diff --git a/fediversity/default.nix b/fediversity/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6e38fbda
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fediversity/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{ lib, ... }:
+
+let
+  inherit (lib) mkOption;
+  inherit (lib.types) types;
+
+in {
+  imports = [
+    ./garage.nix
+    ./mastodon.nix
+    ./pixelfed.nix
+    ./peertube.nix
+  ];
+
+  options = {
+    fediversity = {
+      enable = mkOption {
+        type = types.bool;
+        default = false;
+      };
+
+      mastodon.enable = mkOption { type = types.bool; default = false; };
+      pixelfed.enable = mkOption { type = types.bool; default = false; };
+      peertube.enable = mkOption { type = types.bool; default = false; };
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/fediversity/garage.nix b/fediversity/garage.nix
index 478443d5..aad2925f 100644
--- a/fediversity/garage.nix
+++ b/fediversity/garage.nix
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ let
     secret = "82b2b4cbef27bf8917b350d5b10a87c92fa9c8b13a415aeeea49726cf335d74e";
   };
 in
+
 # TODO: expand to a multi-machine setup
-{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: 
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
 let
   inherit (lib) types mkOption mkEnableOption optionalString concatStringsSep;
   inherit (lib.strings) escapeShellArg;
@@ -53,7 +55,9 @@ let
     ${concatMapAttrs (ensureAccessScriptFn key) ensureAccess}
   '';
   ensureKeysScript = concatMapAttrs ensureKeyScriptFn cfg.ensureKeys;
-in {
+in
+
+{
   # add in options to ensure creation of buckets and keys
   options = {
     services.garage = {
@@ -126,7 +130,7 @@ in {
     };
   };
 
-  config = {
+  config = lib.mkIf config.fediversity.enable {
     virtualisation.diskSize = 2048;
     virtualisation.forwardPorts = [
       {
diff --git a/fediversity/mastodon.nix b/fediversity/mastodon.nix
index e0c2ea42..5a349f6f 100644
--- a/fediversity/mastodon.nix
+++ b/fediversity/mastodon.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ let
     secret = "7d37d093435a41f2aab8f13c19ba067d9776c90215f56614adad6ece597dbb34";
   };
 in
-{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {
+
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
+lib.mkIf (config.fediversity.enable && config.fediversity.mastodon.enable) {
  #### garage setup
   services.garage = {
     ensureBuckets = {
diff --git a/fediversity/peertube.nix b/fediversity/peertube.nix
index e0d49269..95e1c32a 100644
--- a/fediversity/peertube.nix
+++ b/fediversity/peertube.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ let
     secret = "7295c4201966a02c2c3d25b5cea4a5ff782966a2415e3a196f91924631191395";
   };
 in
-{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {
+
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
+lib.mkIf (config.fediversity.enable && config.fediversity.peertube.enable) {
   networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 80 9000 ];
 
   services.garage = {
diff --git a/fediversity/pixelfed.nix b/fediversity/pixelfed.nix
index 9d2281fb..1d04f608 100644
--- a/fediversity/pixelfed.nix
+++ b/fediversity/pixelfed.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ let
     secret = "5be6799a88ca9b9d813d1a806b64f15efa49482dbe15339ddfaf7f19cf434987";
   };
 in
-{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }: {
+
+{ config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
+
+lib.mkIf (config.fediversity.enable && config.fediversity.pixelfed.enable) {
   services.garage = {
     ensureBuckets = {
       pixelfed = {
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 49d00cb4..737ad310 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     nixpkgs.url = "github:radvendii/nixpkgs/nixos_rebuild_tests";
   };
 
-  outputs = { self, nixpkgs }: 
+  outputs = { self, nixpkgs }:
   let
     system = "x86_64-linux";
     pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
@@ -13,10 +13,7 @@
 
     nixosModules = {
       ## Fediversity modules
-      garage = import ./fediversity/garage.nix;
-      mastodon = import ./fediversity/mastodon.nix;
-      peertube = import ./fediversity/peertube.nix;
-      pixelfed = import ./fediversity/pixelfed.nix;
+      fediversity = import ./fediversity;
 
       ## VM-specific modules
       interactive-vm = import ./vm/interactive-vm.nix;
@@ -28,27 +25,27 @@
     nixosConfigurations = {
       mastodon = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
         inherit system;
-        modules = with self.nixosModules; [ interactive-vm mastodon mastodon-vm garage ];
+        modules = with self.nixosModules; [ fediversity interactive-vm mastodon-vm ];
       };
 
       peertube = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
         inherit system;
-        modules = with self.nixosModules; [ interactive-vm peertube peertube-vm garage ];
+        modules = with self.nixosModules; [ fediversity interactive-vm peertube-vm ];
       };
 
       pixelfed = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
         inherit system;
-        modules = with self.nixosModules; [ interactive-vm pixelfed pixelfed-vm garage ];
+        modules = with self.nixosModules; [ fediversity interactive-vm pixelfed-vm ];
       };
 
       all = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
         inherit system;
         modules = with self.nixosModules; [
+          fediversity
           interactive-vm
-          peertube peertube-vm
-          pixelfed pixelfed-vm
-          mastodon mastodon-vm
-          garage
+          peertube-vm
+          pixelfed-vm
+          mastodon-vm
         ];
       };
     };
diff --git a/tests/mastodon-garage.nix b/tests/mastodon-garage.nix
index d20c5ad5..f98440d0 100644
--- a/tests/mastodon-garage.nix
+++ b/tests/mastodon-garage.nix
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ pkgs.nixosTest {
   nodes = {
     server = { config, ... }: {
       virtualisation.memorySize = lib.mkVMOverride 4096;
-      imports = with self.nixosModules; [ garage mastodon mastodon-vm ];
+      imports = with self.nixosModules; [ mastodon-vm ];
       # TODO: pair down
       environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
         python3
diff --git a/tests/pixelfed-garage.nix b/tests/pixelfed-garage.nix
index a08a312e..79e1edc2 100644
--- a/tests/pixelfed-garage.nix
+++ b/tests/pixelfed-garage.nix
@@ -136,11 +136,7 @@ pkgs.nixosTest {
         memorySize = lib.mkVMOverride 8192;
         cores = 8;
       };
-      imports = with self.nixosModules; [
-        garage
-        pixelfed
-        pixelfed-vm
-      ];
+      imports = with self.nixosModules; [ pixelfed-vm ];
       # TODO: pair down
       environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
         python3
diff --git a/vm/mastodon-vm.nix b/vm/mastodon-vm.nix
index fcfe3e54..0d13b89e 100644
--- a/vm/mastodon-vm.nix
+++ b/vm/mastodon-vm.nix
@@ -1,9 +1,17 @@
 { modulesPath, lib, config, ... }: {
 
-  imports = [ (modulesPath + "/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix") ];
+  imports = [
+    ../fediversity
+    (modulesPath + "/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix")
+  ];
 
   config = lib.mkMerge [
     {
+      fediversity = {
+        enable = true;
+        mastodon.enable = true;
+      };
+
       services.mastodon = {
         # redirects to localhost, but allows it to have a proper domain name
         localDomain = "mastodon.localhost";
diff --git a/vm/pixelfed-vm.nix b/vm/pixelfed-vm.nix
index 451aeda1..be238f13 100644
--- a/vm/pixelfed-vm.nix
+++ b/vm/pixelfed-vm.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 { pkgs, modulesPath, ... }: {
-  imports = [ (modulesPath + "/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix") ];
+
+  imports = [
+    ../fediversity
+    (modulesPath + "/virtualisation/qemu-vm.nix")
+  ];
+
+  fediversity = {
+    enable = true;
+    pixelfed.enable = true;
+  };
+
   networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 80 ];
   services.pixelfed = {
     domain = "pixelfed.localhost";