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Mars Configuration Options

Complete reference for all Mars modules and configuration options

← Back to Creating Hosts | Back to Main README

Overview

All custom options are under the config.mars namespace to avoid conflicts with native NixOS configurations. This reference documents all available Mars modules.

DISCLAIMER

This documentation is a work in progress. New Mars modules and options are being added regularly. Check back for updates or contribute by opening an issue or pull request.

Table of Contents

Boot Options (mars.boot)

Control boot-related configurations including secure boot, boot splash, and kernel selection.

Option Type Default Description
secureBoot boolean false Enable Secure Boot using Lanzaboote
plymouth boolean false Enable Plymouth boot splash screen
kernel.version string "stable" Kernel version ("stable", "latest", "rc")

Example:

mars.boot = {
  secureBoot = true;
  plymouth = true;
  kernel.version = "latest";
};

Security Options (mars.security)

Configure system security tools and sudo replacements.

Option Type Default Description
doas boolean false Enable doas as sudo replacement
sudo-rs boolean false Enable Sudo-RS as traditional sudo replacement

Example:

mars.security.doas = true;

Note: Only enable one of doas or sudo-rs, not both.

Hardware Options (mars.hardware)

ASUS Specific (mars.hardware.asus)

ASUS laptop-specific configurations and optimizations.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable ASUS-specific configurations
battery.chargeUpto integer 100 Battery charge limit percentage (20-100)
battery.enableChargeUptoScript boolean true Script to temporarily set the charge limit

Example:

mars.hardware.asus = {
  enable = true;
  battery.chargeUpto = 80;
};

Tip: Setting charge limit to 80% can significantly extend battery lifespan.

CPU Configuration (mars.hardware.cpu)

CPU vendor-specific optimizations.

Option Type Default Description
amd.enable boolean false Enable AMD CPU optimizations
intel.enable boolean false Enable Intel CPU optimizations

Example:

mars.hardware.cpu.amd.enable = true;

Note: Only enable the option matching your CPU vendor.

Laptop Optimizations (mars.hardware.laptopOptimizations)

Power management and laptop-specific tweaks.

Option Type Default Description
laptopOptimizations boolean false Enable power management and laptop-specific tweaks

Example:

mars.hardware.laptopOptimizations = true;

Includes: TLP, auto-cpufreq, powertop optimizations, and laptop-mode-tools.

Graphics Options (mars.hardware.graphics)

Configure graphics drivers and GPU-specific settings.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable graphics drivers

AMD/RADEON (mars.hardware.graphics.amd)

AMD/RADEON graphics driver configuration.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable AMD graphics drivers
compute.enable boolean false Enable compute/AI optimizations
compute.rocm boolean false Enable ROCm platform support
compute.openCL boolean false Enable OpenCL support
compute.hip boolean false Enable HIP runtime support

Example:

mars.hardware.graphics = {
  enable = true;
  amd = {
    enable = true;
    compute.enable = false;  # Enable for machine learning/compute
  };
};

NVIDIA Open Source (mars.hardware.graphics.nvidiaFree)

Open-source NVIDIA driver (Nouveau).

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable open-source NVIDIA drivers

Example:

mars.hardware.graphics = {
  enable = true;
  nvidiaFree.enable = true;
};

Note: Performance is generally lower than proprietary drivers.

NVIDIA Proprietary (mars.hardware.graphics.nvidiaPro)

Proprietary NVIDIA driver configuration.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable proprietary NVIDIA drivers
nvenc boolean false Enable NVENC hardware encoding
driver string "stable" Driver version ("stable", "latest", "beta", "production", "legacy_470", "legacy_390")
wayland-fixes boolean false Apply Wayland compatibility fixes

Example:

mars.hardware.graphics = {
  enable = true;
  nvidiaPro = {
    enable = true;
    nvenc = true;
    driver = "beta";
    wayland-fixes = true;
  };
};

NVIDIA Prime (mars.hardware.graphics.nvidiaPro.prime)

NVIDIA Prime configuration for hybrid graphics (laptops with iGPU + dGPU).

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable NVIDIA Prime for hybrid graphics
igpu.vendor string null Integrated GPU vendor ("amd" or "intel")
igpu.port string null Integrated GPU PCI port (e.g., "PCI:35:0:0")
dgpu.port string null Discrete GPU PCI port (e.g., "PCI:1:0:0")

Example:

mars.hardware.graphics = {
  enable = true;
  amd = {
    enable = true;
  };
  nvidiaPro = {
    enable = true;
    nvenc = true;
    driver = "beta";
    prime = {
      enable = true;
      igpu = {
        vendor = "amd";
        port = "PCI:35:0:0";
      };
      dgpu.port = "PCI:1:0:0";
    };
    wayland-fixes = true;
  };
};

Finding PCI Ports: Use lspci | grep -E "VGA|3D" to identify your GPU PCI addresses.

Example Output:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation ...
35:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices ...

Convert 01:00.0 to PCI:1:0:0 and 35:00.0 to PCI:35:0:0.

Desktop Options (mars.desktop)

Desktop environment and productivity tools.

Option Type Default Description
graphics boolean false Include graphics/creation tools (OBS, GIMP, Inkscape, etc.)

Example:

mars.desktop.graphics = true;

Shell Options (mars.shell)

Shell configuration options.

Option Type Default Description
bash boolean true Enable Bash as the default shell
fish boolean false Enable Fish shell (overrides bash if enabled)

Example:

mars.shell.fish = true;

Development Options (mars.dev)

Development tools and programming language environments.

Git Configuration (mars.dev.git)

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable Git with configuration
username string null Git username
email string null Git email

Programming Languages (mars.dev.languages)

Option Type Default Description
nix boolean false Enable Nix development tools (nixfmt, nil, etc.)
python boolean false Enable Python development environment
octave boolean false Enable GNU Octave (MATLAB alternative)
rust boolean false Enable Rust toolchain (rustc, cargo, etc.)
javascript boolean false Enable Node.js and npm

Example:

mars.dev = {
  git = {
    enable = true;
    username = "YourUsername";
    email = "your.email@example.com";
  };
  languages = {
    nix = true;
    python = true;
    rust = true;
  };
};

Gaming Options (mars.gaming)

Gaming-related packages and optimizations with automatic performance tuning.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable gaming packages and optimizations
extra-gaming-packages boolean false Include additional gaming tools and emulators

Gaming Performance Optimizations

When mars.gaming.enable = true, the following optimizations are automatically applied:

Environment Variables:

  • DXVK_STATE_CACHE = "1" - Enables shader caching for Proton/Wine games
  • DXVK_STATE_CACHE_PATH = "$HOME/.cache/dxvk" - Shader cache location
  • DXVK_HUD = "compiler" - Shows shader compilation info
  • __GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS = "1" - Multi-threaded OpenGL rendering
  • __GL_SHADER_DISK_CACHE = "1" - OpenGL shader disk cache
  • RADV_PERFTEST = "gpl,nggc,sam" - AMD experimental features (when AMD GPU enabled)

Included Packages:

  • MangoHUD - Performance overlay (FPS, temps, GPU/CPU usage)
  • GOverlay - GUI for MangoHUD configuration
  • libstrangle - Frame rate limiter
  • lm_sensors - Hardware monitoring
  • vkBasalt - Vulkan post-processing (sharpening, CAS, color correction)

Kernel Optimizations (when gaming enabled):

  • tsc=reliable - Faster timekeeping
  • clocksource=tsc - Use TSC for timing
  • preempt=full - Full preemption for lower latency
  • Additional sysctl tuning from CachyOS

Gamemode (mars.gaming.gamemode)

Feral GameMode for performance optimization during gaming.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable Feral GameMode
amdOptimizations boolean false Enable AMD-specific optimizations
nvidiaOptimizations boolean false Enable NVIDIA-specific optimizations

What GameMode Does:

  • Sets CPU governor to performance for maximum clock speeds
  • Increases I/O priority to 0 (highest) for game processes
  • Manages integrated GPU power balance intelligently
  • Applies GPU-specific optimizations (AMD/NVIDIA)
  • Optional ASUS laptop profile switching (Performance mode)

Example:

mars.gaming.gamemode = {
  enable = true;
  nvidiaOptimizations = true;  # or amdOptimizations
};

Note: GameMode also includes automatic renice (priority 10), screensaver inhibit, and split-lock mitigation disable.

Gamescope (mars.gaming.gamescope)

Micro-compositor for gaming with built-in frame limiting and scaling.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable Gamescope compositor

Features:

  • MangoHUD integration via --mangoapp
  • Vulkan rendering preferred over OpenGL
  • Realtime scheduling for reduced input latency
  • Wayland client support
  • Optional adaptive sync (VRR/FreeSync)

Usage:

# Launch a game through Gamescope
gamescope -W 1920 -H 1080 -r 144 -- game_executable

# In Steam, add to launch options:
gamescope -f -- %command%

Example:

mars.gaming.gamescope.enable = true;

Minecraft (mars.gaming.minecraft)

Minecraft launcher and Java configurations.

Option Type Default Description
prismlauncher.enable boolean false Enable Prism Launcher
extraJavaPackages.enable boolean false Include additional Java versions (8, 17, 21)

Steam (mars.gaming.steam)

Valve Steam gaming platform.

Option Type Default Description
enable boolean false Enable Steam
openFirewall boolean false Open Steam ports in firewall
hardware-rules boolean false Enable hardware-specific udev rules (controllers, VR)

Complete Gaming Example:

mars.gaming = {
  enable = true;
  extra-gaming-packages = true;
  
  gamemode = {
    enable = true;
    nvidiaOptimizations = true;
  };
  
  gamescope.enable = true;
  
  steam = {
    enable = true;
    openFirewall = true;
    hardware-rules = true;
  };
  
  minecraft = {
    prismlauncher.enable = true;
    extraJavaPackages.enable = true;
  };
};

Complete Configuration Example

Here's a complete example combining multiple Mars modules:

{
  imports = [
    ./disko.nix
    ../../modules/system/default.nix
  ];

  networking.hostName = "mars-workstation";

  mars = {
    # Boot
    boot = {
      secureBoot = true;
      plymouth = true;
      kernel.version = "latest";
    };

    # Security
    security.doas = true;

    # Hardware
    hardware = {
      rootSSD = true;
      cpu.amd.enable = true;
      graphics = {
        enable = true;
        amd = {
          enable = true;
        };
        nvidiaPro = {
          enable = true;
          nvenc = true;
          driver = "stable";
          prime = {
            enable = true;
            igpu = {
              vendor = "amd";
              port = "PCI:35:0:0";
            };
            dgpu.port = "PCI:1:0:0";
          };
          wayland-fixes = true;
        };
      };
    };

    # Shell
    shell.fish = true;

    # Desktop
    desktop.graphics = true;

    # Development
    dev = {
      git = {
        enable = true;
        username = "developer";
        email = "dev@example.com";
      };
      languages = {
        nix = true;
        python = true;
      };
    };

    # Gaming
    gaming = {
      enable = true;
      gamemode = {
        enable = true;
        nvidiaOptimizations = true;
      };
      gamescope.enable = true;
      steam = {
        enable = true;
        hardware-rules = true;
      };
    };
  };

  system.stateVersion = "25.11";
}

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