diff --git a/defaults/git.nix b/defaults/git.nix
index 94d5861..f1090db 100644
--- a/defaults/git.nix
+++ b/defaults/git.nix
@@ -8,10 +8,16 @@
 let
   name = "git";
   cfg = config.nixowos.defaults.${name};
+  superCfg = config.programs.${name};
 in
 {
   options = {
     nixowos.defaults.${name}.enable = lib.mkEnableOption name;
+
+    # FIXME: this doesn't really belong in defaults/
+    programs.${name}.delta.enable = lib.mkEnableOption "delta within git" // {
+      default = true;
+    };
   };
 
   config = lib.mkIf cfg.enable {
@@ -28,10 +34,15 @@ in
         # causing further problems
         pull.ff = "only";
 
-        push.autoSetupRemote = true;
-
+        merge.conflictStyle = "zdiff3"; # easiest to understand style
         commit.verbose = true; # show diffs in commit editor
-      };
+      }
+      // (lib.optionalAttrs (superCfg.delta.enable && config.nixowos.allowAddingPackages) {
+        core.pager = "${lib.getExe pkgs.delta}";
+        interactive.diffFilter = "${lib.getExe pkgs.delta} --color-only";
+        delta.navigate = true; # use n and N to move between diff sections
+        delta.diff-highlight = true; # simpler mode, highlights inter-line changes
+      });
     };
 
   };
diff --git a/defaults/lix.nix b/defaults/lix.nix
index b1eae5d..998a5a4 100644
--- a/defaults/lix.nix
+++ b/defaults/lix.nix
@@ -17,11 +17,11 @@ in
   config = lib.mkIf cfg.enable {
     # use lix, a fork of nix
     # see: https://lix.systems/about
-    nix.package = pkgs.lixPackageSets.latest.lix;
+    nix.package = pkgs.lixPackageSets.lix_2_95.lix;
     # overlays so that all nix tools use lix
     nixpkgs.overlays = [
       (final: prev: {
-        inherit (prev.lixPackageSets.latest)
+        inherit (prev.lixPackageSets.lix_2_95)
           nixpkgs-review
           nix-eval-jobs
           nix-fast-build
diff --git a/defaults/nix.nix b/defaults/nix.nix
index d6e87a6..2f1364a 100644
--- a/defaults/nix.nix
+++ b/defaults/nix.nix
@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@ in
     # source: https://nix.dev/manual/nix/2.26/command-ref/new-cli/nix3-store-optimise
     nix.settings.auto-optimise-store = true;
 
-    # trigger the garbage collector automatically
-    # when free space in /nix/store goes below this
-    nix.settings.min-free = 1000000000; # 1GB
-    # free up to this many bytes in an automatic invocation
-    # to avoid it taking too long
-    nix.settings.max-free = 5000000000; # 5GB
+    environment.systemPackages =
+      with pkgs;
+      lib.mkIf config.nixowos.allowAddingPackages [
+        nixd
+        nixfmt
+      ];
   };
 }
diff --git a/defaults/plasma.nix b/defaults/plasma.nix
index 060055c..4a042e9 100644
--- a/defaults/plasma.nix
+++ b/defaults/plasma.nix
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ in
   config = lib.mkIf cfg.enable {
     hardware.graphics.enable = true;
 
+    fonts = lib.mkIf config.nixowos.allowAddingPackages {
+      enableDefaultPackages = lib.mkDefault true;
+      packages = [ pkgs.noto-fonts-cjk-sans ];
+    };
+
     environment.systemPackages =
       with pkgs;
       lib.mkIf config.nixowos.allowAddingPackages [
diff --git a/defaults/shell.nix b/defaults/shell.nix
index cb9f022..e8df363 100644
--- a/defaults/shell.nix
+++ b/defaults/shell.nix
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ in
           compsize
 
           ffmpeg
+
+          python3
         ]
         ++ (
           if config.nixowos.nvidia.enable then
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@ in
           else
             [
               btop-rocm
+              nvtopPackages.amd
             ]
         );
     };
@@ -47,6 +50,9 @@ in
     # use Fish, the nicest shell :)
     programs.fish.enable = lib.mkIf config.nixowos.allowAddingPackages true;
     users.defaultUserShell = lib.mkIf config.nixowos.allowAddingPackages pkgs.fish;
+    # avoid generating caches (enabled by fish) due to slowdowns during nixos-rebuild
+    # this may degrade autocompletion
+    documentation.man.generateCaches = false;
 
     environment.shellAliases = {
       # make nix-shell preserve the user's $SHELL
diff --git a/defaults/system.nix b/defaults/system.nix
index 836c99c..6811152 100644
--- a/defaults/system.nix
+++ b/defaults/system.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {
+  pkgs,
   lib,
   config,
   ...
@@ -11,10 +12,19 @@ in
 {
   options.nixowos.defaults.${name} = {
     enable = lib.mkEnableOption name;
+
+    extraPackages = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.listOf lib.types.package;
+      default = with pkgs; [
+        sshfs
+      ];
+    };
   };
 
   config = lib.mkIf cfg.enable {
 
+    environment.systemPackages = lib.mkIf config.nixowos.allowAddingPackages cfg.extraPackages;
+
     boot.loader.grub = lib.mkDefault {
       # modern installation
       device = "nodev";
@@ -42,9 +52,6 @@ in
       tmpfsHugeMemoryPages = "within_size";
     };
 
-    # this is useful not only for having a user named "tmp"
-    # but also if any user wants to use a temporary directory,
-    # it's much nicer than /tmp because it isn't filled with system files
     fileSystems."/home/tmp" = lib.mkDefault {
       fsType = "tmpfs";
 
diff --git a/nvidia.nix b/nvidia.nix
index 5297906..f35deef 100644
--- a/nvidia.nix
+++ b/nvidia.nix
@@ -22,12 +22,7 @@ in
       # Enable this if you have graphical corruption issues or application crashes after waking
       # up from sleep. This fixes it by saving the entire VRAM memory to /tmp/ instead
       # of just the bare essentials.
-      powerManagement.enable = true;
-      # the following is from @tlater:matrix.tlater.net (Lix Off Topic, 2026-06-24)
-      # `powerManagement.enable` maps to this set of NVIDIA driver features: https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/610.43.02/README/powermanagement.html
-      # You can read through those docs yourself, but tl;dr: modern GPUs have more memory than can normally be stored on suspend, so they need a workaround.
-      # The modern open source drivers can use some cool kernel features that were behind the GPL lock beforehand to achieve that, the proprietary drivers are stuck with a hack. But basically, you always want to enable that option on NixOS.
-      # The `powermanagement.finegrained` stuff on the other hand has to do with multi-GPU setups. The two options should really not be grouped together like this.
+      # powerManagement.enable = false;
 
       # Use the NVidia open source kernel module (not to be confused with the
       # independent third-party "nouveau" open source driver).