diff --git a/flake/nixos.nix b/flake/nixos.nix
index 8524e9e..8443039 100644
--- a/flake/nixos.nix
+++ b/flake/nixos.nix
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ let
         system.nix.registry
         system.nix.settings
         system.nix.version
+        system.perlless
         system.preservation
         users.root
         # keep-sorted end
diff --git a/nixos/profiles/system/perlless.nix b/nixos/profiles/system/perlless.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce28612
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/profiles/system/perlless.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{ lib, ... }:
+{
+  system.etc.overlay.enable = lib.mkDefault true;
+
+  services.userborn = {
+    enable = lib.mkDefault true;
+    passwordFilesLocation = lib.mkDefault "/var/lib/nixos";
+  };
+}
diff --git a/nixos/profiles/system/preservation.nix b/nixos/profiles/system/preservation.nix
index d6d392a..ae984f2 100644
--- a/nixos/profiles/system/preservation.nix
+++ b/nixos/profiles/system/preservation.nix
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
             }
             {
               directory = "/var/lib/nixos";
-              inInitrd = true;
+              inInitrd = !(config.systemd.sysusers.enable || config.services.userborn.enable);
               mode = "0755";
               user = "root";
               group = "root";