+++
title = "Setting up Zola on NixOS"
date = 2023-12-29
draft = false

[taxonomies]
categories = ["Guides"]
tags = ["zola", "nixos"]

[extra]
lang = "en"
toc = true
comment = true
copy = true
math = false
mermaid = false
+++

# Introduction
[Zola](https://getzola.org) is a static site generator (similarly to the infamous [Hugo](https://gohugo.io), which you may have already heard of) and is written in Rust.
It also happens to be the framework that this site is built on!

This blog post is a guide on setting up the site engine on NixOS specifically.

# Installation
## Installing the package
`zola` is packaged in the nix package repository, so you just declaratively add the package to your configuration as usual:
For the purposes of this guide, zola can be installed either as a system or user package.

- As a system package:
```nix
{ pkgs, ... }: {
    # ...
    environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
        zola # Append the package name to the list
    ];
    # ...
}
```

- As a user package (with home-manager):
```nix
{ pkgs, ... }: {
    # ...
    home.packages = with pkgs; [
        zola # Append the package name to the list
    ];
    # ...
}
```

Now that `zola` itself is installed, we can move on setting up the pages it serves - continue reading...

## Setting up a theme
Zola actually has a section of its website showcasing several community-made themes which you can choose from to be the theme for your static site [here](https://getzola.org/themes/).

Simply choose a theme that you like (demos are usually available for each theme listed) and follow its appropriate documentation to set it up - this site uses a version of the [serene theme](https://www.getzola.org/themes/serene/) with my custom colours.

{% note(header="Custom themes") %}
You can also make your own theme if that better suits you (I recommend giving the [documentation](https://getzola.org/documentation) a read if so).
{% end %}

## Setting up NGINX
After selecting a theme (or making your own) you should now have a directory somewhere on your server containing your static site.
For the following snippet, we'll assume this is at `/var/lib/blog`.

[NGINX](https://nginx.com) is a popular webserver which we're going to use for the purposes of hosting and serving our site. To do so, append the following somewhere in your configuration:

```nix
# ...
{
    # ...
    services.nginx = {
        enable = true;
        virtualHosts = {
            "blog" = {
                forceSSL = true;
                serverName = "blog.devraza.duckdns.org"; # replace this with wherever your site will be
                root = "/var/lib/blog/public"; # the path to the `public` folder in our site directory
            };
        };
    };
    # ...
}
```

# Finishing up
You should now have your own static site built with Zola! You can use this for a bunch of things, like:
- Your personal blog (as I've done)
- A way to showcase your projects ([as I've also done](https://blog.devraza.duckdns.org/projects))
- Hosting documentation (check out [this Zola theme](https://www.getzola.org/themes/adidoks/), for example)

{% question(header="Help, my changes aren't sticking!") %}
When you make new markdown files (or any other changes to the structure of your site), remember to run `zola build` in your site directory (`/var/lib/blog`) for the changes to *build* into the actual site.
{% end %}