6 @documentencoding UTF-8
7 @settitle GNU Guix Reference Manual
13 Copyright @copyright{} 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Ludovic Courtès@*
14 Copyright @copyright{} 2013, 2014, 2016 Andreas Enge@*
15 Copyright @copyright{} 2013 Nikita Karetnikov@*
16 Copyright @copyright{} 2015, 2016 Mathieu Lirzin@*
17 Copyright @copyright{} 2014 Pierre-Antoine Rault@*
18 Copyright @copyright{} 2015 Taylan Ulrich Bayırlı/Kammer@*
19 Copyright @copyright{} 2015, 2016 Leo Famulari@*
20 Copyright @copyright{} 2016 Ben Woodcroft@*
21 Copyright @copyright{} 2016 Chris Marusich@*
22 Copyright @copyright{} 2016 Efraim Flashner
24 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
25 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
26 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
27 Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A
28 copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free
29 Documentation License''.
32 @dircategory System administration
34 * Guix: (guix). Manage installed software and system configuration.
35 * guix package: (guix)Invoking guix package. Installing, removing, and upgrading packages.
36 * guix build: (guix)Invoking guix build. Building packages.
37 * guix gc: (guix)Invoking guix gc. Reclaiming unused disk space.
38 * guix pull: (guix)Invoking guix pull. Update the list of available packages.
39 * guix system: (guix)Invoking guix system. Manage the operating system configuration.
42 @dircategory Software development
44 * guix environment: (guix)Invoking guix environment. Building development environments with Guix.
49 * Guix user interface: (guix)Emacs Interface. Package management from the comfort of Emacs.
54 @title GNU Guix Reference Manual
55 @subtitle Using the GNU Guix Functional Package Manager
56 @author The GNU Guix Developers
59 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
60 Edition @value{EDITION} @*
68 @c *********************************************************************
72 This document describes GNU Guix version @value{VERSION}, a functional
73 package management tool written for the GNU system.
76 * Introduction:: What is Guix about?
77 * Installation:: Installing Guix.
78 * Package Management:: Package installation, upgrade, etc.
79 * Emacs Interface:: Using Guix from Emacs.
80 * Programming Interface:: Using Guix in Scheme.
81 * Utilities:: Package management commands.
82 * GNU Distribution:: Software for your friendly GNU system.
83 * Contributing:: Your help needed!
85 * Acknowledgments:: Thanks!
86 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license of this manual.
87 * Concept Index:: Concepts.
88 * Programming Index:: Data types, functions, and variables.
91 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
95 * Binary Installation:: Getting Guix running in no time!
96 * Requirements:: Software needed to build and run Guix.
97 * Running the Test Suite:: Testing Guix.
98 * Setting Up the Daemon:: Preparing the build daemon's environment.
99 * Invoking guix-daemon:: Running the build daemon.
100 * Application Setup:: Application-specific setup.
102 Setting Up the Daemon
104 * Build Environment Setup:: Preparing the isolated build environment.
105 * Daemon Offload Setup:: Offloading builds to remote machines.
109 * Features:: How Guix will make your life brighter.
110 * Invoking guix package:: Package installation, removal, etc.
111 * Substitutes:: Downloading pre-built binaries.
112 * Packages with Multiple Outputs:: Single source package, multiple outputs.
113 * Invoking guix gc:: Running the garbage collector.
114 * Invoking guix pull:: Fetching the latest Guix and distribution.
115 * Invoking guix archive:: Exporting and importing store files.
119 * Initial Setup: Emacs Initial Setup. Preparing @file{~/.emacs}.
120 * Package Management: Emacs Package Management. Managing packages and generations.
121 * Licenses: Emacs Licenses. Interface for licenses of Guix packages.
122 * Package Source Locations: Emacs Package Locations. Interface for package location files.
123 * Popup Interface: Emacs Popup Interface. Magit-like interface for guix commands.
124 * Prettify Mode: Emacs Prettify. Abbreviating @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}} file names.
125 * Build Log Mode: Emacs Build Log. Highlighting Guix build logs.
126 * Completions: Emacs Completions. Completing @command{guix} shell command.
127 * Development: Emacs Development. Tools for Guix developers.
128 * Hydra: Emacs Hydra. Interface for Guix build farm.
130 Programming Interface
132 * Defining Packages:: Defining new packages.
133 * Build Systems:: Specifying how packages are built.
134 * The Store:: Manipulating the package store.
135 * Derivations:: Low-level interface to package derivations.
136 * The Store Monad:: Purely functional interface to the store.
137 * G-Expressions:: Manipulating build expressions.
141 * package Reference:: The package data type.
142 * origin Reference:: The origin data type.
146 * Invoking guix build:: Building packages from the command line.
147 * Invoking guix edit:: Editing package definitions.
148 * Invoking guix download:: Downloading a file and printing its hash.
149 * Invoking guix hash:: Computing the cryptographic hash of a file.
150 * Invoking guix import:: Importing package definitions.
151 * Invoking guix refresh:: Updating package definitions.
152 * Invoking guix lint:: Finding errors in package definitions.
153 * Invoking guix size:: Profiling disk usage.
154 * Invoking guix graph:: Visualizing the graph of packages.
155 * Invoking guix environment:: Setting up development environments.
156 * Invoking guix publish:: Sharing substitutes.
157 * Invoking guix challenge:: Challenging substitute servers.
158 * Invoking guix container:: Process isolation.
160 Invoking @command{guix build}
162 * Common Build Options:: Build options for most commands.
163 * Package Transformation Options:: Creating variants of packages.
164 * Additional Build Options:: Options specific to 'guix build'.
168 * System Installation:: Installing the whole operating system.
169 * System Configuration:: Configuring the operating system.
170 * Installing Debugging Files:: Feeding the debugger.
171 * Security Updates:: Deploying security fixes quickly.
172 * Package Modules:: Packages from the programmer's viewpoint.
173 * Packaging Guidelines:: Growing the distribution.
174 * Bootstrapping:: GNU/Linux built from scratch.
175 * Porting:: Targeting another platform or kernel.
179 * Limitations:: What you can expect.
180 * Hardware Considerations:: Supported hardware.
181 * USB Stick Installation:: Preparing the installation medium.
182 * Preparing for Installation:: Networking, partitioning, etc.
183 * Proceeding with the Installation:: The real thing.
184 * Building the Installation Image:: How this comes to be.
188 * Using the Configuration System:: Customizing your GNU system.
189 * operating-system Reference:: Detail of operating-system declarations.
190 * File Systems:: Configuring file system mounts.
191 * Mapped Devices:: Block device extra processing.
192 * User Accounts:: Specifying user accounts.
193 * Locales:: Language and cultural convention settings.
194 * Services:: Specifying system services.
195 * Setuid Programs:: Programs running with root privileges.
196 * X.509 Certificates:: Authenticating HTTPS servers.
197 * Name Service Switch:: Configuring libc's name service switch.
198 * Initial RAM Disk:: Linux-Libre bootstrapping.
199 * GRUB Configuration:: Configuring the boot loader.
200 * Invoking guix system:: Instantiating a system configuration.
201 * Running GuixSD in a VM:: How to run GuixSD in a virtual machine.
202 * Defining Services:: Adding new service definitions.
206 * Base Services:: Essential system services.
207 * Networking Services:: Network setup, SSH daemon, etc.
208 * X Window:: Graphical display.
209 * Desktop Services:: D-Bus and desktop services.
210 * Database Services:: SQL databases.
211 * Mail Services:: IMAP, POP3, SMTP, and all that.
212 * Web Services:: Web servers.
213 * Various Services:: Other services.
217 * Service Composition:: The model for composing services.
218 * Service Types and Services:: Types and services.
219 * Service Reference:: API reference.
220 * Shepherd Services:: A particular type of service.
224 * Software Freedom:: What may go into the distribution.
225 * Package Naming:: What's in a name?
226 * Version Numbers:: When the name is not enough.
227 * Synopses and Descriptions:: Helping users find the right package.
228 * Python Modules:: Taming the snake.
229 * Perl Modules:: Little pearls.
230 * Java Packages:: Coffee break.
231 * Fonts:: Fond of fonts.
235 * Building from Git:: The latest and greatest.
236 * Running Guix Before It Is Installed:: Hacker tricks.
237 * The Perfect Setup:: The right tools.
238 * Coding Style:: Hygiene of the contributor.
239 * Submitting Patches:: Share your work.
243 * Programming Paradigm:: How to compose your elements.
244 * Modules:: Where to store your code?
245 * Data Types and Pattern Matching:: Implementing data structures.
246 * Formatting Code:: Writing conventions.
251 @c *********************************************************************
253 @chapter Introduction
256 GNU Guix@footnote{``Guix'' is pronounced like ``geeks'', or ``ɡiːks''
257 using the international phonetic alphabet (IPA).} is a package
258 management tool for the GNU system. Guix makes it easy for unprivileged
259 users to install, upgrade, or remove packages, to roll back to a
260 previous package set, to build packages from source, and generally
261 assists with the creation and maintenance of software environments.
263 @cindex user interfaces
264 Guix provides a command-line package management interface
265 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}), a set of command-line utilities
266 (@pxref{Utilities}), a visual user interface in Emacs (@pxref{Emacs
267 Interface}), as well as Scheme programming interfaces
268 (@pxref{Programming Interface}).
270 Its @dfn{build daemon} is responsible for building packages on behalf of
271 users (@pxref{Setting Up the Daemon}) and for downloading pre-built
272 binaries from authorized sources (@pxref{Substitutes}).
274 @cindex extensibility of the distribution
275 @cindex customization of packages
276 Guix includes package definitions for many GNU and non-GNU packages, all
277 of which @uref{https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html, respect the
278 user's computing freedom}. It is @emph{extensible}: users can write
279 their own package definitions (@pxref{Defining Packages}) and make them
280 available as independent package modules (@pxref{Package Modules}). It
281 is also @emph{customizable}: users can @emph{derive} specialized package
282 definitions from existing ones, including from the command line
283 (@pxref{Package Transformation Options}).
285 @cindex Guix System Distribution
287 You can install GNU@tie{}Guix on top of an existing GNU/Linux system
288 where it complements the available tools without interference
289 (@pxref{Installation}), or you can use it as part of the standalone
290 @dfn{Guix System Distribution} or GuixSD (@pxref{GNU Distribution}).
291 With GNU@tie{}GuixSD, you @emph{declare} all aspects of the operating
292 system configuration and Guix takes care of instantiating the
293 configuration in a transactional, reproducible, and stateless fashion
294 (@pxref{System Configuration}).
296 @cindex functional package management
297 Under the hood, Guix implements the @dfn{functional package management}
298 discipline pioneered by Nix (@pxref{Acknowledgments}).
299 In Guix, the package build and installation process is seen
300 as a @emph{function}, in the mathematical sense. That function takes inputs,
301 such as build scripts, a compiler, and libraries, and
302 returns an installed package. As a pure function, its result depends
303 solely on its inputs---for instance, it cannot refer to software or
304 scripts that were not explicitly passed as inputs. A build function
305 always produces the same result when passed a given set of inputs. It
306 cannot alter the environment of the running system in
307 any way; for instance, it cannot create, modify, or delete files outside
308 of its build and installation directories. This is achieved by running
309 build processes in isolated environments (or @dfn{containers}), where only their
310 explicit inputs are visible.
313 The result of package build functions is @dfn{cached} in the file
314 system, in a special directory called @dfn{the store} (@pxref{The
315 Store}). Each package is installed in a directory of its own in the
316 store---by default under @file{/gnu/store}. The directory name contains
317 a hash of all the inputs used to build that package; thus, changing an
318 input yields a different directory name.
320 This approach is the foundation for the salient features of Guix: support
321 for transactional package upgrade and rollback, per-user installation, and
322 garbage collection of packages (@pxref{Features}).
325 @c *********************************************************************
327 @chapter Installation
329 GNU Guix is available for download from its website at
330 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/guix/}. This section describes the
331 software requirements of Guix, as well as how to install it and get
334 Note that this section is concerned with the installation of the package
335 manager, which can be done on top of a running GNU/Linux system. If,
336 instead, you want to install the complete GNU operating system,
337 @pxref{System Installation}.
339 @cindex foreign distro
340 When installed on a running GNU/Linux system---thereafter called a
341 @dfn{foreign distro}---GNU@tie{}Guix complements the available tools
342 without interference. Its data lives exclusively in two directories,
343 usually @file{/gnu/store} and @file{/var/guix}; other files on your
344 system, such as @file{/etc}, are left untouched.
347 * Binary Installation:: Getting Guix running in no time!
348 * Requirements:: Software needed to build and run Guix.
349 * Running the Test Suite:: Testing Guix.
350 * Setting Up the Daemon:: Preparing the build daemon's environment.
351 * Invoking guix-daemon:: Running the build daemon.
352 * Application Setup:: Application-specific setup.
355 @node Binary Installation
356 @section Binary Installation
358 This section describes how to install Guix on an arbitrary system from a
359 self-contained tarball providing binaries for Guix and for all its
360 dependencies. This is often quicker than installing from source, which
361 is described in the next sections. The only requirement is to have
364 Installing goes along these lines:
368 Download the binary tarball from
369 @indicateurl{ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz},
370 where @var{system} is @code{x86_64-linux} for an @code{x86_64} machine
371 already running the kernel Linux, and so on.
373 Make sure to download the associated @file{.sig} file and to verify the
374 authenticity of the tarball against it, along these lines:
377 $ wget ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz.sig
378 $ gpg --verify guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz.sig
381 If that command fails because you do not have the required public key,
382 then run this command to import it:
385 $ gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 090B11993D9AEBB5
389 and rerun the @code{gpg --verify} command.
396 # tar --warning=no-timestamp -xf \
397 guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz
398 # mv var/guix /var/ && mv gnu /
401 This creates @file{/gnu/store} (@pxref{The Store}) and @file{/var/guix}.
402 The latter contains a ready-to-use profile for @code{root} (see next
405 Do @emph{not} unpack the tarball on a working Guix system since that
406 would overwrite its own essential files.
408 The @code{--warning=no-timestamp} option makes sure GNU@tie{}tar does
409 not emit warnings about ``implausibly old time stamps'' (such
410 warnings were triggered by GNU@tie{}tar 1.26 and older; recent
412 They stem from the fact that all the
413 files in the archive have their modification time set to zero (which
414 means January 1st, 1970.) This is done on purpose to make sure the
415 archive content is independent of its creation time, thus making it
419 Make @code{root}'s profile available under @file{~/.guix-profile}:
422 # ln -sf /var/guix/profiles/per-user/root/guix-profile \
427 Create the group and user accounts for build users as explained below
428 (@pxref{Build Environment Setup}).
431 Run the daemon, and set it to automatically start on boot.
433 If your host distro uses the systemd init system, this can be achieved
437 # cp ~root/.guix-profile/lib/systemd/system/guix-daemon.service \
439 # systemctl start guix-daemon && systemctl enable guix-daemon
442 If your host distro uses the Upstart init system:
445 # cp ~root/.guix-profile/lib/upstart/system/guix-daemon.conf /etc/init/
449 Otherwise, you can still start the daemon manually with:
452 # ~root/.guix-profile/bin/guix-daemon --build-users-group=guixbuild
456 Make the @command{guix} command available to other users on the machine,
460 # mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
462 # ln -s /var/guix/profiles/per-user/root/guix-profile/bin/guix
465 It is also a good idea to make the Info version of this manual available
469 # mkdir -p /usr/local/share/info
470 # cd /usr/local/share/info
471 # for i in /var/guix/profiles/per-user/root/guix-profile/share/info/* ;
475 That way, assuming @file{/usr/local/share/info} is in the search path,
476 running @command{info guix} will open this manual (@pxref{Other Info
477 Directories,,, texinfo, GNU Texinfo}, for more details on changing the
481 To use substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org} or one of its mirrors
482 (@pxref{Substitutes}), authorize them:
485 # guix archive --authorize < ~root/.guix-profile/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub
489 This completes root-level install of Guix. Each user will need to
490 perform additional steps to make their Guix envionment ready for use,
491 @pxref{Application Setup}.
493 You can confirm that Guix is working by installing a sample package into
497 # guix package -i hello
500 The @code{guix} package must remain available in @code{root}'s profile,
501 or it would become subject to garbage collection---in which case you
502 would find yourself badly handicapped by the lack of the @command{guix}
503 command. In other words, do not remove @code{guix} by running
504 @code{guix package -r guix}.
506 The binary installation tarball can be (re)produced and verified simply
507 by running the following command in the Guix source tree:
510 make guix-binary.@var{system}.tar.xz
515 @section Requirements
517 This section lists requirements when building Guix from source. The
518 build procedure for Guix is the same as for other GNU software, and is
519 not covered here. Please see the files @file{README} and @file{INSTALL}
520 in the Guix source tree for additional details.
522 GNU Guix depends on the following packages:
525 @item @url{http://gnu.org/software/guile/, GNU Guile}, version 2.0.7 or later;
526 @item @url{http://gnupg.org/, GNU libgcrypt};
527 @item @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/make/, GNU Make}.
530 The following dependencies are optional:
534 Installing @uref{http://gnutls.org/, GnuTLS-Guile} will allow you to
535 access @code{https} URLs for substitutes, which is highly recommended
536 (@pxref{Substitutes}). It also allows you to access HTTPS URLs with the
537 @command{guix download} command (@pxref{Invoking guix download}), the
538 @command{guix import pypi} command, and the @command{guix import cpan}
539 command. @xref{Guile Preparations, how to install the GnuTLS bindings
540 for Guile,, gnutls-guile, GnuTLS-Guile}.
544 @url{http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/guile-json/, Guile-JSON} will
545 allow you to use the @command{guix import pypi} command (@pxref{Invoking
546 guix import}). It is of
547 interest primarily for developers and not for casual users.
550 Unless @code{--disable-daemon} was passed to @command{configure}, the
551 following packages are also needed:
554 @item @url{http://sqlite.org, SQLite 3};
555 @item @url{http://www.bzip.org, libbz2};
556 @item @url{http://gcc.gnu.org, GCC's g++}, with support for the
560 When configuring Guix on a system that already has a Guix installation,
561 be sure to specify the same state directory as the existing installation
562 using the @code{--localstatedir} option of the @command{configure}
563 script (@pxref{Directory Variables, @code{localstatedir},, standards,
564 GNU Coding Standards}). The @command{configure} script protects against
565 unintended misconfiguration of @var{localstatedir} so you do not
566 inadvertently corrupt your store (@pxref{The Store}).
568 When a working installation of @url{http://nixos.org/nix/, the Nix package
569 manager} is available, you
570 can instead configure Guix with @code{--disable-daemon}. In that case,
571 Nix replaces the three dependencies above.
573 Guix is compatible with Nix, so it is possible to share the same store
574 between both. To do so, you must pass @command{configure} not only the
575 same @code{--with-store-dir} value, but also the same
576 @code{--localstatedir} value. The latter is essential because it
577 specifies where the database that stores metadata about the store is
578 located, among other things. The default values for Nix are
579 @code{--with-store-dir=/nix/store} and @code{--localstatedir=/nix/var}.
580 Note that @code{--disable-daemon} is not required if
581 your goal is to share the store with Nix.
583 @node Running the Test Suite
584 @section Running the Test Suite
586 After a successful @command{configure} and @code{make} run, it is a good
587 idea to run the test suite. It can help catch issues with the setup or
588 environment, or bugs in Guix itself---and really, reporting test
589 failures is a good way to help improve the software. To run the test
596 Test cases can run in parallel: you can use the @code{-j} option of
597 GNU@tie{}make to speed things up. The first run may take a few minutes
598 on a recent machine; subsequent runs will be faster because the store
599 that is created for test purposes will already have various things in
602 It is also possible to run a subset of the tests by defining the
603 @code{TESTS} makefile variable as in this example:
606 make check TESTS="tests/store.scm tests/cpio.scm"
609 By default, tests results are displayed at a file level. In order to
610 see the details of every individual test cases, it is possible to define
611 the @code{SCM_LOG_DRIVER_FLAGS} makefile variable as in this example:
614 make check TESTS="tests/base64.scm" SCM_LOG_DRIVER_FLAGS="--brief=no"
617 Upon failure, please email @email{bug-guix@@gnu.org} and attach the
618 @file{test-suite.log} file. Please specify the Guix version being used
619 as well as version numbers of the dependencies (@pxref{Requirements}) in
622 @node Setting Up the Daemon
623 @section Setting Up the Daemon
626 Operations such as building a package or running the garbage collector
627 are all performed by a specialized process, the @dfn{build daemon}, on
628 behalf of clients. Only the daemon may access the store and its
629 associated database. Thus, any operation that manipulates the store
630 goes through the daemon. For instance, command-line tools such as
631 @command{guix package} and @command{guix build} communicate with the
632 daemon (@i{via} remote procedure calls) to instruct it what to do.
634 The following sections explain how to prepare the build daemon's
635 environment. See also @ref{Substitutes}, for information on how to allow
636 the daemon to download pre-built binaries.
639 * Build Environment Setup:: Preparing the isolated build environment.
640 * Daemon Offload Setup:: Offloading builds to remote machines.
643 @node Build Environment Setup
644 @subsection Build Environment Setup
646 In a standard multi-user setup, Guix and its daemon---the
647 @command{guix-daemon} program---are installed by the system
648 administrator; @file{/gnu/store} is owned by @code{root} and
649 @command{guix-daemon} runs as @code{root}. Unprivileged users may use
650 Guix tools to build packages or otherwise access the store, and the
651 daemon will do it on their behalf, ensuring that the store is kept in a
652 consistent state, and allowing built packages to be shared among users.
655 When @command{guix-daemon} runs as @code{root}, you may not want package
656 build processes themselves to run as @code{root} too, for obvious
657 security reasons. To avoid that, a special pool of @dfn{build users}
658 should be created for use by build processes started by the daemon.
659 These build users need not have a shell and a home directory: they will
660 just be used when the daemon drops @code{root} privileges in build
661 processes. Having several such users allows the daemon to launch
662 distinct build processes under separate UIDs, which guarantees that they
663 do not interfere with each other---an essential feature since builds are
664 regarded as pure functions (@pxref{Introduction}).
666 On a GNU/Linux system, a build user pool may be created like this (using
667 Bash syntax and the @code{shadow} commands):
669 @c See http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-guix/2013-01/msg00239.html
670 @c for why `-G' is needed.
672 # groupadd --system guixbuild
673 # for i in `seq -w 1 10`;
675 useradd -g guixbuild -G guixbuild \
676 -d /var/empty -s `which nologin` \
677 -c "Guix build user $i" --system \
683 The number of build users determines how many build jobs may run in
684 parallel, as specified by the @option{--max-jobs} option
685 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon, @option{--max-jobs}}). The
686 @code{guix-daemon} program may then be run as @code{root} with the
687 following command@footnote{If your machine uses the systemd init system,
688 dropping the @file{@var{prefix}/lib/systemd/system/guix-daemon.service}
689 file in @file{/etc/systemd/system} will ensure that
690 @command{guix-daemon} is automatically started. Similarly, if your
691 machine uses the Upstart init system, drop the
692 @file{@var{prefix}/lib/upstart/system/guix-daemon.conf}
693 file in @file{/etc/init}.}:
696 # guix-daemon --build-users-group=guixbuild
701 This way, the daemon starts build processes in a chroot, under one of
702 the @code{guixbuilder} users. On GNU/Linux, by default, the chroot
703 environment contains nothing but:
705 @c Keep this list in sync with libstore/build.cc! -----------------------
708 a minimal @code{/dev} directory, created mostly independently from the
709 host @code{/dev}@footnote{``Mostly'', because while the set of files
710 that appear in the chroot's @code{/dev} is fixed, most of these files
711 can only be created if the host has them.};
714 the @code{/proc} directory; it only shows the processes of the container
715 since a separate PID name space is used;
718 @file{/etc/passwd} with an entry for the current user and an entry for
722 @file{/etc/group} with an entry for the user's group;
725 @file{/etc/hosts} with an entry that maps @code{localhost} to
729 a writable @file{/tmp} directory.
732 You can influence the directory where the daemon stores build trees
733 @i{via} the @code{TMPDIR} environment variable. However, the build tree
734 within the chroot is always called @file{/tmp/guix-build-@var{name}.drv-0},
735 where @var{name} is the derivation name---e.g., @code{coreutils-8.24}.
736 This way, the value of @code{TMPDIR} does not leak inside build
737 environments, which avoids discrepancies in cases where build processes
738 capture the name of their build tree.
741 The daemon also honors the @code{http_proxy} environment variable for
742 HTTP downloads it performs, be it for fixed-output derivations
743 (@pxref{Derivations}) or for substitutes (@pxref{Substitutes}).
745 If you are installing Guix as an unprivileged user, it is still possible
746 to run @command{guix-daemon} provided you pass @code{--disable-chroot}.
747 However, build processes will not be isolated from one another, and not
748 from the rest of the system. Thus, build processes may interfere with
749 each other, and may access programs, libraries, and other files
750 available on the system---making it much harder to view them as
751 @emph{pure} functions.
754 @node Daemon Offload Setup
755 @subsection Using the Offload Facility
759 When desired, the build daemon can @dfn{offload}
760 derivation builds to other machines
761 running Guix, using the @code{offload} @dfn{build hook}. When that
762 feature is enabled, a list of user-specified build machines is read from
763 @file{/etc/guix/machines.scm}; every time a build is requested, for
764 instance via @code{guix build}, the daemon attempts to offload it to one
765 of the machines that satisfy the constraints of the derivation, in
766 particular its system type---e.g., @file{x86_64-linux}. Missing
767 prerequisites for the build are copied over SSH to the target machine,
768 which then proceeds with the build; upon success the output(s) of the
769 build are copied back to the initial machine.
771 The @file{/etc/guix/machines.scm} file typically looks like this:
775 (name "eightysix.example.org")
776 (system "x86_64-linux")
778 (speed 2.)) ; incredibly fast!
781 (name "meeps.example.org")
782 (system "mips64el-linux")
785 (string-append (getenv "HOME")
786 "/.lsh/identity-for-guix"))))
790 In the example above we specify a list of two build machines, one for
791 the @code{x86_64} architecture and one for the @code{mips64el}
794 In fact, this file is---not surprisingly!---a Scheme file that is
795 evaluated when the @code{offload} hook is started. Its return value
796 must be a list of @code{build-machine} objects. While this example
797 shows a fixed list of build machines, one could imagine, say, using
798 DNS-SD to return a list of potential build machines discovered in the
799 local network (@pxref{Introduction, Guile-Avahi,, guile-avahi, Using
800 Avahi in Guile Scheme Programs}). The @code{build-machine} data type is
803 @deftp {Data Type} build-machine
804 This data type represents build machines to which the daemon may offload
805 builds. The important fields are:
810 The host name of the remote machine.
813 The system type of the remote machine---e.g., @code{"x86_64-linux"}.
816 The user account to use when connecting to the remote machine over SSH.
817 Note that the SSH key pair must @emph{not} be passphrase-protected, to
818 allow non-interactive logins.
822 A number of optional fields may be specified:
827 Port number of SSH server on the machine (default: 22).
830 The SSH private key file to use when connecting to the machine.
832 Currently offloading uses GNU@tie{}lsh as its SSH client
833 (@pxref{Invoking lsh,,, GNU lsh Manual}). Thus, the key file here must
834 be an lsh key file. This may change in the future, though.
836 @item parallel-builds
837 The number of builds that may run in parallel on the machine (1 by
841 A ``relative speed factor''. The offload scheduler will tend to prefer
842 machines with a higher speed factor.
845 A list of strings denoting specific features supported by the machine.
846 An example is @code{"kvm"} for machines that have the KVM Linux modules
847 and corresponding hardware support. Derivations can request features by
848 name, and they will be scheduled on matching build machines.
853 The @code{guix} command must be in the search path on the build
854 machines, since offloading works by invoking the @code{guix archive} and
855 @code{guix build} commands. In addition, the Guix modules must be in
856 @code{$GUILE_LOAD_PATH} on the build machine---you can check whether
857 this is the case by running:
860 lsh build-machine guile -c "'(use-modules (guix config))'"
863 There is one last thing to do once @file{machines.scm} is in place. As
864 explained above, when offloading, files are transferred back and forth
865 between the machine stores. For this to work, you first need to
866 generate a key pair on each machine to allow the daemon to export signed
867 archives of files from the store (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}):
870 # guix archive --generate-key
874 Each build machine must authorize the key of the master machine so that
875 it accepts store items it receives from the master:
878 # guix archive --authorize < master-public-key.txt
882 Likewise, the master machine must authorize the key of each build machine.
884 All the fuss with keys is here to express pairwise mutual trust
885 relations between the master and the build machines. Concretely, when
886 the master receives files from a build machine (and @i{vice versa}), its
887 build daemon can make sure they are genuine, have not been tampered
888 with, and that they are signed by an authorized key.
891 @node Invoking guix-daemon
892 @section Invoking @command{guix-daemon}
894 The @command{guix-daemon} program implements all the functionality to
895 access the store. This includes launching build processes, running the
896 garbage collector, querying the availability of a build result, etc. It
897 is normally run as @code{root} like this:
900 # guix-daemon --build-users-group=guixbuild
904 For details on how to set it up, @pxref{Setting Up the Daemon}.
907 @cindex container, build environment
908 @cindex build environment
909 @cindex reproducible builds
910 By default, @command{guix-daemon} launches build processes under
911 different UIDs, taken from the build group specified with
912 @code{--build-users-group}. In addition, each build process is run in a
913 chroot environment that only contains the subset of the store that the
914 build process depends on, as specified by its derivation
915 (@pxref{Programming Interface, derivation}), plus a set of specific
916 system directories. By default, the latter contains @file{/dev} and
917 @file{/dev/pts}. Furthermore, on GNU/Linux, the build environment is a
918 @dfn{container}: in addition to having its own file system tree, it has
919 a separate mount name space, its own PID name space, network name space,
920 etc. This helps achieve reproducible builds (@pxref{Features}).
922 When the daemon performs a build on behalf of the user, it creates a
923 build directory under @file{/tmp} or under the directory specified by
924 its @code{TMPDIR} environment variable; this directory is shared with
925 the container for the duration of the build. Be aware that using a
926 directory other than @file{/tmp} can affect build results---for example,
927 with a longer directory name, a build process that uses Unix-domain
928 sockets might hit the name length limitation for @code{sun_path}, which
929 it would otherwise not hit.
931 The build directory is automatically deleted upon completion, unless the
932 build failed and the client specified @option{--keep-failed}
933 (@pxref{Invoking guix build, @option{--keep-failed}}).
935 The following command-line options are supported:
938 @item --build-users-group=@var{group}
939 Take users from @var{group} to run build processes (@pxref{Setting Up
940 the Daemon, build users}).
942 @item --no-substitutes
944 Do not use substitutes for build products. That is, always build things
945 locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries
946 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
948 By default substitutes are used, unless the client---such as the
949 @command{guix package} command---is explicitly invoked with
950 @code{--no-substitutes}.
952 When the daemon runs with @code{--no-substitutes}, clients can still
953 explicitly enable substitution @i{via} the @code{set-build-options}
954 remote procedure call (@pxref{The Store}).
956 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
957 @anchor{daemon-substitute-urls}
958 Consider @var{urls} the default whitespace-separated list of substitute
959 source URLs. When this option is omitted,
960 @indicateurl{https://mirror.hydra.gnu.org https://hydra.gnu.org} is used
961 (@code{mirror.hydra.gnu.org} is a mirror of @code{hydra.gnu.org}).
963 This means that substitutes may be downloaded from @var{urls}, as long
964 as they are signed by a trusted signature (@pxref{Substitutes}).
967 @item --no-build-hook
968 Do not use the @dfn{build hook}.
970 The build hook is a helper program that the daemon can start and to
971 which it submits build requests. This mechanism is used to offload
972 builds to other machines (@pxref{Daemon Offload Setup}).
974 @item --cache-failures
975 Cache build failures. By default, only successful builds are cached.
977 When this option is used, @command{guix gc --list-failures} can be used
978 to query the set of store items marked as failed; @command{guix gc
979 --clear-failures} removes store items from the set of cached failures.
980 @xref{Invoking guix gc}.
982 @item --cores=@var{n}
984 Use @var{n} CPU cores to build each derivation; @code{0} means as many
987 The default value is @code{0}, but it may be overridden by clients, such
988 as the @code{--cores} option of @command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking
991 The effect is to define the @code{NIX_BUILD_CORES} environment variable
992 in the build process, which can then use it to exploit internal
993 parallelism---for instance, by running @code{make -j$NIX_BUILD_CORES}.
995 @item --max-jobs=@var{n}
997 Allow at most @var{n} build jobs in parallel. The default value is
998 @code{1}. Setting it to @code{0} means that no builds will be performed
999 locally; instead, the daemon will offload builds (@pxref{Daemon Offload
1000 Setup}), or simply fail.
1002 @item --rounds=@var{N}
1003 Build each derivation @var{n} times in a row, and raise an error if
1004 consecutive build results are not bit-for-bit identical. Note that this
1005 setting can be overridden by clients such as @command{guix build}
1006 (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
1008 When used in conjunction with @option{--keep-failed}, the differing
1009 output is kept in the store, under @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-check}.
1010 This makes it easy to look for differences between the two results.
1013 Produce debugging output.
1015 This is useful to debug daemon start-up issues, but then it may be
1016 overridden by clients, for example the @code{--verbosity} option of
1017 @command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
1019 @item --chroot-directory=@var{dir}
1020 Add @var{dir} to the build chroot.
1022 Doing this may change the result of build processes---for instance if
1023 they use optional dependencies found in @var{dir} when it is available,
1024 and not otherwise. For that reason, it is not recommended to do so.
1025 Instead, make sure that each derivation declares all the inputs that it
1028 @item --disable-chroot
1029 Disable chroot builds.
1031 Using this option is not recommended since, again, it would allow build
1032 processes to gain access to undeclared dependencies. It is necessary,
1033 though, when @command{guix-daemon} is running under an unprivileged user
1036 @item --disable-log-compression
1037 Disable compression of the build logs.
1039 Unless @code{--lose-logs} is used, all the build logs are kept in the
1040 @var{localstatedir}. To save space, the daemon automatically compresses
1041 them with bzip2 by default. This option disables that.
1043 @item --disable-deduplication
1044 @cindex deduplication
1045 Disable automatic file ``deduplication'' in the store.
1047 By default, files added to the store are automatically ``deduplicated'':
1048 if a newly added file is identical to another one found in the store,
1049 the daemon makes the new file a hard link to the other file. This can
1050 noticeably reduce disk usage, at the expense of slightly increased
1051 input/output load at the end of a build process. This option disables
1054 @item --gc-keep-outputs[=yes|no]
1055 Tell whether the garbage collector (GC) must keep outputs of live
1058 When set to ``yes'', the GC will keep the outputs of any live derivation
1059 available in the store---the @code{.drv} files. The default is ``no'',
1060 meaning that derivation outputs are kept only if they are GC roots.
1062 @item --gc-keep-derivations[=yes|no]
1063 Tell whether the garbage collector (GC) must keep derivations
1064 corresponding to live outputs.
1066 When set to ``yes'', as is the case by default, the GC keeps
1067 derivations---i.e., @code{.drv} files---as long as at least one of their
1068 outputs is live. This allows users to keep track of the origins of
1069 items in their store. Setting it to ``no'' saves a bit of disk space.
1071 Note that when both @code{--gc-keep-derivations} and
1072 @code{--gc-keep-outputs} are used, the effect is to keep all the build
1073 prerequisites (the sources, compiler, libraries, and other build-time
1074 tools) of live objects in the store, regardless of whether these
1075 prerequisites are live. This is convenient for developers since it
1076 saves rebuilds or downloads.
1078 @item --impersonate-linux-2.6
1079 On Linux-based systems, impersonate Linux 2.6. This means that the
1080 kernel's @code{uname} system call will report 2.6 as the release number.
1082 This might be helpful to build programs that (usually wrongfully) depend
1083 on the kernel version number.
1086 Do not keep build logs. By default they are kept under
1087 @code{@var{localstatedir}/guix/log}.
1089 @item --system=@var{system}
1090 Assume @var{system} as the current system type. By default it is the
1091 architecture/kernel pair found at configure time, such as
1092 @code{x86_64-linux}.
1094 @item --listen=@var{socket}
1095 Listen for connections on @var{socket}, the file name of a Unix-domain
1096 socket. The default socket is
1097 @file{@var{localstatedir}/daemon-socket/socket}. This option is only
1098 useful in exceptional circumstances, such as if you need to run several
1099 daemons on the same machine.
1103 @node Application Setup
1104 @section Application Setup
1106 @cindex foreign distro
1107 When using Guix on top of GNU/Linux distribution other than GuixSD---a
1108 so-called @dfn{foreign distro}---a few additional steps are needed to
1109 get everything in place. Here are some of them.
1113 @anchor{locales-and-locpath}
1114 @cindex locales, when not on GuixSD
1116 @vindex GUIX_LOCPATH
1117 Packages installed @i{via} Guix will not use the locale data of the
1118 host system. Instead, you must first install one of the locale packages
1119 available with Guix and then define the @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} environment
1123 $ guix package -i glibc-locales
1124 $ export GUIX_LOCPATH=$HOME/.guix-profile/lib/locale
1127 Note that the @code{glibc-locales} package contains data for all the
1128 locales supported by the GNU@tie{}libc and weighs in at around
1129 110@tie{}MiB. Alternatively, the @code{glibc-utf8-locales} is smaller but
1130 limited to a few UTF-8 locales.
1132 The @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} variable plays a role similar to @code{LOCPATH}
1133 (@pxref{Locale Names, @code{LOCPATH},, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
1134 Manual}). There are two important differences though:
1138 @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} is honored only by the libc in Guix, and not by the libc
1139 provided by foreign distros. Thus, using @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} allows you
1140 to make sure the programs of the foreign distro will not end up loading
1141 incompatible locale data.
1144 libc suffixes each entry of @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} with @code{/X.Y}, where
1145 @code{X.Y} is the libc version---e.g., @code{2.22}. This means that,
1146 should your Guix profile contain a mixture of programs linked against
1147 different libc version, each libc version will only try to load locale
1148 data in the right format.
1151 This is important because the locale data format used by different libc
1152 versions may be incompatible.
1154 @subsection X11 Fonts
1156 The majority of graphical applications use Fontconfig to locate and
1157 load fonts and perform X11-client-side rendering. The @code{fontconfig}
1158 package in Guix looks for fonts in @file{$HOME/.guix-profile}
1159 by default. Thus, to allow graphical applications installed with Guix
1160 to display fonts, you have to install fonts with Guix as well.
1161 Essential font packages include @code{gs-fonts}, @code{font-dejavu}, and
1162 @code{font-gnu-freefont-ttf}.
1164 To display text written in Chinese languages, Japanese, or Korean in
1165 graphical applications, consider installing
1166 @code{font-adobe-source-han-sans} or @code{font-wqy-zenhei}. The former
1167 has multiple outputs, one per language family (@pxref{Packages with
1168 Multiple Outputs}). For instance, the following command installs fonts
1169 for Chinese languages:
1172 guix package -i font-adobe-source-han-sans:cn
1175 @subsection X.509 Certificates
1177 The @code{nss-certs} package provides X.509 certificates, which allow
1178 programs to authenticate Web servers accessed over HTTPS.
1180 When using Guix on a foreign distro, you can install this package and
1181 define the relevant environment variables so that packages know where to
1182 look for certificates. @pxref{X.509 Certificates}, for detailed
1185 @subsection Emacs Packages
1187 When you install Emacs packages with Guix, the elisp files may be placed
1188 either in @file{$HOME/.guix-profile/share/emacs/site-lisp/} or in
1190 @file{$HOME/.guix-profile/share/emacs/site-lisp/guix.d/}. The latter
1191 directory exists because potentially there may exist thousands of Emacs
1192 packages and storing all their files in a single directory may be not
1193 reliable (because of name conflicts). So we think using a separate
1194 directory for each package is a good idea. It is very similar to how
1195 the Emacs package system organizes the file structure (@pxref{Package
1196 Files,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
1198 By default, Emacs (installed with Guix) ``knows'' where these packages
1199 are placed, so you do not need to perform any configuration. If, for
1200 some reason, you want to avoid auto-loading Emacs packages installed
1201 with Guix, you can do so by running Emacs with @code{--no-site-file}
1202 option (@pxref{Init File,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
1206 @c *********************************************************************
1207 @node Package Management
1208 @chapter Package Management
1210 The purpose of GNU Guix is to allow users to easily install, upgrade, and
1211 remove software packages, without having to know about their build
1212 procedures or dependencies. Guix also goes beyond this obvious set of
1215 This chapter describes the main features of Guix, as well as the package
1216 management tools it provides. Two user interfaces are provided for
1217 routine package management tasks: A command-line interface described below
1218 (@pxref{Invoking guix package, @code{guix package}}), as well as a visual user
1219 interface in Emacs described in a subsequent chapter (@pxref{Emacs Interface}).
1222 * Features:: How Guix will make your life brighter.
1223 * Invoking guix package:: Package installation, removal, etc.
1224 * Substitutes:: Downloading pre-built binaries.
1225 * Packages with Multiple Outputs:: Single source package, multiple outputs.
1226 * Invoking guix gc:: Running the garbage collector.
1227 * Invoking guix pull:: Fetching the latest Guix and distribution.
1228 * Invoking guix archive:: Exporting and importing store files.
1234 When using Guix, each package ends up in the @dfn{package store}, in its
1235 own directory---something that resembles
1236 @file{/gnu/store/xxx-package-1.2}, where @code{xxx} is a base32 string
1237 (note that Guix comes with an Emacs extension to shorten those file
1238 names, @pxref{Emacs Prettify}.)
1240 Instead of referring to these directories, users have their own
1241 @dfn{profile}, which points to the packages that they actually want to
1242 use. These profiles are stored within each user's home directory, at
1243 @code{$HOME/.guix-profile}.
1245 For example, @code{alice} installs GCC 4.7.2. As a result,
1246 @file{/home/alice/.guix-profile/bin/gcc} points to
1247 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.7.2/bin/gcc}. Now, on the same machine,
1248 @code{bob} had already installed GCC 4.8.0. The profile of @code{bob}
1249 simply continues to point to
1250 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.8.0/bin/gcc}---i.e., both versions of GCC
1251 coexist on the same system without any interference.
1253 The @command{guix package} command is the central tool to manage
1254 packages (@pxref{Invoking guix package}). It operates on the per-user
1255 profiles, and can be used @emph{with normal user privileges}.
1257 The command provides the obvious install, remove, and upgrade
1258 operations. Each invocation is actually a @emph{transaction}: either
1259 the specified operation succeeds, or nothing happens. Thus, if the
1260 @command{guix package} process is terminated during the transaction,
1261 or if a power outage occurs during the transaction, then the user's
1262 profile remains in its previous state, and remains usable.
1264 In addition, any package transaction may be @emph{rolled back}. So, if,
1265 for example, an upgrade installs a new version of a package that turns
1266 out to have a serious bug, users may roll back to the previous instance
1267 of their profile, which was known to work well. Similarly, the global
1268 system configuration on GuixSD is subject to
1269 transactional upgrades and roll-back
1270 (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}).
1272 All packages in the package store may be @emph{garbage-collected}.
1273 Guix can determine which packages are still referenced by user
1274 profiles, and remove those that are provably no longer referenced
1275 (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}). Users may also explicitly remove old
1276 generations of their profile so that the packages they refer to can be
1279 @cindex reproducibility
1280 @cindex reproducible builds
1281 Finally, Guix takes a @dfn{purely functional} approach to package
1282 management, as described in the introduction (@pxref{Introduction}).
1283 Each @file{/gnu/store} package directory name contains a hash of all the
1284 inputs that were used to build that package---compiler, libraries, build
1285 scripts, etc. This direct correspondence allows users to make sure a
1286 given package installation matches the current state of their
1287 distribution. It also helps maximize @dfn{build reproducibility}:
1288 thanks to the isolated build environments that are used, a given build
1289 is likely to yield bit-identical files when performed on different
1290 machines (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon, container}).
1293 This foundation allows Guix to support @dfn{transparent binary/source
1294 deployment}. When a pre-built binary for a @file{/gnu/store} item is
1295 available from an external source---a @dfn{substitute}, Guix just
1296 downloads it and unpacks it;
1297 otherwise, it builds the package from source, locally
1298 (@pxref{Substitutes}). Because build results are usually bit-for-bit
1299 reproducible, users do not have to trust servers that provide
1300 substitutes: they can force a local build and @emph{challenge} providers
1301 (@pxref{Invoking guix challenge}).
1303 Control over the build environment is a feature that is also useful for
1304 developers. The @command{guix environment} command allows developers of
1305 a package to quickly set up the right development environment for their
1306 package, without having to manually install the dependencies of the
1307 package into their profile (@pxref{Invoking guix environment}).
1309 @node Invoking guix package
1310 @section Invoking @command{guix package}
1312 The @command{guix package} command is the tool that allows users to
1313 install, upgrade, and remove packages, as well as rolling back to
1314 previous configurations. It operates only on the user's own profile,
1315 and works with normal user privileges (@pxref{Features}). Its syntax
1319 guix package @var{options}
1322 Primarily, @var{options} specifies the operations to be performed during
1323 the transaction. Upon completion, a new profile is created, but
1324 previous @dfn{generations} of the profile remain available, should the user
1327 For example, to remove @code{lua} and install @code{guile} and
1328 @code{guile-cairo} in a single transaction:
1331 guix package -r lua -i guile guile-cairo
1334 @command{guix package} also supports a @dfn{declarative approach}
1335 whereby the user specifies the exact set of packages to be available and
1336 passes it @i{via} the @option{--manifest} option
1337 (@pxref{profile-manifest, @option{--manifest}}).
1339 For each user, a symlink to the user's default profile is automatically
1340 created in @file{$HOME/.guix-profile}. This symlink always points to the
1341 current generation of the user's default profile. Thus, users can add
1342 @file{$HOME/.guix-profile/bin} to their @code{PATH} environment
1343 variable, and so on.
1344 @cindex search paths
1345 If you are not using the Guix System Distribution, consider adding the
1346 following lines to your @file{~/.bash_profile} (@pxref{Bash Startup
1347 Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}) so that newly-spawned
1348 shells get all the right environment variable definitions:
1351 GUIX_PROFILE="$HOME/.guix-profile" \
1352 source "$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/profile"
1355 In a multi-user setup, user profiles are stored in a place registered as
1356 a @dfn{garbage-collector root}, which @file{$HOME/.guix-profile} points
1357 to (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}). That directory is normally
1358 @code{@var{localstatedir}/profiles/per-user/@var{user}}, where
1359 @var{localstatedir} is the value passed to @code{configure} as
1360 @code{--localstatedir}, and @var{user} is the user name. The
1361 @file{per-user} directory is created when @command{guix-daemon} is
1362 started, and the @var{user} sub-directory is created by @command{guix
1365 The @var{options} can be among the following:
1369 @item --install=@var{package} @dots{}
1370 @itemx -i @var{package} @dots{}
1371 Install the specified @var{package}s.
1373 Each @var{package} may specify either a simple package name, such as
1374 @code{guile}, or a package name followed by an at-sign and version number,
1375 such as @code{guile@@1.8.8} or simply @code{guile@@1.8} (in the latter
1376 case, the newest version prefixed by @code{1.8} is selected.)
1378 If no version number is specified, the
1379 newest available version will be selected. In addition, @var{package}
1380 may contain a colon, followed by the name of one of the outputs of the
1381 package, as in @code{gcc:doc} or @code{binutils@@2.22:lib}
1382 (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}). Packages with a corresponding
1383 name (and optionally version) are searched for among the GNU
1384 distribution modules (@pxref{Package Modules}).
1386 @cindex propagated inputs
1387 Sometimes packages have @dfn{propagated inputs}: these are dependencies
1388 that automatically get installed along with the required package
1389 (@pxref{package-propagated-inputs, @code{propagated-inputs} in
1390 @code{package} objects}, for information about propagated inputs in
1391 package definitions).
1393 @anchor{package-cmd-propagated-inputs}
1394 An example is the GNU MPC library: its C header files refer to those of
1395 the GNU MPFR library, which in turn refer to those of the GMP library.
1396 Thus, when installing MPC, the MPFR and GMP libraries also get installed
1397 in the profile; removing MPC also removes MPFR and GMP---unless they had
1398 also been explicitly installed by the user.
1400 Besides, packages sometimes rely on the definition of environment
1401 variables for their search paths (see explanation of
1402 @code{--search-paths} below). Any missing or possibly incorrect
1403 environment variable definitions are reported here.
1405 @item --install-from-expression=@var{exp}
1407 Install the package @var{exp} evaluates to.
1409 @var{exp} must be a Scheme expression that evaluates to a
1410 @code{<package>} object. This option is notably useful to disambiguate
1411 between same-named variants of a package, with expressions such as
1412 @code{(@@ (gnu packages base) guile-final)}.
1414 Note that this option installs the first output of the specified
1415 package, which may be insufficient when needing a specific output of a
1416 multiple-output package.
1418 @item --install-from-file=@var{file}
1419 @itemx -f @var{file}
1420 Install the package that the code within @var{file} evaluates to.
1422 As an example, @var{file} might contain a definition like this
1423 (@pxref{Defining Packages}):
1426 @verbatiminclude package-hello.scm
1429 Developers may find it useful to include such a @file{guix.scm} file
1430 in the root of their project source tree that can be used to test
1431 development snapshots and create reproducible development environments
1432 (@pxref{Invoking guix environment}).
1434 @item --remove=@var{package} @dots{}
1435 @itemx -r @var{package} @dots{}
1436 Remove the specified @var{package}s.
1438 As for @code{--install}, each @var{package} may specify a version number
1439 and/or output name in addition to the package name. For instance,
1440 @code{-r glibc:debug} would remove the @code{debug} output of
1443 @item --upgrade[=@var{regexp} @dots{}]
1444 @itemx -u [@var{regexp} @dots{}]
1445 Upgrade all the installed packages. If one or more @var{regexp}s are
1446 specified, upgrade only installed packages whose name matches a
1447 @var{regexp}. Also see the @code{--do-not-upgrade} option below.
1449 Note that this upgrades package to the latest version of packages found
1450 in the distribution currently installed. To update your distribution,
1451 you should regularly run @command{guix pull} (@pxref{Invoking guix
1454 @item --do-not-upgrade[=@var{regexp} @dots{}]
1455 When used together with the @code{--upgrade} option, do @emph{not}
1456 upgrade any packages whose name matches a @var{regexp}. For example, to
1457 upgrade all packages in the current profile except those containing the
1458 substring ``emacs'':
1461 $ guix package --upgrade . --do-not-upgrade emacs
1464 @item @anchor{profile-manifest}--manifest=@var{file}
1465 @itemx -m @var{file}
1466 @cindex profile declaration
1467 @cindex profile manifest
1468 Create a new generation of the profile from the manifest object
1469 returned by the Scheme code in @var{file}.
1471 This allows you to @emph{declare} the profile's contents rather than
1472 constructing it through a sequence of @code{--install} and similar
1473 commands. The advantage is that @var{file} can be put under version
1474 control, copied to different machines to reproduce the same profile, and
1477 @c FIXME: Add reference to (guix profile) documentation when available.
1478 @var{file} must return a @dfn{manifest} object, which is roughly a list
1481 @findex packages->manifest
1483 (use-package-modules guile emacs)
1488 ;; Use a specific package output.
1489 (list guile-2.0 "debug")))
1493 Roll back to the previous @dfn{generation} of the profile---i.e., undo
1494 the last transaction.
1496 When combined with options such as @code{--install}, roll back occurs
1497 before any other actions.
1499 When rolling back from the first generation that actually contains
1500 installed packages, the profile is made to point to the @dfn{zeroth
1501 generation}, which contains no files apart from its own metadata.
1503 After having rolled back, installing, removing, or upgrading packages
1504 overwrites previous future generations. Thus, the history of the
1505 generations in a profile is always linear.
1507 @item --switch-generation=@var{pattern}
1508 @itemx -S @var{pattern}
1509 Switch to a particular generation defined by @var{pattern}.
1511 @var{pattern} may be either a generation number or a number prefixed
1512 with ``+'' or ``-''. The latter means: move forward/backward by a
1513 specified number of generations. For example, if you want to return to
1514 the latest generation after @code{--roll-back}, use
1515 @code{--switch-generation=+1}.
1517 The difference between @code{--roll-back} and
1518 @code{--switch-generation=-1} is that @code{--switch-generation} will
1519 not make a zeroth generation, so if a specified generation does not
1520 exist, the current generation will not be changed.
1522 @item --search-paths[=@var{kind}]
1523 @cindex search paths
1524 Report environment variable definitions, in Bash syntax, that may be
1525 needed in order to use the set of installed packages. These environment
1526 variables are used to specify @dfn{search paths} for files used by some
1527 of the installed packages.
1529 For example, GCC needs the @code{CPATH} and @code{LIBRARY_PATH}
1530 environment variables to be defined so it can look for headers and
1531 libraries in the user's profile (@pxref{Environment Variables,,, gcc,
1532 Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)}). If GCC and, say, the C
1533 library are installed in the profile, then @code{--search-paths} will
1534 suggest setting these variables to @code{@var{profile}/include} and
1535 @code{@var{profile}/lib}, respectively.
1537 The typical use case is to define these environment variables in the
1541 $ eval `guix package --search-paths`
1544 @var{kind} may be one of @code{exact}, @code{prefix}, or @code{suffix},
1545 meaning that the returned environment variable definitions will either
1546 be exact settings, or prefixes or suffixes of the current value of these
1547 variables. When omitted, @var{kind} defaults to @code{exact}.
1549 This option can also be used to compute the @emph{combined} search paths
1550 of several profiles. Consider this example:
1553 $ guix package -p foo -i guile
1554 $ guix package -p bar -i guile-json
1555 $ guix package -p foo -p bar --search-paths
1558 The last command above reports about the @code{GUILE_LOAD_PATH}
1559 variable, even though, taken individually, neither @file{foo} nor
1560 @file{bar} would lead to that recommendation.
1563 @item --profile=@var{profile}
1564 @itemx -p @var{profile}
1565 Use @var{profile} instead of the user's default profile.
1568 Produce verbose output. In particular, emit the build log of the
1569 environment on the standard error port.
1572 Use the bootstrap Guile to build the profile. This option is only
1573 useful to distribution developers.
1577 In addition to these actions, @command{guix package} supports the
1578 following options to query the current state of a profile, or the
1579 availability of packages:
1583 @item --search=@var{regexp}
1584 @itemx -s @var{regexp}
1585 @cindex searching for packages
1586 List the available packages whose name, synopsis, or description matches
1587 @var{regexp}. Print all the metadata of matching packages in
1588 @code{recutils} format (@pxref{Top, GNU recutils databases,, recutils,
1589 GNU recutils manual}).
1591 This allows specific fields to be extracted using the @command{recsel}
1592 command, for instance:
1595 $ guix package -s malloc | recsel -p name,version
1603 Similarly, to show the name of all the packages available under the
1604 terms of the GNU@tie{}LGPL version 3:
1607 $ guix package -s "" | recsel -p name -e 'license ~ "LGPL 3"'
1614 It is also possible to refine search results using several @code{-s}
1615 flags. For example, the following command returns a list of board
1619 $ guix package -s '\<board\>' -s game | recsel -p name
1624 If we were to omit @code{-s game}, we would also get software packages
1625 that deal with printed circuit boards; removing the angle brackets
1626 around @code{board} would further add packages that have to do with
1629 And now for a more elaborate example. The following command searches
1630 for cryptographic libraries, filters out Haskell, Perl, Python, and Ruby
1631 libraries, and prints the name and synopsis of the matching packages:
1634 $ guix package -s crypto -s library | \
1635 recsel -e '! (name ~ "^(ghc|perl|python|ruby)")' -p name,synopsis
1639 @xref{Selection Expressions,,, recutils, GNU recutils manual}, for more
1640 information on @dfn{selection expressions} for @code{recsel -e}.
1642 @item --show=@var{package}
1643 Show details about @var{package}, taken from the list of available packages, in
1644 @code{recutils} format (@pxref{Top, GNU recutils databases,, recutils, GNU
1648 $ guix package --show=python | recsel -p name,version
1656 You may also specify the full name of a package to only get details about a
1657 specific version of it:
1659 $ guix package --show=python-3.3.5 | recsel -p name,version
1666 @item --list-installed[=@var{regexp}]
1667 @itemx -I [@var{regexp}]
1668 List the currently installed packages in the specified profile, with the
1669 most recently installed packages shown last. When @var{regexp} is
1670 specified, list only installed packages whose name matches @var{regexp}.
1672 For each installed package, print the following items, separated by
1673 tabs: the package name, its version string, the part of the package that
1674 is installed (for instance, @code{out} for the default output,
1675 @code{include} for its headers, etc.), and the path of this package in
1678 @item --list-available[=@var{regexp}]
1679 @itemx -A [@var{regexp}]
1680 List packages currently available in the distribution for this system
1681 (@pxref{GNU Distribution}). When @var{regexp} is specified, list only
1682 installed packages whose name matches @var{regexp}.
1684 For each package, print the following items separated by tabs: its name,
1685 its version string, the parts of the package (@pxref{Packages with
1686 Multiple Outputs}), and the source location of its definition.
1688 @item --list-generations[=@var{pattern}]
1689 @itemx -l [@var{pattern}]
1690 Return a list of generations along with their creation dates; for each
1691 generation, show the installed packages, with the most recently
1692 installed packages shown last. Note that the zeroth generation is never
1695 For each installed package, print the following items, separated by
1696 tabs: the name of a package, its version string, the part of the package
1697 that is installed (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}), and the
1698 location of this package in the store.
1700 When @var{pattern} is used, the command returns only matching
1701 generations. Valid patterns include:
1704 @item @emph{Integers and comma-separated integers}. Both patterns denote
1705 generation numbers. For instance, @code{--list-generations=1} returns
1708 And @code{--list-generations=1,8,2} outputs three generations in the
1709 specified order. Neither spaces nor trailing commas are allowed.
1711 @item @emph{Ranges}. @code{--list-generations=2..9} prints the
1712 specified generations and everything in between. Note that the start of
1713 a range must be smaller than its end.
1715 It is also possible to omit the endpoint. For example,
1716 @code{--list-generations=2..}, returns all generations starting from the
1719 @item @emph{Durations}. You can also get the last @emph{N}@tie{}days, weeks,
1720 or months by passing an integer along with the first letter of the
1721 duration. For example, @code{--list-generations=20d} lists generations
1722 that are up to 20 days old.
1725 @item --delete-generations[=@var{pattern}]
1726 @itemx -d [@var{pattern}]
1727 When @var{pattern} is omitted, delete all generations except the current
1730 This command accepts the same patterns as @option{--list-generations}.
1731 When @var{pattern} is specified, delete the matching generations. When
1732 @var{pattern} specifies a duration, generations @emph{older} than the
1733 specified duration match. For instance, @code{--delete-generations=1m}
1734 deletes generations that are more than one month old.
1736 If the current generation matches, it is @emph{not} deleted. Also, the
1737 zeroth generation is never deleted.
1739 Note that deleting generations prevents rolling back to them.
1740 Consequently, this command must be used with care.
1744 Finally, since @command{guix package} may actually start build
1745 processes, it supports all the common build options (@pxref{Common Build
1746 Options}). It also supports package transformation options, such as
1747 @option{--with-source} (@pxref{Package Transformation Options}).
1748 However, note that package transformations are lost when upgrading; to
1749 preserve transformations across upgrades, you should define your own
1750 package variant in a Guile module and add it to @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH}
1751 (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
1755 @section Substitutes
1758 @cindex pre-built binaries
1759 Guix supports transparent source/binary deployment, which means that it
1760 can either build things locally, or download pre-built items from a
1761 server. We call these pre-built items @dfn{substitutes}---they are
1762 substitutes for local build results. In many cases, downloading a
1763 substitute is much faster than building things locally.
1765 Substitutes can be anything resulting from a derivation build
1766 (@pxref{Derivations}). Of course, in the common case, they are
1767 pre-built package binaries, but source tarballs, for instance, which
1768 also result from derivation builds, can be available as substitutes.
1770 The @code{hydra.gnu.org} server is a front-end to a build farm that
1771 builds packages from the GNU distribution continuously for some
1772 architectures, and makes them available as substitutes (@pxref{Emacs
1773 Hydra}, for information on how to query the continuous integration
1774 server). This is the
1775 default source of substitutes; it can be overridden by passing the
1776 @option{--substitute-urls} option either to @command{guix-daemon}
1777 (@pxref{daemon-substitute-urls,, @code{guix-daemon --substitute-urls}})
1778 or to client tools such as @command{guix package}
1779 (@pxref{client-substitute-urls,, client @option{--substitute-urls}
1782 Substitute URLs can be either HTTP or HTTPS@footnote{For HTTPS access,
1783 the Guile bindings of GnuTLS must be installed. @xref{Requirements}.}
1784 HTTPS is recommended because communications are encrypted; conversely,
1785 using HTTP makes all communications visible to an eavesdropper, who
1786 could use the information gathered to determine, for instance, whether
1787 your system has unpatched security vulnerabilities.
1790 @cindex digital signatures
1791 To allow Guix to download substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org} or a
1793 must add its public key to the access control list (ACL) of archive
1794 imports, using the @command{guix archive} command (@pxref{Invoking guix
1795 archive}). Doing so implies that you trust @code{hydra.gnu.org} to not
1796 be compromised and to serve genuine substitutes.
1798 This public key is installed along with Guix, in
1799 @code{@var{prefix}/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub}, where @var{prefix} is
1800 the installation prefix of Guix. If you installed Guix from source,
1801 make sure you checked the GPG signature of
1802 @file{guix-@value{VERSION}.tar.gz}, which contains this public key file.
1803 Then, you can run something like this:
1806 # guix archive --authorize < hydra.gnu.org.pub
1809 Once this is in place, the output of a command like @code{guix build}
1810 should change from something like:
1813 $ guix build emacs --dry-run
1814 The following derivations would be built:
1815 /gnu/store/yr7bnx8xwcayd6j95r2clmkdl1qh688w-emacs-24.3.drv
1816 /gnu/store/x8qsh1hlhgjx6cwsjyvybnfv2i37z23w-dbus-1.6.4.tar.gz.drv
1817 /gnu/store/1ixwp12fl950d15h2cj11c73733jay0z-alsa-lib-1.0.27.1.tar.bz2.drv
1818 /gnu/store/nlma1pw0p603fpfiqy7kn4zm105r5dmw-util-linux-2.21.drv
1826 $ guix build emacs --dry-run
1827 The following files would be downloaded:
1828 /gnu/store/pk3n22lbq6ydamyymqkkz7i69wiwjiwi-emacs-24.3
1829 /gnu/store/2ygn4ncnhrpr61rssa6z0d9x22si0va3-libjpeg-8d
1830 /gnu/store/71yz6lgx4dazma9dwn2mcjxaah9w77jq-cairo-1.12.16
1831 /gnu/store/7zdhgp0n1518lvfn8mb96sxqfmvqrl7v-libxrender-0.9.7
1836 This indicates that substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org} are usable and
1837 will be downloaded, when possible, for future builds.
1839 Guix ignores substitutes that are not signed, or that are not signed by
1840 one of the keys listed in the ACL. It also detects and raises an error
1841 when attempting to use a substitute that has been tampered with.
1844 Substitutes are downloaded over HTTP or HTTPS.
1845 The @code{http_proxy} environment
1846 variable can be set in the environment of @command{guix-daemon} and is
1847 honored for downloads of substitutes. Note that the value of
1848 @code{http_proxy} in the environment where @command{guix build},
1849 @command{guix package}, and other client commands are run has
1850 @emph{absolutely no effect}.
1852 When using HTTPS, the server's X.509 certificate is @emph{not} validated
1853 (in other words, the server is not authenticated), contrary to what
1854 HTTPS clients such as Web browsers usually do. This is because Guix
1855 authenticates substitute information itself, as explained above, which
1856 is what we care about (whereas X.509 certificates are about
1857 authenticating bindings between domain names and public keys.)
1859 The substitute mechanism can be disabled globally by running
1860 @code{guix-daemon} with @code{--no-substitutes} (@pxref{Invoking
1861 guix-daemon}). It can also be disabled temporarily by passing the
1862 @code{--no-substitutes} option to @command{guix package}, @command{guix
1863 build}, and other command-line tools.
1866 @unnumberedsubsec On Trusting Binaries
1868 Today, each individual's control over their own computing is at the
1869 mercy of institutions, corporations, and groups with enough power and
1870 determination to subvert the computing infrastructure and exploit its
1871 weaknesses. While using @code{hydra.gnu.org} substitutes can be
1872 convenient, we encourage users to also build on their own, or even run
1873 their own build farm, such that @code{hydra.gnu.org} is less of an
1874 interesting target. One way to help is by publishing the software you
1875 build using @command{guix publish} so that others have one more choice
1876 of server to download substitutes from (@pxref{Invoking guix publish}).
1878 Guix has the foundations to maximize build reproducibility
1879 (@pxref{Features}). In most cases, independent builds of a given
1880 package or derivation should yield bit-identical results. Thus, through
1881 a diverse set of independent package builds, we can strengthen the
1882 integrity of our systems. The @command{guix challenge} command aims to
1883 help users assess substitute servers, and to assist developers in
1884 finding out about non-deterministic package builds (@pxref{Invoking guix
1885 challenge}). Similarly, the @option{--check} option of @command{guix
1886 build} allows users to check whether previously-installed substitutes
1887 are genuine by rebuilding them locally (@pxref{build-check,
1888 @command{guix build --check}}).
1890 In the future, we want Guix to have support to publish and retrieve
1891 binaries to/from other users, in a peer-to-peer fashion. If you would
1892 like to discuss this project, join us on @email{guix-devel@@gnu.org}.
1895 @node Packages with Multiple Outputs
1896 @section Packages with Multiple Outputs
1898 @cindex multiple-output packages
1899 @cindex package outputs
1901 Often, packages defined in Guix have a single @dfn{output}---i.e., the
1902 source package leads to exactly one directory in the store. When running
1903 @command{guix package -i glibc}, one installs the default output of the
1904 GNU libc package; the default output is called @code{out}, but its name
1905 can be omitted as shown in this command. In this particular case, the
1906 default output of @code{glibc} contains all the C header files, shared
1907 libraries, static libraries, Info documentation, and other supporting
1910 Sometimes it is more appropriate to separate the various types of files
1911 produced from a single source package into separate outputs. For
1912 instance, the GLib C library (used by GTK+ and related packages)
1913 installs more than 20 MiB of reference documentation as HTML pages.
1914 To save space for users who do not need it, the documentation goes to a
1915 separate output, called @code{doc}. To install the main GLib output,
1916 which contains everything but the documentation, one would run:
1919 guix package -i glib
1922 The command to install its documentation is:
1925 guix package -i glib:doc
1928 Some packages install programs with different ``dependency footprints''.
1929 For instance, the WordNet package installs both command-line tools and
1930 graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The former depend solely on the C
1931 library, whereas the latter depend on Tcl/Tk and the underlying X
1932 libraries. In this case, we leave the command-line tools in the default
1933 output, whereas the GUIs are in a separate output. This allows users
1934 who do not need the GUIs to save space. The @command{guix size} command
1935 can help find out about such situations (@pxref{Invoking guix size}).
1936 @command{guix graph} can also be helpful (@pxref{Invoking guix graph}).
1938 There are several such multiple-output packages in the GNU distribution.
1939 Other conventional output names include @code{lib} for libraries and
1940 possibly header files, @code{bin} for stand-alone programs, and
1941 @code{debug} for debugging information (@pxref{Installing Debugging
1942 Files}). The outputs of a packages are listed in the third column of
1943 the output of @command{guix package --list-available} (@pxref{Invoking
1947 @node Invoking guix gc
1948 @section Invoking @command{guix gc}
1950 @cindex garbage collector
1951 Packages that are installed, but not used, may be @dfn{garbage-collected}.
1952 The @command{guix gc} command allows users to explicitly run the garbage
1953 collector to reclaim space from the @file{/gnu/store} directory. It is
1954 the @emph{only} way to remove files from @file{/gnu/store}---removing
1955 files or directories manually may break it beyond repair!
1957 The garbage collector has a set of known @dfn{roots}: any file under
1958 @file{/gnu/store} reachable from a root is considered @dfn{live} and
1959 cannot be deleted; any other file is considered @dfn{dead} and may be
1960 deleted. The set of garbage collector roots includes default user
1961 profiles, and may be augmented with @command{guix build --root}, for
1962 example (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
1964 Prior to running @code{guix gc --collect-garbage} to make space, it is
1965 often useful to remove old generations from user profiles; that way, old
1966 package builds referenced by those generations can be reclaimed. This
1967 is achieved by running @code{guix package --delete-generations}
1968 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
1970 The @command{guix gc} command has three modes of operation: it can be
1971 used to garbage-collect any dead files (the default), to delete specific
1972 files (the @code{--delete} option), to print garbage-collector
1973 information, or for more advanced queries. The garbage collection
1974 options are as follows:
1977 @item --collect-garbage[=@var{min}]
1978 @itemx -C [@var{min}]
1979 Collect garbage---i.e., unreachable @file{/gnu/store} files and
1980 sub-directories. This is the default operation when no option is
1983 When @var{min} is given, stop once @var{min} bytes have been collected.
1984 @var{min} may be a number of bytes, or it may include a unit as a
1985 suffix, such as @code{MiB} for mebibytes and @code{GB} for gigabytes
1986 (@pxref{Block size, size specifications,, coreutils, GNU Coreutils}).
1988 When @var{min} is omitted, collect all the garbage.
1990 @item --free-space=@var{free}
1991 @itemx -F @var{free}
1992 Collect garbage until @var{free} space is available under
1993 @file{/gnu/store}, if possible; @var{free} denotes storage space, such
1994 as @code{500MiB}, as described above.
1996 When @var{free} or more is already available in @file{/gnu/store}, do
1997 nothing and exit immediately.
2001 Attempt to delete all the store files and directories specified as
2002 arguments. This fails if some of the files are not in the store, or if
2003 they are still live.
2005 @item --list-failures
2006 List store items corresponding to cached build failures.
2008 This prints nothing unless the daemon was started with
2009 @option{--cache-failures} (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon,
2010 @option{--cache-failures}}).
2012 @item --clear-failures
2013 Remove the specified store items from the failed-build cache.
2015 Again, this option only makes sense when the daemon is started with
2016 @option{--cache-failures}. Otherwise, it does nothing.
2019 Show the list of dead files and directories still present in the
2020 store---i.e., files and directories no longer reachable from any root.
2023 Show the list of live store files and directories.
2027 In addition, the references among existing store files can be queried:
2033 List the references (respectively, the referrers) of store files given
2039 List the requisites of the store files passed as arguments. Requisites
2040 include the store files themselves, their references, and the references
2041 of these, recursively. In other words, the returned list is the
2042 @dfn{transitive closure} of the store files.
2044 @xref{Invoking guix size}, for a tool to profile the size of the closure
2045 of an element. @xref{Invoking guix graph}, for a tool to visualize
2046 the graph of references.
2050 Lastly, the following options allow you to check the integrity of the
2051 store and to control disk usage.
2055 @item --verify[=@var{options}]
2056 @cindex integrity, of the store
2057 @cindex integrity checking
2058 Verify the integrity of the store.
2060 By default, make sure that all the store items marked as valid in the
2061 database of the daemon actually exist in @file{/gnu/store}.
2063 When provided, @var{options} must be a comma-separated list containing one
2064 or more of @code{contents} and @code{repair}.
2066 When passing @option{--verify=contents}, the daemon computse the
2067 content hash of each store item and compares it against its hash in the
2068 database. Hash mismatches are reported as data corruptions. Because it
2069 traverses @emph{all the files in the store}, this command can take a
2070 long time, especially on systems with a slow disk drive.
2072 @cindex repairing the store
2073 Using @option{--verify=repair} or @option{--verify=contents,repair}
2074 causes the daemon to try to repair corrupt store items by fetching
2075 substitutes for them (@pxref{Substitutes}). Because repairing is not
2076 atomic, and thus potentially dangerous, it is available only to the
2077 system administrator.
2080 @cindex deduplication
2081 Optimize the store by hard-linking identical files---this is
2082 @dfn{deduplication}.
2084 The daemon performs deduplication after each successful build or archive
2085 import, unless it was started with @code{--disable-deduplication}
2086 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon, @code{--disable-deduplication}}). Thus,
2087 this option is primarily useful when the daemon was running with
2088 @code{--disable-deduplication}.
2092 @node Invoking guix pull
2093 @section Invoking @command{guix pull}
2095 Packages are installed or upgraded to the latest version available in
2096 the distribution currently available on your local machine. To update
2097 that distribution, along with the Guix tools, you must run @command{guix
2098 pull}: the command downloads the latest Guix source code and package
2099 descriptions, and deploys it.
2101 On completion, @command{guix package} will use packages and package
2102 versions from this just-retrieved copy of Guix. Not only that, but all
2103 the Guix commands and Scheme modules will also be taken from that latest
2104 version. New @command{guix} sub-commands added by the update also
2107 Any user can update their Guix copy using @command{guix pull}, and the
2108 effect is limited to the user who run @command{guix pull}. For
2109 instance, when user @code{root} runs @command{guix pull}, this has no
2110 effect on the version of Guix that user @code{alice} sees, and vice
2111 versa@footnote{Under the hood, @command{guix pull} updates the
2112 @file{~/.config/guix/latest} symbolic link to point to the latest Guix,
2113 and the @command{guix} command loads code from there.}.
2115 The @command{guix pull} command is usually invoked with no arguments,
2116 but it supports the following options:
2120 Produce verbose output, writing build logs to the standard error output.
2122 @item --url=@var{url}
2123 Download the source tarball of Guix from @var{url}.
2125 By default, the tarball is taken from its canonical address at
2126 @code{gnu.org}, for the stable branch of Guix.
2129 Use the bootstrap Guile to build the latest Guix. This option is only
2130 useful to Guix developers.
2134 @node Invoking guix archive
2135 @section Invoking @command{guix archive}
2137 The @command{guix archive} command allows users to @dfn{export} files
2138 from the store into a single archive, and to later @dfn{import} them.
2139 In particular, it allows store files to be transferred from one machine
2140 to the store on another machine.
2142 To export store files as an archive to standard output, run:
2145 guix archive --export @var{options} @var{specifications}...
2148 @var{specifications} may be either store file names or package
2149 specifications, as for @command{guix package} (@pxref{Invoking guix
2150 package}). For instance, the following command creates an archive
2151 containing the @code{gui} output of the @code{git} package and the main
2152 output of @code{emacs}:
2155 guix archive --export git:gui /gnu/store/...-emacs-24.3 > great.nar
2158 If the specified packages are not built yet, @command{guix archive}
2159 automatically builds them. The build process may be controlled with the
2160 common build options (@pxref{Common Build Options}).
2162 To transfer the @code{emacs} package to a machine connected over SSH,
2166 guix archive --export -r emacs | ssh the-machine guix archive --import
2170 Similarly, a complete user profile may be transferred from one machine
2171 to another like this:
2174 guix archive --export -r $(readlink -f ~/.guix-profile) | \
2175 ssh the-machine guix-archive --import
2179 However, note that, in both examples, all of @code{emacs} and the
2180 profile as well as all of their dependencies are transferred (due to
2181 @code{-r}), regardless of what is already available in the store on the
2182 target machine. The @code{--missing} option can help figure out which
2183 items are missing from the target store.
2185 Archives are stored in the ``Nix archive'' or ``Nar'' format, which is
2186 comparable in spirit to `tar', but with a few noteworthy differences
2187 that make it more appropriate for our purposes. First, rather than
2188 recording all Unix metadata for each file, the Nar format only mentions
2189 the file type (regular, directory, or symbolic link); Unix permissions
2190 and owner/group are dismissed. Second, the order in which directory
2191 entries are stored always follows the order of file names according to
2192 the C locale collation order. This makes archive production fully
2195 When exporting, the daemon digitally signs the contents of the archive,
2196 and that digital signature is appended. When importing, the daemon
2197 verifies the signature and rejects the import in case of an invalid
2198 signature or if the signing key is not authorized.
2199 @c FIXME: Add xref to daemon doc about signatures.
2201 The main options are:
2205 Export the specified store files or packages (see below.) Write the
2206 resulting archive to the standard output.
2208 Dependencies are @emph{not} included in the output, unless
2209 @code{--recursive} is passed.
2213 When combined with @code{--export}, this instructs @command{guix
2214 archive} to include dependencies of the given items in the archive.
2215 Thus, the resulting archive is self-contained: it contains the closure
2216 of the exported store items.
2219 Read an archive from the standard input, and import the files listed
2220 therein into the store. Abort if the archive has an invalid digital
2221 signature, or if it is signed by a public key not among the authorized
2222 keys (see @code{--authorize} below.)
2225 Read a list of store file names from the standard input, one per line,
2226 and write on the standard output the subset of these files missing from
2229 @item --generate-key[=@var{parameters}]
2230 @cindex signing, archives
2231 Generate a new key pair for the daemon. This is a prerequisite before
2232 archives can be exported with @code{--export}. Note that this operation
2233 usually takes time, because it needs to gather enough entropy to
2234 generate the key pair.
2236 The generated key pair is typically stored under @file{/etc/guix}, in
2237 @file{signing-key.pub} (public key) and @file{signing-key.sec} (private
2238 key, which must be kept secret.) When @var{parameters} is omitted,
2239 an ECDSA key using the Ed25519 curve is generated, or, for Libgcrypt
2240 versions before 1.6.0, it is a 4096-bit RSA key.
2241 Alternatively, @var{parameters} can specify
2242 @code{genkey} parameters suitable for Libgcrypt (@pxref{General
2243 public-key related Functions, @code{gcry_pk_genkey},, gcrypt, The
2244 Libgcrypt Reference Manual}).
2247 @cindex authorizing, archives
2248 Authorize imports signed by the public key passed on standard input.
2249 The public key must be in ``s-expression advanced format''---i.e., the
2250 same format as the @file{signing-key.pub} file.
2252 The list of authorized keys is kept in the human-editable file
2253 @file{/etc/guix/acl}. The file contains
2254 @url{http://people.csail.mit.edu/rivest/Sexp.txt, ``advanced-format
2255 s-expressions''} and is structured as an access-control list in the
2256 @url{http://theworld.com/~cme/spki.txt, Simple Public-Key Infrastructure
2259 @item --extract=@var{directory}
2260 @itemx -x @var{directory}
2261 Read a single-item archive as served by substitute servers
2262 (@pxref{Substitutes}) and extract it to @var{directory}. This is a
2263 low-level operation needed in only very narrow use cases; see below.
2265 For example, the following command extracts the substitute for Emacs
2266 served by @code{hydra.gnu.org} to @file{/tmp/emacs}:
2270 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-emacs-24.5 \
2271 | bunzip2 | guix archive -x /tmp/emacs
2274 Single-item archives are different from multiple-item archives produced
2275 by @command{guix archive --export}; they contain a single store item,
2276 and they do @emph{not} embed a signature. Thus this operation does
2277 @emph{no} signature verification and its output should be considered
2280 The primary purpose of this operation is to facilitate inspection of
2281 archive contents coming from possibly untrusted substitute servers.
2285 @c *********************************************************************
2288 @c *********************************************************************
2289 @node Programming Interface
2290 @chapter Programming Interface
2292 GNU Guix provides several Scheme programming interfaces (APIs) to
2293 define, build, and query packages. The first interface allows users to
2294 write high-level package definitions. These definitions refer to
2295 familiar packaging concepts, such as the name and version of a package,
2296 its build system, and its dependencies. These definitions can then be
2297 turned into concrete build actions.
2299 Build actions are performed by the Guix daemon, on behalf of users. In a
2300 standard setup, the daemon has write access to the store---the
2301 @file{/gnu/store} directory---whereas users do not. The recommended
2302 setup also has the daemon perform builds in chroots, under a specific
2303 build users, to minimize interference with the rest of the system.
2306 Lower-level APIs are available to interact with the daemon and the
2307 store. To instruct the daemon to perform a build action, users actually
2308 provide it with a @dfn{derivation}. A derivation is a low-level
2309 representation of the build actions to be taken, and the environment in
2310 which they should occur---derivations are to package definitions what
2311 assembly is to C programs. The term ``derivation'' comes from the fact
2312 that build results @emph{derive} from them.
2314 This chapter describes all these APIs in turn, starting from high-level
2315 package definitions.
2318 * Defining Packages:: Defining new packages.
2319 * Build Systems:: Specifying how packages are built.
2320 * The Store:: Manipulating the package store.
2321 * Derivations:: Low-level interface to package derivations.
2322 * The Store Monad:: Purely functional interface to the store.
2323 * G-Expressions:: Manipulating build expressions.
2326 @node Defining Packages
2327 @section Defining Packages
2329 The high-level interface to package definitions is implemented in the
2330 @code{(guix packages)} and @code{(guix build-system)} modules. As an
2331 example, the package definition, or @dfn{recipe}, for the GNU Hello
2332 package looks like this:
2335 (define-module (gnu packages hello)
2336 #:use-module (guix packages)
2337 #:use-module (guix download)
2338 #:use-module (guix build-system gnu)
2339 #:use-module (guix licenses)
2340 #:use-module (gnu packages gawk))
2342 (define-public hello
2348 (uri (string-append "mirror://gnu/hello/hello-" version
2352 "0ssi1wpaf7plaswqqjwigppsg5fyh99vdlb9kzl7c9lng89ndq1i"))))
2353 (build-system gnu-build-system)
2354 (arguments `(#:configure-flags '("--enable-silent-rules")))
2355 (inputs `(("gawk" ,gawk)))
2356 (synopsis "Hello, GNU world: An example GNU package")
2357 (description "Guess what GNU Hello prints!")
2358 (home-page "http://www.gnu.org/software/hello/")
2363 Without being a Scheme expert, the reader may have guessed the meaning
2364 of the various fields here. This expression binds the variable
2365 @code{hello} to a @code{<package>} object, which is essentially a record
2366 (@pxref{SRFI-9, Scheme records,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}).
2367 This package object can be inspected using procedures found in the
2368 @code{(guix packages)} module; for instance, @code{(package-name hello)}
2369 returns---surprise!---@code{"hello"}.
2371 With luck, you may be able to import part or all of the definition of
2372 the package you are interested in from another repository, using the
2373 @code{guix import} command (@pxref{Invoking guix import}).
2375 In the example above, @var{hello} is defined in a module of its own,
2376 @code{(gnu packages hello)}. Technically, this is not strictly
2377 necessary, but it is convenient to do so: all the packages defined in
2378 modules under @code{(gnu packages @dots{})} are automatically known to
2379 the command-line tools (@pxref{Package Modules}).
2381 There are a few points worth noting in the above package definition:
2385 The @code{source} field of the package is an @code{<origin>} object
2386 (@pxref{origin Reference}, for the complete reference).
2387 Here, the @code{url-fetch} method from @code{(guix download)} is used,
2388 meaning that the source is a file to be downloaded over FTP or HTTP.
2390 The @code{mirror://gnu} prefix instructs @code{url-fetch} to use one of
2391 the GNU mirrors defined in @code{(guix download)}.
2393 The @code{sha256} field specifies the expected SHA256 hash of the file
2394 being downloaded. It is mandatory, and allows Guix to check the
2395 integrity of the file. The @code{(base32 @dots{})} form introduces the
2396 base32 representation of the hash. You can obtain this information with
2397 @code{guix download} (@pxref{Invoking guix download}) and @code{guix
2398 hash} (@pxref{Invoking guix hash}).
2401 When needed, the @code{origin} form can also have a @code{patches} field
2402 listing patches to be applied, and a @code{snippet} field giving a
2403 Scheme expression to modify the source code.
2406 @cindex GNU Build System
2407 The @code{build-system} field specifies the procedure to build the
2408 package (@pxref{Build Systems}). Here, @var{gnu-build-system}
2409 represents the familiar GNU Build System, where packages may be
2410 configured, built, and installed with the usual @code{./configure &&
2411 make && make check && make install} command sequence.
2414 The @code{arguments} field specifies options for the build system
2415 (@pxref{Build Systems}). Here it is interpreted by
2416 @var{gnu-build-system} as a request run @file{configure} with the
2417 @code{--enable-silent-rules} flag.
2420 The @code{inputs} field specifies inputs to the build process---i.e.,
2421 build-time or run-time dependencies of the package. Here, we define an
2422 input called @code{"gawk"} whose value is that of the @var{gawk}
2423 variable; @var{gawk} is itself bound to a @code{<package>} object.
2425 Note that GCC, Coreutils, Bash, and other essential tools do not need to
2426 be specified as inputs here. Instead, @var{gnu-build-system} takes care
2427 of ensuring that they are present (@pxref{Build Systems}).
2429 However, any other dependencies need to be specified in the
2430 @code{inputs} field. Any dependency not specified here will simply be
2431 unavailable to the build process, possibly leading to a build failure.
2434 @xref{package Reference}, for a full description of possible fields.
2436 Once a package definition is in place, the
2437 package may actually be built using the @code{guix build} command-line
2438 tool (@pxref{Invoking guix build}). You can easily jump back to the
2439 package definition using the @command{guix edit} command
2440 (@pxref{Invoking guix edit}).
2441 @xref{Packaging Guidelines}, for
2442 more information on how to test package definitions, and
2443 @ref{Invoking guix lint}, for information on how to check a definition
2444 for style conformance.
2446 Finally, updating the package definition to a new upstream version
2447 can be partly automated by the @command{guix refresh} command
2448 (@pxref{Invoking guix refresh}).
2450 Behind the scenes, a derivation corresponding to the @code{<package>}
2451 object is first computed by the @code{package-derivation} procedure.
2452 That derivation is stored in a @code{.drv} file under @file{/gnu/store}.
2453 The build actions it prescribes may then be realized by using the
2454 @code{build-derivations} procedure (@pxref{The Store}).
2456 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} package-derivation @var{store} @var{package} [@var{system}]
2457 Return the @code{<derivation>} object of @var{package} for @var{system}
2458 (@pxref{Derivations}).
2460 @var{package} must be a valid @code{<package>} object, and @var{system}
2461 must be a string denoting the target system type---e.g.,
2462 @code{"x86_64-linux"} for an x86_64 Linux-based GNU system. @var{store}
2463 must be a connection to the daemon, which operates on the store
2464 (@pxref{The Store}).
2468 @cindex cross-compilation
2469 Similarly, it is possible to compute a derivation that cross-builds a
2470 package for some other system:
2472 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} package-cross-derivation @var{store} @
2473 @var{package} @var{target} [@var{system}]
2474 Return the @code{<derivation>} object of @var{package} cross-built from
2475 @var{system} to @var{target}.
2477 @var{target} must be a valid GNU triplet denoting the target hardware
2478 and operating system, such as @code{"mips64el-linux-gnu"}
2479 (@pxref{Configuration Names, GNU configuration triplets,, configure, GNU
2480 Configure and Build System}).
2484 * package Reference :: The package data type.
2485 * origin Reference:: The origin data type.
2489 @node package Reference
2490 @subsection @code{package} Reference
2492 This section summarizes all the options available in @code{package}
2493 declarations (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
2495 @deftp {Data Type} package
2496 This is the data type representing a package recipe.
2500 The name of the package, as a string.
2502 @item @code{version}
2503 The version of the package, as a string.
2506 An origin object telling how the source code for the package should be
2507 acquired (@pxref{origin Reference}).
2509 @item @code{build-system}
2510 The build system that should be used to build the package (@pxref{Build
2513 @item @code{arguments} (default: @code{'()})
2514 The arguments that should be passed to the build system. This is a
2515 list, typically containing sequential keyword-value pairs.
2517 @item @code{inputs} (default: @code{'()})
2518 @itemx @code{native-inputs} (default: @code{'()})
2519 @itemx @code{propagated-inputs} (default: @code{'()})
2520 @cindex inputs, of packages
2521 These fields list dependencies of the package. Each one is a list of
2522 tuples, where each tuple has a label for the input (a string) as its
2523 first element, a package, origin, or derivation as its second element,
2524 and optionally the name of the output thereof that should be used, which
2525 defaults to @code{"out"} (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}, for
2526 more on package outputs). For example, the list below specifies three
2530 `(("libffi" ,libffi)
2531 ("libunistring" ,libunistring)
2532 ("glib:bin" ,glib "bin")) ;the "bin" output of Glib
2535 @cindex cross compilation, package dependencies
2536 The distinction between @code{native-inputs} and @code{inputs} is
2537 necessary when considering cross-compilation. When cross-compiling,
2538 dependencies listed in @code{inputs} are built for the @emph{target}
2539 architecture; conversely, dependencies listed in @code{native-inputs}
2540 are built for the architecture of the @emph{build} machine.
2542 @code{native-inputs} is typically used to list tools needed at
2543 build time, but not at run time, such as Autoconf, Automake, pkg-config,
2544 Gettext, or Bison. @command{guix lint} can report likely mistakes in
2545 this area (@pxref{Invoking guix lint}).
2547 @anchor{package-propagated-inputs}
2548 Lastly, @code{propagated-inputs} is similar to @code{inputs}, but the
2549 specified packages will be automatically installed alongside the package
2550 they belong to (@pxref{package-cmd-propagated-inputs, @command{guix
2551 package}}, for information on how @command{guix package} deals with
2554 For example this is necessary when a C/C++ library needs headers of
2555 another library to compile, or when a pkg-config file refers to another
2556 one @i{via} its @code{Requires} field.
2558 Another example where @code{propagated-inputs} is useful is for languages
2559 that lack a facility to record the run-time search path akin to the
2560 @code{RUNPATH}of ELF files; this includes Guile, Python, Perl, GHC, and
2561 more. To ensure that libraries written in those languages can find
2562 library code they depend on at run time, run-time dependencies must be
2563 listed in @code{propagated-inputs} rather than @code{inputs}.
2565 @item @code{self-native-input?} (default: @code{#f})
2566 This is a Boolean field telling whether the package should use itself as
2567 a native input when cross-compiling.
2569 @item @code{outputs} (default: @code{'("out")})
2570 The list of output names of the package. @xref{Packages with Multiple
2571 Outputs}, for typical uses of additional outputs.
2573 @item @code{native-search-paths} (default: @code{'()})
2574 @itemx @code{search-paths} (default: @code{'()})
2575 A list of @code{search-path-specification} objects describing
2576 search-path environment variables honored by the package.
2578 @item @code{replacement} (default: @code{#f})
2579 This must be either @code{#f} or a package object that will be used as a
2580 @dfn{replacement} for this package. @xref{Security Updates, grafts},
2583 @item @code{synopsis}
2584 A one-line description of the package.
2586 @item @code{description}
2587 A more elaborate description of the package.
2589 @item @code{license}
2590 The license of the package; a value from @code{(guix licenses)},
2591 or a list of such values.
2593 @item @code{home-page}
2594 The URL to the home-page of the package, as a string.
2596 @item @code{supported-systems} (default: @var{%supported-systems})
2597 The list of systems supported by the package, as strings of the form
2598 @code{architecture-kernel}, for example @code{"x86_64-linux"}.
2600 @item @code{maintainers} (default: @code{'()})
2601 The list of maintainers of the package, as @code{maintainer} objects.
2603 @item @code{location} (default: source location of the @code{package} form)
2604 The source location of the package. It is useful to override this when
2605 inheriting from another package, in which case this field is not
2606 automatically corrected.
2611 @node origin Reference
2612 @subsection @code{origin} Reference
2614 This section summarizes all the options available in @code{origin}
2615 declarations (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
2617 @deftp {Data Type} origin
2618 This is the data type representing a source code origin.
2622 An object containing the URI of the source. The object type depends on
2623 the @code{method} (see below). For example, when using the
2624 @var{url-fetch} method of @code{(guix download)}, the valid @code{uri}
2625 values are: a URL represented as a string, or a list thereof.
2628 A procedure that handles the URI.
2633 @item @var{url-fetch} from @code{(guix download)}
2634 download a file from the HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP URL specified in the
2637 @item @var{git-fetch} from @code{(guix git-download)}
2638 clone the Git version control repository, and check out the revision
2639 specified in the @code{uri} field as a @code{git-reference} object; a
2640 @code{git-reference} looks like this:
2644 (url "git://git.debian.org/git/pkg-shadow/shadow")
2645 (commit "v4.1.5.1"))
2650 A bytevector containing the SHA-256 hash of the source. Typically the
2651 @code{base32} form is used here to generate the bytevector from a
2654 @item @code{file-name} (default: @code{#f})
2655 The file name under which the source code should be saved. When this is
2656 @code{#f}, a sensible default value will be used in most cases. In case
2657 the source is fetched from a URL, the file name from the URL will be
2658 used. For version control checkouts, it is recommended to provide the
2659 file name explicitly because the default is not very descriptive.
2661 @item @code{patches} (default: @code{'()})
2662 A list of file names containing patches to be applied to the source.
2664 @item @code{snippet} (default: @code{#f})
2665 A quoted piece of code that will be run in the source directory to make
2666 any modifications, which is sometimes more convenient than a patch.
2668 @item @code{patch-flags} (default: @code{'("-p1")})
2669 A list of command-line flags that should be passed to the @code{patch}
2672 @item @code{patch-inputs} (default: @code{#f})
2673 Input packages or derivations to the patching process. When this is
2674 @code{#f}, the usual set of inputs necessary for patching are provided,
2675 such as GNU@tie{}Patch.
2677 @item @code{modules} (default: @code{'()})
2678 A list of Guile modules that should be loaded during the patching
2679 process and while running the code in the @code{snippet} field.
2681 @item @code{imported-modules} (default: @code{'()})
2682 The list of Guile modules to import in the patch derivation, for use by
2685 @item @code{patch-guile} (default: @code{#f})
2686 The Guile package that should be used in the patching process. When
2687 this is @code{#f}, a sensible default is used.
2693 @section Build Systems
2695 @cindex build system
2696 Each package definition specifies a @dfn{build system} and arguments for
2697 that build system (@pxref{Defining Packages}). This @code{build-system}
2698 field represents the build procedure of the package, as well as implicit
2699 dependencies of that build procedure.
2701 Build systems are @code{<build-system>} objects. The interface to
2702 create and manipulate them is provided by the @code{(guix build-system)}
2703 module, and actual build systems are exported by specific modules.
2705 @cindex bag (low-level package representation)
2706 Under the hood, build systems first compile package objects to
2707 @dfn{bags}. A @dfn{bag} is like a package, but with less
2708 ornamentation---in other words, a bag is a lower-level representation of
2709 a package, which includes all the inputs of that package, including some
2710 that were implicitly added by the build system. This intermediate
2711 representation is then compiled to a derivation (@pxref{Derivations}).
2713 Build systems accept an optional list of @dfn{arguments}. In package
2714 definitions, these are passed @i{via} the @code{arguments} field
2715 (@pxref{Defining Packages}). They are typically keyword arguments
2716 (@pxref{Optional Arguments, keyword arguments in Guile,, guile, GNU
2717 Guile Reference Manual}). The value of these arguments is usually
2718 evaluated in the @dfn{build stratum}---i.e., by a Guile process launched
2719 by the daemon (@pxref{Derivations}).
2721 The main build system is @var{gnu-build-system}, which implements the
2722 standard build procedure for GNU and many other packages. It
2723 is provided by the @code{(guix build-system gnu)} module.
2725 @defvr {Scheme Variable} gnu-build-system
2726 @var{gnu-build-system} represents the GNU Build System, and variants
2727 thereof (@pxref{Configuration, configuration and makefile conventions,,
2728 standards, GNU Coding Standards}).
2730 @cindex build phases
2731 In a nutshell, packages using it are configured, built, and installed with
2732 the usual @code{./configure && make && make check && make install}
2733 command sequence. In practice, a few additional steps are often needed.
2734 All these steps are split up in separate @dfn{phases},
2735 notably@footnote{Please see the @code{(guix build gnu-build-system)}
2736 modules for more details about the build phases.}:
2740 Unpack the source tarball, and change the current directory to the
2741 extracted source tree. If the source is actually a directory, copy it
2742 to the build tree, and enter that directory.
2744 @item patch-source-shebangs
2745 Patch shebangs encountered in source files so they refer to the right
2746 store file names. For instance, this changes @code{#!/bin/sh} to
2747 @code{#!/gnu/store/@dots{}-bash-4.3/bin/sh}.
2750 Run the @file{configure} script with a number of default options, such
2751 as @code{--prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}}, as well as the options specified
2752 by the @code{#:configure-flags} argument.
2755 Run @code{make} with the list of flags specified with
2756 @code{#:make-flags}. If the @code{#:parallel-build?} argument is true
2757 (the default), build with @code{make -j}.
2760 Run @code{make check}, or some other target specified with
2761 @code{#:test-target}, unless @code{#:tests? #f} is passed. If the
2762 @code{#:parallel-tests?} argument is true (the default), run @code{make
2766 Run @code{make install} with the flags listed in @code{#:make-flags}.
2768 @item patch-shebangs
2769 Patch shebangs on the installed executable files.
2772 Strip debugging symbols from ELF files (unless @code{#:strip-binaries?}
2773 is false), copying them to the @code{debug} output when available
2774 (@pxref{Installing Debugging Files}).
2777 @vindex %standard-phases
2778 The build-side module @code{(guix build gnu-build-system)} defines
2779 @var{%standard-phases} as the default list of build phases.
2780 @var{%standard-phases} is a list of symbol/procedure pairs, where the
2781 procedure implements the actual phase.
2783 The list of phases used for a particular package can be changed with the
2784 @code{#:phases} parameter. For instance, passing:
2787 #:phases (modify-phases %standard-phases (delete 'configure))
2790 means that all the phases described above will be used, except the
2791 @code{configure} phase.
2793 In addition, this build system ensures that the ``standard'' environment
2794 for GNU packages is available. This includes tools such as GCC, libc,
2795 Coreutils, Bash, Make, Diffutils, grep, and sed (see the @code{(guix
2796 build-system gnu)} module for a complete list). We call these the
2797 @dfn{implicit inputs} of a package, because package definitions do not
2798 have to mention them.
2801 Other @code{<build-system>} objects are defined to support other
2802 conventions and tools used by free software packages. They inherit most
2803 of @var{gnu-build-system}, and differ mainly in the set of inputs
2804 implicitly added to the build process, and in the list of phases
2805 executed. Some of these build systems are listed below.
2807 @defvr {Scheme Variable} ant-build-system
2808 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system ant)}. It
2809 implements the build procedure for Java packages that can be built with
2810 @url{http://ant.apache.org/, Ant build tool}.
2812 It adds both @code{ant} and the @dfn{Java Development Kit} (JDK) as
2813 provided by the @code{icedtea} package to the set of inputs. Different
2814 packages can be specified with the @code{#:ant} and @code{#:jdk}
2815 parameters, respectively.
2817 When the original package does not provide a suitable Ant build file,
2818 the parameter @code{#:jar-name} can be used to generate a minimal Ant
2819 build file @file{build.xml} with tasks to build the specified jar
2822 The parameter @code{#:build-target} can be used to specify the Ant task
2823 that should be run during the @code{build} phase. By default the
2824 ``jar'' task will be run.
2828 @defvr {Scheme Variable} cmake-build-system
2829 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system cmake)}. It
2830 implements the build procedure for packages using the
2831 @url{http://www.cmake.org, CMake build tool}.
2833 It automatically adds the @code{cmake} package to the set of inputs.
2834 Which package is used can be specified with the @code{#:cmake}
2837 The @code{#:configure-flags} parameter is taken as a list of flags
2838 passed to the @command{cmake} command. The @code{#:build-type}
2839 parameter specifies in abstract terms the flags passed to the compiler;
2840 it defaults to @code{"RelWithDebInfo"} (short for ``release mode with
2841 debugging information''), which roughly means that code is compiled with
2842 @code{-O2 -g}, as is the case for Autoconf-based packages by default.
2845 @defvr {Scheme Variable} glib-or-gtk-build-system
2846 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system glib-or-gtk)}. It
2847 is intended for use with packages making use of GLib or GTK+.
2849 This build system adds the following two phases to the ones defined by
2850 @var{gnu-build-system}:
2853 @item glib-or-gtk-wrap
2854 The phase @code{glib-or-gtk-wrap} ensures that programs in
2855 @file{bin/} are able to find GLib ``schemas'' and
2856 @uref{https://developer.gnome.org/gtk3/stable/gtk-running.html, GTK+
2857 modules}. This is achieved by wrapping the programs in launch scripts
2858 that appropriately set the @code{XDG_DATA_DIRS} and @code{GTK_PATH}
2859 environment variables.
2861 It is possible to exclude specific package outputs from that wrapping
2862 process by listing their names in the
2863 @code{#:glib-or-gtk-wrap-excluded-outputs} parameter. This is useful
2864 when an output is known not to contain any GLib or GTK+ binaries, and
2865 where wrapping would gratuitously add a dependency of that output on
2868 @item glib-or-gtk-compile-schemas
2869 The phase @code{glib-or-gtk-compile-schemas} makes sure that all
2870 @uref{https://developer.gnome.org/gio/stable/glib-compile-schemas.html,
2871 GSettings schemas} of GLib are compiled. Compilation is performed by the
2872 @command{glib-compile-schemas} program. It is provided by the package
2873 @code{glib:bin} which is automatically imported by the build system.
2874 The @code{glib} package providing @command{glib-compile-schemas} can be
2875 specified with the @code{#:glib} parameter.
2878 Both phases are executed after the @code{install} phase.
2881 @defvr {Scheme Variable} python-build-system
2882 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system python)}. It
2883 implements the more or less standard build procedure used by Python
2884 packages, which consists in running @code{python setup.py build} and
2885 then @code{python setup.py install --prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}}.
2887 For packages that install stand-alone Python programs under @code{bin/},
2888 it takes care of wrapping these programs so that their @code{PYTHONPATH}
2889 environment variable points to all the Python libraries they depend on.
2891 Which Python package is used to perform the build can be specified with
2892 the @code{#:python} parameter. This is a useful way to force a package
2893 to be built for a specific version of the Python interpreter, which
2894 might be necessary if the package is only compatible with a single
2895 interpreter version.
2898 @defvr {Scheme Variable} perl-build-system
2899 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system perl)}. It
2900 implements the standard build procedure for Perl packages, which either
2901 consists in running @code{perl Build.PL --prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}},
2902 followed by @code{Build} and @code{Build install}; or in running
2903 @code{perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/gnu/store/@dots{}}, followed by
2904 @code{make} and @code{make install}, depending on which of
2905 @code{Build.PL} or @code{Makefile.PL} is present in the package
2906 distribution. Preference is given to the former if both @code{Build.PL}
2907 and @code{Makefile.PL} exist in the package distribution. This
2908 preference can be reversed by specifying @code{#t} for the
2909 @code{#:make-maker?} parameter.
2911 The initial @code{perl Makefile.PL} or @code{perl Build.PL} invocation
2912 passes flags specified by the @code{#:make-maker-flags} or
2913 @code{#:module-build-flags} parameter, respectively.
2915 Which Perl package is used can be specified with @code{#:perl}.
2918 @defvr {Scheme Variable} r-build-system
2919 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system r)}. It
2920 implements the build procedure used by @uref{http://r-project.org, R}
2921 packages, which essentially is little more than running @code{R CMD
2922 INSTALL --library=/gnu/store/@dots{}} in an environment where
2923 @code{R_LIBS_SITE} contains the paths to all R package inputs. Tests
2924 are run after installation using the R function
2925 @code{tools::testInstalledPackage}.
2928 @defvr {Scheme Variable} ruby-build-system
2929 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system ruby)}. It
2930 implements the RubyGems build procedure used by Ruby packages, which
2931 involves running @code{gem build} followed by @code{gem install}.
2933 The @code{source} field of a package that uses this build system
2934 typically references a gem archive, since this is the format that Ruby
2935 developers use when releasing their software. The build system unpacks
2936 the gem archive, potentially patches the source, runs the test suite,
2937 repackages the gem, and installs it. Additionally, directories and
2938 tarballs may be referenced to allow building unreleased gems from Git or
2939 a traditional source release tarball.
2941 Which Ruby package is used can be specified with the @code{#:ruby}
2942 parameter. A list of additional flags to be passed to the @command{gem}
2943 command can be specified with the @code{#:gem-flags} parameter.
2946 @defvr {Scheme Variable} waf-build-system
2947 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system waf)}. It
2948 implements a build procedure around the @code{waf} script. The common
2949 phases---@code{configure}, @code{build}, and @code{install}---are
2950 implemented by passing their names as arguments to the @code{waf}
2953 The @code{waf} script is executed by the Python interpreter. Which
2954 Python package is used to run the script can be specified with the
2955 @code{#:python} parameter.
2958 @defvr {Scheme Variable} haskell-build-system
2959 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system haskell)}. It
2960 implements the Cabal build procedure used by Haskell packages, which
2961 involves running @code{runhaskell Setup.hs configure
2962 --prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}} and @code{runhaskell Setup.hs build}.
2963 Instead of installing the package by running @code{runhaskell Setup.hs
2964 install}, to avoid trying to register libraries in the read-only
2965 compiler store directory, the build system uses @code{runhaskell
2966 Setup.hs copy}, followed by @code{runhaskell Setup.hs register}. In
2967 addition, the build system generates the package documentation by
2968 running @code{runhaskell Setup.hs haddock}, unless @code{#:haddock? #f}
2969 is passed. Optional Haddock parameters can be passed with the help of
2970 the @code{#:haddock-flags} parameter. If the file @code{Setup.hs} is
2971 not found, the build system looks for @code{Setup.lhs} instead.
2973 Which Haskell compiler is used can be specified with the @code{#:haskell}
2974 parameter which defaults to @code{ghc}.
2977 @defvr {Scheme Variable} emacs-build-system
2978 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system emacs)}. It
2979 implements an installation procedure similar to the packaging system
2980 of Emacs itself (@pxref{Packages,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
2982 It first creates the @code{@var{package}-autoloads.el} file, then it
2983 byte compiles all Emacs Lisp files. Differently from the Emacs
2984 packaging system, the Info documentation files are moved to the standard
2985 documentation directory and the @file{dir} file is deleted. Each
2986 package is installed in its own directory under
2987 @file{share/emacs/site-lisp/guix.d}.
2990 Lastly, for packages that do not need anything as sophisticated, a
2991 ``trivial'' build system is provided. It is trivial in the sense that
2992 it provides basically no support: it does not pull any implicit inputs,
2993 and does not have a notion of build phases.
2995 @defvr {Scheme Variable} trivial-build-system
2996 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system trivial)}.
2998 This build system requires a @code{#:builder} argument. This argument
2999 must be a Scheme expression that builds the package output(s)---as
3000 with @code{build-expression->derivation} (@pxref{Derivations,
3001 @code{build-expression->derivation}}).
3011 Conceptually, the @dfn{store} is the place where derivations that have
3012 been built successfully are stored---by default, @file{/gnu/store}.
3013 Sub-directories in the store are referred to as @dfn{store items} or
3014 sometimes @dfn{store paths}. The store has an associated database that
3015 contains information such as the store paths referred to by each store
3016 path, and the list of @emph{valid} store items---results of successful
3017 builds. This database resides in @file{@var{localstatedir}/guix/db},
3018 where @var{localstatedir} is the state directory specified @i{via}
3019 @option{--localstatedir} at configure time, usually @file{/var}.
3021 The store is @emph{always} accessed by the daemon on behalf of its clients
3022 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}). To manipulate the store, clients
3023 connect to the daemon over a Unix-domain socket, send requests to it,
3024 and read the result---these are remote procedure calls, or RPCs.
3027 Users must @emph{never} modify files under @file{/gnu/store} directly.
3028 This would lead to inconsistencies and break the immutability
3029 assumptions of Guix's functional model (@pxref{Introduction}).
3031 @xref{Invoking guix gc, @command{guix gc --verify}}, for information on
3032 how to check the integrity of the store and attempt recovery from
3033 accidental modifications.
3036 The @code{(guix store)} module provides procedures to connect to the
3037 daemon, and to perform RPCs. These are described below.
3039 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} open-connection [@var{file}] [#:reserve-space? #t]
3040 Connect to the daemon over the Unix-domain socket at @var{file}. When
3041 @var{reserve-space?} is true, instruct it to reserve a little bit of
3042 extra space on the file system so that the garbage collector can still
3043 operate should the disk become full. Return a server object.
3045 @var{file} defaults to @var{%default-socket-path}, which is the normal
3046 location given the options that were passed to @command{configure}.
3049 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} close-connection @var{server}
3050 Close the connection to @var{server}.
3053 @defvr {Scheme Variable} current-build-output-port
3054 This variable is bound to a SRFI-39 parameter, which refers to the port
3055 where build and error logs sent by the daemon should be written.
3058 Procedures that make RPCs all take a server object as their first
3061 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} valid-path? @var{server} @var{path}
3062 @cindex invalid store items
3063 Return @code{#t} when @var{path} designates a valid store item and
3064 @code{#f} otherwise (an invalid item may exist on disk but still be
3065 invalid, for instance because it is the result of an aborted or failed
3068 A @code{&nix-protocol-error} condition is raised if @var{path} is not
3069 prefixed by the store directory (@file{/gnu/store}).
3072 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} add-text-to-store @var{server} @var{name} @var{text} [@var{references}]
3073 Add @var{text} under file @var{name} in the store, and return its store
3074 path. @var{references} is the list of store paths referred to by the
3075 resulting store path.
3078 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} build-derivations @var{server} @var{derivations}
3079 Build @var{derivations} (a list of @code{<derivation>} objects or
3080 derivation paths), and return when the worker is done building them.
3081 Return @code{#t} on success.
3084 Note that the @code{(guix monads)} module provides a monad as well as
3085 monadic versions of the above procedures, with the goal of making it
3086 more convenient to work with code that accesses the store (@pxref{The
3090 @i{This section is currently incomplete.}
3093 @section Derivations
3096 Low-level build actions and the environment in which they are performed
3097 are represented by @dfn{derivations}. A derivation contains the
3098 following pieces of information:
3102 The outputs of the derivation---derivations produce at least one file or
3103 directory in the store, but may produce more.
3106 The inputs of the derivations, which may be other derivations or plain
3107 files in the store (patches, build scripts, etc.)
3110 The system type targeted by the derivation---e.g., @code{x86_64-linux}.
3113 The file name of a build script in the store, along with the arguments
3117 A list of environment variables to be defined.
3121 @cindex derivation path
3122 Derivations allow clients of the daemon to communicate build actions to
3123 the store. They exist in two forms: as an in-memory representation,
3124 both on the client- and daemon-side, and as files in the store whose
3125 name end in @code{.drv}---these files are referred to as @dfn{derivation
3126 paths}. Derivations paths can be passed to the @code{build-derivations}
3127 procedure to perform the build actions they prescribe (@pxref{The
3130 The @code{(guix derivations)} module provides a representation of
3131 derivations as Scheme objects, along with procedures to create and
3132 otherwise manipulate derivations. The lowest-level primitive to create
3133 a derivation is the @code{derivation} procedure:
3135 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} derivation @var{store} @var{name} @var{builder} @
3136 @var{args} [#:outputs '("out")] [#:hash #f] [#:hash-algo #f] @
3137 [#:recursive? #f] [#:inputs '()] [#:env-vars '()] @
3138 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:references-graphs #f] @
3139 [#:allowed-references #f] [#:disallowed-references #f] @
3140 [#:leaked-env-vars #f] [#:local-build? #f] @
3141 [#:substitutable? #t]
3142 Build a derivation with the given arguments, and return the resulting
3143 @code{<derivation>} object.
3145 When @var{hash} and @var{hash-algo} are given, a
3146 @dfn{fixed-output derivation} is created---i.e., one whose result is
3147 known in advance, such as a file download. If, in addition,
3148 @var{recursive?} is true, then that fixed output may be an executable
3149 file or a directory and @var{hash} must be the hash of an archive
3150 containing this output.
3152 When @var{references-graphs} is true, it must be a list of file
3153 name/store path pairs. In that case, the reference graph of each store
3154 path is exported in the build environment in the corresponding file, in
3155 a simple text format.
3157 When @var{allowed-references} is true, it must be a list of store items
3158 or outputs that the derivation's output may refer to. Likewise,
3159 @var{disallowed-references}, if true, must be a list of things the
3160 outputs may @emph{not} refer to.
3162 When @var{leaked-env-vars} is true, it must be a list of strings
3163 denoting environment variables that are allowed to ``leak'' from the
3164 daemon's environment to the build environment. This is only applicable
3165 to fixed-output derivations---i.e., when @var{hash} is true. The main
3166 use is to allow variables such as @code{http_proxy} to be passed to
3167 derivations that download files.
3169 When @var{local-build?} is true, declare that the derivation is not a
3170 good candidate for offloading and should rather be built locally
3171 (@pxref{Daemon Offload Setup}). This is the case for small derivations
3172 where the costs of data transfers would outweigh the benefits.
3174 When @var{substitutable?} is false, declare that substitutes of the
3175 derivation's output should not be used (@pxref{Substitutes}). This is
3176 useful, for instance, when building packages that capture details of the
3177 host CPU instruction set.
3181 Here's an example with a shell script as its builder, assuming
3182 @var{store} is an open connection to the daemon, and @var{bash} points
3183 to a Bash executable in the store:
3186 (use-modules (guix utils)
3190 (let ((builder ; add the Bash script to the store
3191 (add-text-to-store store "my-builder.sh"
3192 "echo hello world > $out\n" '())))
3193 (derivation store "foo"
3194 bash `("-e" ,builder)
3195 #:inputs `((,bash) (,builder))
3196 #:env-vars '(("HOME" . "/homeless"))))
3197 @result{} #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-foo.drv => /gnu/store/@dots{}-foo>
3200 As can be guessed, this primitive is cumbersome to use directly. A
3201 better approach is to write build scripts in Scheme, of course! The
3202 best course of action for that is to write the build code as a
3203 ``G-expression'', and to pass it to @code{gexp->derivation}. For more
3204 information, @pxref{G-Expressions}.
3206 Once upon a time, @code{gexp->derivation} did not exist and constructing
3207 derivations with build code written in Scheme was achieved with
3208 @code{build-expression->derivation}, documented below. This procedure
3209 is now deprecated in favor of the much nicer @code{gexp->derivation}.
3211 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} build-expression->derivation @var{store} @
3212 @var{name} @var{exp} @
3213 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:inputs '()] @
3214 [#:outputs '("out")] [#:hash #f] [#:hash-algo #f] @
3215 [#:recursive? #f] [#:env-vars '()] [#:modules '()] @
3216 [#:references-graphs #f] [#:allowed-references #f] @
3217 [#:disallowed-references #f] @
3218 [#:local-build? #f] [#:substitutable? #t] [#:guile-for-build #f]
3219 Return a derivation that executes Scheme expression @var{exp} as a
3220 builder for derivation @var{name}. @var{inputs} must be a list of
3221 @code{(name drv-path sub-drv)} tuples; when @var{sub-drv} is omitted,
3222 @code{"out"} is assumed. @var{modules} is a list of names of Guile
3223 modules from the current search path to be copied in the store,
3224 compiled, and made available in the load path during the execution of
3225 @var{exp}---e.g., @code{((guix build utils) (guix build
3226 gnu-build-system))}.
3228 @var{exp} is evaluated in an environment where @code{%outputs} is bound
3229 to a list of output/path pairs, and where @code{%build-inputs} is bound
3230 to a list of string/output-path pairs made from @var{inputs}.
3231 Optionally, @var{env-vars} is a list of string pairs specifying the name
3232 and value of environment variables visible to the builder. The builder
3233 terminates by passing the result of @var{exp} to @code{exit}; thus, when
3234 @var{exp} returns @code{#f}, the build is considered to have failed.
3236 @var{exp} is built using @var{guile-for-build} (a derivation). When
3237 @var{guile-for-build} is omitted or is @code{#f}, the value of the
3238 @code{%guile-for-build} fluid is used instead.
3240 See the @code{derivation} procedure for the meaning of
3241 @var{references-graphs}, @var{allowed-references},
3242 @var{disallowed-references}, @var{local-build?}, and
3243 @var{substitutable?}.
3247 Here's an example of a single-output derivation that creates a directory
3248 containing one file:
3251 (let ((builder '(let ((out (assoc-ref %outputs "out")))
3252 (mkdir out) ; create /gnu/store/@dots{}-goo
3253 (call-with-output-file (string-append out "/test")
3255 (display '(hello guix) p))))))
3256 (build-expression->derivation store "goo" builder))
3258 @result{} #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-goo.drv => @dots{}>
3262 @node The Store Monad
3263 @section The Store Monad
3267 The procedures that operate on the store described in the previous
3268 sections all take an open connection to the build daemon as their first
3269 argument. Although the underlying model is functional, they either have
3270 side effects or depend on the current state of the store.
3272 The former is inconvenient: the connection to the build daemon has to be
3273 carried around in all those functions, making it impossible to compose
3274 functions that do not take that parameter with functions that do. The
3275 latter can be problematic: since store operations have side effects
3276 and/or depend on external state, they have to be properly sequenced.
3278 @cindex monadic values
3279 @cindex monadic functions
3280 This is where the @code{(guix monads)} module comes in. This module
3281 provides a framework for working with @dfn{monads}, and a particularly
3282 useful monad for our uses, the @dfn{store monad}. Monads are a
3283 construct that allows two things: associating ``context'' with values
3284 (in our case, the context is the store), and building sequences of
3285 computations (here computations include accesses to the store). Values
3286 in a monad---values that carry this additional context---are called
3287 @dfn{monadic values}; procedures that return such values are called
3288 @dfn{monadic procedures}.
3290 Consider this ``normal'' procedure:
3293 (define (sh-symlink store)
3294 ;; Return a derivation that symlinks the 'bash' executable.
3295 (let* ((drv (package-derivation store bash))
3296 (out (derivation->output-path drv))
3297 (sh (string-append out "/bin/bash")))
3298 (build-expression->derivation store "sh"
3299 `(symlink ,sh %output))))
3302 Using @code{(guix monads)} and @code{(guix gexp)}, it may be rewritten
3303 as a monadic function:
3306 (define (sh-symlink)
3307 ;; Same, but return a monadic value.
3308 (mlet %store-monad ((drv (package->derivation bash)))
3309 (gexp->derivation "sh"
3310 #~(symlink (string-append #$drv "/bin/bash")
3314 There are several things to note in the second version: the @code{store}
3315 parameter is now implicit and is ``threaded'' in the calls to the
3316 @code{package->derivation} and @code{gexp->derivation} monadic
3317 procedures, and the monadic value returned by @code{package->derivation}
3318 is @dfn{bound} using @code{mlet} instead of plain @code{let}.
3320 As it turns out, the call to @code{package->derivation} can even be
3321 omitted since it will take place implicitly, as we will see later
3322 (@pxref{G-Expressions}):
3325 (define (sh-symlink)
3326 (gexp->derivation "sh"
3327 #~(symlink (string-append #$bash "/bin/bash")
3332 @c <https://syntaxexclamation.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/escaping-continuations/>
3333 @c for the funny quote.
3334 Calling the monadic @code{sh-symlink} has no effect. As someone once
3335 said, ``you exit a monad like you exit a building on fire: by running''.
3336 So, to exit the monad and get the desired effect, one must use
3337 @code{run-with-store}:
3340 (run-with-store (open-connection) (sh-symlink))
3341 @result{} /gnu/store/...-sh-symlink
3344 Note that the @code{(guix monad-repl)} module extends the Guile REPL with
3345 new ``meta-commands'' to make it easier to deal with monadic procedures:
3346 @code{run-in-store}, and @code{enter-store-monad}. The former is used
3347 to ``run'' a single monadic value through the store:
3350 scheme@@(guile-user)> ,run-in-store (package->derivation hello)
3351 $1 = #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-hello-2.9.drv => @dots{}>
3354 The latter enters a recursive REPL, where all the return values are
3355 automatically run through the store:
3358 scheme@@(guile-user)> ,enter-store-monad
3359 store-monad@@(guile-user) [1]> (package->derivation hello)
3360 $2 = #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-hello-2.9.drv => @dots{}>
3361 store-monad@@(guile-user) [1]> (text-file "foo" "Hello!")
3362 $3 = "/gnu/store/@dots{}-foo"
3363 store-monad@@(guile-user) [1]> ,q
3364 scheme@@(guile-user)>
3368 Note that non-monadic values cannot be returned in the
3369 @code{store-monad} REPL.
3371 The main syntactic forms to deal with monads in general are provided by
3372 the @code{(guix monads)} module and are described below.
3374 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} with-monad @var{monad} @var{body} ...
3375 Evaluate any @code{>>=} or @code{return} forms in @var{body} as being
3379 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} return @var{val}
3380 Return a monadic value that encapsulates @var{val}.
3383 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} >>= @var{mval} @var{mproc} ...
3384 @dfn{Bind} monadic value @var{mval}, passing its ``contents'' to monadic
3385 procedures @var{mproc}@dots{}@footnote{This operation is commonly
3386 referred to as ``bind'', but that name denotes an unrelated procedure in
3387 Guile. Thus we use this somewhat cryptic symbol inherited from the
3388 Haskell language.}. There can be one @var{mproc} or several of them, as
3393 (with-monad %state-monad
3395 (lambda (x) (return (+ 1 x)))
3396 (lambda (x) (return (* 2 x)))))
3400 @result{} some-state
3404 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} mlet @var{monad} ((@var{var} @var{mval}) ...) @
3406 @deffnx {Scheme Syntax} mlet* @var{monad} ((@var{var} @var{mval}) ...) @
3408 Bind the variables @var{var} to the monadic values @var{mval} in
3409 @var{body}. The form (@var{var} -> @var{val}) binds @var{var} to the
3410 ``normal'' value @var{val}, as per @code{let}.
3412 @code{mlet*} is to @code{mlet} what @code{let*} is to @code{let}
3413 (@pxref{Local Bindings,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}).
3416 @deffn {Scheme System} mbegin @var{monad} @var{mexp} ...
3417 Bind @var{mexp} and the following monadic expressions in sequence,
3418 returning the result of the last expression.
3420 This is akin to @code{mlet}, except that the return values of the
3421 monadic expressions are ignored. In that sense, it is analogous to
3422 @code{begin}, but applied to monadic expressions.
3426 The @code{(guix monads)} module provides the @dfn{state monad}, which
3427 allows an additional value---the state---to be @emph{threaded} through
3428 monadic procedure calls.
3430 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %state-monad
3431 The state monad. Procedures in the state monad can access and change
3432 the state that is threaded.
3434 Consider the example below. The @code{square} procedure returns a value
3435 in the state monad. It returns the square of its argument, but also
3436 increments the current state value:
3440 (mlet %state-monad ((count (current-state)))
3441 (mbegin %state-monad
3442 (set-current-state (+ 1 count))
3445 (run-with-state (sequence %state-monad (map square (iota 3))) 0)
3450 When ``run'' through @var{%state-monad}, we obtain that additional state
3451 value, which is the number of @code{square} calls.
3454 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} current-state
3455 Return the current state as a monadic value.
3458 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} set-current-state @var{value}
3459 Set the current state to @var{value} and return the previous state as a
3463 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} state-push @var{value}
3464 Push @var{value} to the current state, which is assumed to be a list,
3465 and return the previous state as a monadic value.
3468 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} state-pop
3469 Pop a value from the current state and return it as a monadic value.
3470 The state is assumed to be a list.
3473 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} run-with-state @var{mval} [@var{state}]
3474 Run monadic value @var{mval} starting with @var{state} as the initial
3475 state. Return two values: the resulting value, and the resulting state.
3478 The main interface to the store monad, provided by the @code{(guix
3479 store)} module, is as follows.
3481 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %store-monad
3482 The store monad---an alias for @var{%state-monad}.
3484 Values in the store monad encapsulate accesses to the store. When its
3485 effect is needed, a value of the store monad must be ``evaluated'' by
3486 passing it to the @code{run-with-store} procedure (see below.)
3489 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} run-with-store @var{store} @var{mval} [#:guile-for-build] [#:system (%current-system)]
3490 Run @var{mval}, a monadic value in the store monad, in @var{store}, an
3491 open store connection.
3494 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} text-file @var{name} @var{text} [@var{references}]
3495 Return as a monadic value the absolute file name in the store of the file
3496 containing @var{text}, a string. @var{references} is a list of store items that the
3497 resulting text file refers to; it defaults to the empty list.
3500 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} interned-file @var{file} [@var{name}] @
3502 Return the name of @var{file} once interned in the store. Use
3503 @var{name} as its store name, or the basename of @var{file} if
3504 @var{name} is omitted.
3506 When @var{recursive?} is true, the contents of @var{file} are added
3507 recursively; if @var{file} designates a flat file and @var{recursive?}
3508 is true, its contents are added, and its permission bits are kept.
3510 The example below adds a file to the store, under two different names:
3513 (run-with-store (open-connection)
3514 (mlet %store-monad ((a (interned-file "README"))
3515 (b (interned-file "README" "LEGU-MIN")))
3516 (return (list a b))))
3518 @result{} ("/gnu/store/rwm@dots{}-README" "/gnu/store/44i@dots{}-LEGU-MIN")
3523 The @code{(guix packages)} module exports the following package-related
3526 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} package-file @var{package} [@var{file}] @
3527 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:target #f] @
3530 value in the absolute file name of @var{file} within the @var{output}
3531 directory of @var{package}. When @var{file} is omitted, return the name
3532 of the @var{output} directory of @var{package}. When @var{target} is
3533 true, use it as a cross-compilation target triplet.
3536 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} package->derivation @var{package} [@var{system}]
3537 @deffnx {Monadic Procedure} package->cross-derivation @var{package} @
3538 @var{target} [@var{system}]
3539 Monadic version of @code{package-derivation} and
3540 @code{package-cross-derivation} (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
3545 @section G-Expressions
3547 @cindex G-expression
3548 @cindex build code quoting
3549 So we have ``derivations'', which represent a sequence of build actions
3550 to be performed to produce an item in the store (@pxref{Derivations}).
3551 These build actions are performed when asking the daemon to actually
3552 build the derivations; they are run by the daemon in a container
3553 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}).
3555 @cindex strata of code
3556 It should come as no surprise that we like to write these build actions
3557 in Scheme. When we do that, we end up with two @dfn{strata} of Scheme
3558 code@footnote{The term @dfn{stratum} in this context was coined by
3559 Manuel Serrano et al.@: in the context of their work on Hop. Oleg
3560 Kiselyov, who has written insightful
3561 @url{http://okmij.org/ftp/meta-programming/#meta-scheme, essays and code
3562 on this topic}, refers to this kind of code generation as
3563 @dfn{staging}.}: the ``host code''---code that defines packages, talks
3564 to the daemon, etc.---and the ``build code''---code that actually
3565 performs build actions, such as making directories, invoking
3566 @command{make}, etc.
3568 To describe a derivation and its build actions, one typically needs to
3569 embed build code inside host code. It boils down to manipulating build
3570 code as data, and the homoiconicity of Scheme---code has a direct
3571 representation as data---comes in handy for that. But we need more than
3572 the normal @code{quasiquote} mechanism in Scheme to construct build
3575 The @code{(guix gexp)} module implements @dfn{G-expressions}, a form of
3576 S-expressions adapted to build expressions. G-expressions, or
3577 @dfn{gexps}, consist essentially of three syntactic forms: @code{gexp},
3578 @code{ungexp}, and @code{ungexp-splicing} (or simply: @code{#~},
3579 @code{#$}, and @code{#$@@}), which are comparable to
3580 @code{quasiquote}, @code{unquote}, and @code{unquote-splicing},
3581 respectively (@pxref{Expression Syntax, @code{quasiquote},, guile,
3582 GNU Guile Reference Manual}). However, there are major differences:
3586 Gexps are meant to be written to a file and run or manipulated by other
3590 When a high-level object such as a package or derivation is unquoted
3591 inside a gexp, the result is as if its output file name had been
3595 Gexps carry information about the packages or derivations they refer to,
3596 and these dependencies are automatically added as inputs to the build
3597 processes that use them.
3600 @cindex lowering, of high-level objects in gexps
3601 This mechanism is not limited to package and derivation
3602 objects: @dfn{compilers} able to ``lower'' other high-level objects to
3603 derivations or files in the store can be defined,
3604 such that these objects can also be inserted
3605 into gexps. For example, a useful type of high-level objects that can be
3606 inserted in a gexp is ``file-like objects'', which make it easy to
3607 add files to the store and to refer to them in
3608 derivations and such (see @code{local-file} and @code{plain-file}
3611 To illustrate the idea, here is an example of a gexp:
3618 (symlink (string-append #$coreutils "/bin/ls")
3622 This gexp can be passed to @code{gexp->derivation}; we obtain a
3623 derivation that builds a directory containing exactly one symlink to
3624 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22/bin/ls}:
3627 (gexp->derivation "the-thing" build-exp)
3630 As one would expect, the @code{"/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22"} string is
3631 substituted to the reference to the @var{coreutils} package in the
3632 actual build code, and @var{coreutils} is automatically made an input to
3633 the derivation. Likewise, @code{#$output} (equivalent to @code{(ungexp
3634 output)}) is replaced by a string containing the directory name of the
3635 output of the derivation.
3637 @cindex cross compilation
3638 In a cross-compilation context, it is useful to distinguish between
3639 references to the @emph{native} build of a package---that can run on the
3640 host---versus references to cross builds of a package. To that end, the
3641 @code{#+} plays the same role as @code{#$}, but is a reference to a
3642 native package build:
3645 (gexp->derivation "vi"
3648 (system* (string-append #+coreutils "/bin/ln")
3650 (string-append #$emacs "/bin/emacs")
3651 (string-append #$output "/bin/vi")))
3652 #:target "mips64el-linux")
3656 In the example above, the native build of @var{coreutils} is used, so
3657 that @command{ln} can actually run on the host; but then the
3658 cross-compiled build of @var{emacs} is referenced.
3660 The syntactic form to construct gexps is summarized below.
3662 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} #~@var{exp}
3663 @deffnx {Scheme Syntax} (gexp @var{exp})
3664 Return a G-expression containing @var{exp}. @var{exp} may contain one
3665 or more of the following forms:
3669 @itemx (ungexp @var{obj})
3670 Introduce a reference to @var{obj}. @var{obj} may have one of the
3671 supported types, for example a package or a
3672 derivation, in which case the @code{ungexp} form is replaced by its
3673 output file name---e.g., @code{"/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22}.
3675 If @var{obj} is a list, it is traversed and references to supported
3676 objects are substituted similarly.
3678 If @var{obj} is another gexp, its contents are inserted and its
3679 dependencies are added to those of the containing gexp.
3681 If @var{obj} is another kind of object, it is inserted as is.
3683 @item #$@var{obj}:@var{output}
3684 @itemx (ungexp @var{obj} @var{output})
3685 This is like the form above, but referring explicitly to the
3686 @var{output} of @var{obj}---this is useful when @var{obj} produces
3687 multiple outputs (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}).
3690 @itemx #+@var{obj}:output
3691 @itemx (ungexp-native @var{obj})
3692 @itemx (ungexp-native @var{obj} @var{output})
3693 Same as @code{ungexp}, but produces a reference to the @emph{native}
3694 build of @var{obj} when used in a cross compilation context.
3696 @item #$output[:@var{output}]
3697 @itemx (ungexp output [@var{output}])
3698 Insert a reference to derivation output @var{output}, or to the main
3699 output when @var{output} is omitted.
3701 This only makes sense for gexps passed to @code{gexp->derivation}.
3704 @itemx (ungexp-splicing @var{lst})
3705 Like the above, but splices the contents of @var{lst} inside the
3709 @itemx (ungexp-native-splicing @var{lst})
3710 Like the above, but refers to native builds of the objects listed in
3715 G-expressions created by @code{gexp} or @code{#~} are run-time objects
3716 of the @code{gexp?} type (see below.)
3719 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} gexp? @var{obj}
3720 Return @code{#t} if @var{obj} is a G-expression.
3723 G-expressions are meant to be written to disk, either as code building
3724 some derivation, or as plain files in the store. The monadic procedures
3725 below allow you to do that (@pxref{The Store Monad}, for more
3726 information about monads.)
3728 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} gexp->derivation @var{name} @var{exp} @
3729 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:target #f] [#:graft? #t] @
3730 [#:hash #f] [#:hash-algo #f] @
3731 [#:recursive? #f] [#:env-vars '()] [#:modules '()] @
3732 [#:module-path @var{%load-path}] @
3733 [#:references-graphs #f] [#:allowed-references #f] @
3734 [#:disallowed-references #f] @
3735 [#:leaked-env-vars #f] @
3736 [#:script-name (string-append @var{name} "-builder")] @
3737 [#:local-build? #f] [#:substitutable? #t] [#:guile-for-build #f]
3738 Return a derivation @var{name} that runs @var{exp} (a gexp) with
3739 @var{guile-for-build} (a derivation) on @var{system}; @var{exp} is
3740 stored in a file called @var{script-name}. When @var{target} is true,
3741 it is used as the cross-compilation target triplet for packages referred
3744 Make @var{modules} available in the evaluation context of @var{exp};
3745 @var{modules} is a list of names of Guile modules searched in
3746 @var{module-path} to be copied in the store, compiled, and made available in
3747 the load path during the execution of @var{exp}---e.g., @code{((guix
3748 build utils) (guix build gnu-build-system))}.
3750 @var{graft?} determines whether packages referred to by @var{exp} should be grafted when
3753 When @var{references-graphs} is true, it must be a list of tuples of one of the
3757 (@var{file-name} @var{package})
3758 (@var{file-name} @var{package} @var{output})
3759 (@var{file-name} @var{derivation})
3760 (@var{file-name} @var{derivation} @var{output})
3761 (@var{file-name} @var{store-item})
3764 The right-hand-side of each element of @var{references-graphs} is automatically made
3765 an input of the build process of @var{exp}. In the build environment, each
3766 @var{file-name} contains the reference graph of the corresponding item, in a simple
3769 @var{allowed-references} must be either @code{#f} or a list of output names and packages.
3770 In the latter case, the list denotes store items that the result is allowed to
3771 refer to. Any reference to another store item will lead to a build error.
3772 Similarly for @var{disallowed-references}, which can list items that must not be
3773 referenced by the outputs.
3775 The other arguments are as for @code{derivation} (@pxref{Derivations}).
3778 @cindex file-like objects
3779 The @code{local-file}, @code{plain-file}, @code{computed-file},
3780 @code{program-file}, and @code{scheme-file} procedures below return
3781 @dfn{file-like objects}. That is, when unquoted in a G-expression,
3782 these objects lead to a file in the store. Consider this G-expression:
3785 #~(system* (string-append #$glibc "/sbin/nscd") "-f"
3786 #$(local-file "/tmp/my-nscd.conf"))
3789 The effect here is to ``intern'' @file{/tmp/my-nscd.conf} by copying it
3790 to the store. Once expanded, for instance @i{via}
3791 @code{gexp->derivation}, the G-expression refers to that copy under
3792 @file{/gnu/store}; thus, modifying or removing the file in @file{/tmp}
3793 does not have any effect on what the G-expression does.
3794 @code{plain-file} can be used similarly; it differs in that the file
3795 content is directly passed as a string.
3797 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} local-file @var{file} [@var{name}] @
3799 Return an object representing local file @var{file} to add to the store; this
3800 object can be used in a gexp. If @var{file} is a relative file name, it is looked
3801 up relative to the source file where this form appears. @var{file} will be added to
3802 the store under @var{name}--by default the base name of @var{file}.
3804 When @var{recursive?} is true, the contents of @var{file} are added recursively; if @var{file}
3805 designates a flat file and @var{recursive?} is true, its contents are added, and its
3806 permission bits are kept.
3808 This is the declarative counterpart of the @code{interned-file} monadic
3809 procedure (@pxref{The Store Monad, @code{interned-file}}).
3812 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} plain-file @var{name} @var{content}
3813 Return an object representing a text file called @var{name} with the given
3814 @var{content} (a string) to be added to the store.
3816 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{text-file}.
3819 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} computed-file @var{name} @var{gexp} @
3820 [#:modules '()] [#:options '(#:local-build? #t)]
3821 Return an object representing the store item @var{name}, a file or
3822 directory computed by @var{gexp}. @var{modules} specifies the set of
3823 modules visible in the execution context of @var{gexp}. @var{options}
3824 is a list of additional arguments to pass to @code{gexp->derivation}.
3826 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{gexp->derivation}.
3829 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} gexp->script @var{name} @var{exp}
3830 Return an executable script @var{name} that runs @var{exp} using
3831 @var{guile} with @var{modules} in its search path.
3833 The example below builds a script that simply invokes the @command{ls}
3837 (use-modules (guix gexp) (gnu packages base))
3839 (gexp->script "list-files"
3840 #~(execl (string-append #$coreutils "/bin/ls")
3844 When ``running'' it through the store (@pxref{The Store Monad,
3845 @code{run-with-store}}), we obtain a derivation that produces an
3846 executable file @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-list-files} along these lines:
3849 #!/gnu/store/@dots{}-guile-2.0.11/bin/guile -ds
3851 (execl (string-append "/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22"/bin/ls")
3856 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} program-file @var{name} @var{exp} @
3857 [#:modules '()] [#:guile #f]
3858 Return an object representing the executable store item @var{name} that
3859 runs @var{gexp}. @var{guile} is the Guile package used to execute that
3860 script, and @var{modules} is the list of modules visible to that script.
3862 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{gexp->script}.
3865 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} gexp->file @var{name} @var{exp}
3866 Return a derivation that builds a file @var{name} containing @var{exp}.
3868 The resulting file holds references to all the dependencies of @var{exp}
3869 or a subset thereof.
3872 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} scheme-file @var{name} @var{exp}
3873 Return an object representing the Scheme file @var{name} that contains
3876 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{gexp->file}.
3879 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} text-file* @var{name} @var{text} @dots{}
3880 Return as a monadic value a derivation that builds a text file
3881 containing all of @var{text}. @var{text} may list, in addition to
3882 strings, objects of any type that can be used in a gexp: packages,
3883 derivations, local file objects, etc. The resulting store file holds
3884 references to all these.
3886 This variant should be preferred over @code{text-file} anytime the file
3887 to create will reference items from the store. This is typically the
3888 case when building a configuration file that embeds store file names,
3892 (define (profile.sh)
3893 ;; Return the name of a shell script in the store that
3894 ;; initializes the 'PATH' environment variable.
3895 (text-file* "profile.sh"
3896 "export PATH=" coreutils "/bin:"
3897 grep "/bin:" sed "/bin\n"))
3900 In this example, the resulting @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-profile.sh} file
3901 will references @var{coreutils}, @var{grep}, and @var{sed}, thereby
3902 preventing them from being garbage-collected during its lifetime.
3905 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} mixed-text-file @var{name} @var{text} @dots{}
3906 Return an object representing store file @var{name} containing
3907 @var{text}. @var{text} is a sequence of strings and file-like objects,
3911 (mixed-text-file "profile"
3912 "export PATH=" coreutils "/bin:" grep "/bin")
3915 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{text-file*}.
3918 Of course, in addition to gexps embedded in ``host'' code, there are
3919 also modules containing build tools. To make it clear that they are
3920 meant to be used in the build stratum, these modules are kept in the
3921 @code{(guix build @dots{})} name space.
3923 @cindex lowering, of high-level objects in gexps
3924 Internally, high-level objects are @dfn{lowered}, using their compiler,
3925 to either derivations or store items. For instance, lowering a package
3926 yields a derivation, and lowering a @code{plain-file} yields a store
3927 item. This is achieved using the @code{lower-object} monadic procedure.
3929 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} lower-object @var{obj} [@var{system}] @
3931 Return as a value in @var{%store-monad} the derivation or store item
3932 corresponding to @var{obj} for @var{system}, cross-compiling for
3933 @var{target} if @var{target} is true. @var{obj} must be an object that
3934 has an associated gexp compiler, such as a @code{<package>}.
3938 @c *********************************************************************
3942 This section describes Guix command-line utilities. Some of them are
3943 primarily targeted at developers and users who write new package
3944 definitions, while others are more generally useful. They complement
3945 the Scheme programming interface of Guix in a convenient way.
3948 * Invoking guix build:: Building packages from the command line.
3949 * Invoking guix edit:: Editing package definitions.
3950 * Invoking guix download:: Downloading a file and printing its hash.
3951 * Invoking guix hash:: Computing the cryptographic hash of a file.
3952 * Invoking guix import:: Importing package definitions.
3953 * Invoking guix refresh:: Updating package definitions.
3954 * Invoking guix lint:: Finding errors in package definitions.
3955 * Invoking guix size:: Profiling disk usage.
3956 * Invoking guix graph:: Visualizing the graph of packages.
3957 * Invoking guix environment:: Setting up development environments.
3958 * Invoking guix publish:: Sharing substitutes.
3959 * Invoking guix challenge:: Challenging substitute servers.
3960 * Invoking guix container:: Process isolation.
3963 @node Invoking guix build
3964 @section Invoking @command{guix build}
3966 The @command{guix build} command builds packages or derivations and
3967 their dependencies, and prints the resulting store paths. Note that it
3968 does not modify the user's profile---this is the job of the
3969 @command{guix package} command (@pxref{Invoking guix package}). Thus,
3970 it is mainly useful for distribution developers.
3972 The general syntax is:
3975 guix build @var{options} @var{package-or-derivation}@dots{}
3978 As an example, the following command builds the latest versions of Emacs
3979 and of Guile, displays their build logs, and finally displays the
3980 resulting directories:
3983 guix build emacs guile
3986 Similarly, the following command builds all the available packages:
3989 guix build --quiet --keep-going \
3990 `guix package -A | cut -f1,2 --output-delimiter=@@`
3993 @var{package-or-derivation} may be either the name of a package found in
3994 the software distribution such as @code{coreutils} or
3995 @code{coreutils-8.20}, or a derivation such as
3996 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.19.drv}. In the former case, a
3997 package with the corresponding name (and optionally version) is searched
3998 for among the GNU distribution modules (@pxref{Package Modules}).
4000 Alternatively, the @code{--expression} option may be used to specify a
4001 Scheme expression that evaluates to a package; this is useful when
4002 disambiguation among several same-named packages or package variants is
4005 There may be zero or more @var{options}. The available options are
4006 described in the subsections below.
4009 * Common Build Options:: Build options for most commands.
4010 * Package Transformation Options:: Creating variants of packages.
4011 * Additional Build Options:: Options specific to 'guix build'.
4014 @node Common Build Options
4015 @subsection Common Build Options
4017 A number of options that control the build process are common to
4018 @command{guix build} and other commands that can spawn builds, such as
4019 @command{guix package} or @command{guix archive}. These are the
4024 @item --load-path=@var{directory}
4025 @itemx -L @var{directory}
4026 Add @var{directory} to the front of the package module search path
4027 (@pxref{Package Modules}).
4029 This allows users to define their own packages and make them visible to
4030 the command-line tools.
4034 Keep the build tree of failed builds. Thus, if a build fail, its build
4035 tree is kept under @file{/tmp}, in a directory whose name is shown at
4036 the end of the build log. This is useful when debugging build issues.
4040 Keep going when some of the derivations fail to build; return only once
4041 all the builds have either completed or failed.
4043 The default behavior is to stop as soon as one of the specified
4044 derivations has failed.
4048 Do not build the derivations.
4051 When substituting a pre-built binary fails, fall back to building
4054 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
4055 @anchor{client-substitute-urls}
4056 Consider @var{urls} the whitespace-separated list of substitute source
4057 URLs, overriding the default list of URLs of @command{guix-daemon}
4058 (@pxref{daemon-substitute-urls,, @command{guix-daemon} URLs}).
4060 This means that substitutes may be downloaded from @var{urls}, provided
4061 they are signed by a key authorized by the system administrator
4062 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
4064 When @var{urls} is the empty string, substitutes are effectively
4067 @item --no-substitutes
4068 Do not use substitutes for build products. That is, always build things
4069 locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries
4070 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
4073 Do not ``graft'' packages. In practice, this means that package updates
4074 available as grafts are not applied. @xref{Security Updates}, for more
4075 information on grafts.
4077 @item --rounds=@var{n}
4078 Build each derivation @var{n} times in a row, and raise an error if
4079 consecutive build results are not bit-for-bit identical.
4081 This is a useful way to detect non-deterministic builds processes.
4082 Non-deterministic build processes are a problem because they make it
4083 practically impossible for users to @emph{verify} whether third-party
4084 binaries are genuine. @xref{Invoking guix challenge}, for more.
4086 Note that, currently, the differing build results are not kept around,
4087 so you will have to manually investigate in case of an error---e.g., by
4088 stashing one of the build results with @code{guix archive --export}
4089 (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}), then rebuilding, and finally comparing
4092 @item --no-build-hook
4093 Do not attempt to offload builds @i{via} the ``build hook'' of the daemon
4094 (@pxref{Daemon Offload Setup}). That is, always build things locally
4095 instead of offloading builds to remote machines.
4097 @item --max-silent-time=@var{seconds}
4098 When the build or substitution process remains silent for more than
4099 @var{seconds}, terminate it and report a build failure.
4101 @item --timeout=@var{seconds}
4102 Likewise, when the build or substitution process lasts for more than
4103 @var{seconds}, terminate it and report a build failure.
4105 By default there is no timeout. This behavior can be restored with
4108 @item --verbosity=@var{level}
4109 Use the given verbosity level. @var{level} must be an integer between 0
4110 and 5; higher means more verbose output. Setting a level of 4 or more
4111 may be helpful when debugging setup issues with the build daemon.
4113 @item --cores=@var{n}
4115 Allow the use of up to @var{n} CPU cores for the build. The special
4116 value @code{0} means to use as many CPU cores as available.
4118 @item --max-jobs=@var{n}
4120 Allow at most @var{n} build jobs in parallel. @xref{Invoking
4121 guix-daemon, @code{--max-jobs}}, for details about this option and the
4122 equivalent @command{guix-daemon} option.
4126 Behind the scenes, @command{guix build} is essentially an interface to
4127 the @code{package-derivation} procedure of the @code{(guix packages)}
4128 module, and to the @code{build-derivations} procedure of the @code{(guix
4129 derivations)} module.
4131 In addition to options explicitly passed on the command line,
4132 @command{guix build} and other @command{guix} commands that support
4133 building honor the @code{GUIX_BUILD_OPTIONS} environment variable.
4135 @defvr {Environment Variable} GUIX_BUILD_OPTIONS
4136 Users can define this variable to a list of command line options that
4137 will automatically be used by @command{guix build} and other
4138 @command{guix} commands that can perform builds, as in the example
4142 $ export GUIX_BUILD_OPTIONS="--no-substitutes -c 2 -L /foo/bar"
4145 These options are parsed independently, and the result is appended to
4146 the parsed command-line options.
4150 @node Package Transformation Options
4151 @subsection Package Transformation Options
4153 @cindex package variants
4154 Another set of command-line options supported by @command{guix build}
4155 and also @command{guix package} are @dfn{package transformation
4156 options}. These are options that make it possible to define @dfn{package
4157 variants}---for instance, packages built from different source code.
4158 This is a convenient way to create customized packages on the fly
4159 without having to type in the definitions of package variants
4160 (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
4164 @item --with-source=@var{source}
4165 Use @var{source} as the source of the corresponding package.
4166 @var{source} must be a file name or a URL, as for @command{guix
4167 download} (@pxref{Invoking guix download}).
4169 The ``corresponding package'' is taken to be the one specified on the
4170 command line the name of which matches the base of @var{source}---e.g.,
4171 if @var{source} is @code{/src/guile-2.0.10.tar.gz}, the corresponding
4172 package is @code{guile}. Likewise, the version string is inferred from
4173 @var{source}; in the previous example, it is @code{2.0.10}.
4175 This option allows users to try out versions of packages other than the
4176 one provided by the distribution. The example below downloads
4177 @file{ed-1.7.tar.gz} from a GNU mirror and uses that as the source for
4178 the @code{ed} package:
4181 guix build ed --with-source=mirror://gnu/ed/ed-1.7.tar.gz
4184 As a developer, @code{--with-source} makes it easy to test release
4188 guix build guile --with-source=../guile-2.0.9.219-e1bb7.tar.xz
4191 @dots{} or to build from a checkout in a pristine environment:
4194 $ git clone git://git.sv.gnu.org/guix.git
4195 $ guix build guix --with-source=./guix
4198 @item --with-input=@var{package}=@var{replacement}
4199 Replace dependency on @var{package} by a dependency on
4200 @var{replacement}. @var{package} must be a package name, and
4201 @var{replacement} must be a package specification such as @code{guile}
4202 or @code{guile@@1.8}.
4204 For instance, the following command builds Guix, but replaces its
4205 dependency on the current stable version of Guile with a dependency on
4206 the development version of Guile, @code{guile-next}:
4209 guix build --with-input=guile=guile-next guix
4212 This is a recursive, deep replacement. So in this example, both
4213 @code{guix} and its dependency @code{guile-json} (which also depends on
4214 @code{guile}) get rebuilt against @code{guile-next}.
4216 However, implicit inputs are left unchanged.
4219 @node Additional Build Options
4220 @subsection Additional Build Options
4222 The command-line options presented below are specific to @command{guix
4229 Build quietly, without displaying the build log. Upon completion, the
4230 build log is kept in @file{/var} (or similar) and can always be
4231 retrieved using the @option{--log-file} option.
4233 @item --file=@var{file}
4234 @itemx -f @var{file}
4236 Build the package or derivation that the code within @var{file}
4239 As an example, @var{file} might contain a package definition like this
4240 (@pxref{Defining Packages}):
4243 @verbatiminclude package-hello.scm
4246 @item --expression=@var{expr}
4247 @itemx -e @var{expr}
4248 Build the package or derivation @var{expr} evaluates to.
4250 For example, @var{expr} may be @code{(@@ (gnu packages guile)
4251 guile-1.8)}, which unambiguously designates this specific variant of
4252 version 1.8 of Guile.
4254 Alternatively, @var{expr} may be a G-expression, in which case it is used
4255 as a build program passed to @code{gexp->derivation}
4256 (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
4258 Lastly, @var{expr} may refer to a zero-argument monadic procedure
4259 (@pxref{The Store Monad}). The procedure must return a derivation as a
4260 monadic value, which is then passed through @code{run-with-store}.
4264 Build the source derivations of the packages, rather than the packages
4267 For instance, @code{guix build -S gcc} returns something like
4268 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.7.2.tar.bz2}, which is the GCC
4271 The returned source tarball is the result of applying any patches and
4272 code snippets specified in the package @code{origin} (@pxref{Defining
4276 Fetch and return the source of @var{package-or-derivation} and all their
4277 dependencies, recursively. This is a handy way to obtain a local copy
4278 of all the source code needed to build @var{packages}, allowing you to
4279 eventually build them even without network access. It is an extension
4280 of the @code{--source} option and can accept one of the following
4281 optional argument values:
4285 This value causes the @code{--sources} option to behave in the same way
4286 as the @code{--source} option.
4289 Build the source derivations of all packages, including any source that
4290 might be listed as @code{inputs}. This is the default value.
4293 $ guix build --sources tzdata
4294 The following derivations will be built:
4295 /gnu/store/@dots{}-tzdata2015b.tar.gz.drv
4296 /gnu/store/@dots{}-tzcode2015b.tar.gz.drv
4300 Build the source derivations of all packages, as well of all transitive
4301 inputs to the packages. This can be used e.g. to
4302 prefetch package source for later offline building.
4305 $ guix build --sources=transitive tzdata
4306 The following derivations will be built:
4307 /gnu/store/@dots{}-tzcode2015b.tar.gz.drv
4308 /gnu/store/@dots{}-findutils-4.4.2.tar.xz.drv
4309 /gnu/store/@dots{}-grep-2.21.tar.xz.drv
4310 /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.23.tar.xz.drv
4311 /gnu/store/@dots{}-make-4.1.tar.xz.drv
4312 /gnu/store/@dots{}-bash-4.3.tar.xz.drv
4318 @item --system=@var{system}
4319 @itemx -s @var{system}
4320 Attempt to build for @var{system}---e.g., @code{i686-linux}---instead of
4321 the system type of the build host.
4323 An example use of this is on Linux-based systems, which can emulate
4324 different personalities. For instance, passing
4325 @code{--system=i686-linux} on an @code{x86_64-linux} system allows users
4326 to build packages in a complete 32-bit environment.
4328 @item --target=@var{triplet}
4329 @cindex cross-compilation
4330 Cross-build for @var{triplet}, which must be a valid GNU triplet, such
4331 as @code{"mips64el-linux-gnu"} (@pxref{Configuration Names, GNU
4332 configuration triplets,, configure, GNU Configure and Build System}).
4334 @anchor{build-check}
4336 @cindex determinism, checking
4337 @cindex reproducibility, checking
4338 Rebuild @var{package-or-derivation}, which are already available in the
4339 store, and raise an error if the build results are not bit-for-bit
4342 This mechanism allows you to check whether previously installed
4343 substitutes are genuine (@pxref{Substitutes}), or whether the build result
4344 of a package is deterministic. @xref{Invoking guix challenge}, for more
4345 background information and tools.
4347 When used in conjunction with @option{--keep-failed}, the differing
4348 output is kept in the store, under @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-check}.
4349 This makes it easy to look for differences between the two results.
4353 Return the derivation paths, not the output paths, of the given
4356 @item --root=@var{file}
4357 @itemx -r @var{file}
4358 Make @var{file} a symlink to the result, and register it as a garbage
4362 Return the build log file names or URLs for the given
4363 @var{package-or-derivation}, or raise an error if build logs are
4366 This works regardless of how packages or derivations are specified. For
4367 instance, the following invocations are equivalent:
4370 guix build --log-file `guix build -d guile`
4371 guix build --log-file `guix build guile`
4372 guix build --log-file guile
4373 guix build --log-file -e '(@@ (gnu packages guile) guile-2.0)'
4376 If a log is unavailable locally, and unless @code{--no-substitutes} is
4377 passed, the command looks for a corresponding log on one of the
4378 substitute servers (as specified with @code{--substitute-urls}.)
4380 So for instance, imagine you want to see the build log of GDB on MIPS,
4381 but you are actually on an @code{x86_64} machine:
4384 $ guix build --log-file gdb -s mips64el-linux
4385 https://hydra.gnu.org/log/@dots{}-gdb-7.10
4388 You can freely access a huge library of build logs!
4392 @node Invoking guix edit
4393 @section Invoking @command{guix edit}
4395 @cindex package definition, editing
4396 So many packages, so many source files! The @command{guix edit} command
4397 facilitates the life of packagers by pointing their editor at the source
4398 file containing the definition of the specified packages. For instance:
4401 guix edit gcc@@4.9 vim
4405 launches the program specified in the @code{VISUAL} or in the
4406 @code{EDITOR} environment variable to edit the recipe of GCC@tie{}4.9.3
4409 If you are using Emacs, note that the Emacs user interface provides the
4410 @kbd{M-x guix-edit} command and a similar functionality in the ``package
4411 info'' and ``package list'' buffers created by the @kbd{M-x
4412 guix-search-by-name} and similar commands (@pxref{Emacs Commands}).
4415 @node Invoking guix download
4416 @section Invoking @command{guix download}
4418 When writing a package definition, developers typically need to download
4419 a source tarball, compute its SHA256 hash, and write that
4420 hash in the package definition (@pxref{Defining Packages}). The
4421 @command{guix download} tool helps with this task: it downloads a file
4422 from the given URI, adds it to the store, and prints both its file name
4423 in the store and its SHA256 hash.
4425 The fact that the downloaded file is added to the store saves bandwidth:
4426 when the developer eventually tries to build the newly defined package
4427 with @command{guix build}, the source tarball will not have to be
4428 downloaded again because it is already in the store. It is also a
4429 convenient way to temporarily stash files, which may be deleted
4430 eventually (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}).
4432 The @command{guix download} command supports the same URIs as used in
4433 package definitions. In particular, it supports @code{mirror://} URIs.
4434 @code{https} URIs (HTTP over TLS) are supported @emph{provided} the
4435 Guile bindings for GnuTLS are available in the user's environment; when
4436 they are not available, an error is raised. @xref{Guile Preparations,
4437 how to install the GnuTLS bindings for Guile,, gnutls-guile,
4438 GnuTLS-Guile}, for more information.
4440 The following option is available:
4443 @item --format=@var{fmt}
4445 Write the hash in the format specified by @var{fmt}. For more
4446 information on the valid values for @var{fmt}, @pxref{Invoking guix hash}.
4449 @node Invoking guix hash
4450 @section Invoking @command{guix hash}
4452 The @command{guix hash} command computes the SHA256 hash of a file.
4453 It is primarily a convenience tool for anyone contributing to the
4454 distribution: it computes the cryptographic hash of a file, which can be
4455 used in the definition of a package (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
4457 The general syntax is:
4460 guix hash @var{option} @var{file}
4463 @command{guix hash} has the following option:
4467 @item --format=@var{fmt}
4469 Write the hash in the format specified by @var{fmt}.
4471 Supported formats: @code{nix-base32}, @code{base32}, @code{base16}
4472 (@code{hex} and @code{hexadecimal} can be used as well).
4474 If the @option{--format} option is not specified, @command{guix hash}
4475 will output the hash in @code{nix-base32}. This representation is used
4476 in the definitions of packages.
4480 Compute the hash on @var{file} recursively.
4482 In this case, the hash is computed on an archive containing @var{file},
4483 including its children if it is a directory. Some of the metadata of
4484 @var{file} is part of the archive; for instance, when @var{file} is a
4485 regular file, the hash is different depending on whether @var{file} is
4486 executable or not. Metadata such as time stamps has no impact on the
4487 hash (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}).
4488 @c FIXME: Replace xref above with xref to an ``Archive'' section when
4493 @node Invoking guix import
4494 @section Invoking @command{guix import}
4496 @cindex importing packages
4497 @cindex package import
4498 @cindex package conversion
4499 The @command{guix import} command is useful for people who would like to
4500 add a package to the distribution with as little work as
4501 possible---a legitimate demand. The command knows of a few
4502 repositories from which it can ``import'' package metadata. The result
4503 is a package definition, or a template thereof, in the format we know
4504 (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
4506 The general syntax is:
4509 guix import @var{importer} @var{options}@dots{}
4512 @var{importer} specifies the source from which to import package
4513 metadata, and @var{options} specifies a package identifier and other
4514 options specific to @var{importer}. Currently, the available
4519 Import metadata for the given GNU package. This provides a template
4520 for the latest version of that GNU package, including the hash of its
4521 source tarball, and its canonical synopsis and description.
4523 Additional information such as the package dependencies and its
4524 license needs to be figured out manually.
4526 For example, the following command returns a package definition for
4530 guix import gnu hello
4533 Specific command-line options are:
4536 @item --key-download=@var{policy}
4537 As for @code{guix refresh}, specify the policy to handle missing OpenPGP
4538 keys when verifying the package signature. @xref{Invoking guix
4539 refresh, @code{--key-download}}.
4544 Import metadata from the @uref{https://pypi.python.org/, Python Package
4545 Index}@footnote{This functionality requires Guile-JSON to be installed.
4546 @xref{Requirements}.}. Information is taken from the JSON-formatted
4547 description available at @code{pypi.python.org} and usually includes all
4548 the relevant information, including package dependencies.
4550 The command below imports metadata for the @code{itsdangerous} Python
4554 guix import pypi itsdangerous
4559 Import metadata from @uref{https://rubygems.org/,
4560 RubyGems}@footnote{This functionality requires Guile-JSON to be
4561 installed. @xref{Requirements}.}. Information is taken from the
4562 JSON-formatted description available at @code{rubygems.org} and includes
4563 most relevant information, including runtime dependencies. There are
4564 some caveats, however. The metadata doesn't distinguish between
4565 synopses and descriptions, so the same string is used for both fields.
4566 Additionally, the details of non-Ruby dependencies required to build
4567 native extensions is unavailable and left as an exercise to the
4570 The command below imports metadata for the @code{rails} Ruby package:
4573 guix import gem rails
4578 Import metadata from @uref{https://www.metacpan.org/, MetaCPAN}@footnote{This
4579 functionality requires Guile-JSON to be installed.
4580 @xref{Requirements}.}.
4581 Information is taken from the JSON-formatted metadata provided through
4582 @uref{https://api.metacpan.org/, MetaCPAN's API} and includes most
4583 relevant information, such as module dependencies. License information
4584 should be checked closely. If Perl is available in the store, then the
4585 @code{corelist} utility will be used to filter core modules out of the
4586 list of dependencies.
4588 The command command below imports metadata for the @code{Acme::Boolean}
4592 guix import cpan Acme::Boolean
4597 @cindex Bioconductor
4598 Import metadata from @uref{http://cran.r-project.org/, CRAN}, the
4599 central repository for the @uref{http://r-project.org, GNU@tie{}R
4600 statistical and graphical environment}.
4602 Information is extracted from the @code{DESCRIPTION} file of the package.
4604 The command command below imports metadata for the @code{Cairo}
4608 guix import cran Cairo
4611 When @code{--archive=bioconductor} is added, metadata is imported from
4612 @uref{http://www.bioconductor.org/, Bioconductor}, a repository of R
4613 packages for for the analysis and comprehension of high-throughput
4614 genomic data in bioinformatics.
4616 Information is extracted from the @code{DESCRIPTION} file of a package
4617 published on the web interface of the Bioconductor SVN repository.
4619 The command below imports metadata for the @code{GenomicRanges}
4623 guix import cran --archive=bioconductor GenomicRanges
4627 Import metadata from a local copy of the source of the
4628 @uref{http://nixos.org/nixpkgs/, Nixpkgs distribution}@footnote{This
4629 relies on the @command{nix-instantiate} command of
4630 @uref{http://nixos.org/nix/, Nix}.}. Package definitions in Nixpkgs are
4631 typically written in a mixture of Nix-language and Bash code. This
4632 command only imports the high-level package structure that is written in
4633 the Nix language. It normally includes all the basic fields of a
4636 When importing a GNU package, the synopsis and descriptions are replaced
4637 by their canonical upstream variant.
4639 Usually, you will first need to do:
4642 export NIX_REMOTE=daemon
4646 so that @command{nix-instantiate} does not try to open the Nix database.
4648 As an example, the command below imports the package definition of
4649 LibreOffice (more precisely, it imports the definition of the package
4650 bound to the @code{libreoffice} top-level attribute):
4653 guix import nix ~/path/to/nixpkgs libreoffice
4658 Import metadata from the Haskell community's central package archive
4659 @uref{https://hackage.haskell.org/, Hackage}. Information is taken from
4660 Cabal files and includes all the relevant information, including package
4663 Specific command-line options are:
4668 Read a Cabal file from standard input.
4669 @item --no-test-dependencies
4671 Do not include dependencies required only by the test suites.
4672 @item --cabal-environment=@var{alist}
4673 @itemx -e @var{alist}
4674 @var{alist} is a Scheme alist defining the environment in which the
4675 Cabal conditionals are evaluated. The accepted keys are: @code{os},
4676 @code{arch}, @code{impl} and a string representing the name of a flag.
4677 The value associated with a flag has to be either the symbol
4678 @code{true} or @code{false}. The value associated with other keys
4679 has to conform to the Cabal file format definition. The default value
4680 associated with the keys @code{os}, @code{arch} and @code{impl} is
4681 @samp{linux}, @samp{x86_64} and @samp{ghc}, respectively.
4684 The command below imports metadata for the latest version of the
4685 @code{HTTP} Haskell package without including test dependencies and
4686 specifying the value of the flag @samp{network-uri} as @code{false}:
4689 guix import hackage -t -e "'((\"network-uri\" . false))" HTTP
4692 A specific package version may optionally be specified by following the
4693 package name by an at-sign and a version number as in the following example:
4696 guix import hackage mtl@@2.1.3.1
4701 Import metadata from an Emacs Lisp Package Archive (ELPA) package
4702 repository (@pxref{Packages,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
4704 Specific command-line options are:
4707 @item --archive=@var{repo}
4708 @itemx -a @var{repo}
4709 @var{repo} identifies the archive repository from which to retrieve the
4710 information. Currently the supported repositories and their identifiers
4714 @uref{http://elpa.gnu.org/packages, GNU}, selected by the @code{gnu}
4715 identifier. This is the default.
4718 @uref{http://stable.melpa.org/packages, MELPA-Stable}, selected by the
4719 @code{melpa-stable} identifier.
4722 @uref{http://melpa.org/packages, MELPA}, selected by the @code{melpa}
4728 The structure of the @command{guix import} code is modular. It would be
4729 useful to have more importers for other package formats, and your help
4730 is welcome here (@pxref{Contributing}).
4732 @node Invoking guix refresh
4733 @section Invoking @command{guix refresh}
4735 The primary audience of the @command{guix refresh} command is developers
4736 of the GNU software distribution. By default, it reports any packages
4737 provided by the distribution that are outdated compared to the latest
4738 upstream version, like this:
4742 gnu/packages/gettext.scm:29:13: gettext would be upgraded from 0.18.1.1 to 0.18.2.1
4743 gnu/packages/glib.scm:77:12: glib would be upgraded from 2.34.3 to 2.37.0
4746 It does so by browsing the FTP directory of each package and determining
4747 the highest version number of the source tarballs therein. The command
4748 knows how to update specific types of packages: GNU packages, ELPA
4749 packages, etc.---see the documentation for @option{--type} below. The
4750 are many packages, though, for which it lacks a method to determine
4751 whether a new upstream release is available. However, the mechanism is
4752 extensible, so feel free to get in touch with us to add a new method!
4754 When passed @code{--update}, it modifies distribution source files to
4755 update the version numbers and source tarball hashes of those package
4756 recipes (@pxref{Defining Packages}). This is achieved by downloading
4757 each package's latest source tarball and its associated OpenPGP
4758 signature, authenticating the downloaded tarball against its signature
4759 using @command{gpg}, and finally computing its hash. When the public
4760 key used to sign the tarball is missing from the user's keyring, an
4761 attempt is made to automatically retrieve it from a public key server;
4762 when this is successful, the key is added to the user's keyring; otherwise,
4763 @command{guix refresh} reports an error.
4765 The following options are supported:
4769 @item --expression=@var{expr}
4770 @itemx -e @var{expr}
4771 Consider the package @var{expr} evaluates to.
4773 This is useful to precisely refer to a package, as in this example:
4776 guix refresh -l -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages commencement) glibc-final)'
4779 This command lists the dependents of the ``final'' libc (essentially all
4784 Update distribution source files (package recipes) in place. This is
4785 usually run from a checkout of the Guix source tree (@pxref{Running
4786 Guix Before It Is Installed}):
4789 $ ./pre-inst-env guix refresh -s non-core
4792 @xref{Defining Packages}, for more information on package definitions.
4794 @item --select=[@var{subset}]
4795 @itemx -s @var{subset}
4796 Select all the packages in @var{subset}, one of @code{core} or
4799 The @code{core} subset refers to all the packages at the core of the
4800 distribution---i.e., packages that are used to build ``everything
4801 else''. This includes GCC, libc, Binutils, Bash, etc. Usually,
4802 changing one of these packages in the distribution entails a rebuild of
4803 all the others. Thus, such updates are an inconvenience to users in
4804 terms of build time or bandwidth used to achieve the upgrade.
4806 The @code{non-core} subset refers to the remaining packages. It is
4807 typically useful in cases where an update of the core packages would be
4810 @item --type=@var{updater}
4811 @itemx -t @var{updater}
4812 Select only packages handled by @var{updater} (may be a comma-separated
4813 list of updaters). Currently, @var{updater} may be one of:
4817 the updater for GNU packages;
4819 the updater for GNOME packages;
4821 the updater for X.org packages;
4823 the updater for @uref{http://elpa.gnu.org/, ELPA} packages;
4825 the updater for @uref{http://cran.r-project.org/, CRAN} packages;
4827 the updater for @uref{http://www.bioconductor.org/, Bioconductor} R packages;
4829 the updater for @uref{https://pypi.python.org, PyPI} packages.
4831 the updater for @uref{https://rubygems.org, RubyGems} packages.
4833 the updater for @uref{https://github.com, GitHub} packages.
4835 the updater for @uref{https://hackage.haskell.org, Hackage} packages.
4838 For instance, the following command only checks for updates of Emacs
4839 packages hosted at @code{elpa.gnu.org} and for updates of CRAN packages:
4842 $ guix refresh --type=elpa,cran
4843 gnu/packages/statistics.scm:819:13: r-testthat would be upgraded from 0.10.0 to 0.11.0
4844 gnu/packages/emacs.scm:856:13: emacs-auctex would be upgraded from 11.88.6 to 11.88.9
4849 In addition, @command{guix refresh} can be passed one or more package
4850 names, as in this example:
4853 $ ./pre-inst-env guix refresh -u emacs idutils gcc-4.8.4
4857 The command above specifically updates the @code{emacs} and
4858 @code{idutils} packages. The @code{--select} option would have no
4859 effect in this case.
4861 When considering whether to upgrade a package, it is sometimes
4862 convenient to know which packages would be affected by the upgrade and
4863 should be checked for compatibility. For this the following option may
4864 be used when passing @command{guix refresh} one or more package names:
4868 @item --list-updaters
4870 List available updaters and exit (see @option{--type} above.)
4872 @item --list-dependent
4874 List top-level dependent packages that would need to be rebuilt as a
4875 result of upgrading one or more packages.
4879 Be aware that the @code{--list-dependent} option only
4880 @emph{approximates} the rebuilds that would be required as a result of
4881 an upgrade. More rebuilds might be required under some circumstances.
4884 $ guix refresh --list-dependent flex
4885 Building the following 120 packages would ensure 213 dependent packages are rebuilt:
4886 hop-2.4.0 geiser-0.4 notmuch-0.18 mu-0.9.9.5 cflow-1.4 idutils-4.6 @dots{}
4889 The command above lists a set of packages that could be built to check
4890 for compatibility with an upgraded @code{flex} package.
4892 The following options can be used to customize GnuPG operation:
4896 @item --gpg=@var{command}
4897 Use @var{command} as the GnuPG 2.x command. @var{command} is searched
4898 for in @code{$PATH}.
4900 @item --key-download=@var{policy}
4901 Handle missing OpenPGP keys according to @var{policy}, which may be one
4906 Always download missing OpenPGP keys from the key server, and add them
4907 to the user's GnuPG keyring.
4910 Never try to download missing OpenPGP keys. Instead just bail out.
4913 When a package signed with an unknown OpenPGP key is encountered, ask
4914 the user whether to download it or not. This is the default behavior.
4917 @item --key-server=@var{host}
4918 Use @var{host} as the OpenPGP key server when importing a public key.
4922 The @code{github} updater uses the
4923 @uref{https://developer.github.com/v3/, GitHub API} to query for new
4924 releases. When used repeatedly e.g. when refreshing all packages,
4925 GitHub will eventually refuse to answer any further API requests. By
4926 default 60 API requests per hour are allowed, and a full refresh on all
4927 GitHub packages in Guix requires more than this. Authentication with
4928 GitHub through the use of an API token alleviates these limits. To use
4929 an API token, set the environment variable @code{GUIX_GITHUB_TOKEN} to a
4930 token procured from @uref{https://github.com/settings/tokens} or
4934 @node Invoking guix lint
4935 @section Invoking @command{guix lint}
4936 The @command{guix lint} command is meant to help package developers avoid
4937 common errors and use a consistent style. It runs a number of checks on
4938 a given set of packages in order to find common mistakes in their
4939 definitions. Available @dfn{checkers} include (see
4940 @code{--list-checkers} for a complete list):
4945 Validate certain typographical and stylistic rules about package
4946 descriptions and synopses.
4948 @item inputs-should-be-native
4949 Identify inputs that should most likely be native inputs.
4953 @itemx source-file-name
4954 Probe @code{home-page} and @code{source} URLs and report those that are
4955 invalid. Check that the source file name is meaningful, e.g. is not
4956 just a version number or ``git-checkout'', without a declared
4957 @code{file-name} (@pxref{origin Reference}).
4960 @cindex security vulnerabilities
4961 @cindex CVE, Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
4962 Report known vulnerabilities found in the Common Vulnerabilities and
4963 Exposures (CVE) databases of the current and past year
4964 @uref{https://nvd.nist.gov/download.cfm#CVE_FEED, published by the US
4967 To view information about a particular vulnerability, visit pages such as:
4971 @indicateurl{https://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-YYYY-ABCD}
4973 @indicateurl{https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-YYYY-ABCD}
4977 where @code{CVE-YYYY-ABCD} is the CVE identifier---e.g.,
4978 @code{CVE-2015-7554}.
4980 Package developers can specify in package recipes the
4981 @uref{https://nvd.nist.gov/cpe.cfm,Common Platform Enumeration (CPE)}
4982 name and version of the package when they differ from the name that Guix
4983 uses, as in this example:
4989 ;; CPE calls this package "grub2".
4990 (properties '((cpe-name . "grub2"))))
4994 Warn about obvious source code formatting issues: trailing white space,
4995 use of tabulations, etc.
4998 The general syntax is:
5001 guix lint @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
5004 If no package is given on the command line, then all packages are checked.
5005 The @var{options} may be zero or more of the following:
5008 @item --list-checkers
5010 List and describe all the available checkers that will be run on packages
5015 Only enable the checkers specified in a comma-separated list using the
5016 names returned by @code{--list-checkers}.
5020 @node Invoking guix size
5021 @section Invoking @command{guix size}
5023 The @command{guix size} command helps package developers profile the
5024 disk usage of packages. It is easy to overlook the impact of an
5025 additional dependency added to a package, or the impact of using a
5026 single output for a package that could easily be split (@pxref{Packages
5027 with Multiple Outputs}). Such are the typical issues that
5028 @command{guix size} can highlight.
5030 The command can be passed a package specification such as @code{gcc-4.8}
5031 or @code{guile:debug}, or a file name in the store. Consider this
5035 $ guix size coreutils
5036 store item total self
5037 /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.23 70.0 13.9 19.8%
5038 /gnu/store/@dots{}-gmp-6.0.0a 55.3 2.5 3.6%
5039 /gnu/store/@dots{}-acl-2.2.52 53.7 0.5 0.7%
5040 /gnu/store/@dots{}-attr-2.4.46 53.2 0.3 0.5%
5041 /gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.8.4-lib 52.9 15.7 22.4%
5042 /gnu/store/@dots{}-glibc-2.21 37.2 37.2 53.1%
5046 The store items listed here constitute the @dfn{transitive closure} of
5047 Coreutils---i.e., Coreutils and all its dependencies, recursively---as
5048 would be returned by:
5051 $ guix gc -R /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.23
5054 Here the output shows three columns next to store items. The first column,
5055 labeled ``total'', shows the size in mebibytes (MiB) of the closure of
5056 the store item---that is, its own size plus the size of all its
5057 dependencies. The next column, labeled ``self'', shows the size of the
5058 item itself. The last column shows the ratio of the size of the item
5059 itself to the space occupied by all the items listed here.
5061 In this example, we see that the closure of Coreutils weighs in at
5062 70@tie{}MiB, half of which is taken by libc. (That libc represents a
5063 large fraction of the closure is not a problem @i{per se} because it is
5064 always available on the system anyway.)
5066 When the package passed to @command{guix size} is available in the
5067 store, @command{guix size} queries the daemon to determine its
5068 dependencies, and measures its size in the store, similar to @command{du
5069 -ms --apparent-size} (@pxref{du invocation,,, coreutils, GNU
5072 When the given package is @emph{not} in the store, @command{guix size}
5073 reports information based on the available substitutes
5074 (@pxref{Substitutes}). This makes it possible it to profile disk usage of
5075 store items that are not even on disk, only available remotely.
5077 You can also specify several package names:
5080 $ guix size coreutils grep sed bash
5081 store item total self
5082 /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.24 77.8 13.8 13.4%
5083 /gnu/store/@dots{}-grep-2.22 73.1 0.8 0.8%
5084 /gnu/store/@dots{}-bash-4.3.42 72.3 4.7 4.6%
5085 /gnu/store/@dots{}-readline-6.3 67.6 1.2 1.2%
5091 In this example we see that the combination of the four packages takes
5092 102.3@tie{}MiB in total, which is much less than the sum of each closure
5093 since they have a lot of dependencies in common.
5095 The available options are:
5099 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
5100 Use substitute information from @var{urls}.
5101 @xref{client-substitute-urls, the same option for @code{guix build}}.
5103 @item --map-file=@var{file}
5104 Write a graphical map of disk usage in PNG format to @var{file}.
5106 For the example above, the map looks like this:
5108 @image{images/coreutils-size-map,5in,, map of Coreutils disk usage
5109 produced by @command{guix size}}
5111 This option requires that
5112 @uref{http://wingolog.org/software/guile-charting/, Guile-Charting} be
5113 installed and visible in Guile's module search path. When that is not
5114 the case, @command{guix size} fails as it tries to load it.
5116 @item --system=@var{system}
5117 @itemx -s @var{system}
5118 Consider packages for @var{system}---e.g., @code{x86_64-linux}.
5122 @node Invoking guix graph
5123 @section Invoking @command{guix graph}
5126 Packages and their dependencies form a @dfn{graph}, specifically a
5127 directed acyclic graph (DAG). It can quickly become difficult to have a
5128 mental model of the package DAG, so the @command{guix graph} command
5129 provides a visual representation of the DAG. @command{guix graph}
5130 emits a DAG representation in the input format of
5131 @uref{http://www.graphviz.org/, Graphviz}, so its output can be passed
5132 directly to the @command{dot} command of Graphviz. The general
5136 guix graph @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
5139 For example, the following command generates a PDF file representing the
5140 package DAG for the GNU@tie{}Core Utilities, showing its build-time
5144 guix graph coreutils | dot -Tpdf > dag.pdf
5147 The output looks like this:
5149 @image{images/coreutils-graph,2in,,Dependency graph of the GNU Coreutils}
5151 Nice little graph, no?
5153 But there is more than one graph! The one above is concise: it is the
5154 graph of package objects, omitting implicit inputs such as GCC, libc,
5155 grep, etc. It is often useful to have such a concise graph, but
5156 sometimes one may want to see more details. @command{guix graph} supports
5157 several types of graphs, allowing you to choose the level of detail:
5161 This is the default type used in the example above. It shows the DAG of
5162 package objects, excluding implicit dependencies. It is concise, but
5163 filters out many details.
5166 This is the package DAG, @emph{including} implicit inputs.
5168 For instance, the following command:
5171 guix graph --type=bag-emerged coreutils | dot -Tpdf > dag.pdf
5174 ... yields this bigger graph:
5176 @image{images/coreutils-bag-graph,,5in,Detailed dependency graph of the GNU Coreutils}
5178 At the bottom of the graph, we see all the implicit inputs of
5179 @var{gnu-build-system} (@pxref{Build Systems, @code{gnu-build-system}}).
5181 Now, note that the dependencies of these implicit inputs---that is, the
5182 @dfn{bootstrap dependencies} (@pxref{Bootstrapping})---are not shown
5183 here, for conciseness.
5186 Similar to @code{bag-emerged}, but this time including all the bootstrap
5189 @item bag-with-origins
5190 Similar to @code{bag}, but also showing origins and their dependencies.
5193 This is the most detailed representation: It shows the DAG of
5194 derivations (@pxref{Derivations}) and plain store items. Compared to
5195 the above representation, many additional nodes are visible, including
5196 build scripts, patches, Guile modules, etc.
5198 For this type of graph, it is also possible to pass a @file{.drv} file
5199 name instead of a package name, as in:
5202 guix graph -t derivation `guix system build -d my-config.scm`
5206 All the types above correspond to @emph{build-time dependencies}. The
5207 following graph type represents the @emph{run-time dependencies}:
5211 This is the graph of @dfn{references} of a package output, as returned
5212 by @command{guix gc --references} (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}).
5214 If the given package output is not available in the store, @command{guix
5215 graph} attempts to obtain dependency information from substitutes.
5217 Here you can also pass a store file name instead of a package name. For
5218 example, the command below produces the reference graph of your profile
5219 (which can be big!):
5222 guix graph -t references `readlink -f ~/.guix-profile`
5226 The available options are the following:
5229 @item --type=@var{type}
5230 @itemx -t @var{type}
5231 Produce a graph output of @var{type}, where @var{type} must be one of
5232 the values listed above.
5235 List the supported graph types.
5237 @item --expression=@var{expr}
5238 @itemx -e @var{expr}
5239 Consider the package @var{expr} evaluates to.
5241 This is useful to precisely refer to a package, as in this example:
5244 guix graph -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages commencement) gnu-make-final)'
5249 @node Invoking guix environment
5250 @section Invoking @command{guix environment}
5252 @cindex reproducible build environments
5253 @cindex development environments
5254 The purpose of @command{guix environment} is to assist hackers in
5255 creating reproducible development environments without polluting their
5256 package profile. The @command{guix environment} tool takes one or more
5257 packages, builds all of their inputs, and creates a shell
5258 environment to use them.
5260 The general syntax is:
5263 guix environment @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
5266 The following example spawns a new shell set up for the development of
5270 guix environment guile
5273 If the needed dependencies are not built yet, @command{guix environment}
5274 automatically builds them. The environment of the new shell is an augmented
5275 version of the environment that @command{guix environment} was run in.
5276 It contains the necessary search paths for building the given package
5277 added to the existing environment variables. To create a ``pure''
5278 environment, in which the original environment variables have been unset,
5279 use the @code{--pure} option@footnote{Users sometimes wrongfully augment
5280 environment variables such as @code{PATH} in their @file{~/.bashrc}
5281 file. As a consequence, when @code{guix environment} launches it, Bash
5282 may read @file{~/.bashrc}, thereby introducing ``impurities'' in these
5283 environment variables. It is an error to define such environment
5284 variables in @file{.bashrc}; instead, they should be defined in
5285 @file{.bash_profile}, which is sourced only by log-in shells.
5286 @xref{Bash Startup Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}, for
5287 details on Bash start-up files.}.
5289 @vindex GUIX_ENVIRONMENT
5290 @command{guix environment} defines the @code{GUIX_ENVIRONMENT}
5291 variable in the shell it spawns. This allows users to, say, define a
5292 specific prompt for development environments in their @file{.bashrc}
5293 (@pxref{Bash Startup Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}):
5296 if [ -n "$GUIX_ENVIRONMENT" ]
5298 export PS1="\u@@\h \w [dev]\$ "
5302 Additionally, more than one package may be specified, in which case the
5303 union of the inputs for the given packages are used. For example, the
5304 command below spawns a shell where all of the dependencies of both Guile
5305 and Emacs are available:
5308 guix environment guile emacs
5311 Sometimes an interactive shell session is not desired. An arbitrary
5312 command may be invoked by placing the @code{--} token to separate the
5313 command from the rest of the arguments:
5316 guix environment guile -- make -j4
5319 In other situations, it is more convenient to specify the list of
5320 packages needed in the environment. For example, the following command
5321 runs @command{python} from an environment containing Python@tie{}2.7 and
5325 guix environment --ad-hoc python2-numpy python-2.7 -- python
5328 Furthermore, one might want the dependencies of a package and also some
5329 additional packages that are not build-time or runtime dependencies, but
5330 are useful when developing nonetheless. Because of this, the
5331 @code{--ad-hoc} flag is positional. Packages appearing before
5332 @code{--ad-hoc} are interpreted as packages whose dependencies will be
5333 added to the environment. Packages appearing after are interpreted as
5334 packages that will be added to the environment directly. For example,
5335 the following command creates a Guix development environment that
5336 additionally includes Git and strace:
5339 guix environment guix --ad-hoc git strace
5342 Sometimes it is desirable to isolate the environment as much as
5343 possible, for maximal purity and reproducibility. In particular, when
5344 using Guix on a host distro that is not GuixSD, it is desirable to
5345 prevent access to @file{/usr/bin} and other system-wide resources from
5346 the development environment. For example, the following command spawns
5347 a Guile REPL in a ``container'' where only the store and the current
5348 working directory are mounted:
5351 guix environment --ad-hoc --container guile -- guile
5355 The @code{--container} option requires Linux-libre 3.19 or newer.
5358 The available options are summarized below.
5361 @item --expression=@var{expr}
5362 @itemx -e @var{expr}
5363 Create an environment for the package or list of packages that
5364 @var{expr} evaluates to.
5366 For example, running:
5369 guix environment -e '(@@ (gnu packages maths) petsc-openmpi)'
5372 starts a shell with the environment for this specific variant of the
5378 guix environment --ad-hoc -e '(@@ (gnu) %base-packages)'
5381 starts a shell with all the GuixSD base packages available.
5383 The above commands only the use default output of the given packages.
5384 To select other outputs, two element tuples can be specified:
5387 guix environment --ad-hoc -e '(list (@ (gnu packages bash) bash) "include")'
5390 @item --load=@var{file}
5391 @itemx -l @var{file}
5392 Create an environment for the package or list of packages that the code
5393 within @var{file} evaluates to.
5395 As an example, @var{file} might contain a definition like this
5396 (@pxref{Defining Packages}):
5399 @verbatiminclude environment-gdb.scm
5403 Include all specified packages in the resulting environment, as if an
5404 @i{ad hoc} package were defined with them as inputs. This option is
5405 useful for quickly creating an environment without having to write a
5406 package expression to contain the desired inputs.
5408 For instance, the command:
5411 guix environment --ad-hoc guile guile-sdl -- guile
5414 runs @command{guile} in an environment where Guile and Guile-SDL are
5417 Note that this example implicitly asks for the default output of
5418 @code{guile} and @code{guile-sdl}, but it is possible to ask for a
5419 specific output---e.g., @code{glib:bin} asks for the @code{bin} output
5420 of @code{glib} (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}).
5422 This option may be composed with the default behavior of @command{guix
5423 environment}. Packages appearing before @code{--ad-hoc} are interpreted
5424 as packages whose dependencies will be added to the environment, the
5425 default behavior. Packages appearing after are interpreted as packages
5426 that will be added to the environment directly.
5429 Unset existing environment variables when building the new environment.
5430 This has the effect of creating an environment in which search paths
5431 only contain package inputs.
5433 @item --search-paths
5434 Display the environment variable definitions that make up the
5437 @item --system=@var{system}
5438 @itemx -s @var{system}
5439 Attempt to build for @var{system}---e.g., @code{i686-linux}.
5444 Run @var{command} within an isolated container. The current working
5445 directory outside the container is mapped inside the container.
5446 Additionally, a dummy home directory is created that matches the current
5447 user's home directory, and @file{/etc/passwd} is configured accordingly.
5448 The spawned process runs as the current user outside the container, but
5449 has root privileges in the context of the container.
5453 For containers, share the network namespace with the host system.
5454 Containers created without this flag only have access to the loopback
5457 @item --expose=@var{source}[=@var{target}]
5458 For containers, expose the file system @var{source} from the host system
5459 as the read-only file system @var{target} within the container. If
5460 @var{target} is not specified, @var{source} is used as the target mount
5461 point in the container.
5463 The example below spawns a Guile REPL in a container in which the user's
5464 home directory is accessible read-only via the @file{/exchange}
5468 guix environment --container --expose=$HOME=/exchange guile -- guile
5471 @item --share=@var{source}[=@var{target}]
5472 For containers, share the file system @var{source} from the host system
5473 as the writable file system @var{target} within the container. If
5474 @var{target} is not specified, @var{source} is used as the target mount
5475 point in the container.
5477 The example below spawns a Guile REPL in a container in which the user's
5478 home directory is accessible for both reading and writing via the
5479 @file{/exchange} directory:
5482 guix environment --container --share=$HOME=/exchange guile -- guile
5486 It also supports all of the common build options that @command{guix
5487 build} supports (@pxref{Common Build Options}).
5489 @node Invoking guix publish
5490 @section Invoking @command{guix publish}
5492 The purpose of @command{guix publish} is to enable users to easily share
5493 their store with others, who can then use it as a substitute server
5494 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
5496 When @command{guix publish} runs, it spawns an HTTP server which allows
5497 anyone with network access to obtain substitutes from it. This means
5498 that any machine running Guix can also act as if it were a build farm,
5499 since the HTTP interface is compatible with Hydra, the software behind
5500 the @code{hydra.gnu.org} build farm.
5502 For security, each substitute is signed, allowing recipients to check
5503 their authenticity and integrity (@pxref{Substitutes}). Because
5504 @command{guix publish} uses the signing key of the system, which is only
5505 readable by the system administrator, it must be started as root; the
5506 @code{--user} option makes it drop root privileges early on.
5508 The signing key pair must be generated before @command{guix publish} is
5509 launched, using @command{guix archive --generate-key} (@pxref{Invoking
5512 The general syntax is:
5515 guix publish @var{options}@dots{}
5518 Running @command{guix publish} without any additional arguments will
5519 spawn an HTTP server on port 8080:
5525 Once a publishing server has been authorized (@pxref{Invoking guix
5526 archive}), the daemon may download substitutes from it:
5529 guix-daemon --substitute-urls=http://example.org:8080
5532 The following options are available:
5535 @item --port=@var{port}
5536 @itemx -p @var{port}
5537 Listen for HTTP requests on @var{port}.
5539 @item --listen=@var{host}
5540 Listen on the network interface for @var{host}. The default is to
5541 accept connections from any interface.
5543 @item --user=@var{user}
5544 @itemx -u @var{user}
5545 Change privileges to @var{user} as soon as possible---i.e., once the
5546 server socket is open and the signing key has been read.
5548 @item --ttl=@var{ttl}
5549 Produce @code{Cache-Control} HTTP headers that advertise a time-to-live
5550 (TTL) of @var{ttl}. @var{ttl} must denote a duration: @code{5d} means 5
5551 days, @code{1m} means 1 month, and so on.
5553 This allows the user's Guix to keep substitute information in cache for
5554 @var{ttl}. However, note that @code{guix publish} does not itself
5555 guarantee that the store items it provides will indeed remain available
5556 for as long as @var{ttl}.
5558 @item --repl[=@var{port}]
5559 @itemx -r [@var{port}]
5560 Spawn a Guile REPL server (@pxref{REPL Servers,,, guile, GNU Guile
5561 Reference Manual}) on @var{port} (37146 by default). This is used
5562 primarily for debugging a running @command{guix publish} server.
5565 Enabling @command{guix publish} on a GuixSD system is a one-liner: just
5566 add a call to @code{guix-publish-service} in the @code{services} field
5567 of the @code{operating-system} declaration (@pxref{guix-publish-service,
5568 @code{guix-publish-service}}).
5571 @node Invoking guix challenge
5572 @section Invoking @command{guix challenge}
5574 @cindex reproducible builds
5575 @cindex verifiable builds
5577 Do the binaries provided by this server really correspond to the source
5578 code it claims to build? Is a package build process deterministic?
5579 These are the questions the @command{guix challenge} command attempts to
5582 The former is obviously an important question: Before using a substitute
5583 server (@pxref{Substitutes}), one had better @emph{verify} that it
5584 provides the right binaries, and thus @emph{challenge} it. The latter
5585 is what enables the former: If package builds are deterministic, then
5586 independent builds of the package should yield the exact same result,
5587 bit for bit; if a server provides a binary different from the one
5588 obtained locally, it may be either corrupt or malicious.
5590 We know that the hash that shows up in @file{/gnu/store} file names is
5591 the hash of all the inputs of the process that built the file or
5592 directory---compilers, libraries, build scripts,
5593 etc. (@pxref{Introduction}). Assuming deterministic build processes,
5594 one store file name should map to exactly one build output.
5595 @command{guix challenge} checks whether there is, indeed, a single
5596 mapping by comparing the build outputs of several independent builds of
5597 any given store item.
5599 The command output looks like this:
5602 $ guix challenge --substitute-urls="https://hydra.gnu.org https://guix.example.org"
5603 updating list of substitutes from 'https://hydra.gnu.org'... 100.0%
5604 updating list of substitutes from 'https://guix.example.org'... 100.0%
5605 /gnu/store/@dots{}-openssl-1.0.2d contents differ:
5606 local hash: 0725l22r5jnzazaacncwsvp9kgf42266ayyp814v7djxs7nk963q
5607 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-openssl-1.0.2d: 0725l22r5jnzazaacncwsvp9kgf42266ayyp814v7djxs7nk963q
5608 https://guix.example.org/nar/@dots{}-openssl-1.0.2d: 1zy4fmaaqcnjrzzajkdn3f5gmjk754b43qkq47llbyak9z0qjyim
5609 /gnu/store/@dots{}-git-2.5.0 contents differ:
5610 local hash: 00p3bmryhjxrhpn2gxs2fy0a15lnip05l97205pgbk5ra395hyha
5611 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-git-2.5.0: 069nb85bv4d4a6slrwjdy8v1cn4cwspm3kdbmyb81d6zckj3nq9f
5612 https://guix.example.org/nar/@dots{}-git-2.5.0: 0mdqa9w1p6cmli6976v4wi0sw9r4p5prkj7lzfd1877wk11c9c73
5613 /gnu/store/@dots{}-pius-2.1.1 contents differ:
5614 local hash: 0k4v3m9z1zp8xzzizb7d8kjj72f9172xv078sq4wl73vnq9ig3ax
5615 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-pius-2.1.1: 0k4v3m9z1zp8xzzizb7d8kjj72f9172xv078sq4wl73vnq9ig3ax
5616 https://guix.example.org/nar/@dots{}-pius-2.1.1: 1cy25x1a4fzq5rk0pmvc8xhwyffnqz95h2bpvqsz2mpvlbccy0gs
5620 In this example, @command{guix challenge} first scans the store to
5621 determine the set of locally-built derivations---as opposed to store
5622 items that were downloaded from a substitute server---and then queries
5623 all the substitute servers. It then reports those store items for which
5624 the servers obtained a result different from the local build.
5626 @cindex non-determinism, in package builds
5627 As an example, @code{guix.example.org} always gets a different answer.
5628 Conversely, @code{hydra.gnu.org} agrees with local builds, except in the
5629 case of Git. This might indicate that the build process of Git is
5630 non-deterministic, meaning that its output varies as a function of
5631 various things that Guix does not fully control, in spite of building
5632 packages in isolated environments (@pxref{Features}). Most common
5633 sources of non-determinism include the addition of timestamps in build
5634 results, the inclusion of random numbers, and directory listings sorted
5635 by inode number. See @uref{https://reproducible-builds.org/docs/}, for
5638 To find out what is wrong with this Git binary, we can do something along
5639 these lines (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}):
5642 $ wget -q -O - https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-git-2.5.0 \
5643 | guix archive -x /tmp/git
5644 $ diff -ur --no-dereference /gnu/store/@dots{}-git.2.5.0 /tmp/git
5647 This command shows the difference between the files resulting from the
5648 local build, and the files resulting from the build on
5649 @code{hydra.gnu.org} (@pxref{Overview, Comparing and Merging Files,,
5650 diffutils, Comparing and Merging Files}). The @command{diff} command
5651 works great for text files. When binary files differ, a better option
5652 is @uref{https://diffoscope.org/, Diffoscope}, a tool that helps
5653 visualize differences for all kinds of files.
5655 Once you have done that work, you can tell whether the differences are due
5656 to a non-deterministic build process or to a malicious server. We try
5657 hard to remove sources of non-determinism in packages to make it easier
5658 to verify substitutes, but of course, this is a process that
5659 involves not just Guix, but a large part of the free software community.
5660 In the meantime, @command{guix challenge} is one tool to help address
5663 If you are writing packages for Guix, you are encouraged to check
5664 whether @code{hydra.gnu.org} and other substitute servers obtain the
5665 same build result as you did with:
5668 $ guix challenge @var{package}
5672 where @var{package} is a package specification such as
5673 @code{guile@@2.0} or @code{glibc:debug}.
5675 The general syntax is:
5678 guix challenge @var{options} [@var{packages}@dots{}]
5681 When a difference is found between the hash of a locally-built item and
5682 that of a server-provided substitute, or among substitutes provided by
5683 different servers, the command displays it as in the example above and
5684 its exit code is 2 (other non-zero exit codes denote other kinds of
5687 The one option that matters is:
5691 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
5692 Consider @var{urls} the whitespace-separated list of substitute source
5698 @node Invoking guix container
5699 @section Invoking @command{guix container}
5703 As of version @value{VERSION}, this tool is experimental. The interface
5704 is subject to radical change in the future.
5707 The purpose of @command{guix container} is to manipulate processes
5708 running within an isolated environment, commonly known as a
5709 ``container'', typically created by the @command{guix environment}
5710 (@pxref{Invoking guix environment}) and @command{guix system container}
5711 (@pxref{Invoking guix system}) commands.
5713 The general syntax is:
5716 guix container @var{action} @var{options}@dots{}
5719 @var{action} specifies the operation to perform with a container, and
5720 @var{options} specifies the context-specific arguments for the action.
5722 The following actions are available:
5726 Execute a command within the context of a running container.
5731 guix container exec @var{pid} @var{program} @var{arguments}@dots{}
5734 @var{pid} specifies the process ID of the running container.
5735 @var{program} specifies an executable file name within the root file
5736 system of the container. @var{arguments} are the additional options that
5737 will be passed to @var{program}.
5739 The following command launches an interactive login shell inside a
5740 GuixSD container, started by @command{guix system container}, and whose
5744 guix container exec 9001 /run/current-system/profile/bin/bash --login
5747 Note that the @var{pid} cannot be the parent process of a container. It
5748 must be PID 1 of the container or one of its child processes.
5752 @c *********************************************************************
5753 @node GNU Distribution
5754 @chapter GNU Distribution
5756 @cindex Guix System Distribution
5758 Guix comes with a distribution of the GNU system consisting entirely of
5759 free software@footnote{The term ``free'' here refers to the
5760 @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html,freedom provided to
5761 users of that software}.}. The
5762 distribution can be installed on its own (@pxref{System Installation}),
5763 but it is also possible to install Guix as a package manager on top of
5764 an installed GNU/Linux system (@pxref{Installation}). To distinguish
5765 between the two, we refer to the standalone distribution as the Guix
5766 System Distribution, or GuixSD.
5768 The distribution provides core GNU packages such as GNU libc, GCC, and
5769 Binutils, as well as many GNU and non-GNU applications. The complete
5770 list of available packages can be browsed
5771 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/guix/packages,on-line} or by
5772 running @command{guix package} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}):
5775 guix package --list-available
5778 Our goal is to provide a practical 100% free software distribution of
5779 Linux-based and other variants of GNU, with a focus on the promotion and
5780 tight integration of GNU components, and an emphasis on programs and
5781 tools that help users exert that freedom.
5783 Packages are currently available on the following platforms:
5788 Intel/AMD @code{x86_64} architecture, Linux-Libre kernel;
5791 Intel 32-bit architecture (IA32), Linux-Libre kernel;
5794 ARMv7-A architecture with hard float, Thumb-2 and NEON,
5795 using the EABI hard-float application binary interface (ABI),
5796 and Linux-Libre kernel.
5798 @item mips64el-linux
5799 little-endian 64-bit MIPS processors, specifically the Loongson series,
5800 n32 ABI, and Linux-Libre kernel.
5804 GuixSD itself is currently only available on @code{i686} and @code{x86_64}.
5807 For information on porting to other architectures or kernels,
5811 * System Installation:: Installing the whole operating system.
5812 * System Configuration:: Configuring the operating system.
5813 * Installing Debugging Files:: Feeding the debugger.
5814 * Security Updates:: Deploying security fixes quickly.
5815 * Package Modules:: Packages from the programmer's viewpoint.
5816 * Packaging Guidelines:: Growing the distribution.
5817 * Bootstrapping:: GNU/Linux built from scratch.
5818 * Porting:: Targeting another platform or kernel.
5821 Building this distribution is a cooperative effort, and you are invited
5822 to join! @xref{Contributing}, for information about how you can help.
5824 @node System Installation
5825 @section System Installation
5827 @cindex Guix System Distribution
5828 This section explains how to install the Guix System Distribution
5829 on a machine. The Guix package manager can
5830 also be installed on top of a running GNU/Linux system,
5831 @pxref{Installation}.
5835 @c This paragraph is for people reading this from tty2 of the
5836 @c installation image.
5837 You are reading this documentation with an Info reader. For details on
5838 how to use it, hit the @key{RET} key (``return'' or ``enter'') on the
5839 link that follows: @pxref{Top, Info reader,, info-stnd, Stand-alone GNU
5840 Info}. Hit @kbd{l} afterwards to come back here.
5842 Alternately, run @command{info info} in another tty to keep the manual
5848 * Limitations:: What you can expect.
5849 * Hardware Considerations:: Supported hardware.
5850 * USB Stick Installation:: Preparing the installation medium.
5851 * Preparing for Installation:: Networking, partitioning, etc.
5852 * Proceeding with the Installation:: The real thing.
5853 * Building the Installation Image:: How this comes to be.
5857 @subsection Limitations
5859 As of version @value{VERSION}, the Guix System Distribution (GuixSD) is
5860 not production-ready. It may contain bugs and lack important
5861 features. Thus, if you are looking for a stable production system that
5862 respects your freedom as a computer user, a good solution at this point
5863 is to consider @url{http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html, one of
5864 the more established GNU/Linux distributions}. We hope you can soon switch
5865 to the GuixSD without fear, of course. In the meantime, you can
5866 also keep using your distribution and try out the package manager on top
5867 of it (@pxref{Installation}).
5869 Before you proceed with the installation, be aware of the following
5870 noteworthy limitations applicable to version @value{VERSION}:
5874 The installation process does not include a graphical user interface and
5875 requires familiarity with GNU/Linux (see the following subsections to
5876 get a feel of what that means.)
5879 Support for the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is missing.
5882 Few system services are currently supported out-of-the-box
5886 More than 3,200 packages are available, but you may
5887 occasionally find that a useful package is missing.
5890 GNOME, Xfce, and Enlightenment are available (@pxref{Desktop Services}),
5891 as well as a number of X11 window managers. However, some graphical
5892 applications may be missing, as well as KDE.
5895 You have been warned! But more than a disclaimer, this is an invitation
5896 to report issues (and success stories!), and to join us in improving it.
5897 @xref{Contributing}, for more info.
5900 @node Hardware Considerations
5901 @subsection Hardware Considerations
5903 @cindex hardware support on GuixSD
5904 GNU@tie{}GuixSD focuses on respecting the user's computing freedom. It
5905 builds around the kernel Linux-libre, which means that only hardware for
5906 which free software drivers and firmware exist is supported. Nowadays,
5907 a wide range of off-the-shelf hardware is supported on
5908 GNU/Linux-libre---from keyboards to graphics cards to scanners and
5909 Ethernet controllers. Unfortunately, there are still areas where
5910 hardware vendors deny users control over their own computing, and such
5911 hardware is not supported on GuixSD.
5913 @cindex WiFi, hardware support
5914 One of the main areas where free drivers or firmware are lacking is WiFi
5915 devices. WiFi devices known to work include those using Atheros chips
5916 (AR9271 and AR7010), which corresponds to the @code{ath9k} Linux-libre
5917 driver, and for which free firmware exists and is available
5918 out-of-the-box on GuixSD, as part of @var{%base-firmware}
5919 (@pxref{operating-system Reference, @code{firmware}}).
5921 @cindex RYF, Respects Your Freedom
5922 The @uref{https://www.fsf.org/, Free Software Foundation} runs
5923 @uref{https://www.fsf.org/ryf, @dfn{Respects Your Freedom}} (RYF), a
5924 certification program for hardware products that respect your freedom
5925 and your privacy and ensure that you have control over your device. We
5926 encourage you to check the list of RYF-certified devices.
5928 Another useful resource is the @uref{https://www.h-node.org/, H-Node}
5929 web site. It contains a catalog of hardware devices with information
5930 about their support in GNU/Linux.
5933 @node USB Stick Installation
5934 @subsection USB Stick Installation
5936 An installation image for USB sticks can be downloaded from
5937 @indicateurl{ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guixsd-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.xz},
5938 where @var{system} is one of:
5942 for a GNU/Linux system on Intel/AMD-compatible 64-bit CPUs;
5945 for a 32-bit GNU/Linux system on Intel-compatible CPUs.
5948 This image contains a single partition with the tools necessary for an
5949 installation. It is meant to be copied @emph{as is} to a large-enough
5952 To copy the image to a USB stick, follow these steps:
5956 Decompress the image using the @command{xz} command:
5959 xz -d guixsd-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.xz
5963 Insert a USB stick of 1@tie{}GiB or more into your machine, and determine
5964 its device name. Assuming that the USB stick is known as @file{/dev/sdX},
5965 copy the image with:
5968 dd if=guixsd-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.x86_64 of=/dev/sdX
5971 Access to @file{/dev/sdX} usually requires root privileges.
5974 Once this is done, you should be able to reboot the system and boot from
5975 the USB stick. The latter usually requires you to get in the BIOS' boot
5976 menu, where you can choose to boot from the USB stick.
5978 @node Preparing for Installation
5979 @subsection Preparing for Installation
5981 Once you have successfully booted the image on the USB stick, you should
5982 end up with a root prompt. Several console TTYs are configured and can
5983 be used to run commands as root. TTY2 shows this documentation,
5984 browsable using the Info reader commands (@pxref{Top,,, info-stnd,
5985 Stand-alone GNU Info}). The installation system runs the GPM mouse
5986 daemon, which allows you to select text with the left mouse button and
5987 to paste it with the middle button.
5990 Installation requires access to the Internet so that any missing
5991 dependencies of your system configuration can be downloaded. See the
5992 ``Networking'' section below.
5995 The installation system includes many common tools needed for this task.
5996 But it is also a full-blown GuixSD system, which means that you can
5997 install additional packages, should you need it, using @command{guix
5998 package} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
6000 @subsubsection Keyboard Layout
6002 @cindex keyboard layout
6003 The installation image uses the US qwerty keyboard layout. If you want
6004 to change it, you can use the @command{loadkeys} command. For example,
6005 the following command selects the Dvorak keyboard layout:
6011 See the files under @file{/run/current-system/profile/share/keymaps} for
6012 a list of available keyboard layouts. Run @command{man loadkeys} for
6015 @subsubsection Networking
6017 Run the following command see what your network interfaces are called:
6024 @dots{} or, using the GNU/Linux-specific @command{ip} command:
6030 @c http://cgit.freedesktop.org/systemd/systemd/tree/src/udev/udev-builtin-net_id.c#n20
6031 Wired interfaces have a name starting with @samp{e}; for example, the
6032 interface corresponding to the first on-board Ethernet controller is
6033 called @samp{eno1}. Wireless interfaces have a name starting with
6034 @samp{w}, like @samp{w1p2s0}.
6037 @item Wired connection
6038 To configure a wired network run the following command, substituting
6039 @var{interface} with the name of the wired interface you want to use.
6042 ifconfig @var{interface} up
6045 @item Wireless connection
6046 To configure wireless networking, you can create a configuration file
6047 for the @command{wpa_supplicant} configuration tool (its location is not
6048 important) using one of the available text editors such as
6052 zile wpa_supplicant.conf
6055 As an example, the following stanza can go to this file and will work
6056 for many wireless networks, provided you give the actual SSID and
6057 passphrase for the network you are connecting to:
6061 ssid="@var{my-ssid}"
6063 psk="the network's secret passphrase"
6067 Start the wireless service and run it in the background with the
6068 following command (substitute @var{interface} with the name of the
6069 network interface you want to use):
6072 wpa_supplicant -c wpa_supplicant.conf -i @var{interface} -B
6075 Run @command{man wpa_supplicant} for more information.
6078 At this point, you need to acquire an IP address. On a network where IP
6079 addresses are automatically assigned @i{via} DHCP, you can run:
6082 dhclient -v @var{interface}
6085 Try to ping a server to see if networking is up and running:
6091 Setting up network access is almost always a requirement because the
6092 image does not contain all the software and tools that may be needed.
6094 @subsubsection Disk Partitioning
6096 Unless this has already been done, the next step is to partition, and
6097 then format the target partition(s).
6099 The installation image includes several partitioning tools, including
6100 Parted (@pxref{Overview,,, parted, GNU Parted User Manual}),
6101 @command{fdisk}, and @command{cfdisk}. Run it and set up your disk with
6102 the partition layout you want:
6108 Once you are done partitioning the target hard disk drive, you have to
6109 create a file system on the relevant partition(s)@footnote{Currently
6110 GuixSD pretty much assumes an ext4 file system. In particular, code
6111 that reads partition UUIDs and labels only works with ext4. This will
6112 be fixed in the future.}.
6114 Preferably, assign partitions a label so that you can easily and
6115 reliably refer to them in @code{file-system} declarations (@pxref{File
6116 Systems}). This is typically done using the @code{-L} option of
6117 @command{mkfs.ext4} and related commands. So, assuming the target root
6118 partition lives at @file{/dev/sda1}, a file system with the label
6119 @code{my-root} can be created with:
6122 mkfs.ext4 -L my-root /dev/sda1
6125 @c FIXME: Uncomment this once GRUB fully supports encrypted roots.
6126 @c A typical command sequence may be:
6130 @c @dots{} Create partitions etc.@dots{}
6131 @c # cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sdX1
6132 @c # cryptsetup open --type luks /dev/sdX1 my-partition
6133 @c # mkfs.ext4 -L my-root /dev/mapper/my-partition
6136 In addition to e2fsprogs, the suite of tools to manipulate
6137 ext2/ext3/ext4 file systems, the installation image includes
6138 Cryptsetup/LUKS for disk encryption.
6140 Once that is done, mount the target root partition under @file{/mnt}
6141 with a command like (again, assuming @file{/dev/sda1} is the root
6145 mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
6148 Finally, if you plan to use one or more swap partitions (@pxref{Memory
6149 Concepts, swap space,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}), make
6150 sure to initialize them with @command{mkswap}. Assuming you have one
6151 swap partition on @file{/dev/sda2}, you would run:
6157 @node Proceeding with the Installation
6158 @subsection Proceeding with the Installation
6160 With the target partitions ready and the target root mounted on
6161 @file{/mnt}, we're ready to go. First, run:
6164 herd start cow-store /mnt
6167 This makes @file{/gnu/store} copy-on-write, such that packages added to it
6168 during the installation phase are written to the target disk on @file{/mnt}
6169 rather than kept in memory. This is necessary because the first phase of
6170 the @command{guix system init} command (see below) entails downloads or
6171 builds to @file{/gnu/store} which, initially, is an in-memory file system.
6173 Next, you have to edit a file and
6174 provide the declaration of the operating system to be installed. To
6175 that end, the installation system comes with two text editors: GNU nano
6176 (@pxref{Top,,, nano, GNU nano Manual}), and GNU Zile, an Emacs clone.
6177 We strongly recommend storing that file on the target root file system, say,
6178 as @file{/mnt/etc/config.scm}. Failing to do that, you will have lost your
6179 configuration file once you have rebooted into the newly-installed system.
6181 @xref{Using the Configuration System}, for an overview of the
6182 configuration file. The example configurations discussed in that
6183 section are available under @file{/etc/configuration} in the
6184 installation image. Thus, to get started with a system configuration
6185 providing a graphical display server (a ``desktop'' system), you can run
6186 something along these lines:
6190 # cp /etc/configuration/desktop.scm /mnt/etc/config.scm
6191 # zile /mnt/etc/config.scm
6194 You should pay attention to what your configuration file contains, and
6199 Make sure the @code{grub-configuration} form refers to the device you
6200 want to install GRUB on.
6203 Be sure that your partition labels match the value of their respective
6204 @code{device} fields in your @code{file-system} configuration, assuming
6205 your @code{file-system} configuration sets the value of @code{title} to
6209 Once you are done preparing the configuration file, the new system must
6210 be initialized (remember that the target root file system is mounted
6214 guix system init /mnt/etc/config.scm /mnt
6218 This copies all the necessary files and installs GRUB on
6219 @file{/dev/sdX}, unless you pass the @option{--no-grub} option. For
6220 more information, @pxref{Invoking guix system}. This command may trigger
6221 downloads or builds of missing packages, which can take some time.
6223 Once that command has completed---and hopefully succeeded!---you can run
6224 @command{reboot} and boot into the new system. The @code{root} password
6225 in the new system is initially empty; other users' passwords need to be
6226 initialized by running the @command{passwd} command as @code{root},
6227 unless your configuration specifies otherwise
6228 (@pxref{user-account-password, user account passwords}).
6230 Join us on @code{#guix} on the Freenode IRC network or on
6231 @file{guix-devel@@gnu.org} to share your experience---good or not so
6234 @node Building the Installation Image
6235 @subsection Building the Installation Image
6237 The installation image described above was built using the @command{guix
6238 system} command, specifically:
6240 @c FIXME: 1G is too much; see <http://bugs.gnu.org/23077>.
6242 guix system disk-image --image-size=1G gnu/system/install.scm
6245 Have a look at @file{gnu/system/install.scm} in the source tree,
6246 and see also @ref{Invoking guix system} for more information
6247 about the installation image.
6249 @node System Configuration
6250 @section System Configuration
6252 @cindex system configuration
6253 The Guix System Distribution supports a consistent whole-system configuration
6254 mechanism. By that we mean that all aspects of the global system
6255 configuration---such as the available system services, timezone and
6256 locale settings, user accounts---are declared in a single place. Such
6257 a @dfn{system configuration} can be @dfn{instantiated}---i.e., effected.
6259 One of the advantages of putting all the system configuration under the
6260 control of Guix is that it supports transactional system upgrades, and
6261 makes it possible to roll back to a previous system instantiation,
6262 should something go wrong with the new one (@pxref{Features}). Another
6263 advantage is that it makes it easy to replicate the exact same configuration
6264 across different machines, or at different points in time, without
6265 having to resort to additional administration tools layered on top of
6266 the own tools of the system.
6267 @c Yes, we're talking of Puppet, Chef, & co. here. ↑
6269 This section describes this mechanism. First we focus on the system
6270 administrator's viewpoint---explaining how the system is configured and
6271 instantiated. Then we show how this mechanism can be extended, for
6272 instance to support new system services.
6275 * Using the Configuration System:: Customizing your GNU system.
6276 * operating-system Reference:: Detail of operating-system declarations.
6277 * File Systems:: Configuring file system mounts.
6278 * Mapped Devices:: Block device extra processing.
6279 * User Accounts:: Specifying user accounts.
6280 * Locales:: Language and cultural convention settings.
6281 * Services:: Specifying system services.
6282 * Setuid Programs:: Programs running with root privileges.
6283 * X.509 Certificates:: Authenticating HTTPS servers.
6284 * Name Service Switch:: Configuring libc's name service switch.
6285 * Initial RAM Disk:: Linux-Libre bootstrapping.
6286 * GRUB Configuration:: Configuring the boot loader.
6287 * Invoking guix system:: Instantiating a system configuration.
6288 * Running GuixSD in a VM:: How to run GuixSD in a virtual machine.
6289 * Defining Services:: Adding new service definitions.
6292 @node Using the Configuration System
6293 @subsection Using the Configuration System
6295 The operating system is configured by providing an
6296 @code{operating-system} declaration in a file that can then be passed to
6297 the @command{guix system} command (@pxref{Invoking guix system}). A
6298 simple setup, with the default system services, the default Linux-Libre
6299 kernel, initial RAM disk, and boot loader looks like this:
6301 @findex operating-system
6303 @include os-config-bare-bones.texi
6306 This example should be self-describing. Some of the fields defined
6307 above, such as @code{host-name} and @code{bootloader}, are mandatory.
6308 Others, such as @code{packages} and @code{services}, can be omitted, in
6309 which case they get a default value.
6311 Below we discuss the effect of some of the most important fields
6312 (@pxref{operating-system Reference}, for details about all the available
6313 fields), and how to @dfn{instantiate} the operating system using
6314 @command{guix system}.
6316 @unnumberedsubsubsec Globally-Visible Packages
6318 @vindex %base-packages
6319 The @code{packages} field lists packages that will be globally visible
6320 on the system, for all user accounts---i.e., in every user's @code{PATH}
6321 environment variable---in addition to the per-user profiles
6322 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}). The @var{%base-packages} variable
6323 provides all the tools one would expect for basic user and administrator
6324 tasks---including the GNU Core Utilities, the GNU Networking Utilities,
6325 the GNU Zile lightweight text editor, @command{find}, @command{grep},
6326 etc. The example above adds tcpdump to those, taken from the @code{(gnu
6327 packages admin)} module (@pxref{Package Modules}).
6329 @findex specification->package
6330 Referring to packages by variable name, like @var{tcpdump} above, has
6331 the advantage of being unambiguous; it also allows typos and such to be
6332 diagnosed right away as ``unbound variables''. The downside is that one
6333 needs to know which module defines which package, and to augment the
6334 @code{use-package-modules} line accordingly. To avoid that, one can use
6335 the @code{specification->package} procedure of the @code{(gnu packages)}
6336 module, which returns the best package for a given name or name and
6340 (use-modules (gnu packages))
6344 (packages (append (map specification->package
6345 '("tcpdump" "htop" "gnupg@@2.0"))
6349 @unnumberedsubsubsec System Services
6351 @vindex %base-services
6352 The @code{services} field lists @dfn{system services} to be made
6353 available when the system starts (@pxref{Services}).
6354 The @code{operating-system} declaration above specifies that, in
6355 addition to the basic services, we want the @command{lshd} secure shell
6356 daemon listening on port 2222 (@pxref{Networking Services,
6357 @code{lsh-service}}). Under the hood,
6358 @code{lsh-service} arranges so that @code{lshd} is started with the
6359 right command-line options, possibly with supporting configuration files
6360 generated as needed (@pxref{Defining Services}).
6362 @cindex customization, of services
6363 @findex modify-services
6364 Occasionally, instead of using the base services as is, you will want to
6365 customize them. To do this, use @code{modify-services} (@pxref{Service
6366 Reference, @code{modify-services}}) to modify the list.
6368 For example, suppose you want to modify @code{guix-daemon} and Mingetty
6369 (the console log-in) in the @var{%base-services} list (@pxref{Base
6370 Services, @code{%base-services}}). To do that, you can write the
6371 following in your operating system declaration:
6374 (define %my-services
6375 ;; My very own list of services.
6376 (modify-services %base-services
6377 (guix-service-type config =>
6380 (use-substitutes? #f)
6381 (extra-options '("--gc-keep-derivations"))))
6382 (mingetty-service-type config =>
6383 (mingetty-configuration
6385 (motd (plain-file "motd" "Howdy!"))))))
6389 (services %my-services))
6392 This changes the configuration---i.e., the service parameters---of the
6393 @code{guix-service-type} instance, and that of all the
6394 @code{mingetty-service-type} instances in the @var{%base-services} list.
6395 Observe how this is accomplished: first, we arrange for the original
6396 configuration to be bound to the identifier @code{config} in the
6397 @var{body}, and then we write the @var{body} so that it evaluates to the
6398 desired configuration. In particular, notice how we use @code{inherit}
6399 to create a new configuration which has the same values as the old
6400 configuration, but with a few modifications.
6402 The configuration for a typical ``desktop'' usage, with the X11 display
6403 server, GNOME and Xfce (users can choose which of these desktop
6404 environments to use at the log-in screen by pressing @kbd{F1}), network
6405 management, power management, and more, would look like this:
6408 @include os-config-desktop.texi
6411 A graphical environment with a choice of lightweight window managers
6412 instead of full-blown desktop environments would look like this:
6415 @include os-config-lightweight-desktop.texi
6418 @xref{Desktop Services}, for the exact list of services provided by
6419 @var{%desktop-services}. @xref{X.509 Certificates}, for background
6420 information about the @code{nss-certs} package that is used here.
6422 Again, @var{%desktop-services} is just a list of service objects. If
6423 you want to remove services from there, you can do so using the
6424 procedures for list filtering (@pxref{SRFI-1 Filtering and
6425 Partitioning,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}). For instance, the
6426 following expression returns a list that contains all the services in
6427 @var{%desktop-services} minus the Avahi service:
6430 (remove (lambda (service)
6431 (eq? (service-kind service) avahi-service-type))
6435 @unnumberedsubsubsec Instantiating the System
6437 Assuming the @code{operating-system} declaration
6438 is stored in the @file{my-system-config.scm}
6439 file, the @command{guix system reconfigure my-system-config.scm} command
6440 instantiates that configuration, and makes it the default GRUB boot
6441 entry (@pxref{Invoking guix system}).
6443 The normal way to change the system configuration is by updating this
6444 file and re-running @command{guix system reconfigure}. One should never
6445 have to touch files in @command{/etc} or to run commands that modify the
6446 system state such as @command{useradd} or @command{grub-install}. In
6447 fact, you must avoid that since that would not only void your warranty
6448 but also prevent you from rolling back to previous versions of your
6449 system, should you ever need to.
6451 @cindex roll-back, of the operating system
6452 Speaking of roll-back, each time you run @command{guix system
6453 reconfigure}, a new @dfn{generation} of the system is created---without
6454 modifying or deleting previous generations. Old system generations get
6455 an entry in the GRUB boot menu, allowing you to boot them in case
6456 something went wrong with the latest generation. Reassuring, no? The
6457 @command{guix system list-generations} command lists the system
6458 generations available on disk.
6460 @unnumberedsubsubsec The Programming Interface
6462 At the Scheme level, the bulk of an @code{operating-system} declaration
6463 is instantiated with the following monadic procedure (@pxref{The Store
6466 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} operating-system-derivation os
6467 Return a derivation that builds @var{os}, an @code{operating-system}
6468 object (@pxref{Derivations}).
6470 The output of the derivation is a single directory that refers to all
6471 the packages, configuration files, and other supporting files needed to
6472 instantiate @var{os}.
6475 This procedure is provided by the @code{(gnu system)} module. Along
6476 with @code{(gnu services)} (@pxref{Services}), this module contains the
6477 guts of GuixSD. Make sure to visit it!
6480 @node operating-system Reference
6481 @subsection @code{operating-system} Reference
6483 This section summarizes all the options available in
6484 @code{operating-system} declarations (@pxref{Using the Configuration
6487 @deftp {Data Type} operating-system
6488 This is the data type representing an operating system configuration.
6489 By that, we mean all the global system configuration, not per-user
6490 configuration (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}).
6493 @item @code{kernel} (default: @var{linux-libre})
6494 The package object of the operating system kernel to use@footnote{Currently
6495 only the Linux-libre kernel is supported. In the future, it will be
6496 possible to use the GNU@tie{}Hurd.}.
6498 @item @code{kernel-arguments} (default: @code{'()})
6499 List of strings or gexps representing additional arguments to pass on
6500 the command-line of the kernel---e.g., @code{("console=ttyS0")}.
6502 @item @code{bootloader}
6503 The system bootloader configuration object. @xref{GRUB Configuration}.
6505 @item @code{initrd} (default: @code{base-initrd})
6506 A two-argument monadic procedure that returns an initial RAM disk for
6507 the Linux kernel. @xref{Initial RAM Disk}.
6509 @item @code{firmware} (default: @var{%base-firmware})
6511 List of firmware packages loadable by the operating system kernel.
6513 The default includes firmware needed for Atheros-based WiFi devices
6514 (Linux-libre module @code{ath9k}). @xref{Hardware Considerations}, for
6515 more info on supported hardware.
6517 @item @code{host-name}
6520 @item @code{hosts-file}
6522 A file-like object (@pxref{G-Expressions, file-like objects}) for use as
6523 @file{/etc/hosts} (@pxref{Host Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library
6524 Reference Manual}). The default is a file with entries for
6525 @code{localhost} and @var{host-name}.
6527 @item @code{mapped-devices} (default: @code{'()})
6528 A list of mapped devices. @xref{Mapped Devices}.
6530 @item @code{file-systems}
6531 A list of file systems. @xref{File Systems}.
6533 @item @code{swap-devices} (default: @code{'()})
6534 @cindex swap devices
6535 A list of strings identifying devices to be used for ``swap space''
6536 (@pxref{Memory Concepts,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
6537 For example, @code{'("/dev/sda3")}.
6539 @item @code{users} (default: @code{%base-user-accounts})
6540 @itemx @code{groups} (default: @var{%base-groups})
6541 List of user accounts and groups. @xref{User Accounts}.
6543 @item @code{skeletons} (default: @code{(default-skeletons)})
6544 A list target file name/file-like object tuples (@pxref{G-Expressions,
6545 file-like objects}). These are the skeleton files that will be added to
6546 the home directory of newly-created user accounts.
6548 For instance, a valid value may look like this:
6551 `((".bashrc" ,(plain-file "bashrc" "echo Hello\n"))
6552 (".guile" ,(plain-file "guile"
6553 "(use-modules (ice-9 readline))
6554 (activate-readline)")))
6557 @item @code{issue} (default: @var{%default-issue})
6558 A string denoting the contents of the @file{/etc/issue} file, which is
6559 displayed when users log in on a text console.
6561 @item @code{packages} (default: @var{%base-packages})
6562 The set of packages installed in the global profile, which is accessible
6563 at @file{/run/current-system/profile}.
6565 The default set includes core utilities and it is good practice to
6566 install non-core utilities in user profiles (@pxref{Invoking guix
6569 @item @code{timezone}
6570 A timezone identifying string---e.g., @code{"Europe/Paris"}.
6572 You can run the @command{tzselect} command to find out which timezone
6573 string corresponds to your region. Choosing an invalid timezone name
6574 causes @command{guix system} to fail.
6576 @item @code{locale} (default: @code{"en_US.utf8"})
6577 The name of the default locale (@pxref{Locale Names,,, libc, The GNU C
6578 Library Reference Manual}). @xref{Locales}, for more information.
6580 @item @code{locale-definitions} (default: @var{%default-locale-definitions})
6581 The list of locale definitions to be compiled and that may be used at
6582 run time. @xref{Locales}.
6584 @item @code{locale-libcs} (default: @code{(list @var{glibc})})
6585 The list of GNU@tie{}libc packages whose locale data and tools are used
6586 to build the locale definitions. @xref{Locales}, for compatibility
6587 considerations that justify this option.
6589 @item @code{name-service-switch} (default: @var{%default-nss})
6590 Configuration of the libc name service switch (NSS)---a
6591 @code{<name-service-switch>} object. @xref{Name Service Switch}, for
6594 @item @code{services} (default: @var{%base-services})
6595 A list of service objects denoting system services. @xref{Services}.
6597 @item @code{pam-services} (default: @code{(base-pam-services)})
6599 @cindex pluggable authentication modules
6600 Linux @dfn{pluggable authentication module} (PAM) services.
6601 @c FIXME: Add xref to PAM services section.
6603 @item @code{setuid-programs} (default: @var{%setuid-programs})
6604 List of string-valued G-expressions denoting setuid programs.
6605 @xref{Setuid Programs}.
6607 @item @code{sudoers-file} (default: @var{%sudoers-specification})
6608 @cindex sudoers file
6609 The contents of the @file{/etc/sudoers} file as a file-like object
6610 (@pxref{G-Expressions, @code{local-file} and @code{plain-file}}).
6612 This file specifies which users can use the @command{sudo} command, what
6613 they are allowed to do, and what privileges they may gain. The default
6614 is that only @code{root} and members of the @code{wheel} group may use
6621 @subsection File Systems
6623 The list of file systems to be mounted is specified in the
6624 @code{file-systems} field of the operating system declaration
6625 (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}). Each file system is declared
6626 using the @code{file-system} form, like this:
6630 (mount-point "/home")
6631 (device "/dev/sda3")
6635 As usual, some of the fields are mandatory---those shown in the example
6636 above---while others can be omitted. These are described below.
6638 @deftp {Data Type} file-system
6639 Objects of this type represent file systems to be mounted. They
6640 contain the following members:
6644 This is a string specifying the type of the file system---e.g.,
6647 @item @code{mount-point}
6648 This designates the place where the file system is to be mounted.
6651 This names the ``source'' of the file system. By default it is the name
6652 of a node under @file{/dev}, but its meaning depends on the @code{title}
6653 field described below.
6655 @item @code{title} (default: @code{'device})
6656 This is a symbol that specifies how the @code{device} field is to be
6659 When it is the symbol @code{device}, then the @code{device} field is
6660 interpreted as a file name; when it is @code{label}, then @code{device}
6661 is interpreted as a partition label name; when it is @code{uuid},
6662 @code{device} is interpreted as a partition unique identifier (UUID).
6664 UUIDs may be converted from their string representation (as shown by the
6665 @command{tune2fs -l} command) using the @code{uuid} form@footnote{The
6666 @code{uuid} form expects 16-byte UUIDs as defined in
6667 @uref{https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4122, RFC@tie{}4122}. This is the
6668 form of UUID used by the ext2 family of file systems and others, but it
6669 is different from ``UUIDs'' found in FAT file systems, for instance.},
6674 (mount-point "/home")
6677 (device (uuid "4dab5feb-d176-45de-b287-9b0a6e4c01cb")))
6680 The @code{label} and @code{uuid} options offer a way to refer to disk
6681 partitions without having to hard-code their actual device
6682 name@footnote{Note that, while it is tempting to use
6683 @file{/dev/disk/by-uuid} and similar device names to achieve the same
6684 result, this is not recommended: These special device nodes are created
6685 by the udev daemon and may be unavailable at the time the device is
6688 However, when the source of a file system is a mapped device (@pxref{Mapped
6689 Devices}), its @code{device} field @emph{must} refer to the mapped
6690 device name---e.g., @file{/dev/mapper/root-partition}---and consequently
6691 @code{title} must be set to @code{'device}. This is required so that
6692 the system knows that mounting the file system depends on having the
6693 corresponding device mapping established.
6695 @item @code{flags} (default: @code{'()})
6696 This is a list of symbols denoting mount flags. Recognized flags
6697 include @code{read-only}, @code{bind-mount}, @code{no-dev} (disallow
6698 access to special files), @code{no-suid} (ignore setuid and setgid
6699 bits), and @code{no-exec} (disallow program execution.)
6701 @item @code{options} (default: @code{#f})
6702 This is either @code{#f}, or a string denoting mount options.
6704 @item @code{mount?} (default: @code{#t})
6705 This value indicates whether to automatically mount the file system when
6706 the system is brought up. When set to @code{#f}, the file system gets
6707 an entry in @file{/etc/fstab} (read by the @command{mount} command) but
6708 is not automatically mounted.
6710 @item @code{needed-for-boot?} (default: @code{#f})
6711 This Boolean value indicates whether the file system is needed when
6712 booting. If that is true, then the file system is mounted when the
6713 initial RAM disk (initrd) is loaded. This is always the case, for
6714 instance, for the root file system.
6716 @item @code{check?} (default: @code{#t})
6717 This Boolean indicates whether the file system needs to be checked for
6718 errors before being mounted.
6720 @item @code{create-mount-point?} (default: @code{#f})
6721 When true, the mount point is created if it does not exist yet.
6723 @item @code{dependencies} (default: @code{'()})
6724 This is a list of @code{<file-system>} objects representing file systems
6725 that must be mounted before (and unmounted after) this one.
6727 As an example, consider a hierarchy of mounts: @file{/sys/fs/cgroup} is
6728 a dependency of @file{/sys/fs/cgroup/cpu} and
6729 @file{/sys/fs/cgroup/memory}.
6734 The @code{(gnu system file-systems)} exports the following useful
6737 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-file-systems
6738 These are essential file systems that are required on normal systems,
6739 such as @var{%pseudo-terminal-file-system} and @var{%immutable-store} (see
6740 below.) Operating system declarations should always contain at least
6744 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %pseudo-terminal-file-system
6745 This is the file system to be mounted as @file{/dev/pts}. It supports
6746 @dfn{pseudo-terminals} created @i{via} @code{openpty} and similar
6747 functions (@pxref{Pseudo-Terminals,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
6748 Manual}). Pseudo-terminals are used by terminal emulators such as
6752 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %shared-memory-file-system
6753 This file system is mounted as @file{/dev/shm} and is used to support
6754 memory sharing across processes (@pxref{Memory-mapped I/O,
6755 @code{shm_open},, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
6758 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %immutable-store
6759 This file system performs a read-only ``bind mount'' of
6760 @file{/gnu/store}, making it read-only for all the users including
6761 @code{root}. This prevents against accidental modification by software
6762 running as @code{root} or by system administrators.
6764 The daemon itself is still able to write to the store: it remounts it
6765 read-write in its own ``name space.''
6768 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %binary-format-file-system
6769 The @code{binfmt_misc} file system, which allows handling of arbitrary
6770 executable file types to be delegated to user space. This requires the
6771 @code{binfmt.ko} kernel module to be loaded.
6774 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %fuse-control-file-system
6775 The @code{fusectl} file system, which allows unprivileged users to mount
6776 and unmount user-space FUSE file systems. This requires the
6777 @code{fuse.ko} kernel module to be loaded.
6780 @node Mapped Devices
6781 @subsection Mapped Devices
6783 @cindex device mapping
6784 @cindex mapped devices
6785 The Linux kernel has a notion of @dfn{device mapping}: a block device,
6786 such as a hard disk partition, can be @dfn{mapped} into another device,
6787 with additional processing over the data that flows through
6788 it@footnote{Note that the GNU@tie{}Hurd makes no difference between the
6789 concept of a ``mapped device'' and that of a file system: both boil down
6790 to @emph{translating} input/output operations made on a file to
6791 operations on its backing store. Thus, the Hurd implements mapped
6792 devices, like file systems, using the generic @dfn{translator} mechanism
6793 (@pxref{Translators,,, hurd, The GNU Hurd Reference Manual}).}. A
6794 typical example is encryption device mapping: all writes to the mapped
6795 device are encrypted, and all reads are deciphered, transparently.
6797 Mapped devices are declared using the @code{mapped-device} form:
6801 (source "/dev/sda3")
6803 (type luks-device-mapping))
6806 Or, better yet, like this:
6810 (source (uuid "cb67fc72-0d54-4c88-9d4b-b225f30b0f44"))
6812 (type luks-device-mapping))
6815 @cindex disk encryption
6817 This example specifies a mapping from @file{/dev/sda3} to
6818 @file{/dev/mapper/home} using LUKS---the
6819 @url{http://code.google.com/p/cryptsetup,Linux Unified Key Setup}, a
6820 standard mechanism for disk encryption. In the second example, the UUID
6821 (unique identifier) is the LUKS UUID returned for the device by a
6825 cryptsetup luksUUID /dev/sdx9
6828 The @file{/dev/mapper/home}
6829 device can then be used as the @code{device} of a @code{file-system}
6830 declaration (@pxref{File Systems}). The @code{mapped-device} form is
6833 @deftp {Data Type} mapped-device
6834 Objects of this type represent device mappings that will be made when
6835 the system boots up.
6839 This string specifies the name of the block device to be mapped, such as
6843 This string specifies the name of the mapping to be established. For
6844 example, specifying @code{"my-partition"} will lead to the creation of
6845 the @code{"/dev/mapper/my-partition"} device.
6848 This must be a @code{mapped-device-kind} object, which specifies how
6849 @var{source} is mapped to @var{target}.
6853 @defvr {Scheme Variable} luks-device-mapping
6854 This defines LUKS block device encryption using the @command{cryptsetup}
6855 command from the package with the same name. It relies on the
6856 @code{dm-crypt} Linux kernel module.
6860 @subsection User Accounts
6862 User accounts and groups are entirely managed through the
6863 @code{operating-system} declaration. They are specified with the
6864 @code{user-account} and @code{user-group} forms:
6870 (supplementary-groups '("wheel" ;allow use of sudo, etc.
6872 "video" ;video devices such as webcams
6873 "cdrom")) ;the good ol' CD-ROM
6874 (comment "Bob's sister")
6875 (home-directory "/home/alice"))
6878 When booting or upon completion of @command{guix system reconfigure},
6879 the system ensures that only the user accounts and groups specified in
6880 the @code{operating-system} declaration exist, and with the specified
6881 properties. Thus, account or group creations or modifications made by
6882 directly invoking commands such as @command{useradd} are lost upon
6883 reconfiguration or reboot. This ensures that the system remains exactly
6886 @deftp {Data Type} user-account
6887 Objects of this type represent user accounts. The following members may
6892 The name of the user account.
6895 This is the name (a string) or identifier (a number) of the user group
6896 this account belongs to.
6898 @item @code{supplementary-groups} (default: @code{'()})
6899 Optionally, this can be defined as a list of group names that this
6902 @item @code{uid} (default: @code{#f})
6903 This is the user ID for this account (a number), or @code{#f}. In the
6904 latter case, a number is automatically chosen by the system when the
6907 @item @code{comment} (default: @code{""})
6908 A comment about the account, such as the account owner's full name.
6910 @item @code{home-directory}
6911 This is the name of the home directory for the account.
6913 @item @code{shell} (default: Bash)
6914 This is a G-expression denoting the file name of a program to be used as
6915 the shell (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
6917 @item @code{system?} (default: @code{#f})
6918 This Boolean value indicates whether the account is a ``system''
6919 account. System accounts are sometimes treated specially; for instance,
6920 graphical login managers do not list them.
6922 @anchor{user-account-password}
6923 @item @code{password} (default: @code{#f})
6924 You would normally leave this field to @code{#f}, initialize user
6925 passwords as @code{root} with the @command{passwd} command, and then let
6926 users change it with @command{passwd}. Passwords set with
6927 @command{passwd} are of course preserved across reboot and
6930 If you @emph{do} want to have a preset password for an account, then
6931 this field must contain the encrypted password, as a string.
6932 @xref{crypt,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}, for more information
6933 on password encryption, and @ref{Encryption,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference
6934 Manual}, for information on Guile's @code{crypt} procedure.
6939 User group declarations are even simpler:
6942 (user-group (name "students"))
6945 @deftp {Data Type} user-group
6946 This type is for, well, user groups. There are just a few fields:
6950 The name of the group.
6952 @item @code{id} (default: @code{#f})
6953 The group identifier (a number). If @code{#f}, a new number is
6954 automatically allocated when the group is created.
6956 @item @code{system?} (default: @code{#f})
6957 This Boolean value indicates whether the group is a ``system'' group.
6958 System groups have low numerical IDs.
6960 @item @code{password} (default: @code{#f})
6961 What, user groups can have a password? Well, apparently yes. Unless
6962 @code{#f}, this field specifies the password of the group.
6967 For convenience, a variable lists all the basic user groups one may
6970 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-groups
6971 This is the list of basic user groups that users and/or packages expect
6972 to be present on the system. This includes groups such as ``root'',
6973 ``wheel'', and ``users'', as well as groups used to control access to
6974 specific devices such as ``audio'', ``disk'', and ``cdrom''.
6977 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-user-accounts
6978 This is the list of basic system accounts that programs may expect to
6979 find on a GNU/Linux system, such as the ``nobody'' account.
6981 Note that the ``root'' account is not included here. It is a
6982 special-case and is automatically added whether or not it is specified.
6989 A @dfn{locale} defines cultural conventions for a particular language
6990 and region of the world (@pxref{Locales,,, libc, The GNU C Library
6991 Reference Manual}). Each locale has a name that typically has the form
6992 @code{@var{language}_@var{territory}.@var{codeset}}---e.g.,
6993 @code{fr_LU.utf8} designates the locale for the French language, with
6994 cultural conventions from Luxembourg, and using the UTF-8 encoding.
6996 @cindex locale definition
6997 Usually, you will want to specify the default locale for the machine
6998 using the @code{locale} field of the @code{operating-system} declaration
6999 (@pxref{operating-system Reference, @code{locale}}).
7001 The selected locale is automatically added to the @dfn{locale
7002 definitions} known to the system if needed, with its codeset inferred
7003 from its name---e.g., @code{bo_CN.utf8} will be assumed to use the
7004 @code{UTF-8} codeset. Additional locale definitions can be specified in
7005 the @code{locale-definitions} slot of @code{operating-system}---this is
7006 useful, for instance, if the codeset could not be inferred from the
7007 locale name. The default set of locale definitions includes some widely
7008 used locales, but not all the available locales, in order to save space.
7010 For instance, to add the North Frisian locale for Germany, the value of
7014 (cons (locale-definition
7015 (name "fy_DE.utf8") (source "fy_DE"))
7016 %default-locale-definitions)
7019 Likewise, to save space, one might want @code{locale-definitions} to
7020 list only the locales that are actually used, as in:
7023 (list (locale-definition
7024 (name "ja_JP.eucjp") (source "ja_JP")
7025 (charset "EUC-JP")))
7029 The compiled locale definitions are available at
7030 @file{/run/current-system/locale/X.Y}, where @code{X.Y} is the libc
7031 version, which is the default location where the GNU@tie{}libc provided
7032 by Guix looks for locale data. This can be overridden using the
7033 @code{LOCPATH} environment variable (@pxref{locales-and-locpath,
7034 @code{LOCPATH} and locale packages}).
7036 The @code{locale-definition} form is provided by the @code{(gnu system
7037 locale)} module. Details are given below.
7039 @deftp {Data Type} locale-definition
7040 This is the data type of a locale definition.
7045 The name of the locale. @xref{Locale Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library
7046 Reference Manual}, for more information on locale names.
7049 The name of the source for that locale. This is typically the
7050 @code{@var{language}_@var{territory}} part of the locale name.
7052 @item @code{charset} (default: @code{"UTF-8"})
7053 The ``character set'' or ``code set'' for that locale,
7054 @uref{http://www.iana.org/assignments/character-sets, as defined by
7060 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-locale-definitions
7061 A list of commonly used UTF-8 locales, used as the default
7062 value of the @code{locale-definitions} field of @code{operating-system}
7066 @cindex normalized codeset in locale names
7067 These locale definitions use the @dfn{normalized codeset} for the part
7068 that follows the dot in the name (@pxref{Using gettextized software,
7069 normalized codeset,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}). So for
7070 instance it has @code{uk_UA.utf8} but @emph{not}, say,
7074 @subsubsection Locale Data Compatibility Considerations
7076 @cindex incompatibility, of locale data
7077 @code{operating-system} declarations provide a @code{locale-libcs} field
7078 to specify the GNU@tie{}libc packages that are used to compile locale
7079 declarations (@pxref{operating-system Reference}). ``Why would I
7080 care?'', you may ask. Well, it turns out that the binary format of
7081 locale data is occasionally incompatible from one libc version to
7084 @c See <https://sourceware.org/ml/libc-alpha/2015-09/msg00575.html>
7085 @c and <https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2015-08/msg00737.html>.
7086 For instance, a program linked against libc version 2.21 is unable to
7087 read locale data produced with libc 2.22; worse, that program
7088 @emph{aborts} instead of simply ignoring the incompatible locale
7089 data@footnote{Versions 2.23 and later of GNU@tie{}libc will simply skip
7090 the incompatible locale data, which is already an improvement.}.
7091 Similarly, a program linked against libc 2.22 can read most, but not
7092 all, the locale data from libc 2.21 (specifically, @code{LC_COLLATE}
7093 data is incompatible); thus calls to @code{setlocale} may fail, but
7094 programs will not abort.
7096 The ``problem'' in GuixSD is that users have a lot of freedom: They can
7097 choose whether and when to upgrade software in their profiles, and might
7098 be using a libc version different from the one the system administrator
7099 used to build the system-wide locale data.
7101 Fortunately, unprivileged users can also install their own locale data
7102 and define @var{GUIX_LOCPATH} accordingly (@pxref{locales-and-locpath,
7103 @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} and locale packages}).
7105 Still, it is best if the system-wide locale data at
7106 @file{/run/current-system/locale} is built for all the libc versions
7107 actually in use on the system, so that all the programs can access
7108 it---this is especially crucial on a multi-user system. To do that, the
7109 administrator can specify several libc packages in the
7110 @code{locale-libcs} field of @code{operating-system}:
7113 (use-package-modules base)
7117 (locale-libcs (list glibc-2.21 (canonical-package glibc))))
7120 This example would lead to a system containing locale definitions for
7121 both libc 2.21 and the current version of libc in
7122 @file{/run/current-system/locale}.
7126 @subsection Services
7128 @cindex system services
7129 An important part of preparing an @code{operating-system} declaration is
7130 listing @dfn{system services} and their configuration (@pxref{Using the
7131 Configuration System}). System services are typically daemons launched
7132 when the system boots, or other actions needed at that time---e.g.,
7133 configuring network access.
7135 Services are managed by the GNU@tie{}Shepherd (@pxref{Introduction,,,
7136 shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}). On a running system, the
7137 @command{herd} command allows you to list the available services, show
7138 their status, start and stop them, or do other specific operations
7139 (@pxref{Jump Start,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}). For example:
7145 The above command, run as @code{root}, lists the currently defined
7146 services. The @command{herd doc} command shows a synopsis of the given
7151 Run libc's name service cache daemon (nscd).
7154 The @command{start}, @command{stop}, and @command{restart} sub-commands
7155 have the effect you would expect. For instance, the commands below stop
7156 the nscd service and restart the Xorg display server:
7160 Service nscd has been stopped.
7161 # herd restart xorg-server
7162 Service xorg-server has been stopped.
7163 Service xorg-server has been started.
7166 The following sections document the available services, starting with
7167 the core services, that may be used in an @code{operating-system}
7171 * Base Services:: Essential system services.
7172 * Networking Services:: Network setup, SSH daemon, etc.
7173 * X Window:: Graphical display.
7174 * Desktop Services:: D-Bus and desktop services.
7175 * Database Services:: SQL databases.
7176 * Mail Services:: IMAP, POP3, SMTP, and all that.
7177 * Web Services:: Web servers.
7178 * Various Services:: Other services.
7182 @subsubsection Base Services
7184 The @code{(gnu services base)} module provides definitions for the basic
7185 services that one expects from the system. The services exported by
7186 this module are listed below.
7188 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-services
7189 This variable contains a list of basic services (@pxref{Service Types
7190 and Services}, for more information on service objects) one would
7191 expect from the system: a login service (mingetty) on each tty, syslogd,
7192 the libc name service cache daemon (nscd), the udev device manager, and
7195 This is the default value of the @code{services} field of
7196 @code{operating-system} declarations. Usually, when customizing a
7197 system, you will want to append services to @var{%base-services}, like
7201 (cons* (avahi-service) (lsh-service) %base-services)
7205 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} host-name-service @var{name}
7206 Return a service that sets the host name to @var{name}.
7209 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} mingetty-service @var{config}
7210 Return a service to run mingetty according to @var{config}, a
7211 @code{<mingetty-configuration>} object, which specifies the tty to run, among
7215 @deftp {Data Type} mingetty-configuration
7216 This is the data type representing the configuration of Mingetty, which
7217 implements console log-in.
7222 The name of the console this Mingetty runs on---e.g., @code{"tty1"}.
7225 A file-like object containing the ``message of the day''.
7227 @item @code{auto-login} (default: @code{#f})
7228 When true, this field must be a string denoting the user name under
7229 which the system automatically logs in. When it is @code{#f}, a
7230 user name and password must be entered to log in.
7232 @item @code{login-program} (default: @code{#f})
7233 This must be either @code{#f}, in which case the default log-in program
7234 is used (@command{login} from the Shadow tool suite), or a gexp denoting
7235 the name of the log-in program.
7237 @item @code{login-pause?} (default: @code{#f})
7238 When set to @code{#t} in conjunction with @var{auto-login}, the user
7239 will have to press a key before the log-in shell is launched.
7241 @item @code{mingetty} (default: @var{mingetty})
7242 The Mingetty package to use.
7247 @cindex name service cache daemon
7249 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} nscd-service [@var{config}] [#:glibc glibc] @
7250 [#:name-services '()]
7251 Return a service that runs the libc name service cache daemon (nscd) with the
7252 given @var{config}---an @code{<nscd-configuration>} object. @xref{Name
7253 Service Switch}, for an example.
7256 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %nscd-default-configuration
7257 This is the default @code{<nscd-configuration>} value (see below) used
7258 by @code{nscd-service}. It uses the caches defined by
7259 @var{%nscd-default-caches}; see below.
7262 @deftp {Data Type} nscd-configuration
7263 This is the data type representing the name service cache daemon (nscd)
7268 @item @code{name-services} (default: @code{'()})
7269 List of packages denoting @dfn{name services} that must be visible to
7270 the nscd---e.g., @code{(list @var{nss-mdns})}.
7272 @item @code{glibc} (default: @var{glibc})
7273 Package object denoting the GNU C Library providing the @command{nscd}
7276 @item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/nscd.log"})
7277 Name of the nscd log file. This is where debugging output goes when
7278 @code{debug-level} is strictly positive.
7280 @item @code{debug-level} (default: @code{0})
7281 Integer denoting the debugging levels. Higher numbers mean that more
7282 debugging output is logged.
7284 @item @code{caches} (default: @var{%nscd-default-caches})
7285 List of @code{<nscd-cache>} objects denoting things to be cached; see
7291 @deftp {Data Type} nscd-cache
7292 Data type representing a cache database of nscd and its parameters.
7296 @item @code{database}
7297 This is a symbol representing the name of the database to be cached.
7298 Valid values are @code{passwd}, @code{group}, @code{hosts}, and
7299 @code{services}, which designate the corresponding NSS database
7300 (@pxref{NSS Basics,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
7302 @item @code{positive-time-to-live}
7303 @itemx @code{negative-time-to-live} (default: @code{20})
7304 A number representing the number of seconds during which a positive or
7305 negative lookup result remains in cache.
7307 @item @code{check-files?} (default: @code{#t})
7308 Whether to check for updates of the files corresponding to
7311 For instance, when @var{database} is @code{hosts}, setting this flag
7312 instructs nscd to check for updates in @file{/etc/hosts} and to take
7315 @item @code{persistent?} (default: @code{#t})
7316 Whether the cache should be stored persistently on disk.
7318 @item @code{shared?} (default: @code{#t})
7319 Whether the cache should be shared among users.
7321 @item @code{max-database-size} (default: 32@tie{}MiB)
7322 Maximum size in bytes of the database cache.
7324 @c XXX: 'suggested-size' and 'auto-propagate?' seem to be expert
7325 @c settings, so leave them out.
7330 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %nscd-default-caches
7331 List of @code{<nscd-cache>} objects used by default by
7332 @code{nscd-configuration} (see above).
7334 It enables persistent and aggressive caching of service and host name
7335 lookups. The latter provides better host name lookup performance,
7336 resilience in the face of unreliable name servers, and also better
7337 privacy---often the result of host name lookups is in local cache, so
7338 external name servers do not even need to be queried.
7342 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} syslog-service @
7343 [#:config-file @var{%default-syslog.conf}]
7344 Return a service that runs @command{syslogd}. If the configuration file
7345 name @var{config-file} is not specified, use some reasonable default
7348 @xref{syslogd invocation,,, inetutils, GNU Inetutils}, for more
7349 information on the configuration file syntax.
7352 @anchor{guix-configuration-type}
7353 @deftp {Data Type} guix-configuration
7354 This data type represents the configuration of the Guix build daemon.
7355 @xref{Invoking guix-daemon}, for more information.
7358 @item @code{guix} (default: @var{guix})
7359 The Guix package to use.
7361 @item @code{build-group} (default: @code{"guixbuild"})
7362 Name of the group for build user accounts.
7364 @item @code{build-accounts} (default: @code{10})
7365 Number of build user accounts to create.
7367 @item @code{authorize-key?} (default: @code{#t})
7368 Whether to authorize the substitute key for @code{hydra.gnu.org}
7369 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
7371 @item @code{use-substitutes?} (default: @code{#t})
7372 Whether to use substitutes.
7374 @item @code{substitute-urls} (default: @var{%default-substitute-urls})
7375 The list of URLs where to look for substitutes by default.
7377 @item @code{extra-options} (default: @code{'()})
7378 List of extra command-line options for @command{guix-daemon}.
7380 @item @code{lsof} (default: @var{lsof})
7381 @itemx @code{lsh} (default: @var{lsh})
7382 The lsof and lsh packages to use.
7387 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} guix-service @var{config}
7388 Return a service that runs the Guix build daemon according to
7392 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} udev-service [#:udev udev]
7393 Run @var{udev}, which populates the @file{/dev} directory dynamically.
7396 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} urandom-seed-service @var{#f}
7397 Save some entropy in @var{%random-seed-file} to seed @file{/dev/urandom}
7401 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %random-seed-file
7402 This is the name of the file where some random bytes are saved by
7403 @var{urandom-seed-service} to seed @file{/dev/urandom} when rebooting.
7404 It defaults to @file{/var/lib/random-seed}.
7407 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} console-keymap-service @var{files} ...
7408 @cindex keyboard layout
7409 Return a service to load console keymaps from @var{files} using
7410 @command{loadkeys} command. Most likely, you want to load some default
7411 keymap, which can be done like this:
7414 (console-keymap-service "dvorak")
7417 Or, for example, for a Swedish keyboard, you may need to combine
7418 the following keymaps:
7420 (console-keymap-service "se-lat6" "se-fi-lat6")
7423 Also you can specify a full file name (or file names) of your keymap(s).
7424 See @code{man loadkeys} for details.
7428 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} gpm-service [#:gpm @var{gpm}] @
7430 Run @var{gpm}, the general-purpose mouse daemon, with the given
7431 command-line @var{options}. GPM allows users to use the mouse in the console,
7432 notably to select, copy, and paste text. The default value of @var{options}
7433 uses the @code{ps2} protocol, which works for both USB and PS/2 mice.
7435 This service is not part of @var{%base-services}.
7438 @anchor{guix-publish-service}
7439 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} guix-publish-service [#:guix @var{guix}] @
7440 [#:port 80] [#:host "localhost"]
7441 Return a service that runs @command{guix publish} listening on @var{host}
7442 and @var{port} (@pxref{Invoking guix publish}).
7444 This assumes that @file{/etc/guix} already contains a signing key pair as
7445 created by @command{guix archive --generate-key} (@pxref{Invoking guix
7446 archive}). If that is not the case, the service will fail to start.
7450 @node Networking Services
7451 @subsubsection Networking Services
7453 The @code{(gnu services networking)} module provides services to configure
7454 the network interface.
7456 @cindex DHCP, networking service
7457 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dhcp-client-service [#:dhcp @var{isc-dhcp}]
7458 Return a service that runs @var{dhcp}, a Dynamic Host Configuration
7459 Protocol (DHCP) client, on all the non-loopback network interfaces.
7462 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} static-networking-service @var{interface} @var{ip} @
7463 [#:gateway #f] [#:name-services @code{'()}]
7464 Return a service that starts @var{interface} with address @var{ip}. If
7465 @var{gateway} is true, it must be a string specifying the default network
7470 @cindex network management
7471 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} wicd-service [#:wicd @var{wicd}]
7472 Return a service that runs @url{https://launchpad.net/wicd,Wicd}, a network
7473 management daemon that aims to simplify wired and wireless networking.
7475 This service adds the @var{wicd} package to the global profile, providing
7476 several commands to interact with the daemon and configure networking:
7477 @command{wicd-client}, a graphical user interface, and the @command{wicd-cli}
7478 and @command{wicd-curses} user interfaces.
7481 @cindex NetworkManager
7482 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} network-manager-service @
7483 [#:network-manager @var{network-manager}]
7484 Return a service that runs NetworkManager, a network connection manager
7485 attempting to keep network connectivity active when available.
7489 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} connman-service @
7490 [#:connman @var{connman}]
7491 Return a service that runs @url{https://01.org/connman,Connman}, a network
7494 This service adds the @var{connman} package to the global profile, providing
7495 several the @command{connmanctl} command to interact with the daemon and
7496 configure networking."
7499 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} ntp-service [#:ntp @var{ntp}] @
7500 [#:name-service @var{%ntp-servers}]
7501 Return a service that runs the daemon from @var{ntp}, the
7502 @uref{http://www.ntp.org, Network Time Protocol package}. The daemon will
7503 keep the system clock synchronized with that of @var{servers}.
7506 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %ntp-servers
7507 List of host names used as the default NTP servers.
7510 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} tor-service [@var{config-file}] [#:tor @var{tor}]
7511 Return a service to run the @uref{https://torproject.org, Tor} anonymous
7514 The daemon runs as the @code{tor} unprivileged user. It is passed
7515 @var{config-file}, a file-like object, with an additional @code{User tor} line
7516 and lines for hidden services added via @code{tor-hidden-service}. Run
7517 @command{man tor} for information about the configuration file.
7520 @cindex hidden service
7521 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} tor-hidden-service @var{name} @var{mapping}
7522 Define a new Tor @dfn{hidden service} called @var{name} and implementing
7523 @var{mapping}. @var{mapping} is a list of port/host tuples, such as:
7526 '((22 "127.0.0.1:22")
7527 (80 "127.0.0.1:8080"))
7530 In this example, port 22 of the hidden service is mapped to local port 22, and
7531 port 80 is mapped to local port 8080.
7533 This creates a @file{/var/lib/tor/hidden-services/@var{name}} directory, where
7534 the @file{hostname} file contains the @code{.onion} host name for the hidden
7537 See @uref{https://www.torproject.org/docs/tor-hidden-service.html.en, the Tor
7538 project's documentation} for more information.
7541 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} bitlbee-service [#:bitlbee bitlbee] @
7542 [#:interface "127.0.0.1"] [#:port 6667] @
7543 [#:extra-settings ""]
7544 Return a service that runs @url{http://bitlbee.org,BitlBee}, a daemon that
7545 acts as a gateway between IRC and chat networks.
7547 The daemon will listen to the interface corresponding to the IP address
7548 specified in @var{interface}, on @var{port}. @code{127.0.0.1} means that only
7549 local clients can connect, whereas @code{0.0.0.0} means that connections can
7550 come from any networking interface.
7552 In addition, @var{extra-settings} specifies a string to append to the
7556 Furthermore, @code{(gnu services ssh)} provides the following service.
7558 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} lsh-service [#:host-key "/etc/lsh/host-key"] @
7559 [#:daemonic? #t] [#:interfaces '()] [#:port-number 22] @
7560 [#:allow-empty-passwords? #f] [#:root-login? #f] @
7561 [#:syslog-output? #t] [#:x11-forwarding? #t] @
7562 [#:tcp/ip-forwarding? #t] [#:password-authentication? #t] @
7563 [#:public-key-authentication? #t] [#:initialize? #t]
7564 Run the @command{lshd} program from @var{lsh} to listen on port @var{port-number}.
7565 @var{host-key} must designate a file containing the host key, and readable
7568 When @var{daemonic?} is true, @command{lshd} will detach from the
7569 controlling terminal and log its output to syslogd, unless one sets
7570 @var{syslog-output?} to false. Obviously, it also makes lsh-service
7571 depend on existence of syslogd service. When @var{pid-file?} is true,
7572 @command{lshd} writes its PID to the file called @var{pid-file}.
7574 When @var{initialize?} is true, automatically create the seed and host key
7575 upon service activation if they do not exist yet. This may take long and
7576 require interaction.
7578 When @var{initialize?} is false, it is up to the user to initialize the
7579 randomness generator (@pxref{lsh-make-seed,,, lsh, LSH Manual}), and to create
7580 a key pair with the private key stored in file @var{host-key} (@pxref{lshd
7581 basics,,, lsh, LSH Manual}).
7583 When @var{interfaces} is empty, lshd listens for connections on all the
7584 network interfaces; otherwise, @var{interfaces} must be a list of host names
7587 @var{allow-empty-passwords?} specifies whether to accept log-ins with empty
7588 passwords, and @var{root-login?} specifies whether to accept log-ins as
7591 The other options should be self-descriptive.
7594 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %facebook-host-aliases
7595 This variable contains a string for use in @file{/etc/hosts}
7596 (@pxref{Host Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}). Each
7597 line contains a entry that maps a known server name of the Facebook
7598 on-line service---e.g., @code{www.facebook.com}---to the local
7599 host---@code{127.0.0.1} or its IPv6 equivalent, @code{::1}.
7601 This variable is typically used in the @code{hosts-file} field of an
7602 @code{operating-system} declaration (@pxref{operating-system Reference,
7603 @file{/etc/hosts}}):
7606 (use-modules (gnu) (guix))
7609 (host-name "mymachine")
7612 ;; Create a /etc/hosts file with aliases for "localhost"
7613 ;; and "mymachine", as well as for Facebook servers.
7615 (string-append (local-host-aliases host-name)
7616 %facebook-host-aliases))))
7619 This mechanism can prevent programs running locally, such as Web
7620 browsers, from accessing Facebook.
7623 The @code{(gnu services avahi)} provides the following definition.
7625 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} avahi-service [#:avahi @var{avahi}] @
7626 [#:host-name #f] [#:publish? #t] [#:ipv4? #t] @
7627 [#:ipv6? #t] [#:wide-area? #f] @
7628 [#:domains-to-browse '()]
7629 Return a service that runs @command{avahi-daemon}, a system-wide
7630 mDNS/DNS-SD responder that allows for service discovery and
7631 "zero-configuration" host name lookups (see @uref{http://avahi.org/}), and
7632 extends the name service cache daemon (nscd) so that it can resolve
7633 @code{.local} host names using
7634 @uref{http://0pointer.de/lennart/projects/nss-mdns/, nss-mdns}. Additionally,
7635 add the @var{avahi} package to the system profile so that commands such as
7636 @command{avahi-browse} are directly usable.
7638 If @var{host-name} is different from @code{#f}, use that as the host name to
7639 publish for this machine; otherwise, use the machine's actual host name.
7641 When @var{publish?} is true, publishing of host names and services is allowed;
7642 in particular, avahi-daemon will publish the machine's host name and IP
7643 address via mDNS on the local network.
7645 When @var{wide-area?} is true, DNS-SD over unicast DNS is enabled.
7647 Boolean values @var{ipv4?} and @var{ipv6?} determine whether to use IPv4/IPv6
7653 @subsubsection X Window
7655 Support for the X Window graphical display system---specifically
7656 Xorg---is provided by the @code{(gnu services xorg)} module. Note that
7657 there is no @code{xorg-service} procedure. Instead, the X server is
7658 started by the @dfn{login manager}, currently SLiM.
7660 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} slim-service [#:allow-empty-passwords? #f] @
7661 [#:auto-login? #f] [#:default-user ""] [#:startx] @
7662 [#:theme @var{%default-slim-theme}] @
7663 [#:theme-name @var{%default-slim-theme-name}]
7664 Return a service that spawns the SLiM graphical login manager, which in
7665 turn starts the X display server with @var{startx}, a command as returned by
7666 @code{xorg-start-command}.
7670 SLiM automatically looks for session types described by the @file{.desktop}
7671 files in @file{/run/current-system/profile/share/xsessions} and allows users
7672 to choose a session from the log-in screen using @kbd{F1}. Packages such as
7673 @var{xfce}, @var{sawfish}, and @var{ratpoison} provide @file{.desktop} files;
7674 adding them to the system-wide set of packages automatically makes them
7675 available at the log-in screen.
7677 In addition, @file{~/.xsession} files are honored. When available,
7678 @file{~/.xsession} must be an executable that starts a window manager
7679 and/or other X clients.
7681 When @var{allow-empty-passwords?} is true, allow logins with an empty
7682 password. When @var{auto-login?} is true, log in automatically as
7685 If @var{theme} is @code{#f}, use the default log-in theme; otherwise
7686 @var{theme} must be a gexp denoting the name of a directory containing the
7687 theme to use. In that case, @var{theme-name} specifies the name of the
7691 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-theme
7692 @defvrx {Scheme Variable} %default-theme-name
7693 The G-Expression denoting the default SLiM theme and its name.
7696 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} xorg-start-command [#:guile] @
7697 [#:configuration-file #f] [#:xorg-server @var{xorg-server}]
7698 Return a derivation that builds a @var{guile} script to start the X server
7699 from @var{xorg-server}. @var{configuration-file} is the server configuration
7700 file or a derivation that builds it; when omitted, the result of
7701 @code{xorg-configuration-file} is used.
7703 Usually the X server is started by a login manager.
7706 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} xorg-configuration-file @
7707 [#:drivers '()] [#:resolutions '()] [#:extra-config '()]
7708 Return a configuration file for the Xorg server containing search paths for
7709 all the common drivers.
7711 @var{drivers} must be either the empty list, in which case Xorg chooses a
7712 graphics driver automatically, or a list of driver names that will be tried in
7713 this order---e.g., @code{(\"modesetting\" \"vesa\")}.
7715 Likewise, when @var{resolutions} is the empty list, Xorg chooses an
7716 appropriate screen resolution; otherwise, it must be a list of
7717 resolutions---e.g., @code{((1024 768) (640 480))}.
7719 Last, @var{extra-config} is a list of strings or objects appended to the
7720 @code{text-file*} argument list. It is used to pass extra text to be added
7721 verbatim to the configuration file.
7724 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} screen-locker-service @var{package} [@var{name}]
7725 Add @var{package}, a package for a screen-locker or screen-saver whose
7726 command is @var{program}, to the set of setuid programs and add a PAM entry
7727 for it. For example:
7730 (screen-locker-service xlockmore "xlock")
7733 makes the good ol' XlockMore usable.
7737 @node Desktop Services
7738 @subsubsection Desktop Services
7740 The @code{(gnu services desktop)} module provides services that are
7741 usually useful in the context of a ``desktop'' setup---that is, on a
7742 machine running a graphical display server, possibly with graphical user
7743 interfaces, etc. It also defines services that provide specific desktop
7744 environments like GNOME and XFCE.
7746 To simplify things, the module defines a variable containing the set of
7747 services that users typically expect on a machine with a graphical
7748 environment and networking:
7750 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %desktop-services
7751 This is a list of services that builds upon @var{%base-services} and
7752 adds or adjusts services for a typical ``desktop'' setup.
7754 In particular, it adds a graphical login manager (@pxref{X Window,
7755 @code{slim-service}}), screen lockers,
7756 a network management tool (@pxref{Networking
7757 Services, @code{wicd-service}}), energy and color management services,
7758 the @code{elogind} login and seat manager, the Polkit privilege service,
7759 the GeoClue location service, an NTP client (@pxref{Networking
7760 Services}), the Avahi daemon, and has the name service switch service
7761 configured to be able to use @code{nss-mdns} (@pxref{Name Service
7765 The @var{%desktop-services} variable can be used as the @code{services}
7766 field of an @code{operating-system} declaration (@pxref{operating-system
7767 Reference, @code{services}}).
7769 Additionally, the @code{gnome-desktop-service} and
7770 @code{xfce-desktop-service} procedures can add GNOME and/or XFCE to a
7771 system. To ``add GNOME'' means that system-level services like the
7772 backlight adjustment helpers and the power management utilities are
7773 added to the system, extending @code{polkit} and @code{dbus}
7774 appropriately, allowing GNOME to operate with elevated privileges on a
7775 limited number of special-purpose system interfaces. Additionally,
7776 adding a service made by @code{gnome-desktop-service} adds the GNOME
7777 metapackage to the system profile. Likewise, adding the XFCE service
7778 not only adds the @code{xfce} metapackage to the system profile, but it
7779 also gives the Thunar file manager the ability to open a ``root-mode''
7780 file management window, if the user authenticates using the
7781 administrator's password via the standard polkit graphical interface.
7783 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} gnome-desktop-service
7784 Return a service that adds the @code{gnome} package to the system
7785 profile, and extends polkit with the actions from
7786 @code{gnome-settings-daemon}.
7789 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} xfce-desktop-service
7790 Return a service that adds the @code{xfce} package to the system profile,
7791 and extends polkit with the abilit for @code{thunar} to manipulate the
7792 file system as root from within a user session, after the user has
7793 authenticated with the administrator's password.
7796 Because the GNOME and XFCE desktop services pull in so many packages,
7797 the default @code{%desktop-services} variable doesn't include either of
7798 them by default. To add GNOME or XFCE, just @code{cons} them onto
7799 @code{%desktop-services} in the @code{services} field of your
7800 @code{operating-system}:
7804 (use-service-modules desktop)
7807 ;; cons* adds items to the list given as its last argument.
7808 (services (cons* (gnome-desktop-service)
7809 (xfce-desktop-service)
7814 These desktop environments will then be available as options in the
7815 graphical login window.
7817 The actual service definitions included in @code{%desktop-services} and
7818 provided by @code{(gnu services dbus)} and @code{(gnu services desktop)}
7819 are described below.
7821 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dbus-service [#:dbus @var{dbus}] [#:services '()]
7822 Return a service that runs the ``system bus'', using @var{dbus}, with
7823 support for @var{services}.
7825 @uref{http://dbus.freedesktop.org/, D-Bus} is an inter-process communication
7826 facility. Its system bus is used to allow system services to communicate
7827 and to be notified of system-wide events.
7829 @var{services} must be a list of packages that provide an
7830 @file{etc/dbus-1/system.d} directory containing additional D-Bus configuration
7831 and policy files. For example, to allow avahi-daemon to use the system bus,
7832 @var{services} must be equal to @code{(list avahi)}.
7835 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} elogind-service [#:config @var{config}]
7836 Return a service that runs the @code{elogind} login and
7837 seat management daemon. @uref{https://github.com/andywingo/elogind,
7838 Elogind} exposes a D-Bus interface that can be used to know which users
7839 are logged in, know what kind of sessions they have open, suspend the
7840 system, inhibit system suspend, reboot the system, and other tasks.
7842 Elogind handles most system-level power events for a computer, for
7843 example suspending the system when a lid is closed, or shutting it down
7844 when the power button is pressed.
7846 The @var{config} keyword argument specifies the configuration for
7847 elogind, and should be the result of an @code{(elogind-configuration
7848 (@var{parameter} @var{value})...)} invocation. Available parameters and
7849 their default values are:
7852 @item kill-user-processes?
7854 @item kill-only-users
7856 @item kill-exclude-users
7858 @item inhibit-delay-max-seconds
7860 @item handle-power-key
7862 @item handle-suspend-key
7864 @item handle-hibernate-key
7866 @item handle-lid-switch
7868 @item handle-lid-switch-docked
7870 @item power-key-ignore-inhibited?
7872 @item suspend-key-ignore-inhibited?
7874 @item hibernate-key-ignore-inhibited?
7876 @item lid-switch-ignore-inhibited?
7878 @item holdoff-timeout-seconds
7882 @item idle-action-seconds
7884 @item runtime-directory-size-percent
7886 @item runtime-directory-size
7891 @code{("mem" "standby" "freeze")}
7894 @item hibernate-state
7896 @item hibernate-mode
7897 @code{("platform" "shutdown")}
7898 @item hybrid-sleep-state
7900 @item hybrid-sleep-mode
7901 @code{("suspend" "platform" "shutdown")}
7905 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} polkit-service @
7906 [#:polkit @var{polkit}]
7907 Return a service that runs the
7908 @uref{http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/polkit/, Polkit privilege
7909 management service}, which allows system administrators to grant access to
7910 privileged operations in a structured way. By querying the Polkit service, a
7911 privileged system component can know when it should grant additional
7912 capabilities to ordinary users. For example, an ordinary user can be granted
7913 the capability to suspend the system if the user is logged in locally.
7916 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} upower-service [#:upower @var{upower}] @
7917 [#:watts-up-pro? #f] @
7918 [#:poll-batteries? #t] @
7919 [#:ignore-lid? #f] @
7920 [#:use-percentage-for-policy? #f] @
7921 [#:percentage-low 10] @
7922 [#:percentage-critical 3] @
7923 [#:percentage-action 2] @
7925 [#:time-critical 300] @
7926 [#:time-action 120] @
7927 [#:critical-power-action 'hybrid-sleep]
7928 Return a service that runs @uref{http://upower.freedesktop.org/,
7929 @command{upowerd}}, a system-wide monitor for power consumption and battery
7930 levels, with the given configuration settings. It implements the
7931 @code{org.freedesktop.UPower} D-Bus interface, and is notably used by
7935 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} udisks-service [#:udisks @var{udisks}]
7936 Return a service for @uref{http://udisks.freedesktop.org/docs/latest/,
7937 UDisks}, a @dfn{disk management} daemon that provides user interfaces with
7938 notifications and ways to mount/unmount disks. Programs that talk to UDisks
7939 include the @command{udisksctl} command, part of UDisks, and GNOME Disks.
7942 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} colord-service [#:colord @var{colord}]
7943 Return a service that runs @command{colord}, a system service with a D-Bus
7944 interface to manage the color profiles of input and output devices such as
7945 screens and scanners. It is notably used by the GNOME Color Manager graphical
7946 tool. See @uref{http://www.freedesktop.org/software/colord/, the colord web
7947 site} for more information.
7950 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} geoclue-application name [#:allowed? #t] [#:system? #f] [#:users '()]
7951 Return a configuration allowing an application to access GeoClue
7952 location data. @var{name} is the Desktop ID of the application, without
7953 the @code{.desktop} part. If @var{allowed?} is true, the application
7954 will have access to location information by default. The boolean
7955 @var{system?} value indicates whether an application is a system component
7956 or not. Finally @var{users} is a list of UIDs of all users for which
7957 this application is allowed location info access. An empty users list
7958 means that all users are allowed.
7961 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %standard-geoclue-applications
7962 The standard list of well-known GeoClue application configurations,
7963 granting authority to the GNOME date-and-time utility to ask for the
7964 current location in order to set the time zone, and allowing the
7965 IceCat and Epiphany web browsers to request location information.
7966 IceCat and Epiphany both query the user before allowing a web page to
7967 know the user's location.
7970 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} geoclue-service [#:colord @var{colord}] @
7972 [#:wifi-geolocation-url "https://location.services.mozilla.com/v1/geolocate?key=geoclue"] @
7974 [#:wifi-submission-url "https://location.services.mozilla.com/v1/submit?key=geoclue"] @
7975 [#:submission-nick "geoclue"] @
7976 [#:applications %standard-geoclue-applications]
7977 Return a service that runs the GeoClue location service. This service
7978 provides a D-Bus interface to allow applications to request access to a
7979 user's physical location, and optionally to add information to online
7980 location databases. See
7981 @uref{https://wiki.freedesktop.org/www/Software/GeoClue/, the GeoClue
7982 web site} for more information.
7985 @node Database Services
7986 @subsubsection Database Services
7988 The @code{(gnu services databases)} module provides the following service.
7990 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} postgresql-service [#:postgresql postgresql] @
7991 [#:config-file] [#:data-directory ``/var/lib/postgresql/data'']
7992 Return a service that runs @var{postgresql}, the PostgreSQL database
7995 The PostgreSQL daemon loads its runtime configuration from
7996 @var{config-file} and stores the database cluster in
7997 @var{data-directory}.
8001 @subsubsection Mail Services
8003 The @code{(gnu services mail)} module provides Guix service definitions
8004 for mail services. Currently the only implemented service is Dovecot,
8005 an IMAP, POP3, and LMTP server.
8007 Guix does not yet have a mail transfer agent (MTA), although for some
8008 lightweight purposes the @code{esmtp} relay-only MTA may suffice. Help
8009 is needed to properly integrate a full MTA, such as Postfix. Patches
8012 To add an IMAP/POP3 server to a GuixSD system, add a
8013 @code{dovecot-service} to the operating system definition:
8015 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dovecot-service [#:config (dovecot-configuration)]
8016 Return a service that runs the Dovecot IMAP/POP3/LMTP mail server.
8019 By default, Dovecot does not need much configuration; the default
8020 configuration object created by @code{(dovecot-configuration)} will
8021 suffice if your mail is delivered to @code{~/Maildir}. A self-signed
8022 certificate will be generated for TLS-protected connections, though
8023 Dovecot will also listen on cleartext ports by default. There are a
8024 number of options, though, which mail administrators might need to change,
8025 and as is the case with other services, Guix allows the system
8026 administrator to specify these parameters via a uniform Scheme interface.
8028 For example, to specify that mail is located at @code{maildir~/.mail},
8029 one would instantiate the Dovecot service like this:
8032 (dovecot-service #:config
8033 (dovecot-configuration
8034 (mail-location "maildir:~/.mail")))
8037 The available configuration parameters follow. Each parameter
8038 definition is preceded by its type; for example, @samp{string-list foo}
8039 indicates that the @code{foo} parameter should be specified as a list of
8040 strings. There is also a way to specify the configuration as a string,
8041 if you have an old @code{dovecot.conf} file that you want to port over
8042 from some other system; see the end for more details.
8044 @c The following documentation was initially generated by
8045 @c (generate-documentation) in (gnu services mail). Manually maintained
8046 @c documentation is better, so we shouldn't hesitate to edit below as
8047 @c needed. However if the change you want to make to this documentation
8048 @c can be done in an automated way, it's probably easier to change
8049 @c (generate-documentation) than to make it below and have to deal with
8050 @c the churn as dovecot updates.
8052 Available @code{dovecot-configuration} fields are:
8054 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} package dovecot
8055 The dovecot package.
8058 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} comma-separated-string-list listen
8059 A list of IPs or hosts where to listen for connections. @samp{*}
8060 listens on all IPv4 interfaces, @samp{::} listens on all IPv6
8061 interfaces. If you want to specify non-default ports or anything more
8062 complex, customize the address and port fields of the
8063 @samp{inet-listener} of the specific services you are interested in.
8066 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} protocol-configuration-list protocols
8067 List of protocols we want to serve. Available protocols include
8068 @samp{imap}, @samp{pop3}, and @samp{lmtp}.
8070 Available @code{protocol-configuration} fields are:
8072 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} string name
8073 The name of the protocol.
8076 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} string auth-socket-path
8077 UNIX socket path to the master authentication server to find users.
8078 This is used by imap (for shared users) and lda.
8079 It defaults to @samp{"/var/run/dovecot/auth-userdb"}.
8082 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mail-plugins
8083 Space separated list of plugins to load.
8086 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-max-userip-connections
8087 Maximum number of IMAP connections allowed for a user from each IP
8088 address. NOTE: The username is compared case-sensitively.
8089 Defaults to @samp{10}.
8094 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} service-configuration-list services
8095 List of services to enable. Available services include @samp{imap},
8096 @samp{imap-login}, @samp{pop3}, @samp{pop3-login}, @samp{auth}, and
8099 Available @code{service-configuration} fields are:
8101 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} string kind
8102 The service kind. Valid values include @code{director},
8103 @code{imap-login}, @code{pop3-login}, @code{lmtp}, @code{imap},
8104 @code{pop3}, @code{auth}, @code{auth-worker}, @code{dict},
8105 @code{tcpwrap}, @code{quota-warning}, or anything else.
8108 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} listener-configuration-list listeners
8109 Listeners for the service. A listener is either a
8110 @code{unix-listener-configuration}, a @code{fifo-listener-configuration}, or
8111 an @code{inet-listener-configuration}.
8112 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8114 Available @code{unix-listener-configuration} fields are:
8116 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} file-name path
8117 The file name on which to listen.
8120 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} string mode
8121 The access mode for the socket.
8122 Defaults to @samp{"0600"}.
8125 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} string user
8126 The user to own the socket.
8127 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8130 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} string group
8131 The group to own the socket.
8132 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8136 Available @code{fifo-listener-configuration} fields are:
8138 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} file-name path
8139 The file name on which to listen.
8142 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} string mode
8143 The access mode for the socket.
8144 Defaults to @samp{"0600"}.
8147 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} string user
8148 The user to own the socket.
8149 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8152 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} string group
8153 The group to own the socket.
8154 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8158 Available @code{inet-listener-configuration} fields are:
8160 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} string protocol
8161 The protocol to listen for.
8164 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} string address
8165 The address on which to listen, or empty for all addresses.
8166 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8169 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer port
8170 The port on which to listen.
8173 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} boolean ssl?
8174 Whether to use SSL for this service; @samp{yes}, @samp{no}, or
8176 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
8181 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer service-count
8182 Number of connections to handle before starting a new process.
8183 Typically the only useful values are 0 (unlimited) or 1. 1 is more
8184 secure, but 0 is faster. <doc/wiki/LoginProcess.txt>.
8185 Defaults to @samp{1}.
8188 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer process-min-avail
8189 Number of processes to always keep waiting for more connections.
8190 Defaults to @samp{0}.
8193 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer vsz-limit
8194 If you set @samp{service-count 0}, you probably need to grow
8196 Defaults to @samp{256000000}.
8201 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} dict-configuration dict
8202 Dict configuration, as created by the @code{dict-configuration}
8205 Available @code{dict-configuration} fields are:
8207 @deftypevr {@code{dict-configuration} parameter} free-form-fields entries
8208 A list of key-value pairs that this dict should hold.
8209 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8214 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} passdb-configuration-list passdbs
8215 A list of passdb configurations, each one created by the
8216 @code{passdb-configuration} constructor.
8218 Available @code{passdb-configuration} fields are:
8220 @deftypevr {@code{passdb-configuration} parameter} string driver
8221 The driver that the passdb should use. Valid values include
8222 @samp{pam}, @samp{passwd}, @samp{shadow}, @samp{bsdauth}, and
8224 Defaults to @samp{"pam"}.
8227 @deftypevr {@code{passdb-configuration} parameter} free-form-args args
8228 A list of key-value args to the passdb driver.
8229 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8234 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} userdb-configuration-list userdbs
8235 List of userdb configurations, each one created by the
8236 @code{userdb-configuration} constructor.
8238 Available @code{userdb-configuration} fields are:
8240 @deftypevr {@code{userdb-configuration} parameter} string driver
8241 The driver that the userdb should use. Valid values include
8242 @samp{passwd} and @samp{static}.
8243 Defaults to @samp{"passwd"}.
8246 @deftypevr {@code{userdb-configuration} parameter} free-form-args args
8247 A list of key-value args to the userdb driver.
8248 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8251 @deftypevr {@code{userdb-configuration} parameter} free-form-args override-fields
8252 Override fields from passwd.
8253 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8258 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} plugin-configuration plugin-configuration
8259 Plug-in configuration, created by the @code{plugin-configuration}
8263 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} list-of-namespace-configuration namespaces
8264 List of namespaces. Each item in the list is created by the
8265 @code{namespace-configuration} constructor.
8267 Available @code{namespace-configuration} fields are:
8269 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string name
8270 Name for this namespace.
8273 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string type
8274 Namespace type: @samp{private}, @samp{shared} or @samp{public}.
8275 Defaults to @samp{"private"}.
8278 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string separator
8279 Hierarchy separator to use. You should use the same separator for
8280 all namespaces or some clients get confused. @samp{/} is usually a good
8281 one. The default however depends on the underlying mail storage
8283 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8286 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string prefix
8287 Prefix required to access this namespace. This needs to be
8288 different for all namespaces. For example @samp{Public/}.
8289 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8292 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string location
8293 Physical location of the mailbox. This is in the same format as
8294 mail_location, which is also the default for it.
8295 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8298 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean inbox?
8299 There can be only one INBOX, and this setting defines which
8301 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8304 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean hidden?
8305 If namespace is hidden, it's not advertised to clients via NAMESPACE
8306 extension. You'll most likely also want to set @samp{list? #f}. This is mostly
8307 useful when converting from another server with different namespaces
8308 which you want to deprecate but still keep working. For example you can
8309 create hidden namespaces with prefixes @samp{~/mail/}, @samp{~%u/mail/}
8311 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8314 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean list?
8315 Show the mailboxes under this namespace with the LIST command. This
8316 makes the namespace visible for clients that do not support the NAMESPACE
8317 extension. The special @code{children} value lists child mailboxes, but
8318 hides the namespace prefix.
8319 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
8322 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean subscriptions?
8323 Namespace handles its own subscriptions. If set to @code{#f}, the
8324 parent namespace handles them. The empty prefix should always have this
8326 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
8329 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} mailbox-configuration-list mailboxes
8330 List of predefined mailboxes in this namespace.
8331 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8333 Available @code{mailbox-configuration} fields are:
8335 @deftypevr {@code{mailbox-configuration} parameter} string name
8336 Name for this mailbox.
8339 @deftypevr {@code{mailbox-configuration} parameter} string auto
8340 @samp{create} will automatically create this mailbox.
8341 @samp{subscribe} will both create and subscribe to the mailbox.
8342 Defaults to @samp{"no"}.
8345 @deftypevr {@code{mailbox-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list special-use
8346 List of IMAP @code{SPECIAL-USE} attributes as specified by RFC 6154.
8347 Valid values are @code{\All}, @code{\Archive}, @code{\Drafts},
8348 @code{\Flagged}, @code{\Junk}, @code{\Sent}, and @code{\Trash}.
8349 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8356 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name base-dir
8357 Base directory where to store runtime data.
8358 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/dovecot/"}.
8361 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string login-greeting
8362 Greeting message for clients.
8363 Defaults to @samp{"Dovecot ready."}.
8366 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list login-trusted-networks
8367 List of trusted network ranges. Connections from these IPs are
8368 allowed to override their IP addresses and ports (for logging and for
8369 authentication checks). @samp{disable-plaintext-auth} is also ignored
8370 for these networks. Typically you would specify your IMAP proxy servers
8372 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8375 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list login-access-sockets
8376 List of login access check sockets (e.g. tcpwrap).
8377 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8380 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean verbose-proctitle?
8381 Show more verbose process titles (in ps). Currently shows user name
8382 and IP address. Useful for seeing who is actually using the IMAP
8383 processes (e.g. shared mailboxes or if the same uid is used for multiple
8385 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8388 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean shutdown-clients?
8389 Should all processes be killed when Dovecot master process shuts down.
8390 Setting this to @code{#f} means that Dovecot can be upgraded without
8391 forcing existing client connections to close (although that could also
8392 be a problem if the upgrade is e.g. due to a security fix).
8393 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
8396 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer doveadm-worker-count
8397 If non-zero, run mail commands via this many connections to doveadm
8398 server, instead of running them directly in the same process.
8399 Defaults to @samp{0}.
8402 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string doveadm-socket-path
8403 UNIX socket or host:port used for connecting to doveadm server.
8404 Defaults to @samp{"doveadm-server"}.
8407 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list import-environment
8408 List of environment variables that are preserved on Dovecot startup
8409 and passed down to all of its child processes. You can also give
8410 key=value pairs to always set specific settings.
8413 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean disable-plaintext-auth?
8414 Disable LOGIN command and all other plaintext authentications unless
8415 SSL/TLS is used (LOGINDISABLED capability). Note that if the remote IP
8416 matches the local IP (i.e. you're connecting from the same computer),
8417 the connection is considered secure and plaintext authentication is
8418 allowed. See also ssl=required setting.
8419 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
8422 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer auth-cache-size
8423 Authentication cache size (e.g. @samp{#e10e6}). 0 means it's disabled.
8424 Note that bsdauth, PAM and vpopmail require @samp{cache-key} to be set
8425 for caching to be used.
8426 Defaults to @samp{0}.
8429 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-cache-ttl
8430 Time to live for cached data. After TTL expires the cached record
8431 is no longer used, *except* if the main database lookup returns internal
8432 failure. We also try to handle password changes automatically: If
8433 user's previous authentication was successful, but this one wasn't, the
8434 cache isn't used. For now this works only with plaintext
8436 Defaults to @samp{"1 hour"}.
8439 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-cache-negative-ttl
8440 TTL for negative hits (user not found, password mismatch).
8441 0 disables caching them completely.
8442 Defaults to @samp{"1 hour"}.
8445 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list auth-realms
8446 List of realms for SASL authentication mechanisms that need them.
8447 You can leave it empty if you don't want to support multiple realms.
8448 Many clients simply use the first one listed here, so keep the default
8450 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8453 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-default-realm
8454 Default realm/domain to use if none was specified. This is used for
8455 both SASL realms and appending @@domain to username in plaintext
8457 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8460 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-username-chars
8461 List of allowed characters in username. If the user-given username
8462 contains a character not listed in here, the login automatically fails.
8463 This is just an extra check to make sure user can't exploit any
8464 potential quote escaping vulnerabilities with SQL/LDAP databases. If
8465 you want to allow all characters, set this value to empty.
8466 Defaults to @samp{"abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ01234567890.-_@@"}.
8469 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-username-translation
8470 Username character translations before it's looked up from
8471 databases. The value contains series of from -> to characters. For
8472 example @samp{#@@/@@} means that @samp{#} and @samp{/} characters are
8473 translated to @samp{@@}.
8474 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8477 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-username-format
8478 Username formatting before it's looked up from databases. You can
8479 use the standard variables here, e.g. %Lu would lowercase the username,
8480 %n would drop away the domain if it was given, or @samp{%n-AT-%d} would
8481 change the @samp{@@} into @samp{-AT-}. This translation is done after
8482 @samp{auth-username-translation} changes.
8483 Defaults to @samp{"%Lu"}.
8486 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-master-user-separator
8487 If you want to allow master users to log in by specifying the master
8488 username within the normal username string (i.e. not using SASL
8489 mechanism's support for it), you can specify the separator character
8490 here. The format is then <username><separator><master username>.
8491 UW-IMAP uses @samp{*} as the separator, so that could be a good
8493 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8496 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-anonymous-username
8497 Username to use for users logging in with ANONYMOUS SASL
8499 Defaults to @samp{"anonymous"}.
8502 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer auth-worker-max-count
8503 Maximum number of dovecot-auth worker processes. They're used to
8504 execute blocking passdb and userdb queries (e.g. MySQL and PAM).
8505 They're automatically created and destroyed as needed.
8506 Defaults to @samp{30}.
8509 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-gssapi-hostname
8510 Host name to use in GSSAPI principal names. The default is to use
8511 the name returned by gethostname(). Use @samp{$ALL} (with quotes) to
8512 allow all keytab entries.
8513 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8516 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-krb5-keytab
8517 Kerberos keytab to use for the GSSAPI mechanism. Will use the
8518 system default (usually /etc/krb5.keytab) if not specified. You may
8519 need to change the auth service to run as root to be able to read this
8521 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8524 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-use-winbind?
8525 Do NTLM and GSS-SPNEGO authentication using Samba's winbind daemon
8526 and @samp{ntlm-auth} helper.
8527 <doc/wiki/Authentication/Mechanisms/Winbind.txt>.
8528 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8531 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name auth-winbind-helper-path
8532 Path for Samba's @samp{ntlm-auth} helper binary.
8533 Defaults to @samp{"/usr/bin/ntlm_auth"}.
8536 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-failure-delay
8537 Time to delay before replying to failed authentications.
8538 Defaults to @samp{"2 secs"}.
8541 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-ssl-require-client-cert?
8542 Require a valid SSL client certificate or the authentication
8544 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8547 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-ssl-username-from-cert?
8548 Take the username from client's SSL certificate, using
8549 @code{X509_NAME_get_text_by_NID()} which returns the subject's DN's
8551 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8554 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list auth-mechanisms
8555 List of wanted authentication mechanisms. Supported mechanisms are:
8556 @samp{plain}, @samp{login}, @samp{digest-md5}, @samp{cram-md5},
8557 @samp{ntlm}, @samp{rpa}, @samp{apop}, @samp{anonymous}, @samp{gssapi},
8558 @samp{otp}, @samp{skey}, and @samp{gss-spnego}. NOTE: See also
8559 @samp{disable-plaintext-auth} setting.
8562 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list director-servers
8563 List of IPs or hostnames to all director servers, including ourself.
8564 Ports can be specified as ip:port. The default port is the same as what
8565 director service's @samp{inet-listener} is using.
8566 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8569 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list director-mail-servers
8570 List of IPs or hostnames to all backend mail servers. Ranges are
8571 allowed too, like 10.0.0.10-10.0.0.30.
8572 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8575 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string director-user-expire
8576 How long to redirect users to a specific server after it no longer
8577 has any connections.
8578 Defaults to @samp{"15 min"}.
8581 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer director-doveadm-port
8582 TCP/IP port that accepts doveadm connections (instead of director
8583 connections) If you enable this, you'll also need to add
8584 @samp{inet-listener} for the port.
8585 Defaults to @samp{0}.
8588 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string director-username-hash
8589 How the username is translated before being hashed. Useful values
8590 include %Ln if user can log in with or without @@domain, %Ld if mailboxes
8591 are shared within domain.
8592 Defaults to @samp{"%Lu"}.
8595 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string log-path
8596 Log file to use for error messages. @samp{syslog} logs to syslog,
8597 @samp{/dev/stderr} logs to stderr.
8598 Defaults to @samp{"syslog"}.
8601 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string info-log-path
8602 Log file to use for informational messages. Defaults to
8604 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8607 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string debug-log-path
8608 Log file to use for debug messages. Defaults to
8609 @samp{info-log-path}.
8610 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8613 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string syslog-facility
8614 Syslog facility to use if you're logging to syslog. Usually if you
8615 don't want to use @samp{mail}, you'll use local0..local7. Also other
8616 standard facilities are supported.
8617 Defaults to @samp{"mail"}.
8620 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-verbose?
8621 Log unsuccessful authentication attempts and the reasons why they
8623 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8626 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-verbose-passwords?
8627 In case of password mismatches, log the attempted password. Valid
8628 values are no, plain and sha1. sha1 can be useful for detecting brute
8629 force password attempts vs. user simply trying the same password over
8630 and over again. You can also truncate the value to n chars by appending
8632 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8635 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-debug?
8636 Even more verbose logging for debugging purposes. Shows for example
8638 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8641 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-debug-passwords?
8642 In case of password mismatches, log the passwords and used scheme so
8643 the problem can be debugged. Enabling this also enables
8645 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8648 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-debug?
8649 Enable mail process debugging. This can help you figure out why
8650 Dovecot isn't finding your mails.
8651 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8654 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean verbose-ssl?
8655 Show protocol level SSL errors.
8656 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8659 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string log-timestamp
8660 Prefix for each line written to log file. % codes are in
8662 Defaults to @samp{"\"%b %d %H:%M:%S \""}.
8665 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list login-log-format-elements
8666 List of elements we want to log. The elements which have a
8667 non-empty variable value are joined together to form a comma-separated
8671 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string login-log-format
8672 Login log format. %s contains @samp{login-log-format-elements}
8673 string, %$ contains the data we want to log.
8674 Defaults to @samp{"%$: %s"}.
8677 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-log-prefix
8678 Log prefix for mail processes. See doc/wiki/Variables.txt for list
8679 of possible variables you can use.
8680 Defaults to @samp{"\"%s(%u): \""}.
8683 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string deliver-log-format
8684 Format to use for logging mail deliveries. You can use variables:
8687 Delivery status message (e.g. @samp{saved to INBOX})
8699 Defaults to @samp{"msgid=%m: %$"}.
8702 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-location
8703 Location for users' mailboxes. The default is empty, which means
8704 that Dovecot tries to find the mailboxes automatically. This won't work
8705 if the user doesn't yet have any mail, so you should explicitly tell
8706 Dovecot the full location.
8708 If you're using mbox, giving a path to the INBOX
8709 file (e.g. /var/mail/%u) isn't enough. You'll also need to tell Dovecot
8710 where the other mailboxes are kept. This is called the "root mail
8711 directory", and it must be the first path given in the
8712 @samp{mail-location} setting.
8714 There are a few special variables you can use, eg.:
8720 user part in user@@domain, same as %u if there's no domain
8722 domain part in user@@domain, empty if there's no domain
8727 See doc/wiki/Variables.txt for full list. Some examples:
8729 @item maildir:~/Maildir
8730 @item mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/mail/%u
8731 @item mbox:/var/mail/%d/%1n/%n:INDEX=/var/indexes/%d/%1n/%
8733 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8736 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-uid
8737 System user and group used to access mails. If you use multiple,
8738 userdb can override these by returning uid or gid fields. You can use
8739 either numbers or names. <doc/wiki/UserIds.txt>.
8740 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8743 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-gid
8745 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8748 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-privileged-group
8749 Group to enable temporarily for privileged operations. Currently
8750 this is used only with INBOX when either its initial creation or
8751 dotlocking fails. Typically this is set to "mail" to give access to
8753 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8756 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-access-groups
8757 Grant access to these supplementary groups for mail processes.
8758 Typically these are used to set up access to shared mailboxes. Note
8759 that it may be dangerous to set these if users can create
8760 symlinks (e.g. if "mail" group is set here, ln -s /var/mail ~/mail/var
8761 could allow a user to delete others' mailboxes, or ln -s
8762 /secret/shared/box ~/mail/mybox would allow reading it).
8763 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8766 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-full-filesystem-access?
8767 Allow full filesystem access to clients. There's no access checks
8768 other than what the operating system does for the active UID/GID. It
8769 works with both maildir and mboxes, allowing you to prefix mailboxes
8770 names with e.g. /path/ or ~user/.
8771 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8774 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mmap-disable?
8775 Don't use mmap() at all. This is required if you store indexes to
8776 shared filesystems (NFS or clustered filesystem).
8777 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8780 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean dotlock-use-excl?
8781 Rely on @samp{O_EXCL} to work when creating dotlock files. NFS
8782 supports @samp{O_EXCL} since version 3, so this should be safe to use
8783 nowadays by default.
8784 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
8787 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-fsync
8788 When to use fsync() or fdatasync() calls:
8791 Whenever necessary to avoid losing important data
8793 Useful with e.g. NFS when write()s are delayed
8795 Never use it (best performance, but crashes can lose data).
8797 Defaults to @samp{"optimized"}.
8800 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-nfs-storage?
8801 Mail storage exists in NFS. Set this to yes to make Dovecot flush
8802 NFS caches whenever needed. If you're using only a single mail server
8804 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8807 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-nfs-index?
8808 Mail index files also exist in NFS. Setting this to yes requires
8809 @samp{mmap-disable? #t} and @samp{fsync-disable? #f}.
8810 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8813 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string lock-method
8814 Locking method for index files. Alternatives are fcntl, flock and
8815 dotlock. Dotlocking uses some tricks which may create more disk I/O
8816 than other locking methods. NFS users: flock doesn't work, remember to
8817 change @samp{mmap-disable}.
8818 Defaults to @samp{"fcntl"}.
8821 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name mail-temp-dir
8822 Directory in which LDA/LMTP temporarily stores incoming mails >128
8824 Defaults to @samp{"/tmp"}.
8827 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer first-valid-uid
8828 Valid UID range for users. This is mostly to make sure that users can't
8829 log in as daemons or other system users. Note that denying root logins is
8830 hardcoded to dovecot binary and can't be done even if @samp{first-valid-uid}
8832 Defaults to @samp{500}.
8835 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer last-valid-uid
8837 Defaults to @samp{0}.
8840 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer first-valid-gid
8841 Valid GID range for users. Users having non-valid GID as primary group ID
8842 aren't allowed to log in. If user belongs to supplementary groups with
8843 non-valid GIDs, those groups are not set.
8844 Defaults to @samp{1}.
8847 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer last-valid-gid
8849 Defaults to @samp{0}.
8852 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-max-keyword-length
8853 Maximum allowed length for mail keyword name. It's only forced when
8854 trying to create new keywords.
8855 Defaults to @samp{50}.
8858 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} colon-separated-file-name-list valid-chroot-dirs
8859 List of directories under which chrooting is allowed for mail
8860 processes (i.e. /var/mail will allow chrooting to /var/mail/foo/bar
8861 too). This setting doesn't affect @samp{login-chroot}
8862 @samp{mail-chroot} or auth chroot settings. If this setting is empty,
8863 "/./" in home dirs are ignored. WARNING: Never add directories here
8864 which local users can modify, that may lead to root exploit. Usually
8865 this should be done only if you don't allow shell access for users.
8866 <doc/wiki/Chrooting.txt>.
8867 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8870 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-chroot
8871 Default chroot directory for mail processes. This can be overridden
8872 for specific users in user database by giving /./ in user's home
8873 directory (e.g. /home/./user chroots into /home). Note that usually
8874 there is no real need to do chrooting, Dovecot doesn't allow users to
8875 access files outside their mail directory anyway. If your home
8876 directories are prefixed with the chroot directory, append "/." to
8877 @samp{mail-chroot}. <doc/wiki/Chrooting.txt>.
8878 Defaults to @samp{""}.
8881 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name auth-socket-path
8882 UNIX socket path to master authentication server to find users.
8883 This is used by imap (for shared users) and lda.
8884 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/dovecot/auth-userdb"}.
8887 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name mail-plugin-dir
8888 Directory where to look up mail plugins.
8889 Defaults to @samp{"/usr/lib/dovecot"}.
8892 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mail-plugins
8893 List of plugins to load for all services. Plugins specific to IMAP,
8894 LDA, etc. are added to this list in their own .conf files.
8895 Defaults to @samp{()}.
8898 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-cache-min-mail-count
8899 The minimum number of mails in a mailbox before updates are done to
8900 cache file. This allows optimizing Dovecot's behavior to do less disk
8901 writes at the cost of more disk reads.
8902 Defaults to @samp{0}.
8905 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mailbox-idle-check-interval
8906 When IDLE command is running, mailbox is checked once in a while to
8907 see if there are any new mails or other changes. This setting defines
8908 the minimum time to wait between those checks. Dovecot can also use
8909 dnotify, inotify and kqueue to find out immediately when changes
8911 Defaults to @samp{"30 secs"}.
8914 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-save-crlf?
8915 Save mails with CR+LF instead of plain LF. This makes sending those
8916 mails take less CPU, especially with sendfile() syscall with Linux and
8917 FreeBSD. But it also creates a bit more disk I/O which may just make it
8918 slower. Also note that if other software reads the mboxes/maildirs,
8919 they may handle the extra CRs wrong and cause problems.
8920 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8923 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean maildir-stat-dirs?
8924 By default LIST command returns all entries in maildir beginning
8925 with a dot. Enabling this option makes Dovecot return only entries
8926 which are directories. This is done by stat()ing each entry, so it
8927 causes more disk I/O.
8928 (For systems setting struct @samp{dirent->d_type} this check is free
8929 and it's done always regardless of this setting).
8930 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8933 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean maildir-copy-with-hardlinks?
8934 When copying a message, do it with hard links whenever possible.
8935 This makes the performance much better, and it's unlikely to have any
8937 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
8940 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean maildir-very-dirty-syncs?
8941 Assume Dovecot is the only MUA accessing Maildir: Scan cur/
8942 directory only when its mtime changes unexpectedly or when we can't find
8944 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
8947 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mbox-read-locks
8948 Which locking methods to use for locking mbox. There are four
8953 Create <mailbox>.lock file. This is the oldest and most NFS-safe
8954 solution. If you want to use /var/mail/ like directory, the users will
8955 need write access to that directory.
8957 Same as dotlock, but if it fails because of permissions or because there
8958 isn't enough disk space, just skip it.
8960 Use this if possible. Works with NFS too if lockd is used.
8962 May not exist in all systems. Doesn't work with NFS.
8964 May not exist in all systems. Doesn't work with NFS.
8967 You can use multiple locking methods; if you do the order they're declared
8968 in is important to avoid deadlocks if other MTAs/MUAs are using multiple
8969 locking methods as well. Some operating systems don't allow using some of
8970 them simultaneously.
8973 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mbox-write-locks
8977 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mbox-lock-timeout
8978 Maximum time to wait for lock (all of them) before aborting.
8979 Defaults to @samp{"5 mins"}.
8982 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mbox-dotlock-change-timeout
8983 If dotlock exists but the mailbox isn't modified in any way,
8984 override the lock file after this much time.
8985 Defaults to @samp{"2 mins"}.
8988 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mbox-dirty-syncs?
8989 When mbox changes unexpectedly we have to fully read it to find out
8990 what changed. If the mbox is large this can take a long time. Since
8991 the change is usually just a newly appended mail, it'd be faster to
8992 simply read the new mails. If this setting is enabled, Dovecot does
8993 this but still safely fallbacks to re-reading the whole mbox file
8994 whenever something in mbox isn't how it's expected to be. The only real
8995 downside to this setting is that if some other MUA changes message
8996 flags, Dovecot doesn't notice it immediately. Note that a full sync is
8997 done with SELECT, EXAMINE, EXPUNGE and CHECK commands.
8998 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
9001 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mbox-very-dirty-syncs?
9002 Like @samp{mbox-dirty-syncs}, but don't do full syncs even with SELECT,
9003 EXAMINE, EXPUNGE or CHECK commands. If this is set,
9004 @samp{mbox-dirty-syncs} is ignored.
9005 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
9008 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mbox-lazy-writes?
9009 Delay writing mbox headers until doing a full write sync (EXPUNGE
9010 and CHECK commands and when closing the mailbox). This is especially
9011 useful for POP3 where clients often delete all mails. The downside is
9012 that our changes aren't immediately visible to other MUAs.
9013 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
9016 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mbox-min-index-size
9017 If mbox size is smaller than this (e.g. 100k), don't write index
9018 files. If an index file already exists it's still read, just not
9020 Defaults to @samp{0}.
9023 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mdbox-rotate-size
9024 Maximum dbox file size until it's rotated.
9025 Defaults to @samp{2000000}.
9028 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mdbox-rotate-interval
9029 Maximum dbox file age until it's rotated. Typically in days. Day
9030 begins from midnight, so 1d = today, 2d = yesterday, etc. 0 = check
9032 Defaults to @samp{"1d"}.
9035 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mdbox-preallocate-space?
9036 When creating new mdbox files, immediately preallocate their size to
9037 @samp{mdbox-rotate-size}. This setting currently works only in Linux
9038 with some filesystems (ext4, xfs).
9039 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
9042 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-attachment-dir
9043 sdbox and mdbox support saving mail attachments to external files,
9044 which also allows single instance storage for them. Other backends
9045 don't support this for now.
9047 WARNING: This feature hasn't been tested much yet. Use at your own risk.
9049 Directory root where to store mail attachments. Disabled, if empty.
9050 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9053 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-attachment-min-size
9054 Attachments smaller than this aren't saved externally. It's also
9055 possible to write a plugin to disable saving specific attachments
9057 Defaults to @samp{128000}.
9060 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-attachment-fs
9061 Filesystem backend to use for saving attachments:
9064 No SiS done by Dovecot (but this might help FS's own deduplication)
9066 SiS with immediate byte-by-byte comparison during saving
9067 @item sis-queue posix
9068 SiS with delayed comparison and deduplication.
9070 Defaults to @samp{"sis posix"}.
9073 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-attachment-hash
9074 Hash format to use in attachment filenames. You can add any text and
9075 variables: @code{%@{md4@}}, @code{%@{md5@}}, @code{%@{sha1@}},
9076 @code{%@{sha256@}}, @code{%@{sha512@}}, @code{%@{size@}}. Variables can be
9077 truncated, e.g. @code{%@{sha256:80@}} returns only first 80 bits.
9078 Defaults to @samp{"%@{sha1@}"}.
9081 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer default-process-limit
9083 Defaults to @samp{100}.
9086 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer default-client-limit
9088 Defaults to @samp{1000}.
9091 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer default-vsz-limit
9092 Default VSZ (virtual memory size) limit for service processes.
9093 This is mainly intended to catch and kill processes that leak memory
9094 before they eat up everything.
9095 Defaults to @samp{256000000}.
9098 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string default-login-user
9099 Login user is internally used by login processes. This is the most
9100 untrusted user in Dovecot system. It shouldn't have access to anything
9102 Defaults to @samp{"dovenull"}.
9105 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string default-internal-user
9106 Internal user is used by unprivileged processes. It should be
9107 separate from login user, so that login processes can't disturb other
9109 Defaults to @samp{"dovecot"}.
9112 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl?
9113 SSL/TLS support: yes, no, required. <doc/wiki/SSL.txt>.
9114 Defaults to @samp{"required"}.
9117 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-cert
9118 PEM encoded X.509 SSL/TLS certificate (public key).
9119 Defaults to @samp{"</etc/dovecot/default.pem"}.
9122 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-key
9123 PEM encoded SSL/TLS private key. The key is opened before
9124 dropping root privileges, so keep the key file unreadable by anyone but
9126 Defaults to @samp{"</etc/dovecot/private/default.pem"}.
9129 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-key-password
9130 If key file is password protected, give the password here.
9131 Alternatively give it when starting dovecot with -p parameter. Since
9132 this file is often world-readable, you may want to place this setting
9133 instead to a different.
9134 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9137 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-ca
9138 PEM encoded trusted certificate authority. Set this only if you
9139 intend to use @samp{ssl-verify-client-cert? #t}. The file should
9140 contain the CA certificate(s) followed by the matching
9141 CRL(s). (e.g. @samp{ssl-ca </etc/ssl/certs/ca.pem}).
9142 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9145 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean ssl-require-crl?
9146 Require that CRL check succeeds for client certificates.
9147 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
9150 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean ssl-verify-client-cert?
9151 Request client to send a certificate. If you also want to require
9152 it, set @samp{auth-ssl-require-client-cert? #t} in auth section.
9153 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
9156 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-cert-username-field
9157 Which field from certificate to use for username. commonName and
9158 x500UniqueIdentifier are the usual choices. You'll also need to set
9159 @samp{auth-ssl-username-from-cert? #t}.
9160 Defaults to @samp{"commonName"}.
9163 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} hours ssl-parameters-regenerate
9164 How often to regenerate the SSL parameters file. Generation is
9165 quite CPU intensive operation. The value is in hours, 0 disables
9166 regeneration entirely.
9167 Defaults to @samp{168}.
9170 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-protocols
9171 SSL protocols to use.
9172 Defaults to @samp{"!SSLv2"}.
9175 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-cipher-list
9177 Defaults to @samp{"ALL:!LOW:!SSLv2:!EXP:!aNULL"}.
9180 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-crypto-device
9181 SSL crypto device to use, for valid values run "openssl engine".
9182 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9185 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string postmaster-address
9186 Address to use when sending rejection mails.
9187 Default is postmaster@@<your domain>. %d expands to recipient domain.
9188 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9191 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string hostname
9192 Hostname to use in various parts of sent mails (e.g. in Message-Id)
9193 and in LMTP replies. Default is the system's real hostname@@domain.
9194 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9197 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean quota-full-tempfail?
9198 If user is over quota, return with temporary failure instead of
9200 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
9203 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name sendmail-path
9204 Binary to use for sending mails.
9205 Defaults to @samp{"/usr/sbin/sendmail"}.
9208 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string submission-host
9209 If non-empty, send mails via this SMTP host[:port] instead of
9211 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9214 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string rejection-subject
9215 Subject: header to use for rejection mails. You can use the same
9216 variables as for @samp{rejection-reason} below.
9217 Defaults to @samp{"Rejected: %s"}.
9220 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string rejection-reason
9221 Human readable error message for rejection mails. You can use
9234 Defaults to @samp{"Your message to <%t> was automatically rejected:%n%r"}.
9237 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string recipient-delimiter
9238 Delimiter character between local-part and detail in email
9240 Defaults to @samp{"+"}.
9243 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string lda-original-recipient-header
9244 Header where the original recipient address (SMTP's RCPT TO:
9245 address) is taken from if not available elsewhere. With dovecot-lda -a
9246 parameter overrides this. A commonly used header for this is
9248 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9251 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean lda-mailbox-autocreate?
9252 Should saving a mail to a nonexistent mailbox automatically create
9254 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
9257 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean lda-mailbox-autosubscribe?
9258 Should automatically created mailboxes be also automatically
9260 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
9263 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer imap-max-line-length
9264 Maximum IMAP command line length. Some clients generate very long
9265 command lines with huge mailboxes, so you may need to raise this if you
9266 get "Too long argument" or "IMAP command line too large" errors
9268 Defaults to @samp{64000}.
9271 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-logout-format
9272 IMAP logout format string:
9275 total number of bytes read from client
9277 total number of bytes sent to client.
9279 Defaults to @samp{"in=%i out=%o"}.
9282 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-capability
9283 Override the IMAP CAPABILITY response. If the value begins with '+',
9284 add the given capabilities on top of the defaults (e.g. +XFOO XBAR).
9285 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9288 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-idle-notify-interval
9289 How long to wait between "OK Still here" notifications when client
9291 Defaults to @samp{"2 mins"}.
9294 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-id-send
9295 ID field names and values to send to clients. Using * as the value
9296 makes Dovecot use the default value. The following fields have default
9297 values currently: name, version, os, os-version, support-url,
9299 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9302 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-id-log
9303 ID fields sent by client to log. * means everything.
9304 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9307 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list imap-client-workarounds
9308 Workarounds for various client bugs:
9312 Send EXISTS/RECENT new mail notifications only when replying to NOOP and
9313 CHECK commands. Some clients ignore them otherwise, for example OSX
9314 Mail (<v2.1). Outlook Express breaks more badly though, without this it
9315 may show user "Message no longer in server" errors. Note that OE6
9316 still breaks even with this workaround if synchronization is set to
9319 @item tb-extra-mailbox-sep
9320 Thunderbird gets somehow confused with LAYOUT=fs (mbox and dbox) and
9321 adds extra @samp{/} suffixes to mailbox names. This option causes Dovecot to
9322 ignore the extra @samp{/} instead of treating it as invalid mailbox name.
9325 Show \Noselect flags for LSUB replies with LAYOUT=fs (e.g. mbox).
9326 This makes Thunderbird realize they aren't selectable and show them
9327 greyed out, instead of only later giving "not selectable" popup error.
9329 Defaults to @samp{()}.
9332 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-urlauth-host
9333 Host allowed in URLAUTH URLs sent by client. "*" allows all.
9334 Defaults to @samp{""}.
9338 Whew! Lots of configuration options. The nice thing about it though is
9339 that GuixSD has a complete interface to Dovecot's configuration
9340 language. This allows not only a nice way to declare configurations,
9341 but also offers reflective capabilities as well: users can write code to
9342 inspect and transform configurations from within Scheme.
9344 However, it could be that you just want to get a @code{dovecot.conf} up
9345 and running. In that case, you can pass an
9346 @code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} as the @code{#:config} paramter to
9347 @code{dovecot-service}. As its name indicates, an opaque configuration
9348 does not have easy reflective capabilities.
9350 Available @code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} fields are:
9352 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} parameter} package dovecot
9353 The dovecot package.
9356 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} parameter} string string
9357 The contents of the @code{dovecot.conf}, as a string.
9360 For example, if your @code{dovecot.conf} is just the empty string, you
9361 could instantiate a dovecot service like this:
9364 (dovecot-service #:config
9365 (opaque-dovecot-configuration
9370 @subsubsection Web Services
9372 The @code{(gnu services web)} module provides the following service:
9374 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} nginx-service [#:nginx nginx] @
9375 [#:log-directory ``/var/log/nginx''] @
9376 [#:run-directory ``/var/run/nginx''] @
9379 Return a service that runs @var{nginx}, the nginx web server.
9381 The nginx daemon loads its runtime configuration from @var{config-file}.
9382 Log files are written to @var{log-directory} and temporary runtime data
9383 files are written to @var{run-directory}. For proper operation, these
9384 arguments should match what is in @var{config-file} to ensure that the
9385 directories are created when the service is activated.
9389 @node Various Services
9390 @subsubsection Various Services
9392 The @code{(gnu services lirc)} module provides the following service.
9394 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} lirc-service [#:lirc lirc] @
9395 [#:device #f] [#:driver #f] [#:config-file #f] @
9396 [#:extra-options '()]
9397 Return a service that runs @url{http://www.lirc.org,LIRC}, a daemon that
9398 decodes infrared signals from remote controls.
9400 Optionally, @var{device}, @var{driver} and @var{config-file}
9401 (configuration file name) may be specified. See @command{lircd} manual
9404 Finally, @var{extra-options} is a list of additional command-line options
9405 passed to @command{lircd}.
9408 @subsubsection Dictionary Services
9409 The @code{(gnu services dict)} module provides the following service:
9411 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dicod-service [#:config (dicod-configuration)]
9412 Return a service that runs the @command{dicod} daemon, an implementation
9413 of DICT server (@pxref{Dicod,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
9415 The optional @var{config} argument specifies the configuration for
9416 @command{dicod}, which should be a @code{<dicod-configuration>} object, by
9417 default it serves the GNU Collaborative International Dictonary of English.
9419 You can add @command{open localhost} to your @file{~/.dico} file to make
9420 @code{localhost} the default server for @command{dico} client
9421 (@pxref{Initialization File,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
9424 @deftp {Data Type} dicod-configuration
9425 Data type representing the configuration of dicod.
9428 @item @code{dico} (default: @var{dico})
9429 Package object of the GNU Dico dictionary server.
9431 @item @code{databases} (default: @var{(list %dicod-database:gcide)})
9432 List of @code{<dicod-database>} objects denoting dictionaries to be served.
9436 @deftp {Data Type} dicod-database
9437 Data type representing a dictionary database.
9441 Name of the database, will be used in DICT commands.
9444 Name of the dicod module used by this database
9445 (@pxref{Modules,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
9447 @item @code{options}
9448 List of strings or gexps representing the arguments for the module handler
9449 (@pxref{Handlers,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
9453 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %dicod-database:gcide
9454 A @code{<dicod-database>} object serving the GNU Collaborative International
9455 Dictonary of English using the @code{gcide} package.
9458 @node Setuid Programs
9459 @subsection Setuid Programs
9461 @cindex setuid programs
9462 Some programs need to run with ``root'' privileges, even when they are
9463 launched by unprivileged users. A notorious example is the
9464 @command{passwd} program, which users can run to change their
9465 password, and which needs to access the @file{/etc/passwd} and
9466 @file{/etc/shadow} files---something normally restricted to root, for
9467 obvious security reasons. To address that, these executables are
9468 @dfn{setuid-root}, meaning that they always run with root privileges
9469 (@pxref{How Change Persona,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual},
9470 for more info about the setuid mechanism.)
9472 The store itself @emph{cannot} contain setuid programs: that would be a
9473 security issue since any user on the system can write derivations that
9474 populate the store (@pxref{The Store}). Thus, a different mechanism is
9475 used: instead of changing the setuid bit directly on files that are in
9476 the store, we let the system administrator @emph{declare} which programs
9477 should be setuid root.
9479 The @code{setuid-programs} field of an @code{operating-system}
9480 declaration contains a list of G-expressions denoting the names of
9481 programs to be setuid-root (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}).
9482 For instance, the @command{passwd} program, which is part of the Shadow
9483 package, can be designated by this G-expression (@pxref{G-Expressions}):
9486 #~(string-append #$shadow "/bin/passwd")
9489 A default set of setuid programs is defined by the
9490 @code{%setuid-programs} variable of the @code{(gnu system)} module.
9492 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %setuid-programs
9493 A list of G-expressions denoting common programs that are setuid-root.
9495 The list includes commands such as @command{passwd}, @command{ping},
9496 @command{su}, and @command{sudo}.
9499 Under the hood, the actual setuid programs are created in the
9500 @file{/run/setuid-programs} directory at system activation time. The
9501 files in this directory refer to the ``real'' binaries, which are in the
9504 @node X.509 Certificates
9505 @subsection X.509 Certificates
9507 @cindex HTTPS, certificates
9508 @cindex X.509 certificates
9510 Web servers available over HTTPS (that is, HTTP over the transport-layer
9511 security mechanism, TLS) send client programs an @dfn{X.509 certificate}
9512 that the client can then use to @emph{authenticate} the server. To do
9513 that, clients verify that the server's certificate is signed by a
9514 so-called @dfn{certificate authority} (CA). But to verify the CA's
9515 signature, clients must have first acquired the CA's certificate.
9517 Web browsers such as GNU@tie{}IceCat include their own set of CA
9518 certificates, such that they are able to verify CA signatures
9521 However, most other programs that can talk HTTPS---@command{wget},
9522 @command{git}, @command{w3m}, etc.---need to be told where CA
9523 certificates can be found.
9525 @cindex @code{nss-certs}
9526 In GuixSD, this is done by adding a package that provides certificates
9527 to the @code{packages} field of the @code{operating-system} declaration
9528 (@pxref{operating-system Reference}). GuixSD includes one such package,
9529 @code{nss-certs}, which is a set of CA certificates provided as part of
9530 Mozilla's Network Security Services.
9532 Note that it is @emph{not} part of @var{%base-packages}, so you need to
9533 explicitly add it. The @file{/etc/ssl/certs} directory, which is where
9534 most applications and libraries look for certificates by default, points
9535 to the certificates installed globally.
9537 Unprivileged users, including users of Guix on a foreign distro,
9538 can also install their own certificate package in
9539 their profile. A number of environment variables need to be defined so
9540 that applications and libraries know where to find them. Namely, the
9541 OpenSSL library honors the @code{SSL_CERT_DIR} and @code{SSL_CERT_FILE}
9542 variables. Some applications add their own environment variables; for
9543 instance, the Git version control system honors the certificate bundle
9544 pointed to by the @code{GIT_SSL_CAINFO} environment variable. Thus, you
9545 would typically run something like:
9548 $ guix package -i nss-certs
9549 $ export SSL_CERT_DIR="$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/ssl/certs"
9550 $ export SSL_CERT_FILE="$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt"
9551 $ export GIT_SSL_CAINFO="$SSL_CERT_FILE"
9554 @node Name Service Switch
9555 @subsection Name Service Switch
9557 @cindex name service switch
9559 The @code{(gnu system nss)} module provides bindings to the
9560 configuration file of the libc @dfn{name service switch} or @dfn{NSS}
9561 (@pxref{NSS Configuration File,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
9562 Manual}). In a nutshell, the NSS is a mechanism that allows libc to be
9563 extended with new ``name'' lookup methods for system databases, which
9564 includes host names, service names, user accounts, and more (@pxref{Name
9565 Service Switch, System Databases and Name Service Switch,, libc, The GNU
9566 C Library Reference Manual}).
9568 The NSS configuration specifies, for each system database, which lookup
9569 method is to be used, and how the various methods are chained
9570 together---for instance, under which circumstances NSS should try the
9571 next method in the list. The NSS configuration is given in the
9572 @code{name-service-switch} field of @code{operating-system} declarations
9573 (@pxref{operating-system Reference, @code{name-service-switch}}).
9576 @cindex .local, host name lookup
9577 As an example, the declaration below configures the NSS to use the
9578 @uref{http://0pointer.de/lennart/projects/nss-mdns/, @code{nss-mdns}
9579 back-end}, which supports host name lookups over multicast DNS (mDNS)
9580 for host names ending in @code{.local}:
9583 (name-service-switch
9584 (hosts (list %files ;first, check /etc/hosts
9586 ;; If the above did not succeed, try
9587 ;; with 'mdns_minimal'.
9589 (name "mdns_minimal")
9591 ;; 'mdns_minimal' is authoritative for
9592 ;; '.local'. When it returns "not found",
9593 ;; no need to try the next methods.
9594 (reaction (lookup-specification
9595 (not-found => return))))
9597 ;; Then fall back to DNS.
9601 ;; Finally, try with the "full" 'mdns'.
9606 Do not worry: the @code{%mdns-host-lookup-nss} variable (see below)
9607 contains this configuration, so you will not have to type it if all you
9608 want is to have @code{.local} host lookup working.
9610 Note that, in this case, in addition to setting the
9611 @code{name-service-switch} of the @code{operating-system} declaration,
9612 you also need to use @code{avahi-service} (@pxref{Networking Services,
9613 @code{avahi-service}}), or @var{%desktop-services}, which includes it
9614 (@pxref{Desktop Services}). Doing this makes @code{nss-mdns} accessible
9615 to the name service cache daemon (@pxref{Base Services,
9616 @code{nscd-service}}).
9618 For convenience, the following variables provide typical NSS
9621 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-nss
9622 This is the default name service switch configuration, a
9623 @code{name-service-switch} object.
9626 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %mdns-host-lookup-nss
9627 This is the name service switch configuration with support for host name
9628 lookup over multicast DNS (mDNS) for host names ending in @code{.local}.
9631 The reference for name service switch configuration is given below. It
9632 is a direct mapping of the configuration file format of the C library , so
9633 please refer to the C library manual for more information (@pxref{NSS
9634 Configuration File,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
9635 Compared to the configuration file format of libc NSS, it has the advantage
9636 not only of adding this warm parenthetic feel that we like, but also
9637 static checks: you will know about syntax errors and typos as soon as you
9638 run @command{guix system}.
9640 @deftp {Data Type} name-service-switch
9642 This is the data type representation the configuration of libc's name
9643 service switch (NSS). Each field below represents one of the supported
9660 The system databases handled by the NSS. Each of these fields must be a
9661 list of @code{<name-service>} objects (see below).
9665 @deftp {Data Type} name-service
9667 This is the data type representing an actual name service and the
9668 associated lookup action.
9672 A string denoting the name service (@pxref{Services in the NSS
9673 configuration,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
9675 Note that name services listed here must be visible to nscd. This is
9676 achieved by passing the @code{#:name-services} argument to
9677 @code{nscd-service} the list of packages providing the needed name
9678 services (@pxref{Base Services, @code{nscd-service}}).
9681 An action specified using the @code{lookup-specification} macro
9682 (@pxref{Actions in the NSS configuration,,, libc, The GNU C Library
9683 Reference Manual}). For example:
9686 (lookup-specification (unavailable => continue)
9687 (success => return))
9692 @node Initial RAM Disk
9693 @subsection Initial RAM Disk
9695 @cindex initial RAM disk (initrd)
9696 @cindex initrd (initial RAM disk)
9697 For bootstrapping purposes, the Linux-Libre kernel is passed an
9698 @dfn{initial RAM disk}, or @dfn{initrd}. An initrd contains a temporary
9699 root file system as well as an initialization script. The latter is
9700 responsible for mounting the real root file system, and for loading any
9701 kernel modules that may be needed to achieve that.
9703 The @code{initrd} field of an @code{operating-system} declaration allows
9704 you to specify which initrd you would like to use. The @code{(gnu
9705 system linux-initrd)} module provides two ways to build an initrd: the
9706 high-level @code{base-initrd} procedure, and the low-level
9707 @code{expression->initrd} procedure.
9709 The @code{base-initrd} procedure is intended to cover most common uses.
9710 For example, if you want to add a bunch of kernel modules to be loaded
9711 at boot time, you can define the @code{initrd} field of the operating
9712 system declaration like this:
9715 (initrd (lambda (file-systems . rest)
9716 ;; Create a standard initrd that has modules "foo.ko"
9717 ;; and "bar.ko", as well as their dependencies, in
9718 ;; addition to the modules available by default.
9719 (apply base-initrd file-systems
9720 #:extra-modules '("foo" "bar")
9724 The @code{base-initrd} procedure also handles common use cases that
9725 involves using the system as a QEMU guest, or as a ``live'' system with
9726 volatile root file system.
9728 The initial RAM disk produced by @code{base-initrd} honors several
9729 options passed on the Linux kernel command line (that is, arguments
9730 passed @i{via} the @code{linux} command of GRUB, or the
9731 @code{-append} option) of QEMU, notably:
9734 @item --load=@var{boot}
9735 Tell the initial RAM disk to load @var{boot}, a file containing a Scheme
9736 program, once it has mounted the root file system.
9738 GuixSD uses this option to yield control to a boot program that runs the
9739 service activation programs and then spawns the GNU@tie{}Shepherd, the
9740 initialization system.
9742 @item --root=@var{root}
9743 Mount @var{root} as the root file system. @var{root} can be a
9744 device name like @code{/dev/sda1}, a partition label, or a partition
9747 @item --system=@var{system}
9748 Have @file{/run/booted-system} and @file{/run/current-system} point to
9751 @item modprobe.blacklist=@var{modules}@dots{}
9752 @cindex module, black-listing
9753 @cindex black list, of kernel modules
9754 Instruct the initial RAM disk as well as the @command{modprobe} command
9755 (from the kmod package) to refuse to load @var{modules}. @var{modules}
9756 must be a comma-separated list of module names---e.g.,
9757 @code{usbkbd,9pnet}.
9760 Start a read-eval-print loop (REPL) from the initial RAM disk before it
9761 tries to load kernel modules and to mount the root file system. Our
9762 marketing team calls it @dfn{boot-to-Guile}. The Schemer in you will
9763 love it. @xref{Using Guile Interactively,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference
9764 Manual}, for more information on Guile's REPL.
9768 Now that you know all the features that initial RAM disks produced by
9769 @code{base-initrd} provide, here is how to use it and customize it
9772 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} base-initrd @var{file-systems} @
9773 [#:qemu-networking? #f] [#:virtio? #t] [#:volatile-root? #f] @
9774 [#:extra-modules '()] [#:mapped-devices '()]
9775 Return a monadic derivation that builds a generic initrd. @var{file-systems} is
9776 a list of file systems to be mounted by the initrd, possibly in addition to
9777 the root file system specified on the kernel command line via @code{--root}.
9778 @var{mapped-devices} is a list of device mappings to realize before
9779 @var{file-systems} are mounted (@pxref{Mapped Devices}).
9781 When @var{qemu-networking?} is true, set up networking with the standard QEMU
9782 parameters. When @var{virtio?} is true, load additional modules so that the
9783 initrd can be used as a QEMU guest with para-virtualized I/O drivers.
9785 When @var{volatile-root?} is true, the root file system is writable but any changes
9788 The initrd is automatically populated with all the kernel modules necessary
9789 for @var{file-systems} and for the given options. However, additional kernel
9790 modules can be listed in @var{extra-modules}. They will be added to the initrd, and
9791 loaded at boot time in the order in which they appear.
9794 Needless to say, the initrds we produce and use embed a
9795 statically-linked Guile, and the initialization program is a Guile
9796 program. That gives a lot of flexibility. The
9797 @code{expression->initrd} procedure builds such an initrd, given the
9798 program to run in that initrd.
9800 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} expression->initrd @var{exp} @
9801 [#:guile %guile-static-stripped] [#:name "guile-initrd"] @
9803 Return a derivation that builds a Linux initrd (a gzipped cpio archive)
9804 containing @var{guile} and that evaluates @var{exp}, a G-expression,
9805 upon booting. All the derivations referenced by @var{exp} are
9806 automatically copied to the initrd.
9808 @var{modules} is a list of Guile module names to be embedded in the
9812 @node GRUB Configuration
9813 @subsection GRUB Configuration
9818 The operating system uses GNU@tie{}GRUB as its boot loader
9819 (@pxref{Overview, overview of GRUB,, grub, GNU GRUB Manual}). It is
9820 configured using a @code{grub-configuration} declaration. This data type
9821 is exported by the @code{(gnu system grub)} module and described below.
9823 @deftp {Data Type} grub-configuration
9824 The type of a GRUB configuration declaration.
9829 This is a string denoting the boot device. It must be a device name
9830 understood by the @command{grub-install} command, such as
9831 @code{/dev/sda} or @code{(hd0)} (@pxref{Invoking grub-install,,, grub,
9834 @item @code{menu-entries} (default: @code{()})
9835 A possibly empty list of @code{menu-entry} objects (see below), denoting
9836 entries to appear in the GRUB boot menu, in addition to the current
9837 system entry and the entry pointing to previous system generations.
9839 @item @code{default-entry} (default: @code{0})
9840 The index of the default boot menu entry. Index 0 is for the entry of the
9843 @item @code{timeout} (default: @code{5})
9844 The number of seconds to wait for keyboard input before booting. Set to
9845 0 to boot immediately, and to -1 to wait indefinitely.
9847 @item @code{theme} (default: @var{%default-theme})
9848 The @code{grub-theme} object describing the theme to use.
9853 Should you want to list additional boot menu entries @i{via} the
9854 @code{menu-entries} field above, you will need to create them with the
9855 @code{menu-entry} form:
9857 @deftp {Data Type} menu-entry
9858 The type of an entry in the GRUB boot menu.
9863 The label to show in the menu---e.g., @code{"GNU"}.
9866 The Linux kernel to boot.
9868 @item @code{linux-arguments} (default: @code{()})
9869 The list of extra Linux kernel command-line arguments---e.g.,
9870 @code{("console=ttyS0")}.
9873 A G-Expression or string denoting the file name of the initial RAM disk
9874 to use (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
9879 @c FIXME: Write documentation once it's stable.
9880 Themes are created using the @code{grub-theme} form, which is not
9883 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-theme
9884 This is the default GRUB theme used by the operating system, with a
9885 fancy background image displaying the GNU and Guix logos.
9889 @node Invoking guix system
9890 @subsection Invoking @code{guix system}
9892 Once you have written an operating system declaration as seen in the
9893 previous section, it can be @dfn{instantiated} using the @command{guix
9894 system} command. The synopsis is:
9897 guix system @var{options}@dots{} @var{action} @var{file}
9900 @var{file} must be the name of a file containing an
9901 @code{operating-system} declaration. @var{action} specifies how the
9902 operating system is instantiated. Currently the following values are
9907 Build the operating system described in @var{file}, activate it, and
9908 switch to it@footnote{This action is usable only on systems already
9911 This effects all the configuration specified in @var{file}: user
9912 accounts, system services, global package list, setuid programs, etc.
9913 The command starts system services specified in @var{file} that are not
9914 currently running; if a service is currently running, it does not
9915 attempt to upgrade it since this would not be possible without stopping it
9918 It also adds a GRUB menu entry for the new OS configuration, and moves
9919 entries for older configurations to a submenu---unless
9920 @option{--no-grub} is passed.
9923 @c The paragraph below refers to the problem discussed at
9924 @c <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2014-08/msg00057.html>.
9925 It is highly recommended to run @command{guix pull} once before you run
9926 @command{guix system reconfigure} for the first time (@pxref{Invoking
9927 guix pull}). Failing to do that you would see an older version of Guix
9928 once @command{reconfigure} has completed.
9932 Build the derivation of the operating system, which includes all the
9933 configuration files and programs needed to boot and run the system.
9934 This action does not actually install anything.
9937 Populate the given directory with all the files necessary to run the
9938 operating system specified in @var{file}. This is useful for first-time
9939 installations of GuixSD. For instance:
9942 guix system init my-os-config.scm /mnt
9945 copies to @file{/mnt} all the store items required by the configuration
9946 specified in @file{my-os-config.scm}. This includes configuration
9947 files, packages, and so on. It also creates other essential files
9948 needed for the system to operate correctly---e.g., the @file{/etc},
9949 @file{/var}, and @file{/run} directories, and the @file{/bin/sh} file.
9951 This command also installs GRUB on the device specified in
9952 @file{my-os-config}, unless the @option{--no-grub} option was passed.
9955 @cindex virtual machine
9957 @anchor{guix system vm}
9958 Build a virtual machine that contains the operating system declared in
9959 @var{file}, and return a script to run that virtual machine (VM).
9960 Arguments given to the script are passed to QEMU.
9962 The VM shares its store with the host system.
9964 Additional file systems can be shared between the host and the VM using
9965 the @code{--share} and @code{--expose} command-line options: the former
9966 specifies a directory to be shared with write access, while the latter
9967 provides read-only access to the shared directory.
9969 The example below creates a VM in which the user's home directory is
9970 accessible read-only, and where the @file{/exchange} directory is a
9971 read-write mapping of @file{$HOME/tmp} on the host:
9974 guix system vm my-config.scm \
9975 --expose=$HOME --share=$HOME/tmp=/exchange
9978 On GNU/Linux, the default is to boot directly to the kernel; this has
9979 the advantage of requiring only a very tiny root disk image since the
9980 store of the host can then be mounted.
9982 The @code{--full-boot} option forces a complete boot sequence, starting
9983 with the bootloader. This requires more disk space since a root image
9984 containing at least the kernel, initrd, and bootloader data files must
9985 be created. The @code{--image-size} option can be used to specify the
9990 Return a virtual machine or disk image of the operating system declared
9991 in @var{file} that stands alone. Use the @option{--image-size} option
9992 to specify the size of the image.
9994 When using @code{vm-image}, the returned image is in qcow2 format, which
9995 the QEMU emulator can efficiently use. @xref{Running GuixSD in a VM},
9996 for more information on how to run the image in a virtual machine.
9998 When using @code{disk-image}, a raw disk image is produced; it can be
9999 copied as is to a USB stick, for instance. Assuming @code{/dev/sdc} is
10000 the device corresponding to a USB stick, one can copy the image to it
10001 using the following command:
10004 # dd if=$(guix system disk-image my-os.scm) of=/dev/sdc
10008 Return a script to run the operating system declared in @var{file}
10009 within a container. Containers are a set of lightweight isolation
10010 mechanisms provided by the kernel Linux-libre. Containers are
10011 substantially less resource-demanding than full virtual machines since
10012 the kernel, shared objects, and other resources can be shared with the
10013 host system; this also means they provide thinner isolation.
10015 Currently, the script must be run as root in order to support more than
10016 a single user and group. The container shares its store with the host
10019 As with the @code{vm} action (@pxref{guix system vm}), additional file
10020 systems to be shared between the host and container can be specified
10021 using the @option{--share} and @option{--expose} options:
10024 guix system container my-config.scm \
10025 --expose=$HOME --share=$HOME/tmp=/exchange
10029 This option requires Linux-libre 3.19 or newer.
10034 @var{options} can contain any of the common build options (@pxref{Common
10035 Build Options}). In addition, @var{options} can contain one of the
10039 @item --system=@var{system}
10040 @itemx -s @var{system}
10041 Attempt to build for @var{system} instead of the host system type.
10042 This works as per @command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
10046 Return the derivation file name of the given operating system without
10049 @item --image-size=@var{size}
10050 For the @code{vm-image} and @code{disk-image} actions, create an image
10051 of the given @var{size}. @var{size} may be a number of bytes, or it may
10052 include a unit as a suffix (@pxref{Block size, size specifications,,
10053 coreutils, GNU Coreutils}).
10055 @item --on-error=@var{strategy}
10056 Apply @var{strategy} when an error occurs when reading @var{file}.
10057 @var{strategy} may be one of the following:
10060 @item nothing-special
10061 Report the error concisely and exit. This is the default strategy.
10064 Likewise, but also display a backtrace.
10067 Report the error and enter Guile's debugger. From there, you can run
10068 commands such as @code{,bt} to get a backtrace, @code{,locals} to
10069 display local variable values, and more generally inspect the state of the
10070 program. @xref{Debug Commands,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}, for
10071 a list of available debugging commands.
10075 Note that all the actions above, except @code{build} and @code{init},
10076 rely on KVM support in the Linux-Libre kernel. Specifically, the
10077 machine should have hardware virtualization support, the corresponding
10078 KVM kernel module should be loaded, and the @file{/dev/kvm} device node
10079 must exist and be readable and writable by the user and by the
10080 build users of the daemon.
10082 Once you have built, configured, re-configured, and re-re-configured
10083 your GuixSD installation, you may find it useful to list the operating
10084 system generations available on disk---and that you can choose from the
10089 @item list-generations
10090 List a summary of each generation of the operating system available on
10091 disk, in a human-readable way. This is similar to the
10092 @option{--list-generations} option of @command{guix package}
10093 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
10095 Optionally, one can specify a pattern, with the same syntax that is used
10096 in @command{guix package --list-generations}, to restrict the list of
10097 generations displayed. For instance, the following command displays
10098 generations that are up to 10 days old:
10101 $ guix system list-generations 10d
10106 The @command{guix system} command has even more to offer! The following
10107 sub-commands allow you to visualize how your system services relate to
10110 @anchor{system-extension-graph}
10113 @item extension-graph
10114 Emit in Dot/Graphviz format to standard output the @dfn{service
10115 extension graph} of the operating system defined in @var{file}
10116 (@pxref{Service Composition}, for more information on service
10122 $ guix system extension-graph @var{file} | dot -Tpdf > services.pdf
10125 produces a PDF file showing the extension relations among services.
10127 @anchor{system-shepherd-graph}
10128 @item shepherd-graph
10129 Emit in Dot/Graphviz format to standard output the @dfn{dependency
10130 graph} of shepherd services of the operating system defined in
10131 @var{file}. @xref{Shepherd Services}, for more information and for an
10136 @node Running GuixSD in a VM
10137 @subsection Running GuixSD in a Virtual Machine
10139 One way to run GuixSD in a virtual machine (VM) is to build a GuixSD
10140 virtual machine image using @command{guix system vm-image}
10141 (@pxref{Invoking guix system}). The returned image is in qcow2 format,
10142 which the @uref{http://qemu.org/, QEMU emulator} can efficiently use.
10144 To run the image in QEMU, copy it out of the store (@pxref{The Store})
10145 and give yourself permission to write to the copy. When invoking QEMU,
10146 you must choose a system emulator that is suitable for your hardware
10147 platform. Here is a minimal QEMU invocation that will boot the result
10148 of @command{guix system vm-image} on x86_64 hardware:
10151 $ qemu-system-x86_64 \
10152 -net user -net nic,model=virtio \
10153 -enable-kvm -m 256 /tmp/qemu-image
10156 Here is what each of these options means:
10159 @item qemu-system-x86_64
10160 This specifies the hardware platform to emulate. This should match the
10164 Enable the unprivileged user-mode network stack. The guest OS can
10165 access the host but not vice versa. This is the simplest way to get the
10166 guest OS online. If you do not choose a network stack, the boot will
10169 @item -net nic,model=virtio
10170 You must create a network interface of a given model. If you do not
10171 create a NIC, the boot will fail. Assuming your hardware platform is
10172 x86_64, you can get a list of available NIC models by running
10173 @command{qemu-system-x86_64 -net nic,model=help}.
10176 If your system has hardware virtualization extensions, enabling the
10177 virtual machine support (KVM) of the Linux kernel will make things run
10181 RAM available to the guest OS, in mebibytes. Defaults to 128@tie{}MiB,
10182 which may be insufficent for some operations.
10184 @item /tmp/qemu-image
10185 The file name of the qcow2 image.
10188 @node Defining Services
10189 @subsection Defining Services
10191 The previous sections show the available services and how one can combine
10192 them in an @code{operating-system} declaration. But how do we define
10193 them in the first place? And what is a service anyway?
10196 * Service Composition:: The model for composing services.
10197 * Service Types and Services:: Types and services.
10198 * Service Reference:: API reference.
10199 * Shepherd Services:: A particular type of service.
10202 @node Service Composition
10203 @subsubsection Service Composition
10207 Here we define a @dfn{service} as, broadly, something that extends the
10208 functionality of the operating system. Often a service is a process---a
10209 @dfn{daemon}---started when the system boots: a secure shell server, a
10210 Web server, the Guix build daemon, etc. Sometimes a service is a daemon
10211 whose execution can be triggered by another daemon---e.g., an FTP server
10212 started by @command{inetd} or a D-Bus service activated by
10213 @command{dbus-daemon}. Occasionally, a service does not map to a
10214 daemon. For instance, the ``account'' service collects user accounts
10215 and makes sure they exist when the system runs; the ``udev'' service
10216 collects device management rules and makes them available to the eudev
10217 daemon; the @file{/etc} service populates the @file{/etc} directory
10220 @cindex service extensions
10221 GuixSD services are connected by @dfn{extensions}. For instance, the
10222 secure shell service @emph{extends} the Shepherd---the GuixSD
10223 initialization system, running as PID@tie{}1---by giving it the command
10224 lines to start and stop the secure shell daemon (@pxref{Networking
10225 Services, @code{lsh-service}}); the UPower service extends the D-Bus
10226 service by passing it its @file{.service} specification, and extends the
10227 udev service by passing it device management rules (@pxref{Desktop
10228 Services, @code{upower-service}}); the Guix daemon service extends the
10229 Shepherd by passing it the command lines to start and stop the daemon,
10230 and extends the account service by passing it a list of required build
10231 user accounts (@pxref{Base Services}).
10233 All in all, services and their ``extends'' relations form a directed
10234 acyclic graph (DAG). If we represent services as boxes and extensions
10235 as arrows, a typical system might provide something like this:
10237 @image{images/service-graph,,5in,Typical service extension graph.}
10239 @cindex system service
10240 At the bottom, we see the @dfn{system service}, which produces the
10241 directory containing everything to run and boot the system, as returned
10242 by the @command{guix system build} command. @xref{Service Reference},
10243 to learn about the other service types shown here.
10244 @xref{system-extension-graph, the @command{guix system extension-graph}
10245 command}, for information on how to generate this representation for a
10246 particular operating system definition.
10248 @cindex service types
10249 Technically, developers can define @dfn{service types} to express these
10250 relations. There can be any number of services of a given type on the
10251 system---for instance, a system running two instances of the GNU secure
10252 shell server (lsh) has two instances of @var{lsh-service-type}, with
10253 different parameters.
10255 The following section describes the programming interface for service
10256 types and services.
10258 @node Service Types and Services
10259 @subsubsection Service Types and Services
10261 A @dfn{service type} is a node in the DAG described above. Let us start
10262 with a simple example, the service type for the Guix build daemon
10263 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}):
10266 (define guix-service-type
10270 (list (service-extension shepherd-root-service-type guix-shepherd-service)
10271 (service-extension account-service-type guix-accounts)
10272 (service-extension activation-service-type guix-activation)))))
10276 It defines two things:
10280 A name, whose sole purpose is to make inspection and debugging easier.
10283 A list of @dfn{service extensions}, where each extension designates the
10284 target service type and a procedure that, given the parameters of the
10285 service, returns a list of objects to extend the service of that type.
10287 Every service type has at least one service extension. The only
10288 exception is the @dfn{boot service type}, which is the ultimate service.
10291 In this example, @var{guix-service-type} extends three services:
10294 @item shepherd-root-service-type
10295 The @var{guix-shepherd-service} procedure defines how the Shepherd
10296 service is extended. Namely, it returns a @code{<shepherd-service>}
10297 object that defines how @command{guix-daemon} is started and stopped
10298 (@pxref{Shepherd Services}).
10300 @item account-service-type
10301 This extension for this service is computed by @var{guix-accounts},
10302 which returns a list of @code{user-group} and @code{user-account}
10303 objects representing the build user accounts (@pxref{Invoking
10306 @item activation-service-type
10307 Here @var{guix-activation} is a procedure that returns a gexp, which is
10308 a code snippet to run at ``activation time''---e.g., when the service is
10312 A service of this type is instantiated like this:
10315 (service guix-service-type
10316 (guix-configuration
10318 (use-substitutes? #f)))
10321 The second argument to the @code{service} form is a value representing
10322 the parameters of this specific service instance.
10323 @xref{guix-configuration-type, @code{guix-configuration}}, for
10324 information about the @code{guix-configuration} data type.
10326 @var{guix-service-type} is quite simple because it extends other
10327 services but is not extensible itself.
10329 @c @subsubsubsection Extensible Service Types
10331 The service type for an @emph{extensible} service looks like this:
10334 (define udev-service-type
10335 (service-type (name 'udev)
10337 (list (service-extension shepherd-root-service-type
10338 udev-shepherd-service)))
10340 (compose concatenate) ;concatenate the list of rules
10341 (extend (lambda (config rules)
10343 (($ <udev-configuration> udev initial-rules)
10344 (udev-configuration
10345 (udev udev) ;the udev package to use
10346 (rules (append initial-rules rules)))))))))
10349 This is the service type for the
10350 @uref{https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Eudev, eudev device
10351 management daemon}. Compared to the previous example, in addition to an
10352 extension of @var{shepherd-root-service-type}, we see two new fields:
10356 This is the procedure to @dfn{compose} the list of extensions to
10357 services of this type.
10359 Services can extend the udev service by passing it lists of rules; we
10360 compose those extensions simply by concatenating them.
10363 This procedure defines how the value of the service is @dfn{extended} with
10364 the composition of the extensions.
10366 Udev extensions are composed into a list of rules, but the udev service
10367 value is itself a @code{<udev-configuration>} record. So here, we
10368 extend that record by appending the list of rules it contains to the
10369 list of contributed rules.
10372 There can be only one instance of an extensible service type such as
10373 @var{udev-service-type}. If there were more, the
10374 @code{service-extension} specifications would be ambiguous.
10376 Still here? The next section provides a reference of the programming
10377 interface for services.
10379 @node Service Reference
10380 @subsubsection Service Reference
10382 We have seen an overview of service types (@pxref{Service Types and
10383 Services}). This section provides a reference on how to manipulate
10384 services and service types. This interface is provided by the
10385 @code{(gnu services)} module.
10387 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service @var{type} @var{value}
10388 Return a new service of @var{type}, a @code{<service-type>} object (see
10389 below.) @var{value} can be any object; it represents the parameters of
10390 this particular service instance.
10393 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service? @var{obj}
10394 Return true if @var{obj} is a service.
10397 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-kind @var{service}
10398 Return the type of @var{service}---i.e., a @code{<service-type>} object.
10401 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-parameters @var{service}
10402 Return the value associated with @var{service}. It represents its
10406 Here is an example of how a service is created and manipulated:
10410 (service nginx-service-type
10411 (nginx-configuration
10413 (log-directory log-directory)
10414 (run-directory run-directory)
10415 (file config-file))))
10420 (eq? (service-kind s) nginx-service-type)
10424 The @code{modify-services} form provides a handy way to change the
10425 parameters of some of the services of a list such as
10426 @var{%base-services} (@pxref{Base Services, @code{%base-services}}). It
10427 evalutes to a list of services. Of course, you could always use
10428 standard list combinators such as @code{map} and @code{fold} to do that
10429 (@pxref{SRFI-1, List Library,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual});
10430 @code{modify-services} simply provides a more concise form for this
10433 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} modify-services @var{services} @
10434 (@var{type} @var{variable} => @var{body}) @dots{}
10436 Modify the services listed in @var{services} according to the given
10437 clauses. Each clause has the form:
10440 (@var{type} @var{variable} => @var{body})
10443 where @var{type} is a service type---e.g.,
10444 @code{guix-service-type}---and @var{variable} is an identifier that is
10445 bound within the @var{body} to the service parameters---e.g., a
10446 @code{guix-configuration} instance---of the original service of that
10449 The @var{body} should evaluate to the new service parameters, which will
10450 be used to configure the new service. This new service will replace the
10451 original in the resulting list. Because a service's service parameters
10452 are created using @code{define-record-type*}, you can write a succint
10453 @var{body} that evaluates to the new service parameters by using the
10454 @code{inherit} feature that @code{define-record-type*} provides.
10456 @xref{Using the Configuration System}, for example usage.
10460 Next comes the programming interface for service types. This is
10461 something you want to know when writing new service definitions, but not
10462 necessarily when simply looking for ways to customize your
10463 @code{operating-system} declaration.
10465 @deftp {Data Type} service-type
10466 @cindex service type
10467 This is the representation of a @dfn{service type} (@pxref{Service Types
10472 This is a symbol, used only to simplify inspection and debugging.
10474 @item @code{extensions}
10475 A non-empty list of @code{<service-extension>} objects (see below).
10477 @item @code{compose} (default: @code{#f})
10478 If this is @code{#f}, then the service type denotes services that cannot
10479 be extended---i.e., services that do not receive ``values'' from other
10482 Otherwise, it must be a one-argument procedure. The procedure is called
10483 by @code{fold-services} and is passed a list of values collected from
10484 extensions. It must return a value that is a valid parameter value for
10485 the service instance.
10487 @item @code{extend} (default: @code{#f})
10488 If this is @code{#f}, services of this type cannot be extended.
10490 Otherwise, it must be a two-argument procedure: @code{fold-services}
10491 calls it, passing it the initial value of the service as the first argument
10492 and the result of applying @code{compose} to the extension values as the
10496 @xref{Service Types and Services}, for examples.
10499 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-extension @var{target-type} @
10501 Return a new extension for services of type @var{target-type}.
10502 @var{compute} must be a one-argument procedure: @code{fold-services}
10503 calls it, passing it the value associated with the service that provides
10504 the extension; it must return a valid value for the target service.
10507 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-extension? @var{obj}
10508 Return true if @var{obj} is a service extension.
10511 At the core of the service abstraction lies the @code{fold-services}
10512 procedure, which is responsible for ``compiling'' a list of services
10513 down to a single directory that contains everything needed to boot and
10514 run the system---the directory shown by the @command{guix system build}
10515 command (@pxref{Invoking guix system}). In essence, it propagates
10516 service extensions down the service graph, updating each node parameters
10517 on the way, until it reaches the root node.
10519 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} fold-services @var{services} @
10520 [#:target-type @var{system-service-type}]
10521 Fold @var{services} by propagating their extensions down to the root of
10522 type @var{target-type}; return the root service adjusted accordingly.
10525 Lastly, the @code{(gnu services)} module also defines several essential
10526 service types, some of which are listed below.
10528 @defvr {Scheme Variable} system-service-type
10529 This is the root of the service graph. It produces the system directory
10530 as returned by the @command{guix system build} command.
10533 @defvr {Scheme Variable} boot-service-type
10534 The type of the ``boot service'', which produces the @dfn{boot script}.
10535 The boot script is what the initial RAM disk runs when booting.
10538 @defvr {Scheme Variable} etc-service-type
10539 The type of the @file{/etc} service. This service can be extended by
10540 passing it name/file tuples such as:
10543 (list `("issue" ,(plain-file "issue" "Welcome!\n")))
10546 In this example, the effect would be to add an @file{/etc/issue} file
10547 pointing to the given file.
10550 @defvr {Scheme Variable} setuid-program-service-type
10551 Type for the ``setuid-program service''. This service collects lists of
10552 executable file names, passed as gexps, and adds them to the set of
10553 setuid-root programs on the system (@pxref{Setuid Programs}).
10556 @defvr {Scheme Variable} profile-service-type
10557 Type of the service that populates the @dfn{system profile}---i.e., the
10558 programs under @file{/run/current-system/profile}. Other services can
10559 extend it by passing it lists of packages to add to the system profile.
10563 @node Shepherd Services
10564 @subsubsection Shepherd Services
10567 @cindex init system
10568 The @code{(gnu services shepherd)} module provides a way to define
10569 services managed by the GNU@tie{}Shepherd, which is the GuixSD
10570 initialization system---the first process that is started when the
10571 system boots, also known as PID@tie{}1
10572 (@pxref{Introduction,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}).
10574 Services in the Shepherd can depend on each other. For instance, the
10575 SSH daemon may need to be started after the syslog daemon has been
10576 started, which in turn can only happen once all the file systems have
10577 been mounted. The simple operating system defined earlier (@pxref{Using
10578 the Configuration System}) results in a service graph like this:
10580 @image{images/shepherd-graph,,5in,Typical shepherd service graph.}
10582 You can actually generate such a graph for any operating system
10583 definition using the @command{guix system shepherd-graph} command
10584 (@pxref{system-shepherd-graph, @command{guix system shepherd-graph}}).
10586 The @var{%shepherd-root-service} is a service object representing
10587 PID@tie{}1, of type @var{shepherd-root-service-type}; it can be extended
10588 by passing it lists of @code{<shepherd-service>} objects.
10590 @deftp {Data Type} shepherd-service
10591 The data type representing a service managed by the Shepherd.
10594 @item @code{provision}
10595 This is a list of symbols denoting what the service provides.
10597 These are the names that may be passed to @command{herd start},
10598 @command{herd status}, and similar commands (@pxref{Invoking herd,,,
10599 shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}). @xref{Slots of services, the
10600 @code{provides} slot,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}, for details.
10602 @item @code{requirements} (default: @code{'()})
10603 List of symbols denoting the Shepherd services this one depends on.
10605 @item @code{respawn?} (default: @code{#t})
10606 Whether to restart the service when it stops, for instance when the
10607 underlying process dies.
10610 @itemx @code{stop} (default: @code{#~(const #f)})
10611 The @code{start} and @code{stop} fields refer to the Shepherd's
10612 facilities to start and stop processes (@pxref{Service De- and
10613 Constructors,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}). They are given as
10614 G-expressions that get expanded in the Shepherd configuration file
10615 (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
10617 @item @code{documentation}
10618 A documentation string, as shown when running:
10621 herd doc @var{service-name}
10624 where @var{service-name} is one of the symbols in @var{provision}
10625 (@pxref{Invoking herd,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}).
10627 @item @code{modules} (default: @var{%default-modules})
10628 This is the list of modules that must be in scope when @code{start} and
10629 @code{stop} are evaluated.
10631 @item @code{imported-modules} (default: @var{%default-imported-modules})
10632 This is the list of modules to import in the execution environment of
10638 @defvr {Scheme Variable} shepherd-root-service-type
10639 The service type for the Shepherd ``root service''---i.e., PID@tie{}1.
10641 This is the service type that extensions target when they want to create
10642 shepherd services (@pxref{Service Types and Services}, for an example).
10643 Each extension must pass a list of @code{<shepherd-service>}.
10646 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %shepherd-root-service
10647 This service represents PID@tie{}1.
10651 @node Installing Debugging Files
10652 @section Installing Debugging Files
10654 @cindex debugging files
10655 Program binaries, as produced by the GCC compilers for instance, are
10656 typically written in the ELF format, with a section containing
10657 @dfn{debugging information}. Debugging information is what allows the
10658 debugger, GDB, to map binary code to source code; it is required to
10659 debug a compiled program in good conditions.
10661 The problem with debugging information is that is takes up a fair amount
10662 of disk space. For example, debugging information for the GNU C Library
10663 weighs in at more than 60 MiB. Thus, as a user, keeping all the
10664 debugging info of all the installed programs is usually not an option.
10665 Yet, space savings should not come at the cost of an impediment to
10666 debugging---especially in the GNU system, which should make it easier
10667 for users to exert their computing freedom (@pxref{GNU Distribution}).
10669 Thankfully, the GNU Binary Utilities (Binutils) and GDB provide a
10670 mechanism that allows users to get the best of both worlds: debugging
10671 information can be stripped from the binaries and stored in separate
10672 files. GDB is then able to load debugging information from those files,
10673 when they are available (@pxref{Separate Debug Files,,, gdb, Debugging
10676 The GNU distribution takes advantage of this by storing debugging
10677 information in the @code{lib/debug} sub-directory of a separate package
10678 output unimaginatively called @code{debug} (@pxref{Packages with
10679 Multiple Outputs}). Users can choose to install the @code{debug} output
10680 of a package when they need it. For instance, the following command
10681 installs the debugging information for the GNU C Library and for GNU
10685 guix package -i glibc:debug guile:debug
10688 GDB must then be told to look for debug files in the user's profile, by
10689 setting the @code{debug-file-directory} variable (consider setting it
10690 from the @file{~/.gdbinit} file, @pxref{Startup,,, gdb, Debugging with
10694 (gdb) set debug-file-directory ~/.guix-profile/lib/debug
10697 From there on, GDB will pick up debugging information from the
10698 @code{.debug} files under @file{~/.guix-profile/lib/debug}.
10700 In addition, you will most likely want GDB to be able to show the source
10701 code being debugged. To do that, you will have to unpack the source
10702 code of the package of interest (obtained with @code{guix build
10703 --source}, @pxref{Invoking guix build}), and to point GDB to that source
10704 directory using the @code{directory} command (@pxref{Source Path,
10705 @code{directory},, gdb, Debugging with GDB}).
10707 @c XXX: keep me up-to-date
10708 The @code{debug} output mechanism in Guix is implemented by the
10709 @code{gnu-build-system} (@pxref{Build Systems}). Currently, it is
10710 opt-in---debugging information is available only for the packages
10711 with definitions explicitly declaring a @code{debug} output. This may be
10712 changed to opt-out in the future if our build farm servers can handle
10713 the load. To check whether a package has a @code{debug} output, use
10714 @command{guix package --list-available} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
10717 @node Security Updates
10718 @section Security Updates
10720 @cindex security updates
10721 @cindex security vulnerabilities
10722 Occasionally, important security vulnerabilities are discovered in software
10723 packages and must be patched. Guix developers try hard to keep track of
10724 known vulnerabilities and to apply fixes as soon as possible in the
10725 @code{master} branch of Guix (we do not yet provide a ``stable'' branch
10726 containing only security updates.) The @command{guix lint} tool helps
10727 developers find out about vulnerable versions of software packages in the
10732 gnu/packages/base.scm:652:2: glibc-2.21: probably vulnerable to CVE-2015-1781, CVE-2015-7547
10733 gnu/packages/gcc.scm:334:2: gcc-4.9.3: probably vulnerable to CVE-2015-5276
10734 gnu/packages/image.scm:312:2: openjpeg-2.1.0: probably vulnerable to CVE-2016-1923, CVE-2016-1924
10738 @xref{Invoking guix lint}, for more information.
10741 As of version @value{VERSION}, the feature described below is considered
10745 Guix follows a functional
10746 package management discipline (@pxref{Introduction}), which implies
10747 that, when a package is changed, @emph{every package that depends on it}
10748 must be rebuilt. This can significantly slow down the deployment of
10749 fixes in core packages such as libc or Bash, since basically the whole
10750 distribution would need to be rebuilt. Using pre-built binaries helps
10751 (@pxref{Substitutes}), but deployment may still take more time than
10755 To address this, Guix implements @dfn{grafts}, a mechanism that allows
10756 for fast deployment of critical updates without the costs associated
10757 with a whole-distribution rebuild. The idea is to rebuild only the
10758 package that needs to be patched, and then to ``graft'' it onto packages
10759 explicitly installed by the user and that were previously referring to
10760 the original package. The cost of grafting is typically very low, and
10761 order of magnitudes lower than a full rebuild of the dependency chain.
10763 @cindex replacements of packages, for grafts
10764 For instance, suppose a security update needs to be applied to Bash.
10765 Guix developers will provide a package definition for the ``fixed''
10766 Bash, say @var{bash-fixed}, in the usual way (@pxref{Defining
10767 Packages}). Then, the original package definition is augmented with a
10768 @code{replacement} field pointing to the package containing the bug fix:
10775 (replacement bash-fixed)))
10778 From there on, any package depending directly or indirectly on Bash---as
10779 reported by @command{guix gc --requisites} (@pxref{Invoking guix
10780 gc})---that is installed is automatically ``rewritten'' to refer to
10781 @var{bash-fixed} instead of @var{bash}. This grafting process takes
10782 time proportional to the size of the package, usually less than a
10783 minute for an ``average'' package on a recent machine. Grafting is
10784 recursive: when an indirect dependency requires grafting, then grafting
10785 ``propagates'' up to the package that the user is installing.
10787 Currently, the graft and the package it replaces (@var{bash-fixed} and
10788 @var{bash} in the example above) must have the exact same @code{name}
10789 and @code{version} fields. This restriction mostly comes from the fact
10790 that grafting works by patching files, including binary files, directly.
10791 Other restrictions may apply: for instance, when adding a graft to a
10792 package providing a shared library, the original shared library and its
10793 replacement must have the same @code{SONAME} and be binary-compatible.
10795 The @option{--no-grafts} command-line option allows you to forcefully
10796 avoid grafting (@pxref{Common Build Options, @option{--no-grafts}}).
10800 guix build bash --no-grafts
10804 returns the store file name of the original Bash, whereas:
10811 returns the store file name of the ``fixed'', replacement Bash. This
10812 allows you to distinguish between the two variants of Bash.
10814 To verify which Bash your whole profile refers to, you can run
10815 (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}):
10818 guix gc -R `readlink -f ~/.guix-profile` | grep bash
10822 @dots{} and compare the store file names that you get with those above.
10823 Likewise for a complete GuixSD system generation:
10826 guix gc -R `guix system build my-config.scm` | grep bash
10829 Lastly, to check which Bash running processes are using, you can use the
10830 @command{lsof} command:
10833 lsof | grep /gnu/store/.*bash
10837 @node Package Modules
10838 @section Package Modules
10840 From a programming viewpoint, the package definitions of the
10841 GNU distribution are provided by Guile modules in the @code{(gnu packages
10842 @dots{})} name space@footnote{Note that packages under the @code{(gnu
10843 packages @dots{})} module name space are not necessarily ``GNU
10844 packages''. This module naming scheme follows the usual Guile module
10845 naming convention: @code{gnu} means that these modules are distributed
10846 as part of the GNU system, and @code{packages} identifies modules that
10847 define packages.} (@pxref{Modules, Guile modules,, guile, GNU Guile
10848 Reference Manual}). For instance, the @code{(gnu packages emacs)}
10849 module exports a variable named @code{emacs}, which is bound to a
10850 @code{<package>} object (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
10852 The @code{(gnu packages @dots{})} module name space is
10853 automatically scanned for packages by the command-line tools. For
10854 instance, when running @code{guix package -i emacs}, all the @code{(gnu
10855 packages @dots{})} modules are scanned until one that exports a package
10856 object whose name is @code{emacs} is found. This package search
10857 facility is implemented in the @code{(gnu packages)} module.
10859 @cindex customization, of packages
10860 @cindex package module search path
10861 Users can store package definitions in modules with different
10862 names---e.g., @code{(my-packages emacs)}@footnote{Note that the file
10863 name and module name must match. For instance, the @code{(my-packages
10864 emacs)} module must be stored in a @file{my-packages/emacs.scm} file
10865 relative to the load path specified with @option{--load-path} or
10866 @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH}. @xref{Modules and the File System,,,
10867 guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}, for details.}. These package definitions
10868 will not be visible by default. Users can invoke commands such as
10869 @command{guix package} and @command{guix build} with the
10870 @code{-e} option so that they know where to find the package. Better
10871 yet, they can use the
10872 @code{-L} option of these commands to make those modules visible
10873 (@pxref{Invoking guix build, @code{--load-path}}), or define the
10874 @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH} environment variable. This environment
10875 variable makes it easy to extend or customize the distribution and is
10876 honored by all the user interfaces.
10878 @defvr {Environment Variable} GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH
10879 This is a colon-separated list of directories to search for additional
10880 package modules. Directories listed in this variable take precedence
10881 over the own modules of the distribution.
10884 The distribution is fully @dfn{bootstrapped} and @dfn{self-contained}:
10885 each package is built based solely on other packages in the
10886 distribution. The root of this dependency graph is a small set of
10887 @dfn{bootstrap binaries}, provided by the @code{(gnu packages
10888 bootstrap)} module. For more information on bootstrapping,
10889 @pxref{Bootstrapping}.
10891 @node Packaging Guidelines
10892 @section Packaging Guidelines
10894 The GNU distribution is nascent and may well lack some of your favorite
10895 packages. This section describes how you can help make the distribution
10896 grow. @xref{Contributing}, for additional information on how you can
10899 Free software packages are usually distributed in the form of
10900 @dfn{source code tarballs}---typically @file{tar.gz} files that contain
10901 all the source files. Adding a package to the distribution means
10902 essentially two things: adding a @dfn{recipe} that describes how to
10903 build the package, including a list of other packages required to build
10904 it, and adding @dfn{package metadata} along with that recipe, such as a
10905 description and licensing information.
10907 In Guix all this information is embodied in @dfn{package definitions}.
10908 Package definitions provide a high-level view of the package. They are
10909 written using the syntax of the Scheme programming language; in fact,
10910 for each package we define a variable bound to the package definition,
10911 and export that variable from a module (@pxref{Package Modules}).
10912 However, in-depth Scheme knowledge is @emph{not} a prerequisite for
10913 creating packages. For more information on package definitions,
10914 @pxref{Defining Packages}.
10916 Once a package definition is in place, stored in a file in the Guix
10917 source tree, it can be tested using the @command{guix build} command
10918 (@pxref{Invoking guix build}). For example, assuming the new package is
10919 called @code{gnew}, you may run this command from the Guix build tree
10920 (@pxref{Running Guix Before It Is Installed}):
10923 ./pre-inst-env guix build gnew --keep-failed
10926 Using @code{--keep-failed} makes it easier to debug build failures since
10927 it provides access to the failed build tree. Another useful
10928 command-line option when debugging is @code{--log-file}, to access the
10931 If the package is unknown to the @command{guix} command, it may be that
10932 the source file contains a syntax error, or lacks a @code{define-public}
10933 clause to export the package variable. To figure it out, you may load
10934 the module from Guile to get more information about the actual error:
10937 ./pre-inst-env guile -c '(use-modules (gnu packages gnew))'
10940 Once your package builds correctly, please send us a patch
10941 (@pxref{Contributing}). Well, if you need help, we will be happy to
10942 help you too. Once the patch is committed in the Guix repository, the
10943 new package automatically gets built on the supported platforms by
10944 @url{http://hydra.gnu.org/jobset/gnu/master, our continuous integration
10947 @cindex substituter
10948 Users can obtain the new package definition simply by running
10949 @command{guix pull} (@pxref{Invoking guix pull}). When
10950 @code{hydra.gnu.org} is done building the package, installing the
10951 package automatically downloads binaries from there
10952 (@pxref{Substitutes}). The only place where human intervention is
10953 needed is to review and apply the patch.
10957 * Software Freedom:: What may go into the distribution.
10958 * Package Naming:: What's in a name?
10959 * Version Numbers:: When the name is not enough.
10960 * Synopses and Descriptions:: Helping users find the right package.
10961 * Python Modules:: Taming the snake.
10962 * Perl Modules:: Little pearls.
10963 * Java Packages:: Coffee break.
10964 * Fonts:: Fond of fonts.
10967 @node Software Freedom
10968 @subsection Software Freedom
10970 @c Adapted from http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html.
10972 The GNU operating system has been developed so that users can have
10973 freedom in their computing. GNU is @dfn{free software}, meaning that
10974 users have the @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html,four
10975 essential freedoms}: to run the program, to study and change the program
10976 in source code form, to redistribute exact copies, and to distribute
10977 modified versions. Packages found in the GNU distribution provide only
10978 software that conveys these four freedoms.
10980 In addition, the GNU distribution follow the
10981 @url{http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html,free
10982 software distribution guidelines}. Among other things, these guidelines
10983 reject non-free firmware, recommendations of non-free software, and
10984 discuss ways to deal with trademarks and patents.
10986 Some otherwise free upstream package sources contain a small and optional
10987 subset that violates the above guidelines, for instance because this subset
10988 is itself non-free code. When that happens, the offending items are removed
10989 with appropriate patches or code snippets in the @code{origin} form of the
10990 package (@pxref{Defining Packages}). This way, @code{guix
10991 build --source} returns the ``freed'' source rather than the unmodified
10995 @node Package Naming
10996 @subsection Package Naming
10998 A package has actually two names associated with it:
10999 First, there is the name of the @emph{Scheme variable}, the one following
11000 @code{define-public}. By this name, the package can be made known in the
11001 Scheme code, for instance as input to another package. Second, there is
11002 the string in the @code{name} field of a package definition. This name
11003 is used by package management commands such as
11004 @command{guix package} and @command{guix build}.
11006 Both are usually the same and correspond to the lowercase conversion of
11007 the project name chosen upstream, with underscores replaced with
11008 hyphens. For instance, GNUnet is available as @code{gnunet}, and
11009 SDL_net as @code{sdl-net}.
11011 We do not add @code{lib} prefixes for library packages, unless these are
11012 already part of the official project name. But @pxref{Python
11013 Modules} and @ref{Perl Modules} for special rules concerning modules for
11014 the Python and Perl languages.
11016 Font package names are handled differently, @pxref{Fonts}.
11019 @node Version Numbers
11020 @subsection Version Numbers
11022 We usually package only the latest version of a given free software
11023 project. But sometimes, for instance for incompatible library versions,
11024 two (or more) versions of the same package are needed. These require
11025 different Scheme variable names. We use the name as defined
11026 in @ref{Package Naming}
11027 for the most recent version; previous versions use the same name, suffixed
11028 by @code{-} and the smallest prefix of the version number that may
11029 distinguish the two versions.
11031 The name inside the package definition is the same for all versions of a
11032 package and does not contain any version number.
11034 For instance, the versions 2.24.20 and 3.9.12 of GTK+ may be packaged as follows:
11037 (define-public gtk+
11042 (define-public gtk+-2
11045 (version "2.24.20")
11048 If we also wanted GTK+ 3.8.2, this would be packaged as
11050 (define-public gtk+-3.8
11057 @c See <https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2016-01/msg00425.html>,
11058 @c for a discussion of what follows.
11059 @cindex version number, for VCS snapshots
11060 Occasionally, we package snapshots of upstream's version control system
11061 (VCS) instead of formal releases. This should remain exceptional,
11062 because it is up to upstream developers to clarify what the stable
11063 release is. Yet, it is sometimes necessary. So, what should we put in
11064 the @code{version} field?
11066 Clearly, we need to make the commit identifier of the VCS snapshot
11067 visible in the version string, but we also need to make sure that the
11068 version string is monotonically increasing so that @command{guix package
11069 --upgrade} can determine which version is newer. Since commit
11070 identifiers, notably with Git, are not monotonically increasing, we add
11071 a revision number that we increase each time we upgrade to a newer
11072 snapshot. The resulting version string looks like this:
11077 | | `-- upstream commit ID
11079 | `--- Guix package revision
11081 latest upstream version
11084 It is a good idea to strip commit identifiers in the @code{version}
11085 field to, say, 7 digits. It avoids an aesthetic annoyance (assuming
11086 aesthetics have a role to play here) as well as problems related to OS
11087 limits such as the maximum shebang length (127 bytes for the Linux
11088 kernel.) It is best to use the full commit identifiers in
11089 @code{origin}s, though, to avoid ambiguities. A typical package
11090 definition may look like this:
11094 (let ((commit "c3f29bc928d5900971f65965feaae59e1272a3f7"))
11096 (version (string-append "0.9-1."
11097 (string-take commit 7)))
11100 (uri (git-reference
11101 (url "git://example.org/my-package.git")
11103 (sha256 (base32 "1mbikn@dots{}"))
11104 (file-name (string-append "my-package-" version
11110 @node Synopses and Descriptions
11111 @subsection Synopses and Descriptions
11113 As we have seen before, each package in GNU@tie{}Guix includes a
11114 synopsis and a description (@pxref{Defining Packages}). Synopses and
11115 descriptions are important: They are what @command{guix package
11116 --search} searches, and a crucial piece of information to help users
11117 determine whether a given package suits their needs. Consequently,
11118 packagers should pay attention to what goes into them.
11120 Synopses must start with a capital letter and must not end with a
11121 period. They must not start with ``a'' or ``the'', which usually does
11122 not bring anything; for instance, prefer ``File-frobbing tool'' over ``A
11123 tool that frobs files''. The synopsis should say what the package
11124 is---e.g., ``Core GNU utilities (file, text, shell)''---or what it is
11125 used for---e.g., the synopsis for GNU@tie{}grep is ``Print lines
11126 matching a pattern''.
11128 Keep in mind that the synopsis must be meaningful for a very wide
11129 audience. For example, ``Manipulate alignments in the SAM format''
11130 might make sense for a seasoned bioinformatics researcher, but might be
11131 fairly unhelpful or even misleading to a non-specialized audience. It
11132 is a good idea to come up with a synopsis that gives an idea of the
11133 application domain of the package. In this example, this might give
11134 something like ``Manipulate nucleotide sequence alignments'', which
11135 hopefully gives the user a better idea of whether this is what they are
11138 @cindex Texinfo markup, in package descriptions
11139 Descriptions should take between five and ten lines. Use full
11140 sentences, and avoid using acronyms without first introducing them.
11141 Descriptions can include Texinfo markup, which is useful to introduce
11142 ornaments such as @code{@@code} or @code{@@dfn}, bullet lists, or
11143 hyperlinks (@pxref{Overview,,, texinfo, GNU Texinfo}). However you
11144 should be careful when using some characters for example @samp{@@} and
11145 curly braces which are the basic special characters in Texinfo
11146 (@pxref{Special Characters,,, texinfo, GNU Texinfo}). User interfaces
11147 such as @command{guix package --show} take care of rendering it
11150 Synopses and descriptions are translated by volunteers
11151 @uref{http://translationproject.org/domain/guix-packages.html, at the
11152 Translation Project} so that as many users as possible can read them in
11153 their native language. User interfaces search them and display them in
11154 the language specified by the current locale.
11156 Translation is a lot of work so, as a packager, please pay even more
11157 attention to your synopses and descriptions as every change may entail
11158 additional work for translators. In order to help them, it is possible
11159 to make recommendations or instructions visible to them by inserting
11160 special comments like this (@pxref{xgettext Invocation,,, gettext, GNU
11164 ;; TRANSLATORS: "X11 resize-and-rotate" should not be translated.
11165 (description "ARandR is designed to provide a simple visual front end
11166 for the X11 resize-and-rotate (RandR) extension. @dots{}")
11170 @node Python Modules
11171 @subsection Python Modules
11173 We currently package Python 2 and Python 3, under the Scheme variable names
11174 @code{python-2} and @code{python} as explained in @ref{Version Numbers}.
11175 To avoid confusion and naming clashes with other programming languages, it
11176 seems desirable that the name of a package for a Python module contains
11177 the word @code{python}.
11179 Some modules are compatible with only one version of Python, others with both.
11180 If the package Foo compiles only with Python 3, we name it
11181 @code{python-foo}; if it compiles only with Python 2, we name it
11182 @code{python2-foo}. If it is compatible with both versions, we create two
11183 packages with the corresponding names.
11185 If a project already contains the word @code{python}, we drop this;
11186 for instance, the module python-dateutil is packaged under the names
11187 @code{python-dateutil} and @code{python2-dateutil}. If the project name
11188 starts with @code{py} (e.g. @code{pytz}), we keep it and prefix it as
11193 @subsection Perl Modules
11195 Perl programs standing for themselves are named as any other package,
11196 using the lowercase upstream name.
11197 For Perl packages containing a single class, we use the lowercase class name,
11198 replace all occurrences of @code{::} by dashes and prepend the prefix
11200 So the class @code{XML::Parser} becomes @code{perl-xml-parser}.
11201 Modules containing several classes keep their lowercase upstream name and
11202 are also prepended by @code{perl-}. Such modules tend to have the word
11203 @code{perl} somewhere in their name, which gets dropped in favor of the
11204 prefix. For instance, @code{libwww-perl} becomes @code{perl-libwww}.
11207 @node Java Packages
11208 @subsection Java Packages
11210 Java programs standing for themselves are named as any other package,
11211 using the lowercase upstream name.
11213 To avoid confusion and naming clashes with other programming languages,
11214 it is desirable that the name of a package for a Java package is
11215 prefixed with @code{java-}. If a project already contains the word
11216 @code{java}, we drop this; for instance, the package @code{ngsjava} is
11217 packaged under the name @code{java-ngs}.
11219 For Java packages containing a single class or a small class hierarchy,
11220 we use the lowercase class name, replace all occurrences of @code{.} by
11221 dashes and prepend the prefix @code{java-}. So the class
11222 @code{apache.commons.cli} becomes package
11223 @code{java-apache-commons-cli}.
11229 For fonts that are in general not installed by a user for typesetting
11230 purposes, or that are distributed as part of a larger software package,
11231 we rely on the general packaging rules for software; for instance, this
11232 applies to the fonts delivered as part of the X.Org system or fonts that
11233 are part of TeX Live.
11235 To make it easier for a user to search for fonts, names for other packages
11236 containing only fonts are constructed as follows, independently of the
11237 upstream package name.
11239 The name of a package containing only one font family starts with
11240 @code{font-}; it is followed by the foundry name and a dash @code{-}
11241 if the foundry is known, and the font family name, in which spaces are
11242 replaced by dashes (and as usual, all upper case letters are transformed
11244 For example, the Gentium font family by SIL is packaged under the name
11245 @code{font-sil-gentium}.
11247 For a package containing several font families, the name of the collection
11248 is used in the place of the font family name.
11249 For instance, the Liberation fonts consist of three families,
11250 Liberation Sans, Liberation Serif and Liberation Mono.
11251 These could be packaged separately under the names
11252 @code{font-liberation-sans} and so on; but as they are distributed together
11253 under a common name, we prefer to package them together as
11254 @code{font-liberation}.
11256 In the case where several formats of the same font family or font collection
11257 are packaged separately, a short form of the format, prepended by a dash,
11258 is added to the package name. We use @code{-ttf} for TrueType fonts,
11259 @code{-otf} for OpenType fonts and @code{-type1} for PostScript Type 1
11264 @node Bootstrapping
11265 @section Bootstrapping
11267 @c Adapted from the ELS 2013 paper.
11269 @cindex bootstrapping
11271 Bootstrapping in our context refers to how the distribution gets built
11272 ``from nothing''. Remember that the build environment of a derivation
11273 contains nothing but its declared inputs (@pxref{Introduction}). So
11274 there's an obvious chicken-and-egg problem: how does the first package
11275 get built? How does the first compiler get compiled? Note that this is
11276 a question of interest only to the curious hacker, not to the regular
11277 user, so you can shamelessly skip this section if you consider yourself
11278 a ``regular user''.
11280 @cindex bootstrap binaries
11281 The GNU system is primarily made of C code, with libc at its core. The
11282 GNU build system itself assumes the availability of a Bourne shell and
11283 command-line tools provided by GNU Coreutils, Awk, Findutils, `sed', and
11284 `grep'. Furthermore, build programs---programs that run
11285 @code{./configure}, @code{make}, etc.---are written in Guile Scheme
11286 (@pxref{Derivations}). Consequently, to be able to build anything at
11287 all, from scratch, Guix relies on pre-built binaries of Guile, GCC,
11288 Binutils, libc, and the other packages mentioned above---the
11289 @dfn{bootstrap binaries}.
11291 These bootstrap binaries are ``taken for granted'', though we can also
11292 re-create them if needed (more on that later).
11294 @unnumberedsubsec Preparing to Use the Bootstrap Binaries
11296 @c As of Emacs 24.3, Info-mode displays the image, but since it's a
11297 @c large image, it's hard to scroll. Oh well.
11298 @image{images/bootstrap-graph,6in,,Dependency graph of the early bootstrap derivations}
11300 The figure above shows the very beginning of the dependency graph of the
11301 distribution, corresponding to the package definitions of the @code{(gnu
11302 packages bootstrap)} module. A similar figure can be generated with
11303 @command{guix graph} (@pxref{Invoking guix graph}), along the lines of:
11306 guix graph -t derivation \
11307 -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages bootstrap) %bootstrap-gcc)' \
11311 At this level of detail, things are
11312 slightly complex. First, Guile itself consists of an ELF executable,
11313 along with many source and compiled Scheme files that are dynamically
11314 loaded when it runs. This gets stored in the @file{guile-2.0.7.tar.xz}
11315 tarball shown in this graph. This tarball is part of Guix's ``source''
11316 distribution, and gets inserted into the store with @code{add-to-store}
11317 (@pxref{The Store}).
11319 But how do we write a derivation that unpacks this tarball and adds it
11320 to the store? To solve this problem, the @code{guile-bootstrap-2.0.drv}
11321 derivation---the first one that gets built---uses @code{bash} as its
11322 builder, which runs @code{build-bootstrap-guile.sh}, which in turn calls
11323 @code{tar} to unpack the tarball. Thus, @file{bash}, @file{tar},
11324 @file{xz}, and @file{mkdir} are statically-linked binaries, also part of
11325 the Guix source distribution, whose sole purpose is to allow the Guile
11326 tarball to be unpacked.
11328 Once @code{guile-bootstrap-2.0.drv} is built, we have a functioning
11329 Guile that can be used to run subsequent build programs. Its first task
11330 is to download tarballs containing the other pre-built binaries---this
11331 is what the @code{.tar.xz.drv} derivations do. Guix modules such as
11332 @code{ftp-client.scm} are used for this purpose. The
11333 @code{module-import.drv} derivations import those modules in a directory
11334 in the store, using the original layout. The
11335 @code{module-import-compiled.drv} derivations compile those modules, and
11336 write them in an output directory with the right layout. This
11337 corresponds to the @code{#:modules} argument of
11338 @code{build-expression->derivation} (@pxref{Derivations}).
11340 Finally, the various tarballs are unpacked by the
11341 derivations @code{gcc-bootstrap-0.drv}, @code{glibc-bootstrap-0.drv},
11342 etc., at which point we have a working C tool chain.
11345 @unnumberedsubsec Building the Build Tools
11347 Bootstrapping is complete when we have a full tool chain that does not
11348 depend on the pre-built bootstrap tools discussed above. This
11349 no-dependency requirement is verified by checking whether the files of
11350 the final tool chain contain references to the @file{/gnu/store}
11351 directories of the bootstrap inputs. The process that leads to this
11352 ``final'' tool chain is described by the package definitions found in
11353 the @code{(gnu packages commencement)} module.
11355 The @command{guix graph} command allows us to ``zoom out'' compared to
11356 the graph above, by looking at the level of package objects instead of
11357 individual derivations---remember that a package may translate to
11358 several derivations, typically one derivation to download its source,
11359 one to build the Guile modules it needs, and one to actually build the
11360 package from source. The command:
11363 guix graph -t bag \
11364 -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages commencement)
11365 glibc-final-with-bootstrap-bash)' | dot -Tps > t.ps
11369 produces the dependency graph leading to the ``final'' C
11370 library@footnote{You may notice the @code{glibc-intermediate} label,
11371 suggesting that it is not @emph{quite} final, but as a good
11372 approximation, we will consider it final.}, depicted below.
11374 @image{images/bootstrap-packages,6in,,Dependency graph of the early packages}
11376 @c See <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gnu-system-discuss/2012-10/msg00000.html>.
11377 The first tool that gets built with the bootstrap binaries is
11378 GNU@tie{}Make---noted @code{make-boot0} above---which is a prerequisite
11379 for all the following packages. From there Findutils and Diffutils get
11382 Then come the first-stage Binutils and GCC, built as pseudo cross
11383 tools---i.e., with @code{--target} equal to @code{--host}. They are
11384 used to build libc. Thanks to this cross-build trick, this libc is
11385 guaranteed not to hold any reference to the initial tool chain.
11387 From there the final Binutils and GCC (not shown above) are built.
11389 from the final Binutils, and links programs against the just-built libc.
11390 This tool chain is used to build the other packages used by Guix and by
11391 the GNU Build System: Guile, Bash, Coreutils, etc.
11393 And voilà! At this point we have the complete set of build tools that
11394 the GNU Build System expects. These are in the @code{%final-inputs}
11395 variable of the @code{(gnu packages commencement)} module, and are
11396 implicitly used by any package that uses @code{gnu-build-system}
11397 (@pxref{Build Systems, @code{gnu-build-system}}).
11400 @unnumberedsubsec Building the Bootstrap Binaries
11402 Because the final tool chain does not depend on the bootstrap binaries,
11403 those rarely need to be updated. Nevertheless, it is useful to have an
11404 automated way to produce them, should an update occur, and this is what
11405 the @code{(gnu packages make-bootstrap)} module provides.
11407 The following command builds the tarballs containing the bootstrap
11408 binaries (Guile, Binutils, GCC, libc, and a tarball containing a mixture
11409 of Coreutils and other basic command-line tools):
11412 guix build bootstrap-tarballs
11415 The generated tarballs are those that should be referred to in the
11416 @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} module mentioned at the beginning of
11419 Still here? Then perhaps by now you've started to wonder: when do we
11420 reach a fixed point? That is an interesting question! The answer is
11421 unknown, but if you would like to investigate further (and have
11422 significant computational and storage resources to do so), then let us
11426 @section Porting to a New Platform
11428 As discussed above, the GNU distribution is self-contained, and
11429 self-containment is achieved by relying on pre-built ``bootstrap
11430 binaries'' (@pxref{Bootstrapping}). These binaries are specific to an
11431 operating system kernel, CPU architecture, and application binary
11432 interface (ABI). Thus, to port the distribution to a platform that is
11433 not yet supported, one must build those bootstrap binaries, and update
11434 the @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} module to use them on that platform.
11436 Fortunately, Guix can @emph{cross compile} those bootstrap binaries.
11437 When everything goes well, and assuming the GNU tool chain supports the
11438 target platform, this can be as simple as running a command like this
11442 guix build --target=armv5tel-linux-gnueabi bootstrap-tarballs
11445 For this to work, the @code{glibc-dynamic-linker} procedure in
11446 @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} must be augmented to return the right
11447 file name for libc's dynamic linker on that platform; likewise,
11448 @code{system->linux-architecture} in @code{(gnu packages linux)} must be
11449 taught about the new platform.
11451 Once these are built, the @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} module needs
11452 to be updated to refer to these binaries on the target platform. That
11453 is, the hashes and URLs of the bootstrap tarballs for the new platform
11454 must be added alongside those of the currently supported platforms. The
11455 bootstrap Guile tarball is treated specially: it is expected to be
11456 available locally, and @file{gnu/local.mk} has rules do download it for
11457 the supported architectures; a rule for the new platform must be added
11460 In practice, there may be some complications. First, it may be that the
11461 extended GNU triplet that specifies an ABI (like the @code{eabi} suffix
11462 above) is not recognized by all the GNU tools. Typically, glibc
11463 recognizes some of these, whereas GCC uses an extra @code{--with-abi}
11464 configure flag (see @code{gcc.scm} for examples of how to handle this).
11465 Second, some of the required packages could fail to build for that
11466 platform. Lastly, the generated binaries could be broken for some
11469 @c *********************************************************************
11470 @include contributing.texi
11472 @c *********************************************************************
11473 @node Acknowledgments
11474 @chapter Acknowledgments
11476 Guix is based on the @uref{http://nixos.org/nix/, Nix package manager},
11477 which was designed and
11478 implemented by Eelco Dolstra, with contributions from other people (see
11479 the @file{nix/AUTHORS} file in Guix.) Nix pioneered functional package
11480 management, and promoted unprecedented features, such as transactional
11481 package upgrades and rollbacks, per-user profiles, and referentially
11482 transparent build processes. Without this work, Guix would not exist.
11484 The Nix-based software distributions, Nixpkgs and NixOS, have also been
11485 an inspiration for Guix.
11487 GNU@tie{}Guix itself is a collective work with contributions from a
11488 number of people. See the @file{AUTHORS} file in Guix for more
11489 information on these fine people. The @file{THANKS} file lists people
11490 who have helped by reporting bugs, taking care of the infrastructure,
11491 providing artwork and themes, making suggestions, and more---thank you!
11494 @c *********************************************************************
11495 @node GNU Free Documentation License
11496 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
11498 @include fdl-1.3.texi
11500 @c *********************************************************************
11501 @node Concept Index
11502 @unnumbered Concept Index
11505 @node Programming Index
11506 @unnumbered Programming Index
11507 @syncodeindex tp fn
11508 @syncodeindex vr fn
11513 @c Local Variables:
11514 @c ispell-local-dictionary: "american";