diff --git a/doc/manual/installation.xml b/doc/manual/installation.xml
index 09f97b235b7..330ef14e0fd 100644
--- a/doc/manual/installation.xml
+++ b/doc/manual/installation.xml
@@ -133,39 +133,32 @@ $ lvcreate --size 1G --name smalldisk MyVolGroup</screen>
 
   <listitem>
 
-    <para>The installation is declarative; you need to write a
-    description of the configuration that you want to be built and
-    activated.  The configuration is specified in a Nix expression and
-    must be stored <emphasis>on the target file system</emphasis> in
-    <filename>/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</filename>.  See
-    <filename>/etc/nixos/nixos/doc/config-examples</filename> for
-    example machine configurations.  You can copy and edit one of
-    those (e.g., copy
-    <filename>/etc/nixos/nixos/doc/config-examples/basic.nix</filename>
-    to <filename>/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</filename>).  See
-    <xref linkend="ch-options"/> for a list of the available
-    configuration options.  The text editors <command>nano</command>
-    and <command>vim</command> are available.</para>
+    <para>Generate a template configuration for the target system:</para>
 
-    <para>In particular you need to specify a root file system in
-    <option>fileSystems</option> and the target device for the Grub
-    boot loader in <option>boot.grubDevice</option>.</para>
-
-    <para>The command <command>nixos-hardware-scan</command> can
+    <para>The command <command>nixos-option</command> can
     generate an initial configuration file for you, i.e.,
 
 <screen>
-$ mkdir -p /mnt/etc/nixos
-$ nixos-hardware-scan > /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</screen>
+$ nixos-option --install</screen>
 
     It tries to figure out the modules necessary for mounting the root
     device, as well as various other hardware characteristics.
-    However, it doesn’t try to figure out the
+    However, it doesn’t try to figure out the 
     <option>fileSystems</option> option yet.</para>
 
-    <para>More examples of NixOS configurations for some actual
-    machines can be found at <link
-    xlink:href="https://svn.nixos.org/repos/nix/configurations/trunk/"/>.</para>
+    <para>Edit <filename>/mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</filename> to
+    configure your system.  The installation is declarative; you need to
+    write a description of the configuration that you want to be built and
+    activated.  The configuration is specified in a Nix expression and must
+    be stored <emphasis>on the target file system</emphasis>.  The text
+    editors <command>nano</command> and <command>vim</command> are
+    available.</para>
+
+    <para>You need to specify a root file system in
+    <option>fileSystems</option> and the target device for the Grub boot
+    loader in <option>boot.grubDevice</option>.  See
+    <xref linkend="ch-options"/> for a list of the available configuration
+    options.</para>
 
     <note><para>It is very important that you specify in the option
     <option>boot.initrd.kernelModules</option> all kernel modules that
@@ -178,6 +171,11 @@ $ nixos-hardware-scan > /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix</screen>
     <command>nixos-hardware-scan</command> should figure out the
     required modules in most cases.</para></note>
 
+    <para>Examples are available in
+    <filename>/etc/nixos/nixos/doc/config-examples</filename> and some
+    actual NixOS configuration can be found at <link
+    xlink:href="https://svn.nixos.org/repos/nix/configurations/trunk/"/>.</para>
+
   </listitem>
 
   <listitem><para>If your machine has a limited amount of memory, you
@@ -259,8 +257,7 @@ $ fdisk /dev/sda <lineannotation>(or whatever device you want to install on)</li
 $ mke2fs -j -L nixos /dev/sda1 <lineannotation>(idem)</lineannotation>
 $ mkswap -L swap /dev/sda2 <lineannotation>(idem)</lineannotation>
 $ mount LABEL=nixos /mnt
-$ mkdir -p /mnt/etc/nixos
-$ nixos-hardware-scan > /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
+$ nixos-option --install
 $ nano /mnt/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
 <lineannotation>(in particular, set the fileSystems and swapDevices options)</lineannotation>
 $ nixos-install