Review: CNIX OS 231204
I was hoping CNIX OS (as its name and website suggest) would provide a Nix-based environment, complete with procedural configuration and package snapshots. However, there do not appear to be any Nix utilities included with the distribution and no packages which were pulled from the Nix repositories, as far as I could tell.
While that was disappointing, what the distribution did provide was a solid, Debian-based experience. This experience is somewhat enhanced by the Calamares system installer which makes setting up the distribution pleasantly straightforward.
On the positive side, CNIX is stable, fast, and provides us with access to Debian's huge repositories of software. On the other hand, as far as I could tell, apart from the system installer, CNIX doesn't appear to add anything to the Debian experience. Running Debian with the Xfce desktop would be virtually indistinguishable from running CNIX OS, apart from the latter using a larger amount of memory.
In short, CNIX is a perfectly fine, desktop operating system. However, apart from speeding up the install process, I'm not sure it offers anything beyond what we'd already enjoy with Debian (or other close relatives of Debian). This makes for a good experience, but not a distinct one. I'm hoping the project develops its own identity and beneficial features over time.