diff --git a/common/environment.nix b/common/environment.nix
index 122e2f5..384e88d 100644
--- a/common/environment.nix
+++ b/common/environment.nix
@@ -12,11 +12,6 @@
     lsof
     tcpdump
     netcat # <3
-
-    # used for nix config
-    colmena
-    agenix
-    rc2nix
   ];
 
   environment.wordlist.enable = true;
diff --git a/common/home-manager.nix b/common/home-manager.nix
index e4d7106..171a382 100644
--- a/common/home-manager.nix
+++ b/common/home-manager.nix
@@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
 { config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
 
 {
-  home-manager.users = {
-    qenya = { config, lib, pkgs, osConfig, ... }: {
-      home.homeDirectory = osConfig.users.users.qenya.home;
-
-      imports = [
-        ../home/qenya
-      ];
-    };
+  home-manager = {
+    useUserPackages = true;
+    useGlobalPkgs = true;
+    backupFileExtension = "backup";
   };
 }
diff --git a/common/users/qenya.nix b/common/users/qenya.nix
index e9d11ad..19dc8ed 100644
--- a/common/users/qenya.nix
+++ b/common/users/qenya.nix
@@ -11,4 +11,9 @@ in {
   };
 
   programs.zsh.enable = true;
+
+  home-manager.users.qenya = { config, lib, pkgs, osConfig, ... }: {
+    home.homeDirectory = osConfig.users.users.qenya.home;
+    imports = [ ../../home/qenya ];
+  };
 }
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 9746dec..7f3b793 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -42,18 +42,8 @@
         nix.nixPath = [ "nixpkgs=flake:nixpkgs" ];
         nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
 
-        nixpkgs.config.packageOverrides = pkgs: {
-          agenix = inputs.agenix.packages.${config.nixpkgs.hostPlatform.system}.default;
-          rc2nix = inputs.plasma-manager.packages.${config.nixpkgs.hostPlatform.system}.rc2nix;
-        };
-        nixpkgs.overlays = [ inputs.nur.overlay ];
-
-        home-manager = {
-          useUserPackages = true;
-          useGlobalPkgs = true;
-          backupFileExtension = "backup";
-          sharedModules = [ plasma-manager.homeManagerModules.plasma-manager ];
-        };
+        nixpkgs.overlays = [ nur.overlay ];
+        home-manager.sharedModules = [ plasma-manager.homeManagerModules.plasma-manager ];
 
         imports = [
           home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager
@@ -98,5 +88,19 @@
         ];
       };
     };
+
+    # TODO: have this work on other systems too
+    devShells."x86_64-linux".default =
+      let
+        system = "x86_64-linux";
+        pkgs = import nixpkgs { inherit system; };
+      in
+      pkgs.mkShell {
+        packages = [
+          pkgs.colmena
+          agenix.packages.${system}.default
+          plasma-manager.packages.${system}.rc2nix
+        ];
+      };
   };
 }
diff --git a/home/qenya/zsh.nix b/home/qenya/zsh.nix
index f6ded78..42ccf8f 100644
--- a/home/qenya/zsh.nix
+++ b/home/qenya/zsh.nix
@@ -25,6 +25,15 @@
       theme = "agnoster";
     };
 
+    initExtra = ''
+      # If a shell is started in a directory with a shell.nix, automatically run nix-shell
+      if [ -f ./shell.nix ]; then
+        if [ -z "$IN_NIX_SHELL" ]; then
+          nix-shell --command "zsh"
+        fi
+      fi
+    '';
+
     envExtra = ''
       DEFAULT_USER=qenya
     '';
diff --git a/shell.nix b/shell.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..688ef15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shell.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+let
+  shell = (import
+    (fetchTarball {
+      url = "https://github.com/edolstra/flake-compat/archive/refs/tags/v1.0.1.tar.gz";
+      sha256 = "0jm6nzb83wa6ai17ly9fzpqc40wg1viib8klq8lby54agpl213w5";
+    })
+    { src = ./.; }).shellNix;
+in
+shell.devShells.${builtins.currentSystem}