<xi:include href="modularity.section.xml" />
+<xi:include href="summary.section.xml" />
+```