dendritic-nix

Create a file under modules/ that sets flake.modules.<class>.<bucket>, such as flake.modules.nixos.base. import-tree auto-imports every file, so no imports list needs editing. Make the value a function like { pkgs, ... }: { ... } when you need NixOS or home-manager arguments.

flake.modules is an option provided by flake-parts' flakeModules.modules, typed as lazyAttrsOf (lazyAttrsOf deferredModule). The outer key is a module class like nixos or homeManager, the inner key is a feature bucket name, and values merge across all files that target the same bucket.

Import inputs.home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager inside one glue module that sets flake.modules.nixos.home-manager. Then read config.flake.modules.homeManager.base in the flake-parts config and assign it to home-manager.users.<name>.imports, so hosts only import the home-manager bucket.

No, callPackage sources are not flake-parts modules and must stay outside the import tree, for example under pkgs/ at the repo root or any path containing /_. Wire them into configuration through a normal module that adds an overlay via nixpkgs.overlays.

Passing self or shared values through specialArgs and extraSpecialArgs creates plumbing the pattern eliminates. Instead, declare options on the top-level flake-parts config in bare per-domain namespaces like git.userEmail, and read them from any module file directly.

Common anti-patterns include giving every file its own unique bucket name, scattering raw flake.nixosModules instead of using flake.modules, making file paths behavior-significant, and adding enable flags for modules a host already imports. Merge non-distinct features into shared buckets like base or desktop.