Skills Guide

Upgrade NixOS to New Release

VerifiedCaution

Upgrades NixOS to a new stable release by updating version-pinned flake inputs (e.g., nixpkgs, home-manager) and handling breaking changes. It researches breaking changes for the target release, creates an upgrade plan, and executes the upgrade with verification. Use this when moving from one NixOS release to the next, not for minor flake.lock updates.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevOpsIntermediate
906/2/2026
Claude Code
#nixos#upgrade#system-administration#nix-flake#release-upgrade

Recommended for

Backend developerClaude CodeDevOps engineerGit automation

Our review

Upgrades NixOS to a new stable release version by updating version-pinned flake inputs and handling breaking changes.

Strengths

  • Automates research of breaking changes and release notes.
  • Provides a structured upgrade plan with clear steps.
  • Lists specific files and commands for safe upgrade.
  • Includes easy-to-follow rollback instructions.

Limitations

  • Requires user to manually review and approve the plan.
  • Only works with flake-based NixOS configurations.
  • Does not handle non-NixOS package upgrades outside the system.
When to use it

When you need to upgrade NixOS to a new stable release and want to ensure breaking changes are addressed systematically.

When not to use it

When you only need to update flake.lock within the same release or upgrade individual packages without a system version change.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score90/100

The skill performs NixOS release upgrades using bash commands that alter the system (just switch, nixos-rebuild switch). While it includes a safe check step (just check) and rollback instructions, these are powerful operations that could cause breakage if misapplied. No data exfiltration or obfuscation is present.

Findings
  • •Uses just switch to apply system upgrades without explicit user confirmation per step; could break system if incorrect versions are used, though a check step is included.

Examples

Upgrade to NixOS 25.11
Upgrade NixOS to version 25.11
Update NixOS release
Upgrade my NixOS system to the new release
Release upgrade with research
I want to move from NixOS 25.05 to 25.11, please help me check breaking changes and create a plan.

name: upgrade-nixos description: | This skill upgrades NixOS to a new release version (e.g., 25.05 → 25.11). Triggers: "upgrade nixos", "upgrade to new release", "update nixos version", "move to nixos 25.11", "nixos release upgrade", "upgrade system version". Researches breaking changes, updates flake inputs, guides through upgrade. Not for flake.lock updates within same release (use upgrade-flake for that).

Upgrade NixOS Release

Upgrade NixOS to a new stable release version. This involves updating version-pinned flake inputs and handling any breaking changes.

Process

  1. Check current state

    nixos-version
nix --version

  2. Identify version-pinned inputs in flake/flake.nix that need updating:

    • nixpkgs (e.g., nixos-25.05 → nixos-25.11)
    • home-manager (e.g., release-25.05 → release-25.11)
    • nix-darwin (e.g., nix-darwin-25.05 → nix-darwin-25.11)
    • stylix (e.g., release-25.05 → release-25.11)

  3. Research the target release

    • Use web search to find the latest stable NixOS release
    • Check release notes for breaking changes relevant to this config
    • Verify release branches exist for home-manager, stylix, nix-darwin

  4. Identify breaking changes that affect this config:

    • Scan modules for services/packages that might be affected
    • Key areas: Hyprland, Docker, Steam, Secure Boot, impermanence

  5. Create upgrade plan (use creating-plans skill):

    • Save to thoughts/shared/issues/NN-nixos-<version>-upgrade/plan.md
    • Include exact file changes with line numbers
    • Include verification commands
    • Include rollback instructions

  6. Execute upgrade (when user is ready):

    # Edit flake/flake.nix with new versions
just update        # Update flake.lock
just check         # Build without applying (safe)
just switch        # Apply the upgrade

  7. Post-upgrade verification:

    nixos-version
nix --version
docker --version
systemctl status docker tailscaled
hyprctl version

What stays pinned (don't change)

  • lanzaboote - explicit version pin (e.g., v0.4.2), not tied to NixOS releases
  • nixpkgs-unstable - always tracks unstable
  • Inputs that follow nixpkgs - automatically updated

Rollback

Print out the instructions to:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --rollback
git checkout flake/flake.nix flake/flake.lock

$ARGUMENTS

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