diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9365db4..2dacfbf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -35,14 +35,20 @@ vim ./flake.nix
 
 4. **Ready** to go:
 ```
-nix develop
+nix develop -c $SHELL
 ```
 
 
 **Optional**:
 If you'd like to add **additional packages** to your new tritonshell, you
-can do so: just edit `flake.nix` and look for `extraDevshellPkgs`. Packages
+can do so: just edit `flake.nix` and look for `devshell.packages`. Packages
 added here will be pulled from the `nixos-unstable` channel, you can [search
 for available packages here](https://search.nixos.org/packages?channel=unstable&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=hello).
 
-TODO: add `nix-direnv`
+You can use `nix-direnv` with this template, [read here how to install it](https://github.com/nix-community/nix-direnv#installation).
+Then, just run:
+```
+direnv allow
+```
+in the newly created `./tritonshell` directory to automatically rebuild the
+flake upon changes to the `flake.nix` file.
diff --git a/template/flake.lock b/flake.lock
similarity index 93%
rename from template/flake.lock
rename to flake.lock
index c2b460f..159e757 100644
--- a/template/flake.lock
+++ b/flake.lock
@@ -67,11 +67,11 @@
     },
     "nixpkgs_2": {
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1664538465,
-        "narHash": "sha256-EnlC7dDKX7X1wlnXkB1gmn9rBZQ0J9+biVTZHw//8us=",
+        "lastModified": 1665349835,
+        "narHash": "sha256-UK4urM3iN80UXQ7EaOappDzcisYIuEURFRoGQ/yPkug=",
         "owner": "nixos",
         "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "10ecda252ce1b3b1d6403caeadbcc8f30d5ab796",
+        "rev": "34c5293a71ffdb2fe054eb5288adc1882c1eb0b1",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index d6632d0..427ed7a 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -1,10 +1,78 @@
 {
-  description = "nix flake template for devs & ops environment with triton";
+  description = "devshell nix module for triton DevOps shell environment";
 
-  outputs = { self }: {
-    defaultTemplate = {
-      description = "nix flake new --template 'git+https://git.greenbaum.cloud/greenbaum.cloud/tritonshell?ref=main' ./tritonshell";
-      path = ./template;
-    };
-  };
+  inputs.devshell.url = "github:numtide/devshell";
+  inputs.flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
+  inputs.nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
+
+  outputs = { self, flake-utils, devshell, nixpkgs }:
+    flake-utils.lib.eachSystem [
+      "aarch64-linux"
+      "i686-linux"
+      "x86_64-darwin"
+      "x86_64-linux"
+    ]
+      (
+        system:
+        let
+          pkgs = import nixpkgs {
+            inherit system;
+
+            overlays = [
+              devshell.overlay
+              (import ./overlay.nix)
+            ];
+          };
+        in
+        {
+          devshellModules.tritonshell = { config, lib, ... }:
+            with lib;
+            {
+              options = {
+                environment = {
+                  enable = mkEnableOption "triton DevOps shell environment";
+                  # options used to set triton env vars in tritonshell
+                  # adjust to suit your Triton Data Center setup
+                  # take a look at ./pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix to see how these get used
+                  cnsBaseDomain = mkOption {
+                    description = "Base domain for generated CNS domain records";
+                    type = types.nullOr types.str;
+                    default = "greenbaum.zone";
+                  };
+                  dataCenters = mkOption {
+                    description = "List of available triton data centers";
+                    type = types.listOf types.str;
+                    default = [ "cgn-1" "lev-1" ];
+                  };
+                  mantaDomain = mkOption {
+                    description = "Domain for manta object storage service";
+                    type = types.nullOr types.str;
+                    default = "eu-central.manta.greenbaum.cloud";
+                  };
+                  tritonApiDomain = mkOption {
+                    description = "Domain for triton API";
+                    type = types.nullOr types.str;
+                    default = "api.greenbaum.cloud";
+                  };
+                };
+              };
+
+              config =
+                lib.mkIf config.environment.enable
+                  (import ./tritonshell.nix { inherit config devshell pkgs self system; });
+            };
+          # Internal utility package with shell function and env vars helper.
+          # These get source'd in devshell.bash.extra when starting tritonshell
+          packages = {
+            triton-utils = import ./pkgs/triton-utils.nix { inherit pkgs; };
+            triton-docker-env = import ./pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix { inherit pkgs; };
+          };
+          outputs = { self }: {
+            defaultTemplate = {
+              description = "nix flake new --template 'git+https://git.greenbaum.cloud/greenbaum.cloud/tritonshell?ref=main' ./tritonshell";
+              path = ./template;
+            };
+          };
+        }
+      );
 }
diff --git a/template/overlay.nix b/overlay.nix
similarity index 100%
rename from template/overlay.nix
rename to overlay.nix
diff --git a/pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix b/pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15e4b19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+with pkgs.nodePackages;
+''
+  # Script to set the docker, triton, manta and CNS env vars for the current
+  # triton profile
+  # Docs: https://docs.greenbaum.cloud/en/devops/triton-cli.html
+  # triton CLI source: https://github.com/tritonDataCenter/node-triton
+  cnsBaseDomain=$TRITONSHELL_CNS_BASE_DOMAIN
+  dataCenters=$TRITONSHELL_DATA_CENTERS
+  mantaDomain=$TRITONSHELL_MANTA_DOMAIN
+  tritonApiDomain=$TRITONSHELL_TRITON_API_DOMAIN
+
+  # Set triton and docker host environment variables
+  eval "$(${triton}/bin/triton env)"
+
+  # Get the user's UUID
+  triton_account_uuid="$(${triton}/bin/triton account get --json | ${json}/bin/json id)"
+
+  # Set the CNS (container name service) base domain for auto-generated DNS
+  # records in public and private networks
+  # Note: the defaults are configured to work with our data centers, adjust the
+  # nix module options like config.environment.cnsBaseDomain in your devshell
+  # if you'd like to use tritonshell with your own, self-hosted TritonDataCenter
+  for dc in "''${dataCenters[@]}"; do
+    if env | grep -q -E "SDC_URL=https://''${dc}.''${tritonApiDomain}"; then
+      export \
+      TRITON_CNS_SEARCH_DOMAIN_PUBLIC="''${triton_account_uuid}.''${dc}.''${cnsBaseDomain}" \
+      TRITON_CNS_SEARCH_DOMAIN_PRIVATE="''${triton_account_uuid}.''${dc}.int.''${cnsBaseDomain}" \
+      TRITON_DC=''$dc
+    fi
+  done
+
+  export MANTA_URL=https://''${mantaDomain}
+  export MANTA_USER=$SDC_ACCOUNT
+  export MANTA_KEY_ID=$SDC_KEY_ID
+''
diff --git a/pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix b/pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6cd8c8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+(pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "triton-docker-env.sh" (import ./triton-docker-env-shell.nix { inherit pkgs; }))
diff --git a/template/pkgs/triton-utils.nix b/pkgs/triton-utils.nix
similarity index 100%
rename from template/pkgs/triton-utils.nix
rename to pkgs/triton-utils.nix
diff --git a/template/pkgs/utils/cacert-2022-07-19.pem b/pkgs/utils/cacert-2022-07-19.pem
similarity index 100%
rename from template/pkgs/utils/cacert-2022-07-19.pem
rename to pkgs/utils/cacert-2022-07-19.pem
diff --git a/template/pkgs/utils/ttp.sh b/pkgs/utils/ttp.sh
similarity index 100%
rename from template/pkgs/utils/ttp.sh
rename to pkgs/utils/ttp.sh
diff --git a/template/pkgs/utils/unset-env.sh b/pkgs/utils/unset-env.sh
similarity index 100%
rename from template/pkgs/utils/unset-env.sh
rename to pkgs/utils/unset-env.sh
diff --git a/template/.envrc b/template/.envrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..80ffa0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/.envrc
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# reload when these files change
+watch_file flake.nix
+use_flake
diff --git a/template/.gitignore b/template/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bbdbfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+.direnv
+result
diff --git a/template/flake.nix b/template/flake.nix
index 57ab9bc..9611593 100644
--- a/template/flake.nix
+++ b/template/flake.nix
@@ -1,65 +1,44 @@
 {
-  description = "devs & ops environment for nix'ing with triton";
+  description = "Example devshell using the tritonshell nix module";
 
-  inputs.devshell.url = "github:numtide/devshell";
-  inputs.flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
-  inputs.nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
+  inputs = {
+    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
 
-  outputs = { self, flake-utils, devshell, nixpkgs }:
-    flake-utils.lib.eachSystem [
-      "aarch64-linux"
-      "i686-linux"
-      "x86_64-darwin"
-      "x86_64-linux"
-    ]
-      (system:
-        let
-          pkgs = import nixpkgs {
-            inherit system;
-          };
-        in
-        {
-          # Internal utility package with shell function and env vars helper.
-          # These get source'd in devshell.bash.extra when starting tritonshell
-          packages = {
-            triton-utils = import ./pkgs/triton-utils.nix { inherit pkgs; };
-            triton-docker-env =
-              let
-                # CUSTOMIZE:
-                # variables used to set triton env vars in tritonshell
-                # adjust to suit your Triton Data Center setup
-                # take a look at ./pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix to see how these get used
-                cnsBaseDomain = "greenbaum.zone";
-                dataCenters = [ "cgn-1" "lev-1" ];
-                mantaDomain = "eu-central.manta.greenbaum.cloud";
-                tritonApiDomain = "api.greenbaum.cloud";
-              in
-              import ./pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix {
-                inherit pkgs cnsBaseDomain dataCenters mantaDomain tritonApiDomain;
-              };
+    flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
+
+    devshell.url = "github:numtide/devshell";
+    devshell.inputs.flake-utils.follows = "flake-utils";
+    devshell.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
+
+    tritonshell-module.url = "git+https://git.greenbaum.cloud/dev/tritonshell?ref=main";
+    tritonshell-module.inputs.devshell.follows = "devshell";
+    tritonshell-module.inputs.flake-utils.follows = "flake-utils";
+    tritonshell-module.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
+  };
+
+  outputs = { self, flake-utils, devshell, tritonshell-module, nixpkgs }:
+    flake-utils.lib.simpleFlake {
+      inherit self nixpkgs;
+      name = "infra-project";
+      preOverlays = [ devshell.overlay ];
+      shell = { pkgs }:
+        pkgs.devshell.mkShell {
+          imports  = [ tritonshell-module.devshellModules.x86_64-linux.tritonshell ];
+          # Now the tritonshell environment nix module options are available
+          environment = {
+            enable = true;
+            # CUSTOMIZE if desired, default options are:
+            #cnsBaseDomain = "greenbaum.zone";
+            #dataCenters = [ "cgn-1" "lev-1" ];
+            #mantaDomain = "eu-central.manta.greenbaum.cloud";
+            #tritonApiDomain = "api.greenbaum.cloud";
           };
 
-          devShells.default =
-            let
-              pkgs = import nixpkgs {
-                inherit system;
-
-                overlays = [
-                  devshell.overlay
-                  (import ./overlay.nix)
-                ];
-              };
-
-              # HINT: add your extra devshell pkgs here, use any packages you want
-              # available in your devshell's PATH
-              # Use https://search.nixos.org/packages to find available packages
-              # in the unstable channel
-              # These get appended to devshell.packages in ./tritonshell.nix
-              extraDevshellPkgs = with pkgs; [
-                #hello
-              ];
-
-            in
-            import ./tritonshell.nix { inherit extraDevshellPkgs devshell pkgs self system; };
-        });
+          # Add additional packages you'd like to be available in your devshell
+          # PATH here
+          devshell.packages = with pkgs; [
+            #nodejs
+          ];
+        };
+    };
 }
diff --git a/template/pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix b/template/pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 55e0dae..0000000
--- a/template/pkgs/triton-docker-env-shell.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-{ pkgs, cnsBaseDomain, dataCenters, mantaDomain, tritonApiDomain, ... }:
-with pkgs.nodePackages;
-''
-  export PATH="${triton}/bin:${json}/bin:$PATH"
-  # script to set the docker, triton, manta and CNS env vars for the current
-  # triton profile
-
-  # set triton and docker host environment variables
-  eval "$(triton env)"
-
-  # get the user's UUID
-  triton_account_uuid="$(triton account get --json | json id)"
-
-  # set the CNS (container name service) base for auto-generated DNS records
-  # in public and private networks
-  # note, this makes assumptions that only work if you configured the nix
-  # variables in flake.nix "CUSTOMIZE" section according to your Triton Data
-  # Center setup
-  for dc in ${pkgs.lib.concatStringsSep " " dataCenters}; do
-    if env | grep -q -E "SDC_URL=https://''${dc}.${tritonApiDomain}"; then
-      export \
-      TRITON_CNS_SEARCH_DOMAIN_PUBLIC="''${triton_account_uuid}.''${dc}.${cnsBaseDomain}" \
-      TRITON_CNS_SEARCH_DOMAIN_PRIVATE="''${triton_account_uuid}.''${dc}.int.${cnsBaseDomain}" \
-      TRITON_DC=''$dc
-    fi
-  done
-
-  export MANTA_URL=https://${mantaDomain}
-  export MANTA_USER=$SDC_ACCOUNT
-  export MANTA_KEY_ID=$SDC_KEY_ID
-''
diff --git a/template/pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix b/template/pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 416e2c7..0000000
--- a/template/pkgs/triton-docker-env.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-{ pkgs, cnsBaseDomain, dataCenters, mantaDomain, tritonApiDomain, ... }:
-(pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "triton-docker-env.sh" (import ./triton-docker-env-shell.nix { inherit pkgs cnsBaseDomain dataCenters mantaDomain tritonApiDomain; }))
diff --git a/template/tritonshell.nix b/tritonshell.nix
similarity index 83%
rename from template/tritonshell.nix
rename to tritonshell.nix
index f0f47dd..47d647c 100644
--- a/template/tritonshell.nix
+++ b/tritonshell.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
-{ extraDevshellPkgs, devshell, pkgs, self, system, ... }:
-pkgs.devshell.mkShell {
+{ config, devshell, pkgs, self, system, ... }:
+let
+  tritonConfig = config.environment;
+  cnsBaseDomain = tritonConfig.cnsBaseDomain;
+  dataCenters = tritonConfig.dataCenters;
+  mantaDomain = tritonConfig.mantaDomain;
+  tritonApiDomain = tritonConfig.tritonApiDomain;
+in
+{
   # devshell docs: https://numtide.github.io/devshell/modules_schema.html
   name = "tritonshell";
 
@@ -60,9 +67,10 @@ pkgs.devshell.mkShell {
     self.packages.${system}.triton-utils
     self.packages.${system}.triton-docker-env
     # useful for working with JSON data
-    jq
     bunyan-rs
-  ] ++ extraDevshellPkgs;
+    jq
+    nodePackages.json
+  ];
 
   env = [
     # workaround for TLS certs bug in docker-compose, CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED
@@ -87,6 +95,11 @@ pkgs.devshell.mkShell {
 
   bash = {
     extra = ''
+      export \
+        TRITONSHELL_CNS_BASE_DOMAIN=${cnsBaseDomain} \
+        TRITONSHELL_DATA_CENTERS=(${pkgs.lib.concatStringsSep " " dataCenters}) \
+        TRITONSHELL_MANTA_DOMAIN=${mantaDomain} \
+        TRITONSHELL_TRITON_API_DOMAIN=${tritonApiDomain}
       if [ -z "$TRITON_DONT_SOURCE_PROFILE" ]; then
         source ${self.packages.${system}.triton-docker-env}/bin/triton-docker-env.sh
         source ${self.packages.${system}.triton-utils}/bin/ttp.sh