diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 6048b93..fd37b1e 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -87,7 +87,10 @@
       })
 
       # various temporary fixes that automatically revert
-      (import ./overlays self)
+      self.overlays.mitigations
+
+      # auto backports from nixpkgs unstable
+      self.overlays.backports
 
       inputs.hyprwm-contrib.overlays.default
       inputs.rust-overlay.overlays.default
@@ -284,6 +287,8 @@
     apps = eachSystem (system: import ./pkgs/apps.nix
       { inherit (self.outputs) packages; inherit system; });
 
+    overlays = import ./overlays self;
+
     nixosConfigurations = {
       slab = mkSystem {
         system = "x86_64-linux";
diff --git a/overlays/backports.nix b/overlays/backports.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f49618e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/overlays/backports.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+nixfiles: final: prev:
+let
+  pkgs-unstable = import nixfiles.inputs.nixpkgs-unstable { config.allowUnfree = true; inherit (final) system; };
+  inherit (final) callPackage lib electron_28;
+
+  backport = pkg: let
+    inherit (lib) getAttrFromPath;
+    inherit (builtins) getAttr isString;
+    getAttr' = name: attrs: if isString pkg then getAttr name attrs else getAttrFromPath name attrs;
+    oldPkg = getAttr' pkg prev;
+    newPkg = getAttr' pkg pkgs-unstable;
+  in if oldPkg.version == newPkg.version
+    then oldPkg
+    else (callPackage newPkg.override);
+
+in {
+
+  vesktop = backport "vesktop" { };
+  obsidian = backport "obsidian" { electron = final.electron_28; };
+}
diff --git a/overlays/default.nix b/overlays/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41d51df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/overlays/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+nixfiles:
+let
+  inherit (nixfiles.inputs.nixpkgs) lib;
+  # this name is awful. maybe i don't know anything about functional
+  # programming or something, but the naming isn't very self explanatory
+  # - why is it "compose" instead of "combine"
+  # - why is it "extensions" instead of "overlays"
+  inherit (lib) composeManyExtensions;
+in rec {
+  backports = import ./backports.nix nixfiles;
+  mitigations = import ./mitigations.nix nixfiles;
+  default = composeManyExtensions [
+    backports
+    mitigations
+  ];
+}
diff --git a/overlays/mitigations.nix b/overlays/mitigations.nix
index f6e8ffa..8d0e9ec 100644
--- a/overlays/mitigations.nix
+++ b/overlays/mitigations.nix
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ let
       hash="sha256-oat4TwOorFevUMZdBFgaQHx/UKqGW7CGMoOHVgQxVdM="; 
     };
   in recurseIntoAttrs (callPackage "${src}/pkgs/applications/graphics/gimp/plugins" {});
-in (optionalAttrs gap-hold { gimpPlugins = gimpPlugins-gap; }) //
-  # can't optionalAttrs for version checks because it breaks lazy eval and causes infinite recursion
-  {
-    obsidian = let
-      pkg = final.callPackage "${nixfiles.inputs.nixpkgs-unstable}/pkgs/applications/misc/obsidian" { electron = final.electron_28; };
-    in if isNewer "1.4.16" prev.obsidian.version then prev.obsidian else pkg;
-  }
+in (optionalAttrs gap-hold { gimpPlugins = gimpPlugins-gap; })
+  # # can't optionalAttrs for version checks because it breaks lazy eval and causes infinite recursion
+  # // {
+  #   obsidian = let
+  #     pkg = final.callPackage "${nixfiles.inputs.nixpkgs-unstable}/pkgs/applications/misc/obsidian" { electron = final.electron_28; };
+  #   in if isNewer "1.4.16" prev.obsidian.version then prev.obsidian else pkg;
+  # }