diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index 41c6ca2..d6c5e01 100644
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -1 +1,31 @@
-_: builtins.getFlake (builtins.toString ./.)
+# if evaluating outside of the store, copy the current directory to the store and import it
+# filtering out .gitignore files and .git directories
+# if evaluating inside the store, import the outputs.nix file
+
+let
+  # Ideally this file should be selfcontained, but I like the utilities in nixpkgs lib
+  lib = (import "${(import ./inputs.nix {}).nixpkgs}/lib").extend (self: super: {
+    proot = import ./lib/gitignore-filter.nix { lib = self; };
+    inherit (self.proot) parseGitignore runGitignoreFilter toGitignoreMatcher;
+  });
+
+  currentFilePath = (builtins.unsafeGetAttrPos "any" { any = "any"; }).file;
+  storePathLength = builtins.stringLength (builtins.toString builtins.storeDir);
+  evaluatingInStore = (builtins.substring 0 storePathLength currentFilePath) == builtins.storeDir;
+
+  selfInStore = builtins.path {
+    path = ./.;
+    name = "source";
+    filter = path: type:
+      let
+        selfPath = builtins.dirOf currentFilePath;
+        gitIgnoreFilters = lib.parseGitignore selfPath path;
+        result = type != "unknown"
+          && type != "symlink"
+          && builtins.baseNameOf path != ".git"
+          && lib.runGitignoreFilter gitIgnoreFilters path type;
+      in result;
+  };
+in
+if !(evaluatingInStore) then { ... }@args: import selfInStore ({ selfPath = selfInStore; } // args )
+else { ... }@args: import ./outputs.nix ({ selfPath = selfInStore; } // args)
diff --git a/flake.lock b/flake.lock
deleted file mode 100644
index f6bc799..0000000
--- a/flake.lock
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,190 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "nodes": {
-    "cosmic-modules": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "flake-compat": "flake-compat",
-        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs",
-        "nixpkgs-stable": "nixpkgs-stable",
-        "rust-overlay": "rust-overlay"
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1743246566,
-        "narHash": "sha256-arEFUDLjADYIZ7T6PZX1yLOnfMoZ1ByebtmPuvV98+s=",
-        "owner": "lilyinstarlight",
-        "repo": "nixos-cosmic",
-        "rev": "c709db4b95e58f410978bb49c87cb74214d03e78",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "lilyinstarlight",
-        "repo": "nixos-cosmic",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "flake-compat": {
-      "flake": false,
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1717312683,
-        "narHash": "sha256-FrlieJH50AuvagamEvWMIE6D2OAnERuDboFDYAED/dE=",
-        "owner": "nix-community",
-        "repo": "flake-compat",
-        "rev": "38fd3954cf65ce6faf3d0d45cd26059e059f07ea",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "nix-community",
-        "repo": "flake-compat",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "flake-utils": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "systems": "systems"
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1681202837,
-        "narHash": "sha256-H+Rh19JDwRtpVPAWp64F+rlEtxUWBAQW28eAi3SRSzg=",
-        "owner": "numtide",
-        "repo": "flake-utils",
-        "rev": "cfacdce06f30d2b68473a46042957675eebb3401",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "numtide",
-        "repo": "flake-utils",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nixos-vscode-server": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "flake-utils": "flake-utils",
-        "nixpkgs": [
-          "nixpkgs"
-        ]
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1729422940,
-        "narHash": "sha256-DlvJv33ml5UTKgu4b0HauOfFIoDx6QXtbqUF3vWeRCY=",
-        "owner": "nix-community",
-        "repo": "nixos-vscode-server",
-        "rev": "8b6db451de46ecf9b4ab3d01ef76e59957ff549f",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "nix-community",
-        "repo": "nixos-vscode-server",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nixpkgs": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1743095683,
-        "narHash": "sha256-gWd4urRoLRe8GLVC/3rYRae1h+xfQzt09xOfb0PaHSk=",
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "5e5402ecbcb27af32284d4a62553c019a3a49ea6",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "ref": "nixos-unstable",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nixpkgs-stable": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1742937945,
-        "narHash": "sha256-lWc+79eZRyvHp/SqMhHTMzZVhpxkRvthsP1Qx6UCq0E=",
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "d02d88f8de5b882ccdde0465d8fa2db3aa1169f7",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "ref": "nixos-24.11",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nixpkgs-unstable": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1743095683,
-        "narHash": "sha256-gWd4urRoLRe8GLVC/3rYRae1h+xfQzt09xOfb0PaHSk=",
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "5e5402ecbcb27af32284d4a62553c019a3a49ea6",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "ref": "nixos-unstable",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nixpkgs_2": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1742937945,
-        "narHash": "sha256-lWc+79eZRyvHp/SqMhHTMzZVhpxkRvthsP1Qx6UCq0E=",
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "d02d88f8de5b882ccdde0465d8fa2db3aa1169f7",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "ref": "nixos-24.11",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "root": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "cosmic-modules": "cosmic-modules",
-        "nixos-vscode-server": "nixos-vscode-server",
-        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs_2",
-        "nixpkgs-unstable": "nixpkgs-unstable"
-      }
-    },
-    "rust-overlay": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "nixpkgs": [
-          "cosmic-modules",
-          "nixpkgs"
-        ]
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1743215516,
-        "narHash": "sha256-52qbrkG65U1hyrQWltgHTgH4nm0SJL+9TWv2UDCEPNI=",
-        "owner": "oxalica",
-        "repo": "rust-overlay",
-        "rev": "524463199fdee49338006b049bc376b965a2cfed",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "oxalica",
-        "repo": "rust-overlay",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "systems": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1681028828,
-        "narHash": "sha256-Vy1rq5AaRuLzOxct8nz4T6wlgyUR7zLU309k9mBC768=",
-        "owner": "nix-systems",
-        "repo": "default",
-        "rev": "da67096a3b9bf56a91d16901293e51ba5b49a27e",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "nix-systems",
-        "repo": "default",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    }
-  },
-  "root": "root",
-  "version": 7
-}
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index b183431..0000000
--- a/flake.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-{
-  inputs = {
-    nixos-vscode-server = {
-      type = "github";
-      owner = "nix-community";
-      repo = "nixos-vscode-server";
-      inputs = {
-        nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
-      };
-    };
-    nixpkgs = {
-      type = "github";
-      owner = "NixOS";
-      repo = "nixpkgs";
-      ref = "nixos-24.11";
-    };
-    nixpkgs-unstable = {
-      type = "github";
-      owner = "NixOS";
-      repo = "nixpkgs";
-      ref = "nixos-unstable";
-    };
-    cosmic-modules = {
-      type = "github";
-      owner = "lilyinstarlight";
-      repo = "nixos-cosmic";
-    };
-  };
-  outputs = inputs: import ./outputs.nix {
-    inherit inputs;
-  };
-}
diff --git a/hosts/main/default.nix b/hosts/main/default.nix
index 75d7df7..3b9807f 100644
--- a/hosts/main/default.nix
+++ b/hosts/main/default.nix
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@
       OLLAMA_HOST = "127.0.0.1:${builtins.toString config.services.ollama.port}";
     };
 
+    nixpkgs.hostPlatform = "x86_64-linux";
+
     system.stateVersion = "23.05";
   };
 }
diff --git a/hosts/tablet.nix b/hosts/tablet.nix
index 3ec9e20..7343cda 100644
--- a/hosts/tablet.nix
+++ b/hosts/tablet.nix
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@
       lidSwitchExternalPower = "lock";
     };
 
+    nixpkgs.hostPlatform = "x86_64-linux";
+
     system.stateVersion = "23.11";
   };
 }
diff --git a/hosts/vm-base.nix b/hosts/vm-base.nix
index 9c7a57a..8584fbd 100644
--- a/hosts/vm-base.nix
+++ b/hosts/vm-base.nix
@@ -20,5 +20,6 @@
     virtualisation.forwardPorts = [
       { from = "host"; host.port = 2222; guest.port = 22; }
     ];
+    nixpkgs.hostPlatform = "x86_64-linux";
   };
 }
diff --git a/inputs.nix b/inputs.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c6c039
--- /dev/null
+++ b/inputs.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+let self = {
+  lock ? import lockFile,
+  lockFile ? ./lock.nix,
+  pkgs ? throw "inputs called without pkgs",
+}:
+
+{
+  inherit lock;
+  nixos-vscode-server = rec {
+    url = "https://github.com/nix-community/nixos-vscode-server/archive/${lock.nixos-vscode-server.revision}.tar.gz";
+    updateScript = pkgs.den-http-get-updater {
+      fileLocation = lockFile;
+      previousHash = lock.nixos-vscode-server.sha256;
+      previousVersion = lock.nixos-vscode-server.revision;
+      versionUrl = "https://api.github.com/repos/nix-community/nixos-vscode-server/commits";
+      contentParser = "jq -rc '.[0].sha' <<< \"$newVersion\"";
+      prefetchUrlLocation = {
+        file = ./inputs.nix;
+        attrpath = "nixos-vscode-server.url";
+      };
+    };
+    outPath = builtins.fetchTarball {
+      inherit url;
+      name = "nixos-vscode-server";
+      sha256 = "${lock.nixos-vscode-server.sha256}";
+    };
+  };
+  nixpkgs = rec {
+    url = "https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/${lock.nixpkgs.revision}.tar.gz";
+    updateScript = pkgs.den-http-get-updater {
+      fileLocation = lockFile;
+      previousHash = lock.nixpkgs.sha256;
+      previousVersion = lock.nixpkgs.revision;
+      versionUrl = "https://channels.nixos.org/nixos-24.11/git-revision";
+      prefetchUrlLocation = {
+        file = ./inputs.nix;
+        attrpath = "nixpkgs.url";
+      };
+    };
+    outPath = builtins.fetchTarball {
+      inherit url;
+      name = "nixpkgs";
+      sha256 = "${lock.nixpkgs.sha256}";
+    };
+  };
+  nixpkgs-unstable = rec {
+    url = "https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/${lock.nixpkgs-unstable.revision}.tar.gz";
+    updateScript = pkgs.den-http-get-updater {
+      fileLocation = lockFile;
+      previousHash = lock.nixpkgs-unstable.sha256;
+      previousVersion = lock.nixpkgs-unstable.revision;
+      versionUrl = "https://channels.nixos.org/nixos-unstable/git-revision";
+      prefetchUrlLocation = {
+        file = ./inputs.nix;
+        attrpath = "nixpkgs-unstable.url";
+      };
+    };
+    outPath = builtins.fetchTarball {
+      inherit url;
+      name = "nixpkgs-unstable";
+      sha256 = "${lock.nixpkgs-unstable.sha256}";
+    };
+  };
+  cosmic-modules = rec {
+    url = "https://github.com/lilyinstarlight/nixos-cosmic/archive/${lock.cosmic-modules.revision}.tar.gz";
+    updateScript = pkgs.den-http-get-updater {
+      fileLocation = lockFile;
+      previousHash = lock.cosmic-modules.sha256;
+      previousVersion = lock.cosmic-modules.revision;
+      versionUrl = "https://api.github.com/repos/lilyinstarlight/nixos-cosmic/commits";
+      contentParser = "jq -rc '.[0].sha' <<< \"$newVersion\"";
+      prefetchUrlLocation = {
+        file = ./inputs.nix;
+        attrpath = "cosmic-modules.url";
+      };
+    };
+    outPath = builtins.fetchTarball {
+      inherit url;
+      name = "cosmic-modules";
+      sha256 = "${lock.cosmic-modules.sha256}";
+    };
+  };
+};
+in self
diff --git a/lock.nix b/lock.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a18318a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lock.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+  nixos-vscode-server = {
+    revision = "8b6db451de46ecf9b4ab3d01ef76e59957ff549f";
+    sha256 = "09j4kvsxw1d5dvnhbsgih0icbrxqv90nzf0b589rb5z6gnzwjnqf";
+  };
+  nixpkgs = {
+    revision = "d02d88f8de5b882ccdde0465d8fa2db3aa1169f7";
+    sha256 = "0hdb0ajwfl7xn1hznik4kj35adiksc8k5apllz3jniwrszpkwrwm";
+  };
+  nixpkgs-unstable = {
+    revision = "5e5402ecbcb27af32284d4a62553c019a3a49ea6";
+    sha256 = "0a8xv91nz7qkyxs3nhszxj3vb9s5v1xgyhmm32y1fbb8njx7hrw1";
+  };
+  cosmic-modules = {
+    revision = "c709db4b95e58f410978bb49c87cb74214d03e78";
+    sha256 = "1szkgpsvm3yrdsg1rm0rr9yagcy8ynakvymlcw43c0736980bcba";
+  };
+}
diff --git a/nix-os/core.nix b/nix-os/core.nix
index d09e57b..34c6f41 100644
--- a/nix-os/core.nix
+++ b/nix-os/core.nix
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@
     channel.enable = false;
     settings.experimental-features = [
       "no-url-literals"
-      "nix-command"
-      "flakes"
     ];
     nixPath = [
       "nixpkgs=${pkgs.selfExpr { useConfig = false; }}"
diff --git a/outputs.nix b/outputs.nix
index e8fb8fa..48ad9b6 100644
--- a/outputs.nix
+++ b/outputs.nix
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 {
-  inputs,
+  inputsPath ? ./inputs.nix,
+  inputs ? import inputsPath {},
   selfPath ? ./.
 }:
 
 let
 
-lib = (import "${inputs.nixpkgs}/lib").extend (import ./lib/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix { revision = inputs.nixpkgs.rev; });
+lib = (import "${inputs.nixpkgs}/lib").extend (import ./lib/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix { revision = inputs.lock.nixpkgs.revision; });
 
 systems = [
   "x86_64-linux"
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ systems = [
 forEachSystem = lib.genAttrs systems;
 
 self = {
-  inherit inputs lib self;
+  inherit inputs inputsPath lib self;
   outPath = selfPath;
   modifiedNixpkgs     = import ./pkgs/top-level/impure.nix;
   modifiedNixpkgsPure = import ./pkgs/top-level/default.nix;
@@ -30,13 +31,14 @@ self = {
   overlays = {
     cosmicPackages = import ./pkgs/overlays/cosmic-packages.nix { inherit inputs; };
     selfExpr = import ./pkgs/overlays/selfExpr.nix { nixpkgsPath = inputs.nixpkgs; };
-    unstableWithMeta = import ./pkgs/overlays/unstable-with-meta.nix { unstableSource = inputs.nixpkgs-unstable; revision = inputs.nixpkgs-unstable.rev; };
+    unstableWithMeta = import ./pkgs/overlays/unstable-with-meta.nix { unstableSource = inputs.nixpkgs-unstable; revision = inputs.lock.nixpkgs-unstable.revision; };
     versionInfoFixup = import ./pkgs/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix { inherit inputs; };
   };
   nixosConfigurations = let
     nixosSystem = import "${inputs.nixpkgs}/nixos/lib/eval-config.nix";
     mkNixosSystem = path: nixosSystem {
       inherit lib;
+      system = null;
       modules = [
         path
         {
diff --git a/pkgs/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix b/pkgs/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix
index b9ffa3a..b1f2ecc 100644
--- a/pkgs/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix
+++ b/pkgs/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 { inputs ? import ../../inputs.nix {} }:
 
 self: super: {
-  lib = super.lib.extend (import ../../lib/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix { revision = inputs.nixpkgs.rev; });
+  lib = super.lib.extend (import ../../lib/overlays/version-info-fixup.nix { revision = inputs.lock.nixpkgs.revision; });
 } //
 super.lib.optionalAttrs (super ? unstable && super ? unstableRevision) {
   unstable = super.unstable // {
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/default.nix b/pkgs/top-level/default.nix
index 2ee6687..9194e56 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ inputs ? import ../../inputs.nix {}
+{ inputs ? (import ../../. {}).inputs
 , uninitializedNixpkgs ? import "${inputs.nixpkgs}/pkgs/top-level/default.nix"
 , ...
 } @ args:
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ let
     overlays = (args.overlays or []) ++ [
       # ../.. should be nix store path that represents self in outputs.nix that is gc-rooted by this point
       ( import ../overlays/selfExpr.nix { nixpkgsPath = "${builtins.toString ../..}/pkgs/top-level/impure.nix"; } )
-      ( import ../overlays/unstable-with-meta.nix { unstableSource = inputs.nixpkgs-unstable; revision = inputs.nixpkgs-unstable.rev; } )
+      ( import ../overlays/unstable-with-meta.nix { unstableSource = inputs.nixpkgs-unstable; revision = inputs.lock.nixpkgs-unstable.revision; } )
       ( import ../overlays/unstable-latest.nix )
       ( import ../overlays/version-info-fixup.nix { inherit inputs; } )
       ( import ./by-name-overlay.nix ../by-name )