Phase Pipeline

Panix executes an ordered pipeline:

Inspect → Bootstrap → Build → Transfer → Secrets → Activate

flowchart LR
  subgraph Inspect
    direction TB

    A1[TCP reachability] --> B1[SSH echo OK]
    B1 --> C1[uname -m]
    C1 --> D1[id -u]
    D1 --> E1[cat /etc/os-release]
    E1 --> F1[nix-env --profile --list-generations]
  end

  subgraph Bootstrap
    direction TB

    A2[kexec] --> B2[encryption keys]
    B2 --> C2[disko]
    C2 --> D2[post-bootstrap hooks]
  end

  subgraph Per-installable
    subgraph Build
      A3[nix build --print-out-paths]
    end
  end

  subgraph Transfer
    A4[nix copy --to target]
  end

  subgraph Secrets
    A5[rsync or command stream]
  end

  subgraph Activate
    direction TB

    A6[nixos-install --system] --> B6[post install hooks]
    B6 --> C6[reboot]
    C6 --> D6[post bootstrap provisioned hooks]

    E6[nix-env --profile --set] --> F6[switch-to-configuration]
  end

  subgraph Rollback
    A7[readlink] --> B7[nix-env --profile --set]
    B7 --> C7[switch-to-configuration switch]
  end

  Start --> Inspect
  Start --> Build

  Inspect --> Bootstrap
  Bootstrap --> Build
  Build --> Done
  Build --> Transfer
  Transfer --> Secrets
  Secrets --> Activate
  Activate --> Done

  Inspect --> Build
  Build --> Secrets
  Build --> Activate
  Transfer --> Activate

  Inspect --> Rollback
  Rollback --> Done

  style Inspect fill:#cde8f5,stroke:#6272A4,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontWeight:bold
  style Bootstrap fill:#cde8f5,stroke:#6272A4,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontWeight:bold
  style Per-installable fill:#ffddaa,stroke:#d79b00,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontStyle:italic
  style Build fill:#cde8f5,stroke:#6272A4,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontWeight:bold
  style Transfer fill:#cde8f5,stroke:#6272A4,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontWeight:bold
  style Secrets fill:#cde8f5,stroke:#6272A4,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontWeight:bold
  style Activate fill:#cde8f5,stroke:#6272A4,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontWeight:bold
  style Rollback fill:#e5e6e8,stroke:#6B7280,stroke-width:2px,color:#333,fontWeight:bold

  style Start fill:#007da7,stroke:#007da7,color:#fff,fontWeight:bold
  style Done fill:#14532D,stroke:#14532D,color:#fff,fontWeight:bold

  linkStyle default stroke:#6272A4,stroke-width:1.5px

Phase Breakdown

Phase	Scope	Purpose
Inspect	Per-machine	TCP reachability, SSH authentication, architecture and kernel detection, OS detection, Nix availability, generation discovery
Bootstrap	Per-machine	Per installable type: NixOS bootstrap (kexec into NixOS installer if needed, encryption keys transfer if provided, disko partitioning) or Nix installer bootstrap (install Nix on targets that lack it); see the Bootstrap guide
Build	Per-installable	Build the installable closure via nix build (local or remote mode)
Transfer	Per-machine	nix copy closure to target
Secrets	Per-machine	Transfer local_path files/directories via rsync, or stream command stdout to the remote path, with proper ownership
Activate	Per-machine	Dispatches based on installable type: switch-to-configuration (nixos), activate (darwin/home/droid), or nix profile add for packages (nix profile install when Lix is detected)

Standalone Phases

Phase	Scope	Purpose
Rollback	Per-machine	Switch to a previous generation via the type’s activation mechanism, for any type with a profile path

Rollback also runs automatically during Activate when activation fails and the machine has auto_rollback: true: see Auto Rollback.

Scope-Aware Execution

The Build phase runs once per installable, not per machine: three machines sharing an installable build once (see the configuration model). The closure is then transferred to each machine independently, in parallel.

The TUI

The TUI shows this unfolding in real time:

When a phase fails, inspect the logs and retry just the failed phases without restarting the workflow: see TUI keybinds.