Nix is a broad product with a steep learning curve. It’s capable of everything from installing a single package to managing every file and application on your OS.

One useful thing you can do with Nix, even as a complete beginner, is manage your dev environments.

Nix lets me have multiple projects on the same system that each have their own independent view of what dependencies are available. I can have one legacy project running Python 2.7 and Node.js 4.x alongside a modern project running Python 3.11 and Node.js 20, and they won’t interfere with each other.