guix.texi

@cindex disk encryption
@cindex LUKS
This example specifies a mapping from @file{/dev/sda3} to
@file{/dev/mapper/home} using LUKS---the
@url{http://code.google.com/p/cryptsetup,Linux Unified Key Setup}, a
standard mechanism for disk encryption.  The @file{/dev/mapper/home}
device can then be used as the @code{device} of a @code{file-system}
declaration (@pxref{File Systems}).  The @code{mapped-device} form is
detailed below.

@deftp {Data Type} mapped-device
Objects of this type represent device mappings that will be made when
the system boots up.

@table @code
@item source
This string specifies the name of the block device to be mapped, such as
@code{"/dev/sda3"}.

@item target
This string specifies the name of the mapping to be established.  For
example, specifying @code{"my-partition"} will lead to the creation of
the @code{"/dev/mapper/my-partition"} device.

@item type
This must be a @code{mapped-device-kind} object, which specifies how
@var{source} is mapped to @var{target}.
@end table
@end deftp

@defvr {Scheme Variable} luks-device-mapping
This defines LUKS block device encryption using the @command{cryptsetup}
command, from the same-named package.  This relies on the
@code{dm-crypt} Linux kernel module.
@end defvr

@node User Accounts
@subsection User Accounts

User accounts are specified with the @code{user-account} form:

@example
(user-account
  (name "alice")
  (group "users")
  (supplementary-groups '("wheel"   ;allow use of sudo, etc.
                          "audio"   ;sound card
                          "video"   ;video devices such as webcams
                          "cdrom")) ;the good ol' CD-ROM
  (comment "Bob's sister")
  (home-directory "/home/alice"))
@end example

@deftp {Data Type} user-account
Objects of this type represent user accounts.  The following members may
be specified:

@table @asis
@item @code{name}
The name of the user account.

@item @code{group}
This is the name (a string) or identifier (a number) of the user group
this account belongs to.

@item @code{supplementary-groups} (default: @code{'()})
Optionally, this can be defined as a list of group names that this
account belongs to.

@item @code{uid} (default: @code{#f})
This is the user ID for this account (a number), or @code{#f}.  In the
latter case, a number is automatically chosen by the system when the
account is created.

@item @code{comment} (default: @code{""})
A comment about the account, such as the account's owner full name.

@item @code{home-directory}
This is the name of the home directory for the account.

@item @code{shell} (default: Bash)
This is a G-expression denoting the file name of a program to be used as
the shell (@pxref{G-Expressions}).

@item @code{system?} (default: @code{#f})
This Boolean value indicates whether the account is a ``system''
account.  System accounts are sometimes treated specially; for instance,
graphical login managers do not list them.

@item @code{password} (default: @code{#f})
You would normally leave this field to @code{#f}, initialize user
passwords as @code{root} with the @command{passwd} command, and then let
users change it with @command{passwd}.

If you @emph{do} want to have a preset password for an account, then
this field must contain the encrypted password, as a string.
@xref{crypt,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}, for more information
on password encryption, and @ref{Encryption,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference
Manual}, for information on Guile's @code{crypt} procedure.

@end table
@end deftp

User group declarations are even simpler:

@example
(user-group (name "students"))
@end example

@deftp {Data Type} user-group
This type is for, well, user groups.  There are just a few fields:

@table @asis
@item @code{name}
The group's name.

@item @code{id} (default: @code{#f})
The group identifier (a number).  If @code{#f}, a new number is
automatically allocated when the group is created.

@item @code{system?} (default: @code{#f})
This Boolean value indicates whether the group is a ``system'' group.
System groups have low numerical IDs.

@item @code{password} (default: @code{#f})
What, user groups can have a password?  Well, apparently yes.  Unless
@code{#f}, this field specifies the group's password.

@end table
@end deftp

For convenience, a variable lists all the basic user groups one may
expect:

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-groups
This is the list of basic user groups that users and/or packages expect
to be present on the system.  This includes groups such as ``root'',
``wheel'', and ``users'', as well as groups used to control access to
specific devices such as ``audio'', ``disk'', and ``cdrom''.
@end defvr

@node Locales
@subsection Locales

@cindex locale
A @dfn{locale} defines cultural conventions for a particular language
and region of the world (@pxref{Locales,,, libc, The GNU C Library
Reference Manual}).  Each locale has a name that typically has the form
@code{@var{language}_@var{territory}.@var{charset}}---e.g.,
@code{fr_LU.utf8} designates the locale for the French language, with
cultural conventions from Luxembourg, and using the UTF-8 encoding.

@cindex locale definition
Usually, you will want to specify the default locale for the machine
using the @code{locale} field of the @code{operating-system} declaration
(@pxref{operating-system Reference, @code{locale}}).

That locale must be among the @dfn{locale definitions} that are known to
the system---and these are specified in the @code{locale-definitions}
slot of @code{operating-system}.  The default value includes locale
definition for some widely used locales, but not for all the available
locales, in order to save space.

If the locale specified in the @code{locale} field is not among the
definitions listed in @code{locale-definitions}, @command{guix system}
raises an error.  In that case, you should add the locale definition to
the @code{locale-definitions} field.  For instance, to add the North
Frisian locale for Germany, the value of that field may be:

@example
(cons (locale-definition
        (name "fy_DE.utf8") (source "fy_DE"))
      %default-locale-definitions)
@end example

Likewise, to save space, one might want @code{locale-definitions} to
list only the locales that are actually used, as in:

@example
(list (locale-definition
        (name "ja_JP.eucjp") (source "ja_JP")
        (charset "EUC-JP")))
@end example

The @code{locale-definition} form is provided by the @code{(gnu system
locale)} module.  Details are given below.

@deftp {Data Type} locale-definition
This is the data type of a locale definition.

@table @asis

@item @code{name}
The name of the locale.  @xref{Locale Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library
Reference Manual}, for more information on locale names.

@item @code{source}
The name of the source for that locale.  This is typically the
@code{@var{language}_@var{territory}} part of the locale name.

@item @code{charset} (default: @code{"UTF-8"})
The ``character set'' or ``code set'' for that locale,
@uref{http://www.iana.org/assignments/character-sets, as defined by
IANA}.

@end table
@end deftp

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-locale-definitions
An arbitrary list of commonly used locales, used as the default value of
the @code{locale-definitions} field of @code{operating-system}
declarations.
@end defvr

@node Services
@subsection Services

@cindex system services
An important part of preparing an @code{operating-system} declaration is
listing @dfn{system services} and their configuration (@pxref{Using the
Configuration System}).  System services are typically daemons launched
when the system boots, or other actions needed at that time---e.g.,
configuring network access.

Services are managed by GNU@tie{}dmd (@pxref{Introduction,,, dmd, GNU
dmd Manual}).  On a running system, the @command{deco} command allows
you to list the available services, show their status, start and stop
them, or do other specific operations (@pxref{Jump Start,,, dmd, GNU dmd
Manual}).  For example:

@example
# deco status dmd
@end example

The above command, run as @code{root}, lists the currently defined
services.  The @command{deco doc} command shows a synopsis of the given
service:

@example
# deco doc nscd
Run libc's name service cache daemon (nscd).
@end example

The @command{start}, @command{stop}, and @command{restart} sub-commands
have the effect you would expect.  For instance, the commands below stop
the nscd service and restart the Xorg display server:

@example
# deco stop nscd
Service nscd has been stopped.
# deco restart xorg-server
Service xorg-server has been stopped.
Service xorg-server has been started.
@end example

The following sections document the available services, starting with
the core services, that may be used in an @code{operating-system}
declaration.

@menu
* Base Services::               Essential system services.
* Networking Services::         Network setup, SSH daemon, etc.
* X Window::                    Graphical display.
@end menu

@node Base Services
@subsubsection Base Services

The @code{(gnu services base)} module provides definitions for the basic
services that one expects from the system.  The services exported by
this module are listed below.

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-services
This variable contains a list of basic services@footnote{Technically,
this is a list of monadic services.  @xref{The Store Monad}.} one would
expect from the system: a login service (mingetty) on each tty, syslogd,
libc's name service cache daemon (nscd), the udev device manager, and
more.

This is the default value of the @code{services} field of
@code{operating-system} declarations.  Usually, when customizing a
system, you will want to append services to @var{%base-services}, like
this:

@example
(cons* (avahi-service) (lsh-service) %base-services)
@end example
@end defvr

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} host-name-service @var{name}
Return a service that sets the host name to @var{name}.
@end deffn

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} mingetty-service @var{tty} [#:motd] @
       [#:auto-login #f] [#:login-program] [#:login-pause? #f] @
       [#:allow-empty-passwords? #f]
Return a service to run mingetty on @var{tty}.

When @var{allow-empty-passwords?} is true, allow empty log-in password.  When
@var{auto-login} is true, it must be a user name under which to log-in
automatically.  @var{login-pause?} can be set to @code{#t} in conjunction with
@var{auto-login}, in which case the user will have to press a key before the
login shell is launched.

When true, @var{login-program} is a gexp or a monadic gexp denoting the name
of the log-in program (the default is the @code{login} program from the Shadow
tool suite.)

@var{motd} is a monadic value containing a text file to use as
the ``message of the day''.
@end deffn

@cindex name service cache daemon
@cindex nscd
@deffn {Monadic Procedure} nscd-service [@var{config}] [#:glibc glibc]
Return a service that runs libc's name service cache daemon (nscd) with the
given @var{config}---an @code{<nscd-configuration>} object.
@end deffn

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %nscd-default-configuration
This is the default @code{<nscd-configuration>} value (see below) used
by @code{nscd-service}.  This uses the caches defined by
@var{%nscd-default-caches}; see below.
@end defvr

@deftp {Data Type} nscd-configuration
This is the type representing the name service cache daemon (nscd)
configuration.

@table @asis

@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/nscd.log"})
Name of nscd's log file.  This is where debugging output goes when
@code{debug-level} is strictly positive.

@item @code{debug-level} (default: @code{0})
Integer denoting the debugging levels.  Higher numbers mean more
debugging output is logged.

@item @code{caches} (default: @var{%nscd-default-caches})
List of @code{<nscd-cache>} objects denoting things to be cached; see
below.

@end table
@end deftp

@deftp {Data Type} nscd-cache
Data type representing a cache database of nscd and its parameters.

@table @asis

@item @code{database}
This is a symbol representing the name of the database to be cached.
Valid values are @code{passwd}, @code{group}, @code{hosts}, and
@code{services}, which designate the corresponding NSS database
(@pxref{NSS Basics,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).

@item @code{positive-time-to-live}
@itemx @code{negative-time-to-live} (default: @code{20})
A number representing the number of seconds during which a positive or
negative lookup result remains in cache.

@item @code{check-files?} (default: @code{#t})
Whether to check for updates of the files corresponding to
@var{database}.

For instance, when @var{database} is @code{hosts}, setting this flag
instructs nscd to check for updates in @file{/etc/hosts} and to take
them into account.

@item @code{persistent?} (default: @code{#t})
Whether the cache should be stored persistently on disk.

@item @code{shared?} (default: @code{#t})
Whether the cache should be shared among users.

@item @code{max-database-size} (default: 32@tie{}MiB)
Maximum size in bytes of the database cache.

@c XXX: 'suggested-size' and 'auto-propagate?' seem to be expert
@c settings, so leave them out.

@end table
@end deftp

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %nscd-default-caches
List of @code{<nscd-cache>} objects used by default by
@code{nscd-configuration} (see above.)

It enables persistent and aggressive caching of service and host name
lookups.  The latter provides better host name lookup performance,
resilience in the face of unreliable name servers, and also better
privacy---often the result of host name lookups is in local cache, so
external name servers do not even need to be queried.
@end defvr


@deffn {Monadic Procedure} syslog-service
Return a service that runs @code{syslogd} with reasonable default
settings.
@end deffn

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} guix-service [#:guix guix] @
       [#:builder-group "guixbuild"] [#:build-accounts 10] @
       [#:authorize-hydra-key? #t] [#:use-substitutes? #t] @
       [#:extra-options '()]
Return a service that runs the build daemon from @var{guix}, and has
@var{build-accounts} user accounts available under @var{builder-group}.

When @var{authorize-hydra-key?} is true, the @code{hydra.gnu.org} public key
provided by @var{guix} is authorized upon activation, meaning that substitutes
from @code{hydra.gnu.org} are used by default.

If @var{use-substitutes?} is false, the daemon is run with
@option{--no-substitutes} (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon,
@option{--no-substitutes}}).

Finally, @var{extra-options} is a list of additional command-line options
passed to @command{guix-daemon}.
@end deffn

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} udev-service [#:udev udev]
Run @var{udev}, which populates the @file{/dev} directory dynamically.
@end deffn


@node Networking Services
@subsubsection Networking Services

The @code{(gnu services networking)} module provides services to configure
the network interface.

@cindex DHCP, networking service
@deffn {Monadic Procedure} dhcp-client-service [#:dhcp @var{isc-dhcp}]
Return a service that runs @var{dhcp}, a Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) client, on all the non-loopback network interfaces.
@end deffn

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} static-networking-service @var{interface} @var{ip} @
       [#:gateway #f] [#:name-services @code{'()}]
Return a service that starts @var{interface} with address @var{ip}.  If
@var{gateway} is true, it must be a string specifying the default network
gateway.
@end deffn

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} ntp-service [#:ntp @var{ntp}] @
  [#:name-service @var{%ntp-servers}]
Return a service that runs the daemon from @var{ntp}, the
@uref{http://www.ntp.org, Network Time Protocol package}.  The daemon will
keep the system clock synchronized with that of @var{servers}.
@end deffn

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %ntp-servers
List of host names used as the default NTP servers.
@end defvr

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} tor-service [#:tor tor]
Return a service to run the @uref{https://torproject.org,Tor} daemon.

The daemon runs with the default settings (in particular the default exit
policy) as the @code{tor} unprivileged user.
@end deffn

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} bitlbee-service [#:bitlbee bitlbee] @
         [#:interface "127.0.0.1"] [#:port 6667] @
         [#:extra-settings ""]
Return a service that runs @url{http://bitlbee.org,BitlBee}, a daemon that
acts as a gateway between IRC and chat networks.

The daemon will listen to the interface corresponding to the IP address
specified in @var{interface}, on @var{port}.  @code{127.0.0.1} means that only
local clients can connect, whereas @code{0.0.0.0} means that connections can
come from any networking interface.

In addition, @var{extra-settings} specifies a string to append to the
configuration file.
@end deffn

Furthermore, @code{(gnu services ssh)} provides the following service.

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} lsh-service [#:host-key "/etc/lsh/host-key"] @
       [#:interfaces '()] [#:port-number 22] @
       [#:allow-empty-passwords? #f] [#:root-login? #f] @
       [#:syslog-output? #t] [#:x11-forwarding? #t] @
       [#:tcp/ip-forwarding? #t] [#:password-authentication? #t] @
       [#:public-key-authentication? #t] [#:initialize? #f]
Run the @command{lshd} program from @var{lsh} to listen on port @var{port-number}.
@var{host-key} must designate a file containing the host key, and readable
only by root.

When @var{initialize?} is true, automatically create the seed and host key
upon service activation if they do not exist yet.  This may take long and
require interaction.

When @var{initialize?} is false, it is up to the user to initialize the
randomness generator (@pxref{lsh-make-seed,,, lsh, LSH Manual}), and to create
a key pair with the private key stored in file @var{host-key} (@pxref{lshd
basics,,, lsh, LSH Manual}).

When @var{interfaces} is empty, lshd listens for connections on all the
network interfaces; otherwise, @var{interfaces} must be a list of host names
or addresses.

@var{allow-empty-passwords?} specifies whether to accept log-ins with empty
passwords, and @var{root-login?} specifies whether to accept log-ins as
root.

The other options should be self-descriptive.
@end deffn

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %facebook-host-aliases
This variable contains a string for use in @file{/etc/hosts}
(@pxref{Host Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).  Each
line contains a entry that maps a known server name of the Facebook
on-line service---e.g., @code{www.facebook.com}---to the local
host---@code{127.0.0.1} or its IPv6 equivalent, @code{::1}.

This variable is typically used in the @code{hosts-file} field of an
@code{operating-system} declaration (@pxref{operating-system Reference,
@file{/etc/hosts}}):

@example
(use-modules (gnu) (guix))

(operating-system
  (host-name "mymachine")
  ;; ...
  (hosts-file
    ;; Create a /etc/hosts file with aliases for "localhost"
    ;; and "mymachine", as well as for Facebook servers.
    (text-file "hosts"
               (string-append (local-host-aliases host-name)
                              %facebook-host-aliases))))
@end example

This mechanism can prevent programs running locally, such as Web
browsers, from accessing Facebook.
@end defvr

@node X Window
@subsubsection X Window

Support for the X Window graphical display system---specifically
Xorg---is provided by the @code{(gnu services xorg)} module.  Note that
there is no @code{xorg-service} procedure.  Instead, the X server is
started by the @dfn{login manager}, currently SLiM.

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} slim-service [#:allow-empty-passwords? #f] @
  [#:auto-login? #f] [#:default-user ""] [#:startx] @
  [#:theme @var{%default-slim-theme}] @
  [#:theme-name @var{%default-slim-theme-name}] @
  [#:sessions @var{%default-sessions}]
Return a service that spawns the SLiM graphical login manager, which in
turn starts the X display server with @var{startx}, a command as returned by
@code{xorg-start-command}.

When @var{allow-empty-passwords?} is true, allow logins with an empty
password.  When @var{auto-login?} is true, log in automatically as
@var{default-user}.

If @var{theme} is @code{#f}, the use the default log-in theme; otherwise
@var{theme} must be a gexp denoting the name of a directory containing the
theme to use.  In that case, @var{theme-name} specifies the name of the
theme.

Last, @var{session} is a list of @code{<session-type>} objects denoting the
available session types that can be chosen from the log-in screen.
@end deffn

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-sessions
The list of default session types used by SLiM.
@end defvr

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %ratpoison-session-type
Session type using the Ratpoison window manager.
@end defvr

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %windowmaker-session-type
Session type using the WindowMaker window manager.
@end defvr

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-theme
@defvrx {Scheme Variable} %default-theme-name
The G-Expression denoting the default SLiM theme and its name.
@end defvr

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} xorg-start-command [#:guile] @
  [#:drivers '()] [#:resolutions '()] [#:xorg-server @var{xorg-server}]
Return a derivation that builds a @var{guile} script to start the X server
from @var{xorg-server}.  Usually the X server is started by a login manager.

@var{drivers} must be either the empty list, in which case Xorg chooses a
graphics driver automatically, or a list of driver names that will be tried in
this order---e.g., @code{("modesetting" "vesa")}.

Likewise, when @var{resolutions} is the empty list, Xorg chooses an
appropriate screen resolution; otherwise, it must be a list of
resolutions---e.g., @code{((1024 768) (640 480))}.
@end deffn

@node Setuid Programs
@subsection Setuid Programs

@cindex setuid programs
Some programs need to run with ``root'' privileges, even when they are
launched by unprivileged users.  A notorious example is the
@command{passwd} programs, which can users can run to change their
password, and which requires write access to the @file{/etc/passwd} and
@file{/etc/shadow} files---something normally restricted to root, for
obvious security reasons.  To address that, these executables are
@dfn{setuid-root}, meaning that they always run with root privileges
(@pxref{How Change Persona,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual},
for more info about the setuid mechanisms.)

The store itself @emph{cannot} contain setuid programs: that would be a
security issue since any user on the system can write derivations that
populate the store (@pxref{The Store}).  Thus, a different mechanism is
used: instead of changing the setuid bit directly on files that are in
the store, we let the system administrator @emph{declare} which programs
should be setuid root.

The @code{setuid-programs} field of an @code{operating-system}
declaration contains a list of G-expressions denoting the names of
programs to be setuid-root (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}).
For instance, the @command{passwd} program, which is part of the Shadow
package, can be designated by this G-expression (@pxref{G-Expressions}):

@example
#~(string-append #$shadow "/bin/passwd")
@end example

A default set of setuid programs is defined by the
@code{%setuid-programs} variable of the @code{(gnu system)} module.

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %setuid-programs
A list of G-expressions denoting common programs that are setuid-root.

The list includes commands such as @command{passwd}, @command{ping},
@command{su}, and @command{sudo}.
@end defvr

Under the hood, the actual setuid programs are created in the
@file{/run/setuid-programs} directory at system activation time.  The
files in this directory refer to the ``real'' binaries, which are in the
store.


@node Initial RAM Disk
@subsection Initial RAM Disk

@cindex initial RAM disk (initrd)
@cindex initrd (initial RAM disk)
For bootstrapping purposes, the Linux-Libre kernel is passed an
@dfn{initial RAM disk}, or @dfn{initrd}.  An initrd contains a temporary
root file system, as well as an initialization script.  The latter is
responsible for mounting the real root file system, and for loading any
kernel modules that may be needed to achieve that.

The @code{initrd} field of an @code{operating-system} declaration allows
you to specify which initrd you would like to use.  The @code{(gnu
system linux-initrd)} module provides two ways to build an initrd: the
high-level @code{base-initrd} procedure, and the low-level
@code{expression->initrd} procedure.

The @code{base-initrd} procedure is intended to cover most common uses.
For example, if you want to add a bunch of kernel modules to be loaded
at boot time, you can define the @code{initrd} field of the operating
system declaration like this:

@example
(initrd (lambda (file-systems . rest)
          (apply base-initrd file-systems
                 #:extra-modules '("my.ko" "modules.ko")
                 rest)))
@end example

The @code{base-initrd} procedure also handles common use cases that
involves using the system as a QEMU guest, or as a ``live'' system whose
root file system is volatile.

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} base-initrd @var{file-systems} @
       [#:qemu-networking? #f] [#:virtio? #f] [#:volatile-root? #f] @
       [#:extra-modules '()] [#:mapped-devices '()]
Return a monadic derivation that builds a generic initrd.  @var{file-systems} is
a list of file-systems to be mounted by the initrd, possibly in addition to
the root file system specified on the kernel command line via @code{--root}.
@var{mapped-devices} is a list of device mappings to realize before
@var{file-systems} are mounted (@pxref{Mapped Devices}).

When @var{qemu-networking?} is true, set up networking with the standard QEMU
parameters.  When @var{virtio?} is true, load additional modules so the initrd can
be used as a QEMU guest with para-virtualized I/O drivers.

When @var{volatile-root?} is true, the root file system is writable but any changes
to it are lost.

The initrd is automatically populated with all the kernel modules necessary
for @var{file-systems} and for the given options.  However, additional kernel
modules can be listed in @var{extra-modules}.  They will be added to the initrd, and
loaded at boot time in the order in which they appear.
@end deffn

Needless to say, the initrds we produce and use embed a
statically-linked Guile, and the initialization program is a Guile
program.  That gives a lot of flexibility.  The
@code{expression->initrd} procedure builds such an initrd, given the
program to run in that initrd.

@deffn {Monadic Procedure} expression->initrd @var{exp} @
       [#:guile %guile-static-stripped] [#:name "guile-initrd"] @
       [#:modules '()]
Return a derivation that builds a Linux initrd (a gzipped cpio archive)
containing @var{guile} and that evaluates @var{exp}, a G-expression,
upon booting.  All the derivations referenced by @var{exp} are
automatically copied to the initrd.

@var{modules} is a list of Guile module names to be embedded in the
initrd.
@end deffn

@node GRUB Configuration
@subsection GRUB Configuration

@cindex GRUB
@cindex boot loader

The operating system uses GNU@tie{}GRUB as its boot loader
(@pxref{Overview, overview of GRUB,, grub, GNU GRUB Manual}).  It is
configured using @code{grub-configuration} declarations.  This data type
is exported by the @code{(gnu system grub)} module, and described below.

@deftp {Data Type} grub-configuration
The type of a GRUB configuration declaration.

@table @asis

@item @code{device}
This is a string denoting the boot device.  It must be a device name
understood by the @command{grub-install} command, such as
@code{/dev/sda} or @code{(hd0)} (@pxref{Invoking grub-install,,, grub,
GNU GRUB Manual}).

@item @code{menu-entries} (default: @code{()})
A possibly empty list of @code{menu-entry} objects (see below), denoting
entries to appear in the GRUB boot menu, in addition to the current
system entry and the entry pointing to previous system generations.

@item @code{default-entry} (default: @code{0})
The index of the default boot menu entry.  Index 0 is for the current
system's entry.

@item @code{timeout} (default: @code{5})
The number of seconds to wait for keyboard input before booting.  Set to
0 to boot immediately, and to -1 to wait indefinitely.

@item @code{theme} (default: @var{%default-theme})
The @code{grub-theme} object describing the theme to use.
@end table

@end deftp

Should you want to list additional boot menu entries @i{via} the
@code{menu-entries} field above, you will need to create them with the
@code{menu-entry} form:

@deftp {Data Type} menu-entry
The type of an entry in the GRUB boot menu.

@table @asis

@item @code{label}
The label to show in the menu---e.g., @code{"GNU"}.

@item @code{linux}
The Linux kernel to boot.

@item @code{linux-arguments} (default: @code{()})
The list of extra Linux kernel command-line arguments---e.g.,
@code{("console=ttyS0")}.

@item @code{initrd}
A G-Expression or string denoting the file name of the initial RAM disk
to use (@pxref{G-Expressions}).

@end table
@end deftp

@c FIXME: Write documentation once it's stable.
Themes are created using the @code{grub-theme} form, which is not
documented yet.

@defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-theme
This is the default GRUB theme used by the operating system, with a
fancy background image displaying the GNU and Guix logos.
@end defvr


@node Invoking guix system
@subsection Invoking @code{guix system}

Once you have written an operating system declaration, as seen in the
previous section, it can be @dfn{instantiated} using the @command{guix
system} command.  The synopsis is:

@example
guix system @var{options}@dots{} @var{action} @var{file}
@end example

@var{file} must be the name of a file containing an
@code{operating-system} declaration.  @var{action} specifies how the
operating system is instantiate.  Currently the following values are
supported:

@table @code
@item reconfigure
Build the operating system described in @var{file}, activate it, and
switch to it@footnote{This action is usable only on systems already
running GNU.}.

This effects all the configuration specified in @var{file}: user
accounts, system services, global package list, setuid programs, etc.

It also adds a GRUB menu entry for the new OS configuration, and moves
entries for older configurations to a submenu---unless
@option{--no-grub} is passed.

@c The paragraph below refers to the problem discussed at
@c <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2014-08/msg00057.html>.
It is highly recommended to run @command{guix pull} once before you run
@command{guix system reconfigure} for the first time (@pxref{Invoking
guix pull}).  Failing to do that you would see an older version of Guix
once @command{reconfigure} has completed.

@item build
Build the operating system's derivation, which includes all the
configuration files and programs needed to boot and run the system.
This action does not actually install anything.

@item init
Populate the given directory with all the files necessary to run the
operating system specified in @var{file}.  This is useful for first-time
installations of GSD.  For instance:

@example
guix system init my-os-config.scm /mnt
@end example

copies to @file{/mnt} all the store items required by the configuration
specified in @file{my-os-config.scm}.  This includes configuration
files, packages, and so on.  It also creates other essential files
needed for the system to operate correctly---e.g., the @file{/etc},
@file{/var}, and @file{/run} directories, and the @file{/bin/sh} file.

This command also installs GRUB on the device specified in
@file{my-os-config}, unless the @option{--no-grub} option was passed.

@item vm
@cindex virtual machine
@cindex VM
Build a virtual machine that contain the operating system declared in
@var{file}, and return a script to run that virtual machine (VM).
Arguments given to the script are passed as is to QEMU.

The VM shares its store with the host system.

Additional file systems can be shared between the host and the VM using
the @code{--share} and @code{--expose} command-line options: the former
specifies a directory to be shared with write access, while the latter
provides read-only access to the shared directory.

The example below creates a VM in which the user's home directory is
accessible read-only, and where the @file{/exchange} directory is a
read-write mapping of the host's @file{$HOME/tmp}:

@example
guix system vm my-config.scm \
   --expose=$HOME --share=$HOME/tmp=/exchange
@end example

On GNU/Linux, the default is to boot directly to the kernel; this has
the advantage of requiring only a very tiny root disk image since the
host's store can then be mounted.

The @code{--full-boot} option forces a complete boot sequence, starting
with the bootloader.  This requires more disk space since a root image
containing at least the kernel, initrd, and bootloader data files must
be created.  The @code{--image-size} option can be used to specify the
image's size.

@item vm-image
@itemx disk-image
Return a virtual machine or disk image of the operating system declared
in @var{file} that stands alone.  Use the @option{--image-size} option
to specify the size of the image.

When using @code{vm-image}, the returned image is in qcow2 format, which
the QEMU emulator can efficiently use.

When using @code{disk-image}, a raw disk image is produced; it can be
copied as is to a USB stick, for instance.  Assuming @code{/dev/sdc} is
the device corresponding to a USB stick, one can copy the image on it
using the following command:

@example
# dd if=$(guix system disk-image my-os.scm) of=/dev/sdc
@end example

@end table

@var{options} can contain any of the common build options provided by
@command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).  In addition,
@var{options} can contain one of the following:

@table @option
@item --system=@var{system}
@itemx -s @var{system}
Attempt to build for @var{system} instead of the host's system type.
This works as per @command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).

@item --image-size=@var{size}
For the @code{vm-image} and @code{disk-image} actions, create an image
of the given @var{size}.  @var{size} may be a number of bytes, or it may
include a unit as a suffix (@pxref{Block size, size specifications,,
coreutils, GNU Coreutils}).
@end table

Note that all the actions above, except @code{build} and @code{init},
rely on KVM support in the Linux-Libre kernel.  Specifically, the
machine should have hardware virtualization support, the corresponding
KVM kernel module should be loaded, and the @file{/dev/kvm} device node
must exist and be readable and writable by the user and by the daemon's
build users.

@node Defining Services
@subsection Defining Services

The @code{(gnu services @dots{})} modules define several procedures that allow
users to declare the operating system's services (@pxref{Using the
Configuration System}).  These procedures are @emph{monadic
procedures}---i.e., procedures that return a monadic value in the store
monad (@pxref{The Store Monad}).  For examples of such procedures,
@xref{Services}.

@cindex service definition
The monadic value returned by those procedures is a @dfn{service
definition}---a structure as returned by the @code{service} form.
Service definitions specifies the inputs the service depends on, and an
expression to start and stop the service.  Behind the scenes, service
definitions are ``translated'' into the form suitable for the
configuration file of dmd, the init system (@pxref{Services,,, dmd, GNU
dmd Manual}).

As an example, here is what the @code{nscd-service} procedure looks
like:

@lisp
(define (nscd-service)
  (with-monad %store-monad
    (return (service
             (documentation "Run libc's name service cache daemon.")
             (provision '(nscd))
             (activate #~(begin
                           (use-modules (guix build utils))
                           (mkdir-p "/var/run/nscd")))
             (start #~(make-forkexec-constructor
                       (string-append #$glibc "/sbin/nscd")
                       "-f" "/dev/null" "--foreground"))
             (stop #~(make-kill-destructor))
             (respawn? #f)))))
@end lisp

@noindent
The @code{activate}, @code{start}, and @code{stop} fields are G-expressions
(@pxref{G-Expressions}).  The @code{activate} field contains a script to
run at ``activation'' time; it makes sure that the @file{/var/run/nscd}
directory exists before @command{nscd} is started.

The @code{start} and @code{stop} fields refer to dmd's facilities to
start and stop processes (@pxref{Service De- and Constructors,,, dmd,
GNU dmd Manual}).  The @code{provision} field specifies the name under
which this service is known to dmd, and @code{documentation} specifies
on-line documentation.  Thus, the commands @command{deco start ncsd},
@command{deco stop nscd}, and @command{deco doc nscd} will do what you
would expect (@pxref{Invoking deco,,, dmd, GNU dmd Manual}).


@node Installing Debugging Files
@section Installing Debugging Files

@cindex debugging files
Program binaries, as produced by the GCC compilers for instance, are
typically written in the ELF format, with a section containing
@dfn{debugging information}.  Debugging information is what allows the
debugger, GDB, to map binary code to source code; it is required to
debug a compiled program in good conditions.

The problem with debugging information is that is takes up a fair amount
of disk space.  For example, debugging information for the GNU C Library
weighs in at more than 60 MiB.  Thus, as a user, keeping all the
debugging info of all the installed programs is usually not an option.