NixOS

ZeroClaw ships a multi-instance NixOS module at nix/module.nix. It runs one or more agents under systemd with hardening defaults appropriate for an internet-facing process, modelled on services.restic.backups.

The package

The module invokes ${pkgs.zeroclaw}/bin/zeroclaw daemon. pkgs.zeroclaw is not yet in nixpkgs; it is tracked in #5987. Until it lands, build the binary yourself and point the module at it with the package option:

services.zeroclaw.instances.me.package =
  pkgs.callPackage ./zeroclaw.nix { };

For the same reason, nix run github:zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw does not launch the agent. nix run resolves apps.<system>.default then packages.<system>.default; this flake defines no apps, and its packages.default is the Rust toolchain (for the dev shell), so the command would run the toolchain derivation, not ZeroClaw. On any other platform, install.sh is the supported path.

Single instance

Membership in services.zeroclaw.instances.<name> is the activation signal; there is no top-level enable. Each instance gets its own systemd unit, state directory, and system user.

{ config, pkgs, ... }: {
  imports = [ ./path/to/zeroclaw/nix/module.nix ];

  age.secrets.zeroclaw-bot-token.file = ./secrets/zeroclaw-bot-token.age;

  services.zeroclaw.instances.me = {
    environmentFile = config.age.secrets.zeroclaw-bot-token.path;
    settings = {
      providers.models.anthropic.home.model = "claude-sonnet-4-6";
      agents.assistant = {
        model_provider = "anthropic.home";
        risk_profile = "assistant";
        channels = [ "telegram.home" ];
      };
      risk_profiles.assistant = { };
      channels.telegram.home = {
        enabled = true;
        bot_token = "$BOT_TOKEN";   # systemd $VAR, substituted from environmentFile at start
        allowed_users = [ "12345" ];
      };
    };
  };
}

settings mirrors ~/.zeroclaw/config.toml as a Nix attrset, rendered to ${dataDir}/config.toml (mode 0600). Secrets travel through environmentFile, never settings: the unit’s ExecStartPre runs envsubst so $VAR references resolve at start, keeping the /nix/store copy free of plaintext. The config schema (section headers, type/alias convention) is identical to every other platform.

Multiple instances

The module is attrsOf submodule-shaped, so N tenants on one host read the same as one. Instances may share a user when exactly one creates it and the rest set createUser = false.

services.zeroclaw.instances = {
  alice = { environmentFile = "/run/secrets/alice/identity.env"; settings = { /* … */ }; };
  bob   = { environmentFile = "/run/secrets/bob/identity.env";   settings = { /* … */ }; };
};

Options

The full option surface (package, user, group, createUser, dataDir, settings, environmentFile, extraConfig, bindReadOnlyPaths) and the secrets pattern are documented in nix/README.md. To override a serviceConfig field, use the standard NixOS escape hatch rather than a module option:

systemd.services."zeroclaw-me".serviceConfig.MemoryMax = "512M";

Next

• Service management: the systemd unit ZeroClaw generates on non-Nix hosts
• Providers → Configuration: the config schema settings mirrors