From b9e8641bbf5cd92445ac33304a22ce25454a6437 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Fainberg <mail@daniel.fainberg.net>
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2026 14:55:06 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] feat(nixos): add `nixos-diff` rebuild diff + reboot/re-login
 helper

---
 modules/nixos.nix        |  2 +-
 modules/rebuild-diff.nix | 83 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 84 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 modules/rebuild-diff.nix

diff --git a/modules/nixos.nix b/modules/nixos.nix
index 87fab4e..c007bfc 100644
--- a/modules/nixos.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos.nix
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 { config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
 
 {
-  imports = [ ./shutdown-debug.nix ./printing-scanning.nix ];
+  imports = [ ./shutdown-debug.nix ./printing-scanning.nix ./rebuild-diff.nix ];
 
   nix.settings.experimental-features = [ "nix-command" "flakes" ];
   # Deduplicate identical store paths via hardlinks.
diff --git a/modules/rebuild-diff.nix b/modules/rebuild-diff.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49bf412
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/rebuild-diff.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+# `nixos-diff`: after a rebuild, report (1) what packages changed and (2) whether the
+# change needs a reboot, a re-login, or nothing. NixOS keeps two markers —
+# /run/booted-system (what you booted) and /run/current-system (what the last `switch`
+# activated). A switch applies userland live, but:
+#   - the kernel, initrd, and kernel modules are frozen until the next BOOT — detected
+#     exactly, by comparing those store paths between the two systems;
+#   - session-mapped components (the Wayland compositor, GL stack, portals) a running
+#     graphical session keeps until you log out and back in — detected HEURISTICALLY,
+#     by matching changed package names against `local.rebuildDiff.reloginPackages`.
+# Generic and topology-free, so it rides in the baseline; disable with
+# `local.rebuildDiff.enable = false`.
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
+let
+  cfg = config.local.rebuildDiff;
+  reloginPattern = lib.concatStringsSep "|" cfg.reloginPackages;
+
+  nixos-diff = pkgs.writeShellApplication {
+    name = "nixos-diff";
+    runtimeInputs = [ pkgs.nvd pkgs.coreutils pkgs.gnugrep ];
+    text = ''
+      booted=/run/booted-system
+      current=/run/current-system
+
+      # Package-level diff of the running system vs the activated one. Force colour
+      # (nvd auto-disables it when captured); only version parts are coloured, so the
+      # package-name grep below is unaffected.
+      diff=$(nvd --color always diff "$booted" "$current")
+      printf '%s\n' "$diff"
+
+      # Reboot (exact): kernel/initrd/modules only take effect on the next boot.
+      reboot=0
+      for c in kernel initrd kernel-modules; do
+        [ "$(readlink -f "$booted/$c" 2>/dev/null)" = "$(readlink -f "$current/$c" 2>/dev/null)" ] \
+          || reboot=1
+      done
+
+      # Re-login (heuristic): session-mapped components a running Wayland session
+      # keeps until you log out and back in.
+      relogin_hits=""
+      ${lib.optionalString (reloginPattern != "") ''
+        relogin_hits=$(printf '%s\n' "$diff" | grep -Ew "${reloginPattern}" || true)
+      ''}
+
+      echo
+      if [ "$reboot" -eq 1 ]; then
+        printf '>>> REBOOT needed (kernel/initrd/modules changed).\n'
+      elif [ -n "$relogin_hits" ]; then
+        printf '>>> RE-LOGIN recommended — session components changed:\n'
+        printf '%s\n' "$relogin_hits"
+      else
+        printf '>>> No reboot/re-login needed.\n'
+      fi
+    '';
+  };
+in
+{
+  options.local.rebuildDiff = {
+    enable = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.bool;
+      default = true;
+      description = ''
+        Install `nixos-diff`: after a `nixos-rebuild switch`, print an `nvd` closure
+        diff of the running vs activated system plus a reboot / re-login / live verdict.
+      '';
+    };
+
+    reloginPackages = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.listOf lib.types.str;
+      default = [ "mesa" "wayland" "hyprland" "xdg-desktop-portal" ];
+      description = ''
+        Whole-word package-name patterns matched against the diff; a match means a
+        running Wayland session should be restarted (re-login) to pick the change up —
+        the compositor, GL stack, and portals. Extend per host (e.g. a specific GPU
+        driver). Empty disables the re-login heuristic.
+      '';
+    };
+  };
+
+  config = lib.mkIf cfg.enable {
+    environment.systemPackages = [ nixos-diff pkgs.nvd ];
+  };
+}