Cockpit on NixOS setup

Nov 21, 2023 - Last update: Aug 4, 2026 - 3 min read

Introduction

Cockpit is a cutting-edge web-based graphical interface for server management. It allows you to administer servers effortlessly and includes a built-in terminal.

Personally, I utilize the NixOS package to monitor system logs, network settings, services, system resources, and CPU load and all without needing to touch the command line.

I use also plugins like Cockpit Files, Cockpit Podman and Cockpit Machines. This works out of the box so the following notes are now obsolete: virtual machines and podman containers. For some time now, I have been contemplating replacing my homelab hypervisor with NixOS, and incorporating virtual machines and Podman containers is a crucial part of that transition.

Setup

NixOS Configuration

Add lib to the top of configuration.nix
- Linux
/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
# To edit use your text editor application, for example Nano { lib, config, pkgs, ... }:
In this case I am using the Cockpit package from the default channel. But you can also use a newer version from the unstable channel (if available).

Then add the Cockpit settings:

Linux

# To edit use your text editor application, for example Nano
services.cockpit = {
  enable = true;
  port = 9090;
  plugins = [
    pkgs.cockpit-files
    pkgs.cockpit-podman
    pkgs.cockpit-machines
  ];
  # openFirewall = true; # Please see the comments section
  settings = {
    WebService = {
      # AllowUnencrypted = true; # 2026-08-04: Not needed anymore?
      Origins = lib.mkForce "http://IP:9090 https://IP:9090";
    };
  };
};
# IMPORTANT: Please read the instructions below

Instructions:

Optional Replace port number 9090 with a port number that is available if needed
Required Replace IP with localhost or your IP address, this is needed to prevent a failed websocket connection (please see https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/453337)

Switch NixOS configuration

Now you can switch to the new NixOS configuration. Run the following command:
- Linux
# Open your terminal application sudo nix-collect-garbage # Optional: clean up sudo nixos-rebuild switch
You can view my complete configuration.nix here.
Check the results

Now you can browse to Cockpit by opening a web browser and going to: http://localhost:9090. Replace localhost with the relevant IP address or FQDN if needed, and adjust the port if you changed it earlier.

For an explanation of how to access Cockpit with a local domain name (local reverse proxy), for example cockpit.home.arpa served over HTTPS, please see this note.

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