How to use Nix as a Package Manager for Neovim to manage plugins and configurations?

I want to use Nix as a package manager for managing my Neovim plugins and configurations instead of using traditional methods like Vim-Plug or Packer. I'm looking for guidance on the following points:

1. Basic Setup: How do I set up Nix to work with Neovim? Do I need any specific configurations or files to start managing plugins?
2. Managing Plugins: How can I install and manage Neovim plugins with Nix? Is there a standard way to define plugins in my configuration.nix or flake.nix?
3. Best Practices: Are there any best practices or common pitfalls to avoid when using Nix for this purpose?
4. Performance Considerations: Does using Nix for managing Neovim plugins have any impact on performance or startup times compared to traditional methods?

Any examples or a step-by-step guide would be greatly appreciated! I'm fairly new to both Nix and Neovim, so detailed explanations would be helpful.

I have installed Nix and set up a basic configuration file to manage Neovim. I was expecting to be able to specify and install plugins using Nix expressions, but I am unsure how to define them correctly. Instead of loading plugins, Neovim still starts without the desired plugins, and I'm not sure what I am missing in my configuration. I expected Nix to handle the plugins seamlessly, similar to other package managers, but I might have made a mistake in the setup process.

Any guidance on correctly setting up Nix to manage Neovim plugins would be helpful.

You can check out nixvim, there are plenty of samples using it. You can also check out my config.