add README with usage, architecture, and examples

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-06-07 10:46:32 +05:30 · 2026-06-07 10:46:32 +05:30 · e196160aac
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+# vmix
+
+Composable QEMU VM image building and orchestration for NixOS.
+
+## What it does
+
+vmix provides:
+- **Image building** — reproducible Linux (Debian) and Windows qcow2 images via Nix derivations
+- **NixOS module** — declarative VM management with QEMU in network namespaces
+- **CLI tool** — build, copy-to-disk, and run images from the command line
+
+## Usage
+
+### As a flake input
+
+```nix
+# flake.nix
+inputs.vmix.url = "git+https://git.sagar.ch/dotfiles/vmix.nix.git";
+
+# In your NixOS configuration (or globally via serverFunctions)
+imports = [ inputs.vmix.nixosModules.default ];
+
+# Use vmixLib via overlay
+nixpkgs.overlays = [ inputs.vmix.overlays.default ];
+# Then: pkgs.vmixLib.linux, pkgs.vmixLib.windows, pkgs.vmixLib.network
+```
+
+### As a CLI
+
+```bash
+# Enter dev shell
+nix develop
+
+# Build an image
+vmix build --image windows.images.win10.laptop \
+  --generalize username=User,password=secret,hostname=PC
+
+# Write to local disk
+vmix copy --image windows.images.win10.laptop \
+  --generalize username=User,password=secret \
+  --to-disk /dev/sda
+
+# Write to remote disk (streamed via SSH + LZ4)
+vmix copy --image windows.images.win10.laptop \
+  --generalize username=User,password=secret \
+  --to-remote-disk root@10.10.10.100:/dev/nvme0n1
+
+# Boot a built image with QEMU
+vmix run ./result --mem 8192 --smp 8 --ahci
+```
+
+## Flake outputs
+
+| Output | Description |
+|--------|-------------|
+| `overlays.default` | Nix overlay exposing `pkgs.vmixLib` |
+| `nixosModules.default` | NixOS module for declarative VM management |
+| `lib.x86_64-linux` | Library functions (images + network utilities) |
+| `packages.x86_64-linux.default` | vmix CLI tool |
+| `apps.x86_64-linux.default` | Runnable vmix app |
+
+## Repository structure
+
+```
+flake.nix          # Flake entry point
+module.nix         # NixOS module export
+overlay.nix        # Nix overlay (vmixLib pinned to nixpkgs 25-11)
+cli.nix            # CLI tool (build, copy, run)
+
+lib/
+  default.nix      # Exports: images (linux + windows) + network
+  network.nix      # IPv4/CIDR utilities
+  images/
+    linux/         # Debian image building + customization
+    windows/       # Windows image building + customization
+      helpers/     # makeImage, customizeImage, makeWinISO, etc.
+      templates/   # Registry tweaks, app installers, essentials
+      drivers/     # VirtIO, AMD GPU drivers
+      win10/       # Windows 10 LTSC images
+      win11/       # Windows 11 images
+
+nixos/
+  default.nix      # NixOS module entry point
+  networks/        # Network namespace management (LAN, WAN, macvtap)
+  vms/             # VM lifecycle management (QEMU, tap devices, DHCP)
+```
+
+## Image building
+
+### Windows pipeline
+
+1. `makeImage` — unattended install from upstream ISO via QEMU
+2. `customizeImageFold` — apply modular templates (registry, apps, drivers)
+3. `generalize` — sysprep + OOBE for deployment to real hardware
+
+### Linux pipeline
+
+1. Fetch upstream Debian cloud image
+2. `customizeImageFold` — apply templates via `virt-customize`
+
+### Key patterns
+
+- **`customizeImageFold`** — `builtins.foldl'` over templates for composable layered images
+- **`_vmixOsType`** — all images carry `"linux"` or `"windows"` metadata for auto-detection
+- **Offline registry** — Windows templates use `ControlSet001` for offline `virt-win-reg --merge`
+
+## NixOS module
+
+Declare VMs and networks:
+
+```nix
+vmix.namespaces."lab" = {
+  networks.lan1 = {
+    subnet = "10.99.1.0/24";
+    dhcp.enable = true;
+  };
+  vms.myvm = {
+    image = pkgs.vmixLib.linux.images.debian.v12.upstream;
+    memory = 2048;
+    cores = 2;
+    interfaces.lan1 = { ip = "10.99.1.10"; };
+    autostart = true;
+  };
+};
+```
+
+Features:
+- Network namespaces with WAN (veth), LAN (bridge + dnsmasq), macvtap
+- ACPI graceful shutdown via QMP socket
+- 9p shares with auto-created mount targets
+- Conditional macvtap service (only created when macvtaps are configured)