I've had a similar experience with NixOS configured by Claude Code, and it's been really nice. I have the same config on 3 machines, all managed in one git repo, including home manager and sops, and one of the machines I skin as a "thin client" removing most of my development tools and just using it to SSH/wezterm in to my main dev box, on a small and light ex-chromebook.
Agree but I think it’s interesting to discuss the larger implication here. Nix the language and ecosystem has historically been completely unapproachable for people unwilling to beat their head against the wall continuously to figure it out. It is famously unapproachable. Now, the benefits are accessible to the quasi-layman. Good news all around
It seems like the "lightweight" they seem to be concerned with is RAM, not disc. I can't really comment on disc space usage on my own NixOS system, though my "thin client" skin does fit nicely on an old Chromebook, I think that guy has 32GB of storage.