Notion Desktop for NixOS

A Nix flake that packages the official Notion desktop app for Linux by extracting and adapting the Mac version. Features full MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration and native dark mode support.

Features

• ✅ Official Notion App - Extracted from the authentic Mac DMG release
• ✅ Full MCP Integration - Works seamlessly with Claude for AI-powered workflows
• ✅ Native Linux Compatibility - Custom Rust-based SQLite stub for cross-platform support
• ✅ Authentic Icon - Properly extracted from Mac .icns with all standard sizes
• ✅ Comprehensive Dark Mode - Smart system theme detection and native dark UI
• ✅ Wayland & X11 Support - Works on both display servers
• ✅ NixOS Integration - Declarative installation and configuration

Quick Start

Using the Flake Directly

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    notion-desktop = {
      url = "github:heytcass/notion-mac-flake";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
  };

  outputs = { nixpkgs, notion-desktop, ... }: {
    nixosConfigurations.myhost = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      system = "x86_64-linux";
      modules = [
        # Your existing configuration
        {
          environment.systemPackages = [
            notion-desktop.packages.x86_64-linux.default
          ];
        }
      ];
    };
  };
}

With Home Manager

home.packages = [
  inputs.notion-desktop.packages.${pkgs.system}.default
];

Building Manually

nix build github:heytcass/notion-mac-flake
./result/bin/notion-desktop

How It Works

This flake takes a unique approach to running Notion on Linux:

1. Official Mac Extraction - Downloads and extracts the authentic Mac Notion.app bundle
2. Cross-Platform Adaptation - Replaces Mac-native modules with Linux-compatible alternatives
3. SQLite Stub - Custom Rust implementation using NAPI-RS that provides the exact better-sqlite3 API
4. Smart Theming - Detects system dark mode preferences and applies them to all UI elements

Technical Details

Architecture

• Base: Official Notion 4.16.0 Mac release
• Runtime: Electron with Linux-native modules
• SQLite: Custom Rust stub implementing better-sqlite3 API
• Icons: Extracted from Mac .icns using libicns
• Theming: Dynamic dark mode detection with GTK/Qt integration

SQLite Compatibility

The custom SQLite stub provides:

• Full better-sqlite3 API compatibility
• Proper error handling and logging
• Transaction support (BEGIN/COMMIT/ROLLBACK)
• Schema introspection capabilities
• Graceful fallback for unsupported operations

Dark Mode Features

• System theme detection via gsettings
• Native Electron dark mode (--force-dark-mode)
• GTK application theming integration
• Qt styling with Adwaita-Dark
• Dynamic switching without restart

Requirements

• NixOS or Nix with flakes enabled
• x86_64-linux or aarch64-linux architecture
• Desktop environment (for optimal theming)

MCP Integration

This package provides a true desktop Notion client that works with:

• Claude's MCP file system integration
• Home Assistant MCP servers
• Custom MCP server implementations
• Any MCP-compatible AI tools

Contributing

Contributions welcome! This project demonstrates:

• Advanced Nix flake patterns
• Cross-platform Electron app packaging
• Rust FFI with Node.js via NAPI-RS
• macOS to Linux application porting techniques

License

This flake is MIT licensed. Note that Notion itself remains proprietary software owned by Notion Labs, Inc.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by the Claude Desktop Linux flake
• Built with the amazing NixOS ecosystem
• SQLite stub powered by NAPI-RS