diff --git a/modules/base/nix/nix.nix b/modules/base/nix/nix.nix
index 9aa041ab..45b31553 100644
--- a/modules/base/nix/nix.nix
+++ b/modules/base/nix/nix.nix
@@ -116,6 +116,10 @@ in
         # which is BEYOND annoying, which makes this a really nice feature to have
         "auto-allocate-uids"
 
+        # allows Nix to execute builds inside cgroups
+        # remember you must also enable use-cgroups in the nix.conf or settings
+        "cgroups"
+
         # allow usage of the pipe operator in nix expressions
         "pipe-operator"
 
diff --git a/modules/nixos/nix.nix b/modules/nixos/nix.nix
index a429835b..932b92dd 100644
--- a/modules/nixos/nix.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos/nix.nix
@@ -14,8 +14,18 @@
     # daemonIOSchedClass = "idle";
     # daemonIOSchedPriority = 7;
 
-    # set the build dir to /var/tmp to avoid issues on tmpfs
-    # https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/293114#issuecomment-2663470083
-    settings.build-dir = "/var/tmp";
+    settings = {
+      # the defaults to false even if the experimental feature is enabled so we
+      # need to enable it here, this is also only available on linux and the
+      # option is explicitly removed on darwin so we have to have this here. it
+      # is also important to enable auto-allocate-uids since this is implicated
+      # as a requirement <https://git.lix.systems/lix-project/lix/issues/1154>
+      use-cgroups = true;
+      auto-allocate-uids = true;
+
+      # set the build dir to /var/tmp to avoid issues on tmpfs
+      # https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/293114#issuecomment-2663470083
+      build-dir = "/var/tmp";
+    };
   };
 }