guix.texi

The command command below imports meta-data for the @code{Acme::Boolean}
Perl module:

@example
guix import cpan Acme::Boolean
@end example

@item cran
@cindex CRAN
Import meta-data from @uref{http://cran.r-project.org/, CRAN}, the
central repository for the @uref{http://r-project.org, GNU@tie{}R
statistical and graphical environment}.

Information is extracted from the HTML package description.

The command command below imports meta-data for the @code{Cairo}
R package:

@example
guix import cran Cairo
@end example

@item nix
Import meta-data from a local copy of the source of the
@uref{http://nixos.org/nixpkgs/, Nixpkgs distribution}@footnote{This
relies on the @command{nix-instantiate} command of
@uref{http://nixos.org/nix/, Nix}.}.  Package definitions in Nixpkgs are
typically written in a mixture of Nix-language and Bash code.  This
command only imports the high-level package structure that is written in
the Nix language.  It normally includes all the basic fields of a
package definition.

When importing a GNU package, the synopsis and descriptions are replaced
by their canonical upstream variant.

As an example, the command below imports the package definition of
LibreOffice (more precisely, it imports the definition of the package
bound to the @code{libreoffice} top-level attribute):

@example
guix import nix ~/path/to/nixpkgs libreoffice
@end example

@item hackage
@cindex hackage
Import meta-data from Haskell community's central package archive
@uref{https://hackage.haskell.org/, Hackage}.  Information is taken from
Cabal files and includes all the relevant information, including package
dependencies.

Specific command-line options are:

@table @code
@item --stdin
@itemx -s
Read a Cabal file from the standard input.
@item --no-test-dependencies
@itemx -t
Do not include dependencies required by the test suites only.
@item --cabal-environment=@var{alist}
@itemx -e @var{alist}
@var{alist} is a Scheme alist defining the environment in which the
Cabal conditionals are evaluated.  The accepted keys are: @code{os},
@code{arch}, @code{impl} and a string representing the name of a flag.
The value associated with a flag has to be either the symbol
@code{true} or @code{false}.  The value associated with other keys
has to conform to the Cabal file format definition.  The default value
associated with the keys @code{os}, @code{arch} and @code{impl} is
@samp{linux}, @samp{x86_64} and @samp{ghc} respectively.
@end table

The command below imports meta-data for the latest version of the
@code{HTTP} Haskell package without including test dependencies and
specifying the value of the flag @samp{network-uri} as @code{false}:

@example
guix import hackage -t -e "'((\"network-uri\" . false))" HTTP
@end example

A specific package version may optionally be specified by following the
package name by a hyphen and a version number as in the following example:

@example
guix import hackage mtl-2.1.3.1
@end example

@item elpa
@cindex elpa
Import meta-data from an Emacs Lisp Package Archive (ELPA) package
repository (@pxref{Packages,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).

Specific command-line options are:

@table @code
@item --archive=@var{repo}
@itemx -a @var{repo}
@var{repo} identifies the archive repository from which to retrieve the
information.  Currently the supported repositories and their identifiers
are:
@itemize -
@item
@uref{http://elpa.gnu.org/packages, GNU}, selected by the @code{gnu}
identifier.  This is the default.

@item
@uref{http://stable.melpa.org/packages, MELPA-Stable}, selected by the
@code{melpa-stable} identifier.

@item
@uref{http://melpa.org/packages, MELPA}, selected by the @code{melpa}
identifier.
@end itemize
@end table
@end table

The structure of the @command{guix import} code is modular.  It would be
useful to have more importers for other package formats, and your help
is welcome here (@pxref{Contributing}).

@node Invoking guix refresh
@section Invoking @command{guix refresh}

The primary audience of the @command{guix refresh} command is developers
of the GNU software distribution.  By default, it reports any packages
provided by the distribution that are outdated compared to the latest
upstream version, like this:

@example
$ guix refresh
gnu/packages/gettext.scm:29:13: gettext would be upgraded from 0.18.1.1 to 0.18.2.1
gnu/packages/glib.scm:77:12: glib would be upgraded from 2.34.3 to 2.37.0
@end example

It does so by browsing each package's FTP directory and determining the
highest version number of the source tarballs
therein@footnote{Currently, this only works for GNU packages.}.

When passed @code{--update}, it modifies distribution source files to
update the version numbers and source tarball hashes of those packages'
recipes (@pxref{Defining Packages}).  This is achieved by downloading
each package's latest source tarball and its associated OpenPGP
signature, authenticating the downloaded tarball against its signature
using @command{gpg}, and finally computing its hash.  When the public
key used to sign the tarball is missing from the user's keyring, an
attempt is made to automatically retrieve it from a public key server;
when it's successful, the key is added to the user's keyring; otherwise,
@command{guix refresh} reports an error.

The following options are supported:

@table @code

@item --update
@itemx -u
Update distribution source files (package recipes) in place.  This is
usually run from a checkout of the Guix source tree (@pxref{Running
Guix Before It Is Installed}):

@example
$ ./pre-inst-env guix refresh -s non-core
@end example

@xref{Defining Packages}, for more information on package definitions.

@item --select=[@var{subset}]
@itemx -s @var{subset}
Select all the packages in @var{subset}, one of @code{core} or
@code{non-core}.

The @code{core} subset refers to all the packages at the core of the
distribution---i.e., packages that are used to build ``everything
else''.  This includes GCC, libc, Binutils, Bash, etc.  Usually,
changing one of these packages in the distribution entails a rebuild of
all the others.  Thus, such updates are an inconvenience to users in
terms of build time or bandwidth used to achieve the upgrade.

The @code{non-core} subset refers to the remaining packages.  It is
typically useful in cases where an update of the core packages would be
inconvenient.

@end table

In addition, @command{guix refresh} can be passed one or more package
names, as in this example:

@example
$ ./pre-inst-env guix refresh -u emacs idutils gcc-4.8.4
@end example

@noindent
The command above specifically updates the @code{emacs} and
@code{idutils} packages.  The @code{--select} option would have no
effect in this case.

When considering whether to upgrade a package, it is sometimes
convenient to know which packages would be affected by the upgrade and
should be checked for compatibility.  For this the following option may
be used when passing @command{guix refresh} one or more package names:

@table @code

@item --list-dependent
@itemx -l
List top-level dependent packages that would need to be rebuilt as a
result of upgrading one or more packages.

@end table

Be aware that the @code{--list-dependent} option only
@emph{approximates} the rebuilds that would be required as a result of
an upgrade.  More rebuilds might be required under some circumstances.

@example
$ guix refresh --list-dependent flex
Building the following 120 packages would ensure 213 dependent packages are rebuilt:
hop-2.4.0 geiser-0.4 notmuch-0.18 mu-0.9.9.5 cflow-1.4 idutils-4.6 @dots{}
@end example

The command above lists a set of packages that could be built to check
for compatibility with an upgraded @code{flex} package.

The following options can be used to customize GnuPG operation:

@table @code

@item --gpg=@var{command}
Use @var{command} as the GnuPG 2.x command.  @var{command} is searched
for in @code{$PATH}.

@item --key-download=@var{policy}
Handle missing OpenPGP keys according to @var{policy}, which may be one
of:

@table @code
@item always
Always download missing OpenPGP keys from the key server, and add them
to the user's GnuPG keyring.

@item never
Never try to download missing OpenPGP keys.  Instead just bail out.

@item interactive
When a package signed with an unknown OpenPGP key is encountered, ask
the user whether to download it or not.  This is the default behavior.
@end table

@item --key-server=@var{host}
Use @var{host} as the OpenPGP key server when importing a public key.

@end table

@node Invoking guix lint
@section Invoking @command{guix lint}
The @command{guix lint} is meant to help package developers avoid common
errors and use a consistent style.  It runs a number of checks on a
given set of packages in order to find common mistakes in their
definitions.  Available @dfn{checkers} include (see
@code{--list-checkers} for a complete list):

@table @code
@item synopsis
@itemx description
Validate certain typographical and stylistic rules about package
descriptions and synopses.

@item inputs-should-be-native
Identify inputs that should most likely be native inputs.

@item source
@itemx home-page
@itemx source-file-name
Probe @code{home-page} and @code{source} URLs and report those that are
invalid.  Check that the source file name is meaningful, e.g. is not
just a version number or ``git-checkout'', and should not have a
@code{file-name} declared (@pxref{origin Reference}).

@item formatting
Warn about obvious source code formatting issues: trailing white space,
use of tabulations, etc.
@end table

The general syntax is:

@example
guix lint @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
@end example

If no package is given on the command line, then all packages are checked.
The @var{options} may be zero or more of the following:

@table @code

@item --checkers
@itemx -c
Only enable the checkers specified in a comma-separated list using the
names returned by @code{--list-checkers}.

@item --list-checkers
@itemx -l
List and describe all the available checkers that will be run on packages
and exit.

@end table

@node Invoking guix size
@section Invoking @command{guix size}

The @command{guix size} command helps package developers profile the
disk usage of packages.  It is easy to overlook the impact of an
additional dependency added to a package, or the impact of using a
single output for a package that could easily be split (@pxref{Packages
with Multiple Outputs}).  These are the typical issues that
@command{guix size} can highlight.

The command can be passed a package specification such as @code{gcc-4.8}
or @code{guile:debug}, or a file name in the store.  Consider this
example:

@example
$ guix size coreutils
store item                               total    self
/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.23          70.0    13.9  19.8%
/gnu/store/@dots{}-gmp-6.0.0a              55.3     2.5   3.6%
/gnu/store/@dots{}-acl-2.2.52              53.7     0.5   0.7%
/gnu/store/@dots{}-attr-2.4.46             53.2     0.3   0.5%
/gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.8.4-lib           52.9    15.7  22.4%
/gnu/store/@dots{}-glibc-2.21              37.2    37.2  53.1%
@end example

@cindex closure
The store items listed here constitute the @dfn{transitive closure} of
Coreutils---i.e., Coreutils and all its dependencies, recursively---as
would be returned by:

@example
$ guix gc -R /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.23
@end example

Here the output shows 3 columns next to store items.  The first column,
labeled ``total'', shows the size in mebibytes (MiB) of the closure of
the store item---that is, its own size plus the size of all its
dependencies.  The next column, labeled ``self'', shows the size of the
item itself.  The last column shows the ratio of the item's size to the
space occupied by all the items listed here.

In this example, we see that the closure of Coreutils weighs in at
70@tie{}MiB, half of which is taken by libc.  (That libc represents a
large fraction of the closure is not a problem @i{per se} because it is
always available on the system anyway.)

When the package passed to @command{guix size} is available in the
store, @command{guix size} queries the daemon to determine its
dependencies, and measures its size in the store, similar to @command{du
-ms --apparent-size} (@pxref{du invocation,,, coreutils, GNU
Coreutils}).

When the given package is @emph{not} in the store, @command{guix size}
reports information based on information about the available substitutes
(@pxref{Substitutes}).  This allows it to profile disk usage of store
items that are not even on disk, only available remotely.

The available options are:

@table @option

@item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
Use substitute information from @var{urls}.
@xref{client-substitute-urls, the same option for @code{guix build}}.

@item --map-file=@var{file}
Write to @var{file} a graphical map of disk usage as a PNG file.

For the example above, the map looks like this:

@image{images/coreutils-size-map,5in,, map of Coreutils disk usage
produced by @command{guix size}}

This option requires that
@uref{http://wingolog.org/software/guile-charting/, Guile-Charting} be
installed and visible in Guile's module search path.  When that is not
the case, @command{guix size} fails as it tries to load it.

@item --system=@var{system}
@itemx -s @var{system}
Consider packages for @var{system}---e.g., @code{x86_64-linux}.

@end table

@node Invoking guix graph
@section Invoking @command{guix graph}

@cindex DAG
Packages and their dependencies form a @dfn{graph}, specifically a
directed acyclic graph (DAG).  It can quickly become difficult to have a
mental model of the package DAG, so the @command{guix graph} command is
here to provide a visual representation of the DAG.  @command{guix
graph} emits a DAG representation in the input format of
@uref{http://www.graphviz.org/, Graphviz}, so its output can be passed
directly to Graphviz's @command{dot} command, for instance.  The general
syntax is:

@example
guix graph @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
@end example

For example, the following command generates a PDF file representing the
package DAG for the GNU@tie{}Core Utilities, showing its build-time
dependencies:

@example
guix graph coreutils | dot -Tpdf > dag.pdf
@end example

The output looks like this:

@image{images/coreutils-graph,2in,,Dependency graph of the GNU Coreutils}

Nice little graph, no?

But there's more than one graph!  The one above is concise: it's the
graph of package objects, omitting implicit inputs such as GCC, libc,
grep, etc.  It's often useful to have such a concise graph, but
sometimes you want to see more details.  @command{guix graph} supports
several types of graphs, allowing you to choose the level of details:

@table @code
@item package
This is the default type, the one we used above.  It shows the DAG of
package objects, excluding implicit dependencies.  It is concise, but
filters out many details.

@item bag-emerged
This is the package DAG, @emph{including} implicit inputs.

For instance, the following command:

@example
guix graph --type=bag-emerged coreutils | dot -Tpdf > dag.pdf
@end example

... yields this bigger graph:

@image{images/coreutils-bag-graph,,5in,Detailed dependency graph of the GNU Coreutils}

At the bottom of the graph, we see all the implicit inputs of
@var{gnu-build-system} (@pxref{Build Systems, @code{gnu-build-system}}).

Now, note that the dependencies of those implicit inputs---that is, the
@dfn{bootstrap dependencies} (@pxref{Bootstrapping})---are not shown
here, for conciseness.

@item bag
Similar to @code{bag-emerged}, but this time including all the bootstrap
dependencies.

@item derivations
This is the most detailed representation: It shows the DAG of
derivations (@pxref{Derivations}) and plain store items.  Compared to
the above representation, many additional nodes are visible, including
builds scripts, patches, Guile modules, etc.

@end table

All the above types correspond to @emph{build-time dependencies}.  The
following graph type represents the @emph{run-time dependencies}:

@table @code
@item references
This is the graph of @dfn{references} of a package output, as returned
by @command{guix gc --references} (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}).

If the given package output is not available in the store, @command{guix
graph} attempts to obtain dependency information from substitutes.
@end table

The available options are the following:

@table @option
@item --type=@var{type}
@itemx -t @var{type}
Produce a graph output of @var{type}, where @var{type} must be one of
the values listed above.

@item --list-types
List the supported graph types.

@item --expression=@var{expr}
@itemx -e @var{expr}
Consider the package @var{expr} evaluates to.

This is useful to precisely refer to a package, as in this example:

@example
guix graph -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages commencement) gnu-make-final)'
@end example
@end table


@node Invoking guix environment
@section Invoking @command{guix environment}

@cindex reproducible build environments
@cindex development environments
The purpose of @command{guix environment} is to assist hackers in
creating reproducible development environments without polluting their
package profile.  The @command{guix environment} tool takes one or more
packages, builds all of the necessary inputs, and creates a shell
environment to use them.

The general syntax is:

@example
guix environment @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
@end example

The following example spawns a new shell set up for the development of
GNU@tie{}Guile:

@example
guix environment guile
@end example

If the specified packages are not built yet, @command{guix environment}
automatically builds them.  The new shell's environment is an augmented
version of the environment that @command{guix environment} was run in.
It contains the necessary search paths for building the given package
added to the existing environment variables.  To create a ``pure''
environment in which the original environment variables have been unset,
use the @code{--pure} option@footnote{Users sometimes wrongfully augment
environment variables such as @code{PATH} in their @file{~/.bashrc}
file.  As a consequence, when @code{guix environment} launches it, Bash
may read @file{~/.bashrc}, thereby introducing ``impurities'' in these
environment variables.  It is an error to define such environment
variables in @file{.bashrc}; instead, they should be defined in
@file{.bash_profile}, which is sourced only by log-in shells.
@xref{Bash Startup Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}, for
details on Bash start-up files.}.

@vindex GUIX_ENVIRONMENT
@command{guix environment} defines the @code{GUIX_ENVIRONMENT}
variable in the shell it spaws.  This allows users to, say, define a
specific prompt for development environments in their @file{.bashrc}
(@pxref{Bash Startup Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}):

@example
if [ -n "$GUIX_ENVIRONMENT" ]
then
    export PS1="\u@@\h \w [dev]\$ "
fi
@end example

Additionally, more than one package may be specified, in which case the
union of the inputs for the given packages are used.  For example, the
command below spawns a shell where all of the dependencies of both Guile
and Emacs are available:

@example
guix environment guile emacs
@end example

Sometimes an interactive shell session is not desired.  An arbitrary
command may be invoked by placing the @code{--} token to separate the
command from the rest of the arguments:

@example
guix environment guile -- make -j4
@end example

In other situations, it is more convenient to specify the list of
packages needed in the environment.  For example, the following command
runs @command{python} from an environment containing Python@tie{}2.7 and
NumPy:

@example
guix environment --ad-hoc python2-numpy python-2.7 -- python
@end example

The available options are summarized below.

@table @code
@item --expression=@var{expr}
@itemx -e @var{expr}
Create an environment for the package that @var{expr} evaluates to.

For example, running:

@example
guix environment -e '(@@ (gnu packages maths) petsc-openmpi)'
@end example

starts a shell with the environment for this specific variant of the
PETSc package.

@item --load=@var{file}
@itemx -l @var{file}
Create an environment for the package that the code within @var{file}
evaluates to.

As an example, @var{file} might contain a definition like this
(@pxref{Defining Packages}):

@example
@verbatiminclude environment-gdb.scm
@end example

@item --ad-hoc
Include all specified packages in the resulting environment, as if an
@i{ad hoc} package were defined with them as inputs.  This option is
useful for quickly creating an environment without having to write a
package expression to contain the desired inputs.

For instance, the command:

@example
guix environment --ad-hoc guile guile-sdl -- guile
@end example

runs @command{guile} in an environment where Guile and Guile-SDL are
available.

Note that this example implicitly asks for the default output of
@code{guile} and @code{guile-sdl} but it is possible to ask for a
specific output---e.g., @code{glib:bin} asks for the @code{bin} output
of @code{glib} (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}).

@item --pure
Unset existing environment variables when building the new environment.
This has the effect of creating an environment in which search paths
only contain package inputs.

@item --search-paths
Display the environment variable definitions that make up the
environment.

@item --system=@var{system}
@itemx -s @var{system}
Attempt to build for @var{system}---e.g., @code{i686-linux}.
@end table

It also supports all of the common build options that @command{guix
build} supports (@pxref{Invoking guix build, common build options}).

@node Invoking guix publish
@section Invoking @command{guix publish}

The purpose of @command{guix publish} is to enable users to easily share
their store with others, which can then use it as a substitute server
(@pxref{Substitutes}).

When @command{guix publish} runs, it spawns an HTTP server which allows
anyone with network access to obtain substitutes from it.  This means
that any machine running Guix can also act as if it were a build farm,
since the HTTP interface is compatible with Hydra, the software behind
the @code{hydra.gnu.org} build farm.

For security, each substitute is signed, allowing recipients to check
their authenticity and integrity (@pxref{Substitutes}).  Because
@command{guix publish} uses the system's signing key, which is only
readable by the system administrator, it must be started as root; the
@code{--user} option makes it drop root privileges early on.

The general syntax is:

@example
guix publish @var{options}@dots{}
@end example

Running @command{guix publish} without any additional arguments will
spawn an HTTP server on port 8080:

@example
guix publish
@end example

Once a publishing server has been authorized (@pxref{Invoking guix
archive}), the daemon may download substitutes from it:

@example
guix-daemon --substitute-urls=http://example.org:8080
@end example

The following options are available:

@table @code
@item --port=@var{port}
@itemx -p @var{port}
Listen for HTTP requests on @var{port}.

@item --listen=@var{host}
Listen on the network interface for @var{host}.  The default is to
accept connections from any interface.

@item --user=@var{user}
@itemx -u @var{user}
Change privileges to @var{user} as soon as possible---i.e., once the
server socket is open and the signing key has been read.

@item --repl[=@var{port}]
@itemx -r [@var{port}]
Spawn a Guile REPL server (@pxref{REPL Servers,,, guile, GNU Guile
Reference Manual}) on @var{port} (37146 by default).  This is used
primarily for debugging a running @command{guix publish} server.
@end table

@c *********************************************************************
@node GNU Distribution
@chapter GNU Distribution

@cindex Guix System Distribution
@cindex GuixSD
Guix comes with a distribution of the GNU system consisting entirely of
free software@footnote{The term ``free'' here refers to the
@url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html,freedom provided to
users of that software}.}.  The
distribution can be installed on its own (@pxref{System Installation}),
but it is also possible to install Guix as a package manager on top of
an installed GNU/Linux system (@pxref{Installation}).  To distinguish
between the two, we refer to the standalone distribution as the Guix
System Distribution, or GuixSD.

The distribution provides core GNU packages such as GNU libc, GCC, and
Binutils, as well as many GNU and non-GNU applications.  The complete
list of available packages can be browsed
@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/guix/packages,on-line} or by
running @command{guix package} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}):

@example
guix package --list-available
@end example

Our goal has been to provide a practical 100% free software distribution of
Linux-based and other variants of GNU, with a focus on the promotion and
tight integration of GNU components, and an emphasis on programs and
tools that help users exert that freedom.

Packages are currently available on the following platforms:

@table @code

@item x86_64-linux
Intel/AMD @code{x86_64} architecture, Linux-Libre kernel;

@item i686-linux
Intel 32-bit architecture (IA32), Linux-Libre kernel;

@item armhf-linux
ARMv7-A architecture with hard float, Thumb-2 and NEON,
using the EABI hard-float ABI, and Linux-Libre kernel.

@item mips64el-linux
little-endian 64-bit MIPS processors, specifically the Loongson series,
n32 application binary interface (ABI), and Linux-Libre kernel.

@end table

GuixSD itself is currently only available on @code{i686} and @code{x86_64}.

@noindent
For information on porting to other architectures or kernels,
@xref{Porting}.

@menu
* System Installation::         Installing the whole operating system.
* System Configuration::        Configuring the operating system.
* Installing Debugging Files::  Feeding the debugger.
* Security Updates::            Deploying security fixes quickly.
* Package Modules::             Packages from the programmer's viewpoint.
* Packaging Guidelines::        Growing the distribution.
* Bootstrapping::               GNU/Linux built from scratch.
* Porting::                     Targeting another platform or kernel.
@end menu

Building this distribution is a cooperative effort, and you are invited
to join!  @xref{Contributing}, for information about how you can help.

@node System Installation
@section System Installation

@cindex Guix System Distribution
This section explains how to install the Guix System Distribution
on a machine.  The Guix package manager can
also be installed on top of a running GNU/Linux system,
@pxref{Installation}.

@ifinfo
@c This paragraph is for people reading this from tty2 of the
@c installation image.
You're reading this documentation with an Info reader.  For details on
how to use it, hit the @key{RET} key (``return'' or ``enter'') on the
link that follows: @pxref{Help,,, info, Info: An Introduction}.  Hit
@kbd{l} afterwards to come back here.
@end ifinfo

@subsection Limitations

As of version @value{VERSION}, the Guix System Distribution (GuixSD) is
not production-ready.  It may contain bugs and lack important
features.  Thus, if you are looking for a stable production system that
respects your freedom as a computer user, a good solution at this point
is to consider @url{http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html, one of
more established GNU/Linux distributions}.  We hope you can soon switch
to the GuixSD without fear, of course.  In the meantime, you can
also keep using your distribution and try out the package manager on top
of it (@pxref{Installation}).

Before you proceed with the installation, be aware of the following
noteworthy limitations applicable to version @value{VERSION}:

@itemize
@item
The installation process does not include a graphical user interface and
requires familiarity with GNU/Linux (see the following subsections to
get a feel of what that means.)

@item
The system does not yet provide full GNOME and KDE desktops.  Xfce and
Enlightenment are available though, if graphical desktop environments
are your thing, as well as a number of X11 window managers.

@item
Support for the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is missing.

@item
Few system services are currently supported out-of-the-box
(@pxref{Services}).

@item
More than 2,000 packages are available, but you may
occasionally find that a useful package is missing.
@end itemize

You've been warned.  But more than a disclaimer, this is an invitation
to report issues (and success stories!), and join us in improving it.
@xref{Contributing}, for more info.

@subsection USB Stick Installation

An installation image for USB sticks can be downloaded from
@indicateurl{ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guixsd-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.xz},
where @var{system} is one of:

@table @code
@item x86_64-linux
for a GNU/Linux system on Intel/AMD-compatible 64-bit CPUs;

@item i686-linux
for a 32-bit GNU/Linux system on Intel-compatible CPUs.
@end table

This image contains a single partition with the tools necessary for an
installation.  It is meant to be copied @emph{as is} to a large-enough
USB stick.

To copy the image to a USB stick, follow these steps:

@enumerate
@item
Decompress the image using the @command{xz} command:

@example
xz -d guixsd-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.xz
@end example

@item
Insert a USB stick of 1@tie{}GiB or more in your machine, and determine
its device name.  Assuming that USB stick is known as @file{/dev/sdX},
copy the image with:

@example
dd if=guixsd-usb-install-@value{VERSION}.x86_64 of=/dev/sdX
@end example

Access to @file{/dev/sdX} usually requires root privileges.
@end enumerate

Once this is done, you should be able to reboot the system and boot from
the USB stick.  The latter usually requires you to get in the BIOS' boot
menu, where you can choose to boot from the USB stick.

@subsection Preparing for Installation

Once you have successfully booted the image on the USB stick, you should
end up with a root prompt.  Several console TTYs are configured and can
be used to run commands as root.  TTY2 shows this documentation,
browsable using the Info reader commands (@pxref{Help,,, info, Info: An
Introduction}).

To install the system, you would:

@enumerate

@item
Configure the network, by running @command{ifconfig eno1 up && dhclient
eno1} (to get an automatically assigned IP address from the wired
network interface controller@footnote{
@c http://cgit.freedesktop.org/systemd/systemd/tree/src/udev/udev-builtin-net_id.c#n20
The name @code{eno1} is for the first on-board Ethernet controller.  The
interface name for an Ethernet controller that is in the first slot of
the first PCI bus, for instance, would be @code{enp1s0}.  Use
@command{ifconfig -a} to list all the available network interfaces.}),
or using the @command{ifconfig} command.

The system automatically loads drivers for your network interface
controllers.

Setting up network access is almost always a requirement because the
image does not contain all the software and tools that may be needed.

@item
Unless this has already been done, you must partition and format the
target partitions.

Preferably, assign partitions a label so that you can easily and
reliably refer to them in @code{file-system} declarations (@pxref{File
Systems}).  This is typically done using the @code{-L} option of
@command{mkfs.ext4} and related commands.

The installation image includes Parted (@pxref{Overview,,, parted, GNU
Parted User Manual}), @command{fdisk}, Cryptsetup/LUKS for disk
encryption, and e2fsprogs, the suite of tools to manipulate
ext2/ext3/ext4 file systems.

@item
Once that is done, mount the target root partition under @file{/mnt}.

@item
Lastly, run @code{deco start cow-store /mnt}.

This will make @file{/gnu/store} copy-on-write, such that packages added
to it during the installation phase will be written to the target disk
rather than kept in memory.

@end enumerate


@subsection Proceeding with the Installation

With the target partitions ready, you now have to edit a file and
provide the declaration of the operating system to be installed.  To
that end, the installation system comes with two text editors: GNU nano
(@pxref{Top,,, nano, GNU nano Manual}), and GNU Zile, an Emacs clone.
It is better to store that file on the target root file system, say, as
@file{/mnt/etc/config.scm}.

@xref{Using the Configuration System}, for examples of operating system
configurations.  These examples are available under
@file{/etc/configuration} in the installation image, so you can copy
them and use them as a starting point for your own configuration.

Once you are done preparing the configuration file, the new system must
be initialized (remember that the target root file system is mounted
under @file{/mnt}):

@example
guix system init /mnt/etc/config.scm /mnt
@end example

@noindent
This will copy all the necessary files, and install GRUB on
@file{/dev/sdX}, unless you pass the @option{--no-grub} option.  For
more information, @pxref{Invoking guix system}.  This command may trigger
downloads or builds of missing packages, which can take some time.

Once that command has completed---and hopefully succeeded!---you can run
@command{reboot} and boot into the new system.  The @code{root} password
in the new system is initially empty; other users' passwords need to be
initialized by running the @command{passwd} command as @code{root},
unless your configuration specifies otherwise
(@pxref{user-account-password, user account passwords}).

Join us on @code{#guix} on the Freenode IRC network or on
@file{guix-devel@@gnu.org} to share your experience---good or not so
good.

@subsection Building the Installation Image

The installation image described above was built using the @command{guix
system} command, specifically:

@example
guix system disk-image --image-size=850MiB gnu/system/install.scm
@end example

@xref{Invoking guix system}, for more information.  See
@file{gnu/system/install.scm} in the source tree for more information
about the installation image.

@node System Configuration
@section System Configuration

@cindex system configuration
The Guix System Distribution supports a consistent whole-system configuration
mechanism.  By that we mean that all aspects of the global system
configuration---such as the available system services, timezone and
locale settings, user accounts---are declared in a single place.  Such
a @dfn{system configuration} can be @dfn{instantiated}---i.e., effected.

One of the advantages of putting all the system configuration under the
control of Guix is that it supports transactional system upgrades, and
makes it possible to roll-back to a previous system instantiation,