diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index f4a88fc..5e6ab8a 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -38,8 +38,12 @@
     nixpkgs,
     home-manager,
     ...
-  } @ inputs: let
-    inherit (self) outputs;
+  }: let
+    inherit (self) outputs inputs;
+
+    # a wrapper around all the stuff we might hand off to modules so they can
+    # effectively reference this flake's inputs and outputs
+    thisFlake = {inherit outputs inputs;};
 
     systems = [
       "aarch64-linux"
@@ -60,22 +64,26 @@
 
     # Your custom packages
     # Acessible through 'nix build', 'nix shell', etc
-    packages = forAllSystems (system: import ./pkgs {pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};});
+    packages = forAllSystems (system:
+      import ./pkgs {
+        inherit thisFlake;
+        pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
+      });
 
     # Formatter for your nix files, available through 'nix fmt'
     # Other options beside 'alejandra' include 'nixpkgs-fmt'
     formatter = forAllSystems (system: nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system}.alejandra);
 
     # Your custom packages and modifications, exported as overlays
-    overlays = import ./overlays {inherit inputs;};
+    overlays = import ./overlays thisFlake;
 
     # Reusable nixos modules you might want to export
     # These are usually stuff you would upstream into nixpkgs
-    nixosModules = import ./modules/nixos;
+    nixosModules = import ./modules/nixos thisFlake;
 
     # Reusable home-manager modules you might want to export
     # These are usually stuff you would upstream into home-manager
-    homeManagerModules = import ./modules/home-manager;
+    homeManagerModules = import ./modules/home-manager thisFlake;
 
     # NixOS configuration entrypoint
     # Available through 'nixos-rebuild --flake .#your-hostname'
@@ -86,16 +94,12 @@
     }:
       nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
         inherit system;
-        specialArgs = {
-          inherit inputs outputs system;
-          flake = self;
-        };
         modules =
           [
-            self.nixosModules.common
+            outputs.nixosModules.common
           ]
           ++ modules;
-      }) (import ./nixos);
+      }) (import ./nixos thisFlake);
 
     # Standalone home-manager configuration entrypoint
     # Available through 'home-manager --flake .#your-username@your-hostname'
@@ -106,18 +110,14 @@
       in
         home-manager.lib.homeManagerConfiguration {
           pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
-          extraSpecialArgs = {
-            inherit inputs outputs system;
-            inherit (outputs) colors font;
-          };
           modules = with outputs.homeManagerModules; [
             common
+            linux
             {
               home.homeDirectory = "/home/deck";
               home.username = "deck";
               home.stateVersion = "24.05";
             }
-            linux
           ];
         };
       workm1 = let
@@ -125,18 +125,14 @@
       in
         home-manager.lib.homeManagerConfiguration {
           pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
-          extraSpecialArgs = {
-            inherit inputs outputs system;
-            inherit (outputs) colors font;
-          };
           modules = with outputs.homeManagerModules; [
             common
+            macos
             {
               home.homeDirectory = "/Users/daniel.flanagan";
               home.username = "daniel.flanagan";
               home.stateVersion = "24.05";
             }
-            macos
           ];
         };
     };
diff --git a/modules/home-manager/default.nix b/modules/home-manager/default.nix
index 66ea0bc..e50c531 100644
--- a/modules/home-manager/default.nix
+++ b/modules/home-manager/default.nix
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+_thisFlake:
 with builtins;
   listToAttrs (map (name: {
       name = name;
diff --git a/modules/nixos/common.nix b/modules/nixos/common.nix
index 993949c..93fd721 100644
--- a/modules/nixos/common.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos/common.nix
@@ -1,26 +1,23 @@
 {
-  config,
-  lib,
-  inputs,
-  outputs,
-  system,
+  # config,
+  # inputs,
+  # outputs,
   pkgs,
-  modulesPath,
+  # modulesPath,
   ...
-}: {
+}: let
+  lib = pkgs.lib;
+in {
   networking.hostName = lib.mkDefault "nixoslyte";
 
-  imports =
-    [
-      (modulesPath + "/installer/scan/not-detected.nix")
-      inputs.sops-nix.nixosModules.sops
-      inputs.disko.nixosModules.disko
-      inputs.home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager
-    ]
-    ++ (with outputs.nixosModules; [
-      avahi
-      daniel
-    ]);
+  imports = [
+    # (modulesPath + "/installer/scan/not-detected.nix")
+    # inputs.sops-nix.nixosModules.sops
+    # inputs.disko.nixosModules.disko
+    # inputs.home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager
+    # ./avahi.nix
+    # ./daniel.nix
+  ];
 
   hardware.enableRedistributableFirmware = true;
 
@@ -108,7 +105,7 @@
     };
 
     root = {
-      openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = config.users.users.daniel.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys;
+      # openssh.authorizedKeys.keys = config.users.users.daniel.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys;
     };
   };
 
@@ -157,24 +154,24 @@
     useXkbConfig = true;
     earlySetup = true;
 
-    colors = with outputs.colors; [
-      bg
-      red
-      green
-      orange
-      blue
-      purple
-      yellow
-      fg3
-      fgdim
-      red
-      green
-      orange
-      blue
-      purple
-      yellow
-      fg
-    ];
+    # colors = with outputs.colors; [
+    #   bg
+    #   red
+    #   green
+    #   orange
+    #   blue
+    #   purple
+    #   yellow
+    #   fg3
+    #   fgdim
+    #   red
+    #   green
+    #   orange
+    #   blue
+    #   purple
+    #   yellow
+    #   fg
+    # ];
   };
 
   networking = {
@@ -239,9 +236,9 @@
     # You can add overlays here
     overlays = [
       # Add overlays your own flake exports (from overlays and pkgs dir):
-      outputs.overlays.additions
-      outputs.overlays.modifications
-      outputs.overlays.unstable-packages
+      # outputs.overlays.additions
+      # outputs.overlays.modifications
+      # outputs.overlays.unstable-packages
 
       # You can also add overlays exported from other flakes:
       # neovim-nightly-overlay.overlays.default
@@ -263,11 +260,11 @@
   nix = {
     # This will add each flake input as a registry
     # To make nix3 commands consistent with your flake
-    registry = lib.mapAttrs (_: value: {flake = value;}) inputs;
+    # registry = lib.mapAttrs (_: value: {flake = value;}) inputs;
 
     # This will additionally add your inputs to the system's legacy channels
     # Making legacy nix commands consistent as well, awesome!
-    nixPath = lib.mapAttrsToList (key: value: "${key}=${value.to.path}") config.nix.registry;
+    # nixPath = lib.mapAttrsToList (key: value: "${key}=${value.to.path}") config.nix.registry;
 
     settings = {
       trusted-users = ["root" "daniel"];
diff --git a/modules/nixos/daniel.nix b/modules/nixos/daniel.nix
index 16814dd..f8a4f3b 100644
--- a/modules/nixos/daniel.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos/daniel.nix
@@ -1,15 +1,5 @@
 {
-  pkgs,
-  inputs,
-  system,
-  outputs,
-  ...
-}: {
   home-manager = {
-    extraSpecialArgs = {
-      inherit inputs outputs system;
-      inherit (outputs) colors font;
-    };
     users.daniel = {
       accounts.email.accounts = {
         primary = {
@@ -34,12 +24,12 @@
         homeDirectory = "/home/daniel/.home";
       };
 
-      imports = with outputs.homeManagerModules; [
-        common
-        gnome
-        senpai
-        iex
-        cargo
+      imports = [
+        ./common.nix
+        ./gnome.nix
+        ./senpai.nix
+        ./iex.nix
+        ./cargo.nix
       ];
     };
   };
diff --git a/modules/nixos/default.nix b/modules/nixos/default.nix
index f6fbbe2..70daa36 100644
--- a/modules/nixos/default.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos/default.nix
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+_thisFlake:
 with builtins;
   listToAttrs (map (name: {
       name = name;
diff --git a/modules/nixos/desktop-usage.nix b/modules/nixos/desktop-usage.nix
index bb4ef02..3d53029 100644
--- a/modules/nixos/desktop-usage.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos/desktop-usage.nix
@@ -1,10 +1,4 @@
 {
-  pkgs,
-  inputs,
-  outputs,
-  system,
-  ...
-}: {
   imports = [
     ./sway.nix
     # ./hyprland.nix
@@ -15,8 +9,6 @@
     ./kde-connect.nix
   ];
 
-  nixpkgs.overlays = [outputs.overlays.modifications];
-
   hardware = {
     opengl = {
       enable = true;
diff --git a/nixos/base.nix b/nixos/base.nix
index 332c866..abd6464 100644
--- a/nixos/base.nix
+++ b/nixos/base.nix
@@ -1,14 +1,10 @@
-{
-  outputs,
-  flake,
-  ...
-}: {
+{outputs, ...}: {
   # a minimal, familiar setup that I can bootstrap atop
   imports = with outputs.nixosModules; [
     # may need to be tweaked based on the machine's paritioning scheme
-    flake.diskoConfigurations.standard
-    desktop-usage
-    wifi
+    # outputs.diskoConfigurations.standard
+    # desktop-usage
+    # wifi
   ];
 
   # TODO: may not work for non-UEFI?
diff --git a/nixos/default.nix b/nixos/default.nix
index 66cd29c..a43b179 100644
--- a/nixos/default.nix
+++ b/nixos/default.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
+thisFlake:
 with builtins; (listToAttrs (map (name: {
     name = name;
     value = {
       system = "x86_64-linux";
+      # specialArgs = thisFlake;
       modules = [./${name}.nix];
     };
   }) [
diff --git a/nixos/dragon.nix b/nixos/dragon.nix
index ae3d7c8..25cc8f1 100644
--- a/nixos/dragon.nix
+++ b/nixos/dragon.nix
@@ -17,14 +17,14 @@
     inputs.hardware.nixosModules.common-pc-ssd
     outputs.nixosModules.pipewire-low-latency
 
-    desktop-usage
-    podman
-    postgres
-    wifi
-    hyprland
-    printing
-    ewwbar
-    melee
+    # desktop-usage
+    # podman
+    # postgres
+    # wifi
+    # hyprland
+    # printing
+    # ewwbar
+    # melee
   ];
 
   programs.steam.enable = true;
@@ -32,12 +32,12 @@
 
   home-manager.users.daniel = {
     imports = with outputs.homeManagerModules; [
-      sway
-      pass
-      firefox-no-tabs
-      melee
-      # sway-laptop
-      hyprland
+      # sway
+      # pass
+      # firefox-no-tabs
+      # melee
+      # # sway-laptop
+      # hyprland
     ];
 
     ssbm = {
diff --git a/nixos/htpc.nix b/nixos/htpc.nix
index 1645281..d87786e 100644
--- a/nixos/htpc.nix
+++ b/nixos/htpc.nix
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@
 
   powerManagement.enable = false;
 
-  boot.loader.grub.enable = true;
+  # boot.loader.grub.enable = true;
   boot.loader.grub.device = "/dev/sda";
 
   boot.initrd.availableKernelModules = ["xhci_pci" "ahci" "usbhid" "usb_storage" "sd_mod" "sdhci_pci"];