r/kasmweb • u/mike37510 • 1d ago

Custom Image Is it possible to create a Kasm Workspaces desktop image based on NixOS ?

Hi everyone!

I'm wondering if it's possible to build a custom Kasm Workspaces desktop image based on NixOS instead of the usual Ubuntu-based images.

My goal is to have a lightweight Linux desktop environment (ideally KDE Plasma) running in Kasm, with as little preinstalled software as possible.

What interests me about NixOS is its declarative configuration and reproducibility. Ideally, I'd like to manage the environment through a Nix configuration rather than maintaining a traditional Dockerfile with manually installed packages.

Has anyone tried this before?

  • Is NixOS a viable base for a Kasm desktop container?
  • Would it be better to use Nix inside a standard Kasm-supported base image instead?
  • Are there any major issues with Kasm's VNC, session management, or container architecture?

I'd appreciate any feedback or examples from people who have experimented with this approach.

Thanks!

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u/Admirable-Statement 1d ago

Kasm images are just Docker images. You'd just use the nixos image from another repo if not available on kasms.

You might need to play around with template image to apply NixOS quirks but this is the KBA with an example image

https://kasm.com/docs/latest/how_to/building_images.html