From 0b353a3ec822526f8725d341d8336d8eb47f45f5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: UGA Innovation Factory <engr-ugaif@uga.edu>
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2026 11:58:38 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] fix: work on making the installer work offline

fix: ensure system closure is installed for derivations needed by the installer

fix: build closure in build-step instead of on iso
---
 hosts/boot.nix             |  7 ++++++-
 hosts/types/nix-zima.nix   |  2 +-
 installer/artifacts.nix    |  7 +++++++
 installer/auto-install.nix | 28 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
 inventory.nix              |  2 ++
 5 files changed, 42 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/hosts/boot.nix b/hosts/boot.nix
index 73e8f6c..a186612 100644
--- a/hosts/boot.nix
+++ b/hosts/boot.nix
@@ -34,6 +34,11 @@
           type = lib.types.str;
           description = "The main disk device to use for installation.";
         };
+        useSwap = lib.mkOption {
+          type = lib.types.bool;
+          default = true;
+          description = "Whether to create and use a swap partition.";
+        };
         swapSize = lib.mkOption {
           type = lib.types.str;
           description = "The size of the swap partition.";
@@ -115,7 +120,7 @@
               };
 
               # Swap Partition (size configurable per host)
-              swap = {
+              swap = lib.mkIf config.athenix.host.filesystem.useSwap {
                 name = "swap";
                 label = "swap";
                 size = config.athenix.host.filesystem.swapSize;
diff --git a/hosts/types/nix-zima.nix b/hosts/types/nix-zima.nix
index d065186..40a9cec 100644
--- a/hosts/types/nix-zima.nix
+++ b/hosts/types/nix-zima.nix
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
   ];
 
   # ========== Filesystem Configuration ==========
-  athenix.host.filesystem.swapSize = lib.mkDefault "0G";
+  athenix.host.filesystem.useSwap = lib.mkDefault false;
   athenix.host.filesystem.device = lib.mkDefault "/dev/mmcblk0";
   athenix.host.buildMethods = lib.mkDefault [ "installer-iso" ];
   nixpkgs.hostPlatform = lib.mkDefault "x86_64-linux";
diff --git a/installer/artifacts.nix b/installer/artifacts.nix
index 087b1d1..c862a21 100644
--- a/installer/artifacts.nix
+++ b/installer/artifacts.nix
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ let
       targetConfig = self.nixosConfigurations.${hostName}.config;
       targetSystem = targetConfig.system.build.toplevel;
       diskoScript = targetConfig.system.build.diskoScript;
+      
+      # Build the closure export at build time (not runtime in ISO)
+      closureExport = pkgs.runCommand "closure-export-${hostName}" { } ''
+        mkdir -p $out
+        ${pkgs.nix}/bin/nix-store --export $(${pkgs.nix}/bin/nix-store -qR ${targetSystem}) > $out/closure.nar
+      '';
     in
     nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
       inherit system;
@@ -29,6 +35,7 @@ let
           hostName
           targetSystem
           diskoScript
+          closureExport
           ;
         hostPlatform = system;
       };
diff --git a/installer/auto-install.nix b/installer/auto-install.nix
index 0bfc6e2..63d0ef1 100644
--- a/installer/auto-install.nix
+++ b/installer/auto-install.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # This module defines a systemd service that automatically installs NixOS to the disk.
 # It is intended to be used in an installation ISO.
-# It expects `targetSystem` (the closure to install) and `diskoScript` (the partitioning script) to be passed as arguments.
+# It expects `targetSystem` (the closure to install), `diskoScript` (the partitioning script),
+# and `closureExport` (the pre-built NAR archive) to be passed as arguments.
 {
   config,
   lib,
@@ -10,9 +11,11 @@
   hostPlatform,
   targetSystem,
   diskoScript,
+  closureExport,
   ...
 }:
 {
+  # Ensure the entire system closure and all dependencies are included in the ISO
   environment.systemPackages = [
     pkgs.git
     pkgs.bashInteractive
@@ -20,6 +23,18 @@
     targetSystem
   ];
 
+  # Explicitly include the pre-built closure export and system in the ISO image
+  isoImage.contents = [
+    {
+      source = closureExport;
+      target = "/closure-export";
+    }
+    {
+      source = targetSystem;
+      target = "/system";
+    }
+  ];
+
   nixpkgs.hostPlatform = hostPlatform;
 
   systemd.services.auto-install = {
@@ -44,8 +59,17 @@
       echo ">>> Running disko script..."
       ${diskoScript}
 
+      echo ">>> Importing pre-built closure into target store..."
+      # Import the closure that was exported at build time
+      ${pkgs.nix}/bin/nix-store --store /mnt --import < /closure-export/closure.nar > /dev/null
+
       echo ">>> Running nixos-install..."
-      nixos-install --no-root-passwd --system ${targetSystem}
+      # Install with pre-built closure already imported (no evaluation or fetching needed)
+      ${pkgs.nix}/bin/nixos-install \
+        --no-root-passwd \
+        --root /mnt \
+        --system ${targetSystem} \
+        --option substitute false
 
       echo ">>> Done. Rebooting."
       systemctl reboot
diff --git a/inventory.nix b/inventory.nix
index edcbdc8..f292de7 100644
--- a/inventory.nix
+++ b/inventory.nix
@@ -139,6 +139,8 @@
     };
   };
 
+  # ========== ZimaBoard Desktops ==========
+  # Creates: nix-zima1, nix-zima2, nix-zima3
   nix-zima.devices = 3;
 
   # ========== Ephemeral/Netboot System ==========