NixOS 26.05 Released

NixOS 26.05 ("Ocelot") has been released, featuring updated packages, new installer images, and improvements to the Nix package manager and system configuration. The release continues the project's rolling-release model while providing a stable snapshot for new installations and upgrades.

Background

- NixOS is a Linux distribution built on the Nix package manager, which uses a purely functional approach to system configuration. Everything is declared in a single configuration file, making setups reproducible, rollback-capable, and easy to share. - The "26.05" versioning follows a YY.MM scheme (2026, May). This is the first stable release since NixOS 25.11. - Nixpkgs (the package collection) now ships over 130,000 packages. Key updates for 26.05 include Linux kernel 6.12 LTS, systemd 257, and GNOME 48. - New features: "zfs-native" kernels for out-of-the-box ZFS support; a declarative initrd builder (dinitrd) to replace hardcoded initramfs; and "nixos-anywhere" for installing NixOS on non-NixOS machines without a live ISO. - Under the hood: Nix now uses a new C++20 build of libstore, and NixOS adds a `system.build.manual` attribute to generate the official manual from your own config — plus experimental lazy state tracking for faster `nix build`.