# Determinate Nix

> An opinionated distribution of the Nix package manager maintained by Determinate Systems that Panfactum strongly recommends.

*Determinate Nix* is a downstream distribution of the Nix package manager produced by
[Determinate Systems](https://determinate.systems). Panfactum strongly recommends it as the
way to install Nix, though it is not strictly required.

Key differences from other Nix implementations:

- **Flakes enabled by default**: Nix flakes are enabled out of the box without extra configuration
- **Improved installer**: Provides a reliable, uninstallable installer that works across Linux and macOS
- **macOS Linux builder**: Includes a native Linux builder on macOS via the Apple Virtualization framework
- **Performance improvements**: Parallel evaluation, lazy trees, and multi-threaded garbage collection