diff --git a/.github/actions/test/action.yml b/.github/actions/test/action.yml
index ca4aa7d7f..019bee124 100644
--- a/.github/actions/test/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/test/action.yml
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ runs:
       run: |
         CMD=""
         [[ "${{ matrix.id }}" == "lint" ]] && CMD+="make check"
-        [[ "${{ matrix.id }}" == "compile" ]] && CMD+="make build FEATURES=all"
+        [[ "${{ matrix.id }}" == "compile" ]] && CMD+="make kernel FEATURES=all"
         [[ "${{ matrix.id }}" == "usermode_test" ]] && CMD+="make test"
         [[ "${{ matrix.id }}" == "ktest" ]] && CMD+="make ktest NETDEV=tap"
         [[ -n "${{ inputs.arch }}" ]] && CMD+=" OSDK_TARGET_ARCH=${{ inputs.arch }}"
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ runs:
       if: ${{ !(inputs.auto_test == 'general' || inputs.auto_test == 'osdk') }}
       shell: bash
       run: |
-        CMD="make run AUTO_TEST=${{ inputs.auto_test }}"
+        CMD="make run_kernel AUTO_TEST=${{ inputs.auto_test }}"
         [[ "${{ inputs.intel_tdx }}" == "true" ]] && CMD+=" INTEL_TDX=1"
         [[ "${{ inputs.release }}" == "true" ]] && CMD+=" RELEASE=1"
         [[ "${{ inputs.enable_kvm }}" == "false" ]] && CMD+=" ENABLE_KVM=0"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_asterinas_vsock.yml b/.github/workflows/test_asterinas_vsock.yml
index 3a7e6fcee..3bc916ad4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_asterinas_vsock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_asterinas_vsock.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ jobs:
             docker run \
               --privileged --network=host --device=/dev/kvm \
               -v ./:/root/asterinas asterinas/asterinas:0.16.2-20251209 \
-              make run AUTO_TEST=vsock ENABLE_KVM=0 SCHEME=microvm RELEASE_MODE=1 &
+              make run_kernel AUTO_TEST=vsock ENABLE_KVM=0 SCHEME=microvm RELEASE_MODE=1 &
       - name: Run Vsock Client on Host
         id: host_vsock_client
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_iso_image.yml b/.github/workflows/test_iso_image.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d74c1c6f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_iso_image.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+name: Test ISO image
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - distro/**
+      - .github/workflows/test_iso_image.yml
+      - tools/nixos/**
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+    paths:
+      - distro/**
+      - .github/workflows/test_iso_image.yml
+      - tools/nixos/**
+
+jobs:
+  iso-test:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-4-cores-150GB-ssd
+    container:
+      image: asterinas/asterinas:0.16.2-20251209
+      options: -v /dev:/dev --privileged
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Build Asterinas NixOS ISO installer image
+        run: |
+          make iso NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='hello-asterinas'
+      - name: Run ISO image and install Asterinas NixOS
+        run: |
+          make run_iso || true
+          tail --lines 10 qemu.log | grep -q "^Installation finished" || (echo "Test ISO failed" && exit 1)
+          echo "Test ISO succeeds!"
+      - name : Run Asterinas NixOS
+        run: |
+          make run_nixos || true
+          tail --lines 10 qemu.log | grep -q "^Hello Asterinas!" || (echo "Test NixOS failed" && exit 1)
+          echo "Test NixOS succeeds!"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_nixos_full.yml b/.github/workflows/test_nixos_full.yml
index 0f7b0ac20..0494ee23d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_nixos_full.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_nixos_full.yml
@@ -33,12 +33,14 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Use nix-env to install and run the hello package
         run: |
-          make run NIXOS=1 NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=6144 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='nix-env -iA nixos.hello && hello' || true
+          make nixos NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=6144 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='nix-env -iA nixos.hello && hello' || true
+          make run_nixos || true
           tail --lines 10 qemu.log | grep -q "^Hello, world!" || (echo "Test nix-env failed" && exit 1)
           echo "Test nix-env succeeds!"
       - name: Use nix-shell to install and run the hello package
         run: |
-          make run NIXOS=1 NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=6144 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='nix-shell -p hello --command hello' || true
+          make nixos NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=6144 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='nix-shell -p hello --command hello' || true
+          make run_nixos || true
           tail --lines 10 qemu.log | grep -q "^Hello, world!" || (echo "Test nix-shell failed" && exit 1)
           echo "Test nix-shell succeeds!"
   
@@ -56,6 +58,7 @@ jobs:
           distro/etc_nixos/configuration.nix
       - name: Run podman commands
         run: |
-          make run NIXOS=1 NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=8192 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='podman run docker.io/library/alpine:latest ls /etc' || true
+          make nixos NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=8192 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='podman run docker.io/library/alpine:latest ls /etc' || true
+          make run_nixos || true
           tail --lines 50 qemu.log | grep -q "alpine-release" || (echo "Test podman failed" && exit 1)
           echo "Test podman succeeds!"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_nixos_minimal.yml b/.github/workflows/test_nixos_minimal.yml
index 0dc8b594f..fc3223a07 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_nixos_minimal.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_nixos_minimal.yml
@@ -37,7 +37,9 @@ jobs:
         with:
           image: asterinas/asterinas:0.16.2-20251209
           options: --privileged -v /dev:/dev -v ${{ github.workspace }}:/root/asterinas
-          run: make run NIXOS=1 NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=6144 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='hello-asterinas' || true
+          run: |
+            make nixos NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=6144 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND='hello-asterinas' || true
+            make run_nixos || true
       - name: Check results
         run: |
           tail --lines 10 ${{ github.workspace }}/qemu.log | grep -q "^Hello Asterinas!" || (echo "Test NixOS failed" && exit 1)
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1174fc8ab..72f75cf7b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ DNS_SERVER ?= none
 # End of network settings
 
 # NixOS settings
-NIXOS ?= 0
 NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB ?= 8192
 NIXOS_DISABLE_SYSTEMD ?= false
 NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND ?=
@@ -64,6 +63,10 @@ NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND ?=
 NIXOS_STAGE_2_INIT ?= /bin/sh -l
 # End of NixOS settings
 
+# ISO installer settings
+AUTO_INSTALL ?= true
+# End of ISO installer settings
+
 # ========================= End of Makefile options. ==========================
 
 SHELL := /bin/bash
@@ -158,11 +161,6 @@ ifeq ($(NO_DEFAULT_FEATURES), 1)
 CARGO_OSDK_COMMON_ARGS += --no-default-features
 endif
 
-ifeq ($(NIXOS), 1)
-BOOT_PROTOCOL = linux-efi-handover64
-OVMF=off
-endif
-
 # To test the linux-efi-handover64 boot protocol, we need to use Debian's
 # GRUB release, which is installed in /usr/bin in our Docker image.
 ifeq ($(BOOT_PROTOCOL), linux-efi-handover64)
@@ -248,7 +246,7 @@ OSDK_SRC_FILES := \
 	$(shell find osdk/Cargo.toml osdk/Cargo.lock osdk/src -type f)
 
 .PHONY: all
-all: build
+all: kernel
 
 # Install or update OSDK from source
 # To uninstall, do `cargo uninstall cargo-osdk`
@@ -288,22 +286,15 @@ check_vdso:
 initramfs: check_vdso
 	@$(MAKE) --no-print-directory -C test
 
-.PHONY: build
-build: initramfs $(CARGO_OSDK)
+# Build the kernel with an initramfs
+.PHONY: kernel
+kernel: initramfs $(CARGO_OSDK)
 	@cd kernel && cargo osdk build $(CARGO_OSDK_BUILD_ARGS)
-ifeq ($(NIXOS),1)
-	@./tools/nixos/build_nixos.sh
-endif
 
-.PHONY: run
-run: initramfs $(CARGO_OSDK)
-ifeq ($(NIXOS),1)
-	@cd kernel && cargo osdk build $(CARGO_OSDK_BUILD_ARGS)
-	@./tools/nixos/build_nixos.sh
-	@./tools/nixos/run_nixos.sh target/nixos
-else
+# Build the kernel with an initramfs and then run it
+.PHONY: run_kernel
+run_kernel: initramfs $(CARGO_OSDK)
 	@cd kernel && cargo osdk run $(CARGO_OSDK_BUILD_ARGS)
-endif
 # Check the running status of auto tests from the QEMU log
 ifeq ($(AUTO_TEST), syscall)
 	@tail --lines 100 qemu.log | grep -q "^All syscall tests passed." \
@@ -319,6 +310,29 @@ else ifeq ($(AUTO_TEST), vsock)
 		|| (echo "Vsock test failed" && exit 1)
 endif
 
+# Build the Asterinas NixOS ISO installer image
+iso: BOOT_PROTOCOL = linux-efi-handover64
+iso:
+	@make kernel
+	@./tools/nixos/build_iso.sh
+
+# Build the Asterinas NixOS ISO installer image and then do installation
+run_iso: OVMF = off
+run_iso:
+	@./tools/nixos/run_iso.sh
+
+# Create an Asterinas NixOS installation on host
+nixos: BOOT_PROTOCOL = linux-efi-handover64
+nixos:
+	@make kernel
+	@./tools/nixos/build_nixos.sh
+
+# After creating a Asterinas NixOS installation (via either the `run_iso` or `nixos` target),
+# run the NixOS
+run_nixos: OVMF = off
+run_nixos:
+	@./tools/nixos/run_nixos.sh target/nixos
+
 .PHONY: gdb_server
 gdb_server: initramfs $(CARGO_OSDK)
 	@cd kernel && cargo osdk run $(CARGO_OSDK_BUILD_ARGS) --gdb-server wait-client,vscode,addr=:$(GDB_TCP_PORT)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ec689ca0b..43d687a69 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,8 +78,8 @@ docker run -it --privileged --network=host -v /dev:/dev -v $(pwd)/asterinas:/roo
 3. Inside the container, go to the project folder to build and run Asterinas.
 
 ```bash
-make build
-make run
+make kernel
+make run_kernel
 ```
 
 If everything goes well, Asterinas is now up and running inside a VM.
diff --git a/README_CN.md b/README_CN.md
index 60221c647..23c1b0774 100644
--- a/README_CN.md
+++ b/README_CN.md
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ docker run -it --privileged --network=host --device=/dev/kvm -v $(pwd)/asterinas
 3. 在容器内，进入项目文件夹构建并运行星绽。
 
 ```bash
-make build
-make run
+make kernel
+make run_kernel
 ```
 
 如果一切顺利，星绽现在应该在一个虚拟机内运行起来了。
diff --git a/README_JP.md b/README_JP.md
index 834c450a4..64652d4ff 100644
--- a/README_JP.md
+++ b/README_JP.md
@@ -57,8 +57,8 @@ docker run -it --privileged --network=host --device=/dev/kvm -v $(pwd)/asterinas
 3. コンテナ内でプロジェクトフォルダに移動し、Asterinasをビルドして実行します。
 
 ```bash
-make build
-make run
+make kernel
+make run_kernel
 ```
 
 すべてが順調に進めば、Asterinasは仮想マシン内で実行されます。
diff --git a/book/src/kernel/README.md b/book/src/kernel/README.md
index ecbbe461c..315187684 100644
--- a/book/src/kernel/README.md
+++ b/book/src/kernel/README.md
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ docker run -it --privileged \
 3. Inside the container, go to the project folder to build and run Asterinas.
 
 ```bash
-make build
-make run
+make kernel
+make run_kernel
 ```
 
 If everything goes well, Asterinas is now up and running inside a VM.
diff --git a/book/src/kernel/advanced-instructions.md b/book/src/kernel/advanced-instructions.md
index 5b7c9e31c..894457be6 100644
--- a/book/src/kernel/advanced-instructions.md
+++ b/book/src/kernel/advanced-instructions.md
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ cargo osdk test
 The following command builds and runs the test binaries in `test/src/apps` directory on Asterinas.
 
 ```bash
-make run AUTO_TEST=test
+make run_kernel AUTO_TEST=test
 ```
 
 ### Syscall Test
@@ -45,13 +45,13 @@ make run AUTO_TEST=test
 The following command builds and runs the syscall test binaries on Asterinas.
 
 ```bash
-make run AUTO_TEST=syscall
+make run_kernel AUTO_TEST=syscall
 ```
 
 To run system call tests interactively, start an instance of Asterinas with the system call tests built and installed.
 
 ```bash
-make run BUILD_SYSCALL_TEST=1
+make run_kernel BUILD_SYSCALL_TEST=1
 ```
 
 Then, in the interactive shell, run the following script to start the syscall tests.
diff --git a/book/src/kernel/intel_tdx.md b/book/src/kernel/intel_tdx.md
index cda2560c1..2c76c0d98 100644
--- a/book/src/kernel/intel_tdx.md
+++ b/book/src/kernel/intel_tdx.md
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ docker run -it --privileged --network=host --device=/dev/kvm -v $(pwd)/asterinas
 go to the project folder to build and run Asterinas.
 
 ```bash
-make run INTEL_TDX=1
+make run_kernel INTEL_TDX=1
 ```
 
 If everything goes well,
diff --git a/distro/aster_nixos_installer/default.nix b/distro/aster_nixos_installer/default.nix
index a52fb9dfd..33e312d97 100644
--- a/distro/aster_nixos_installer/default.nix
+++ b/distro/aster_nixos_installer/default.nix
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ in pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
     mkdir -p $out/{bin,etc_nixos}
     cp ${install_aster_nixos} $out/bin/install_aster_nixos.sh
     ln -s ${aster_configuration} $out/etc_nixos/aster_configuration.nix
+    ln -s ${etc-nixos}/configuration.nix $out/etc_nixos/configuration.nix
     ln -s ${etc-nixos}/modules $out/etc_nixos/modules
     ln -s ${etc-nixos}/overlays $out/etc_nixos/overlays
     ln -s ${aster-kernel} $out/kernel
diff --git a/distro/aster_nixos_installer/templates/install_nixos.sh b/distro/aster_nixos_installer/templates/install_nixos.sh
index e192300dc..16a88eef3 100644
--- a/distro/aster_nixos_installer/templates/install_nixos.sh
+++ b/distro/aster_nixos_installer/templates/install_nixos.sh
@@ -82,8 +82,13 @@ fi
 
 BUILD_DIR=$(mktemp -d -p /mnt)
 
-BOOT_DEVICE=${DISK}p1
-ROOT_DEVICE=${DISK}p2
+if [ "${DISK#/dev/loop}" != "$DISK" ]; then
+    BOOT_DEVICE="${DISK}p1"
+    ROOT_DEVICE="${DISK}p2"
+else
+    BOOT_DEVICE="${DISK}1"
+    ROOT_DEVICE="${DISK}2"
+fi
 if [ ! -b "${BOOT_DEVICE}" ] && [ ! -b "${ROOT_DEVICE}" ]; then
     parted ${DISK} -- mklabel gpt
     parted ${DISK} -- mkpart ESP fat32 1MB 512MB
diff --git a/distro/iso_image/default.nix b/distro/iso_image/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..84fe295ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/distro/iso_image/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> { }, autoInstall ? false, test-command ? "", ... }:
+let
+  installer =
+    pkgs.callPackage ../aster_nixos_installer { inherit test-command; };
+  configuration = {
+    imports = [
+      "${pkgs.path}/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-minimal.nix"
+      "${pkgs.path}/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/channel.nix"
+    ];
+
+    services.getty.autologinUser = pkgs.lib.mkForce "root";
+    environment.systemPackages = [ installer ];
+    environment.loginShellInit = ''
+      if [ ! -e "$HOME/configuration.nix" ]; then
+        # Copy the default configuration.nix to user's home directory.
+        cp -L ${installer}/etc_nixos/configuration.nix $HOME
+      fi
+
+      ${pkgs.lib.optionalString autoInstall ''
+        if [ "$(tty)" == "/dev/hvc0" ]; then
+          echo "The installer automatically runs on /dev/hvc0!"
+          install_aster_nixos.sh --config $HOME/configuration.nix --disk /dev/vda --force-format-disk || true
+          poweroff
+        fi
+      ''}
+    '';
+  };
+in (pkgs.nixos configuration).config.system.build.isoImage
diff --git a/test/README.md b/test/README.md
index cddadd6ac..18017274b 100644
--- a/test/README.md
+++ b/test/README.md
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ While most tests rely on `Nix` for compilation, the `gvisor` syscall test suite
 The test suite supports building for multiple architectures, including `x86_64` and `riscv64`. You can specify the desired architecture by running:
 
 ```bash
-make build OSDK_TARGET_ARCH=x86_64
+make kernel OSDK_TARGET_ARCH=x86_64
 # or
-make build OSDK_TARGET_ARCH=riscv64
+make kernel OSDK_TARGET_ARCH=riscv64
 ```
 
 The build artifacts (initramfs) can be found in the `test/build` directory after the compilation.
diff --git a/test/src/benchmark/bench_linux_and_aster.sh b/test/src/benchmark/bench_linux_and_aster.sh
index fd3a84e7d..9bb4f1bcd 100755
--- a/test/src/benchmark/bench_linux_and_aster.sh
+++ b/test/src/benchmark/bench_linux_and_aster.sh
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ run_benchmark() {
      done <<< "$runtime_configs_str"
 
     # Prepare commands for Asterinas and Linux using arrays
-    local asterinas_cmd_arr=(make run "BENCHMARK=${benchmark}")
+    local asterinas_cmd_arr=(make run_kernel "BENCHMARK=${benchmark}")
     # Add scheme part only if it's not empty and the platform is not TDX (OSDK doesn't support multiple SCHEME)
     [[ -n "$aster_scheme_cmd_part" && "$platform" != "tdx" ]] && asterinas_cmd_arr+=("$aster_scheme_cmd_part")
     asterinas_cmd_arr+=(
diff --git a/tools/format_all.sh b/tools/format_all.sh
index e117178c7..c32e42933 100755
--- a/tools/format_all.sh
+++ b/tools/format_all.sh
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ for CRATE in $EXCLUDED_CRATES; do
             continue
             ;;
         # `target/osdk/base` and `target/osdk/test-base` are generated by OSDK and does not need to be formatted. 
-        # The directories do not exist before running `make build` or `make test`.
+        # The directories do not exist before running `make kernel` or `make test`.
         *target/osdk/base*)
             continue
             ;;
diff --git a/tools/nixos/build_iso.sh b/tools/nixos/build_iso.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..0df72a8f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/nixos/build_iso.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR=$(cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd)
+ASTERINAS_DIR=$(realpath ${SCRIPT_DIR}/../..)
+DISTRO_DIR=$(realpath ${ASTERINAS_DIR}/distro)
+TARGET_DIR=${ASTERINAS_DIR}/target/nixos
+
+mkdir -p ${TARGET_DIR}
+
+nix-build ${DISTRO_DIR}/iso_image \
+    --arg autoInstall ${AUTO_INSTALL} \
+    --argstr test-command "${NIXOS_TEST_COMMAND}" \
+    --out-link ${TARGET_DIR}/iso_image
diff --git a/tools/nixos/run_iso.sh b/tools/nixos/run_iso.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..ca0c47835
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/nixos/run_iso.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR=$(cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd)
+ASTERINAS_DIR=$(realpath ${SCRIPT_DIR}/../..)
+ASTER_IMAGE_PATH=${ASTERINAS_DIR}/target/nixos/asterinas.img
+NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB=${NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB:-8192}
+ISO_IMAGE_PATH=$(realpath ${ASTERINAS_DIR}/target/nixos/iso_image/iso/*.iso)
+
+if [ ! -f "$ISO_IMAGE_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "Error: ISO_IMAGE not found!"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+rm -f ${ASTER_IMAGE_PATH}
+echo "Creating image at ${ASTER_IMAGE_PATH} of size ${NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB}MB......"
+dd if=/dev/zero of=${ASTER_IMAGE_PATH} bs=1M count=${NIXOS_DISK_SIZE_IN_MB}
+echo "Image created successfully!"
+
+QEMU_ARGS="qemu-system-x86_64 \
+	-bios /root/ovmf/release/OVMF.fd \
+	-cdrom ${ISO_IMAGE_PATH} -boot d \
+	-drive if=none,format=raw,id=u0,file=${ASTER_IMAGE_PATH} \
+	-device virtio-blk-pci,drive=u0,disable-legacy=on,disable-modern=off \
+"
+
+if [ "${ENABLE_KVM}" = "1" ]; then
+	QEMU_ARGS="${QEMU_ARGS} -accel kvm"
+fi
+
+COMMON_QEMU_ARGS=$(${SCRIPT_DIR}/../qemu_args.sh common 2>/dev/null)
+QEMU_ARGS="
+	${QEMU_ARGS} \
+	${COMMON_QEMU_ARGS} \
+"
+
+${QEMU_ARGS}