Configuration
Update Channels
Abora uses a channel system to control which release stream your system follows when you run sudo nixos update.
Channels
stable
Recommended. Follows versioned Abora release tags (e.g. v4.0). Only upgrades to confirmed stable releases. Never downgrades unless you use abora fallback.
demo
Pre-release builds. Follows demo-tagged releases (e.g. v4.0.0-demo). Gets new features earlier. May have rough edges.
unstable
Bleeding edge. Follows the latest git tag regardless of stability designation. Not recommended for daily use.
Managing channels
# Show your current channel
nixos channel show
# List all available channels
nixos channel list
# Switch channels
nixos channel set stable
nixos channel set demo
nixos channel set unstable
# Apply after switching
sudo nixos updateHow it works
The channel is stored at /etc/nixos/abora/channel (defaults to stable if the file does not exist).
When you run sudo nixos update, the updater:
- Reads your channel from
/etc/nixos/abora/channel - Queries GitHub tags via
git ls-remoteto find the latest matching release - Compares against the installed version, refuses to downgrade unless forced
- Shallow-clones the release at that tag into a temp dir and validates all required files
- Copies updated files to
/etc/nixos/abora/ - Runs
nix flake updatethennixos-rebuild switch
Downgrade / fallback
The updater normally refuses to install a version older than what is installed. To override:
abora fallback --release v3.10 # roll back to a specific release
# or
ABORA_ALLOW_DOWNGRADE=1 sudo nixos update