6 @documentencoding UTF-8
7 @settitle GNU Guix Reference Manual
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16 Copyright @copyright{} 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Ludovic Courtès@*
17 Copyright @copyright{} 2013, 2014, 2016 Andreas Enge@*
18 Copyright @copyright{} 2013 Nikita Karetnikov@*
19 Copyright @copyright{} 2014, 2015, 2016 Alex Kost@*
20 Copyright @copyright{} 2015, 2016 Mathieu Lirzin@*
21 Copyright @copyright{} 2014 Pierre-Antoine Rault@*
22 Copyright @copyright{} 2015 Taylan Ulrich Bayırlı/Kammer@*
23 Copyright @copyright{} 2015, 2016, 2017 Leo Famulari@*
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26 Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018 Chris Marusich@*
27 Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018 Efraim Flashner@*
28 Copyright @copyright{} 2016 John Darrington@*
29 Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017 Nils Gillmann@*
30 Copyright @copyright{} 2016, 2017, 2018 Jan Nieuwenhuizen@*
31 Copyright @copyright{} 2016 Julien Lepiller@*
32 Copyright @copyright{} 2016 Alex ter Weele@*
33 Copyright @copyright{} 2017, 2018 Clément Lassieur@*
34 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 Mathieu Othacehe@*
35 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 Federico Beffa@*
36 Copyright @copyright{} 2017, 2018 Carlo Zancanaro@*
37 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 Thomas Danckaert@*
38 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 humanitiesNerd@*
39 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 Christopher Allan Webber@*
40 Copyright @copyright{} 2017, 2018 Marius Bakke@*
41 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 Hartmut Goebel@*
42 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 Maxim Cournoyer@*
43 Copyright @copyright{} 2017, 2018 Tobias Geerinckx-Rice@*
44 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 George Clemmer@*
45 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 Andy Wingo@*
46 Copyright @copyright{} 2017, 2018 Arun Isaac@*
47 Copyright @copyright{} 2017 nee@*
48 Copyright @copyright{} 2018 Rutger Helling@*
49 Copyright @copyright{} 2018 Oleg Pykhalov@*
50 Copyright @copyright{} 2018 Mike Gerwitz@*
51 Copyright @copyright{} 2018 Pierre-Antoine Rouby@*
52 Copyright @copyright{} 2018 Gábor Boskovits@*
54 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
55 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
56 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
57 Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A
58 copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free
59 Documentation License''.
62 @dircategory System administration
64 * Guix: (guix). Manage installed software and system configuration.
65 * guix package: (guix)Invoking guix package. Installing, removing, and upgrading packages.
66 * guix gc: (guix)Invoking guix gc. Reclaiming unused disk space.
67 * guix pull: (guix)Invoking guix pull. Update the list of available packages.
68 * guix system: (guix)Invoking guix system. Manage the operating system configuration.
71 @dircategory Software development
73 * guix environment: (guix)Invoking guix environment. Building development environments with Guix.
74 * guix build: (guix)Invoking guix build. Building packages.
75 * guix pack: (guix)Invoking guix pack. Creating binary bundles.
79 @title GNU Guix Reference Manual
80 @subtitle Using the GNU Guix Functional Package Manager
81 @author The GNU Guix Developers
84 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
85 Edition @value{EDITION} @*
93 @c *********************************************************************
97 This document describes GNU Guix version @value{VERSION}, a functional
98 package management tool written for the GNU system.
100 @c TRANSLATORS: You can replace the following paragraph with information on
101 @c how to join your own translation team and how to report issues with the
103 This manual is also available in French (@pxref{Top,,, guix.fr, Manuel de
104 référence de GNU Guix}). If you would like to translate it in your native
105 language, consider joining the
106 @uref{https://translationproject.org/domain/guix-manual.html, Translation
110 * Introduction:: What is Guix about?
111 * Installation:: Installing Guix.
112 * Package Management:: Package installation, upgrade, etc.
113 * Programming Interface:: Using Guix in Scheme.
114 * Utilities:: Package management commands.
115 * GNU Distribution:: Software for your friendly GNU system.
116 * Contributing:: Your help needed!
118 * Acknowledgments:: Thanks!
119 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license of this manual.
120 * Concept Index:: Concepts.
121 * Programming Index:: Data types, functions, and variables.
124 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
128 * Binary Installation:: Getting Guix running in no time!
129 * Requirements:: Software needed to build and run Guix.
130 * Running the Test Suite:: Testing Guix.
131 * Setting Up the Daemon:: Preparing the build daemon's environment.
132 * Invoking guix-daemon:: Running the build daemon.
133 * Application Setup:: Application-specific setup.
135 Setting Up the Daemon
137 * Build Environment Setup:: Preparing the isolated build environment.
138 * Daemon Offload Setup:: Offloading builds to remote machines.
139 * SELinux Support:: Using an SELinux policy for the daemon.
143 * Features:: How Guix will make your life brighter.
144 * Invoking guix package:: Package installation, removal, etc.
145 * Substitutes:: Downloading pre-built binaries.
146 * Packages with Multiple Outputs:: Single source package, multiple outputs.
147 * Invoking guix gc:: Running the garbage collector.
148 * Invoking guix pull:: Fetching the latest Guix and distribution.
149 * Channels:: Customizing the package collection.
150 * Inferiors:: Interacting with another revision of Guix.
151 * Invoking guix describe:: Display information about your Guix revision.
152 * Invoking guix pack:: Creating software bundles.
153 * Invoking guix archive:: Exporting and importing store files.
157 * Official Substitute Server:: One particular source of substitutes.
158 * Substitute Server Authorization:: How to enable or disable substitutes.
159 * Substitute Authentication:: How Guix verifies substitutes.
160 * Proxy Settings:: How to get substitutes via proxy.
161 * Substitution Failure:: What happens when substitution fails.
162 * On Trusting Binaries:: How can you trust that binary blob?
164 Programming Interface
166 * Defining Packages:: Defining new packages.
167 * Build Systems:: Specifying how packages are built.
168 * The Store:: Manipulating the package store.
169 * Derivations:: Low-level interface to package derivations.
170 * The Store Monad:: Purely functional interface to the store.
171 * G-Expressions:: Manipulating build expressions.
172 * Invoking guix repl:: Fiddling with Guix interactively.
176 * package Reference:: The package data type.
177 * origin Reference:: The origin data type.
181 * Invoking guix build:: Building packages from the command line.
182 * Invoking guix edit:: Editing package definitions.
183 * Invoking guix download:: Downloading a file and printing its hash.
184 * Invoking guix hash:: Computing the cryptographic hash of a file.
185 * Invoking guix import:: Importing package definitions.
186 * Invoking guix refresh:: Updating package definitions.
187 * Invoking guix lint:: Finding errors in package definitions.
188 * Invoking guix size:: Profiling disk usage.
189 * Invoking guix graph:: Visualizing the graph of packages.
190 * Invoking guix environment:: Setting up development environments.
191 * Invoking guix publish:: Sharing substitutes.
192 * Invoking guix challenge:: Challenging substitute servers.
193 * Invoking guix copy:: Copying to and from a remote store.
194 * Invoking guix container:: Process isolation.
195 * Invoking guix weather:: Assessing substitute availability.
197 Invoking @command{guix build}
199 * Common Build Options:: Build options for most commands.
200 * Package Transformation Options:: Creating variants of packages.
201 * Additional Build Options:: Options specific to 'guix build'.
202 * Debugging Build Failures:: Real life packaging experience.
206 * System Installation:: Installing the whole operating system.
207 * System Configuration:: Configuring the operating system.
208 * Documentation:: Browsing software user manuals.
209 * Installing Debugging Files:: Feeding the debugger.
210 * Security Updates:: Deploying security fixes quickly.
211 * Package Modules:: Packages from the programmer's viewpoint.
212 * Packaging Guidelines:: Growing the distribution.
213 * Bootstrapping:: GNU/Linux built from scratch.
214 * Porting:: Targeting another platform or kernel.
218 * Limitations:: What you can expect.
219 * Hardware Considerations:: Supported hardware.
220 * USB Stick and DVD Installation:: Preparing the installation medium.
221 * Preparing for Installation:: Networking, partitioning, etc.
222 * Proceeding with the Installation:: The real thing.
223 * Installing GuixSD in a VM:: GuixSD playground.
224 * Building the Installation Image:: How this comes to be.
228 * Using the Configuration System:: Customizing your GNU system.
229 * operating-system Reference:: Detail of operating-system declarations.
230 * File Systems:: Configuring file system mounts.
231 * Mapped Devices:: Block device extra processing.
232 * User Accounts:: Specifying user accounts.
233 * Locales:: Language and cultural convention settings.
234 * Services:: Specifying system services.
235 * Setuid Programs:: Programs running with root privileges.
236 * X.509 Certificates:: Authenticating HTTPS servers.
237 * Name Service Switch:: Configuring libc's name service switch.
238 * Initial RAM Disk:: Linux-Libre bootstrapping.
239 * Bootloader Configuration:: Configuring the boot loader.
240 * Invoking guix system:: Instantiating a system configuration.
241 * Running GuixSD in a VM:: How to run GuixSD in a virtual machine.
242 * Defining Services:: Adding new service definitions.
246 * Base Services:: Essential system services.
247 * Scheduled Job Execution:: The mcron service.
248 * Log Rotation:: The rottlog service.
249 * Networking Services:: Network setup, SSH daemon, etc.
250 * X Window:: Graphical display.
251 * Printing Services:: Local and remote printer support.
252 * Desktop Services:: D-Bus and desktop services.
253 * Sound Services:: ALSA and Pulseaudio services.
254 * Database Services:: SQL databases, key-value stores, etc.
255 * Mail Services:: IMAP, POP3, SMTP, and all that.
256 * Messaging Services:: Messaging services.
257 * Telephony Services:: Telephony services.
258 * Monitoring Services:: Monitoring services.
259 * Kerberos Services:: Kerberos services.
260 * Web Services:: Web servers.
261 * Certificate Services:: TLS certificates via Let's Encrypt.
262 * DNS Services:: DNS daemons.
263 * VPN Services:: VPN daemons.
264 * Network File System:: NFS related services.
265 * Continuous Integration:: The Cuirass service.
266 * Power Management Services:: Extending battery life.
267 * Audio Services:: The MPD.
268 * Virtualization Services:: Virtualization services.
269 * Version Control Services:: Providing remote access to Git repositories.
270 * Game Services:: Game servers.
271 * Miscellaneous Services:: Other services.
275 * Service Composition:: The model for composing services.
276 * Service Types and Services:: Types and services.
277 * Service Reference:: API reference.
278 * Shepherd Services:: A particular type of service.
282 * Software Freedom:: What may go into the distribution.
283 * Package Naming:: What's in a name?
284 * Version Numbers:: When the name is not enough.
285 * Synopses and Descriptions:: Helping users find the right package.
286 * Python Modules:: A touch of British comedy.
287 * Perl Modules:: Little pearls.
288 * Java Packages:: Coffee break.
289 * Fonts:: Fond of fonts.
293 * Building from Git:: The latest and greatest.
294 * Running Guix Before It Is Installed:: Hacker tricks.
295 * The Perfect Setup:: The right tools.
296 * Coding Style:: Hygiene of the contributor.
297 * Submitting Patches:: Share your work.
301 * Programming Paradigm:: How to compose your elements.
302 * Modules:: Where to store your code?
303 * Data Types and Pattern Matching:: Implementing data structures.
304 * Formatting Code:: Writing conventions.
309 @c *********************************************************************
311 @chapter Introduction
314 GNU Guix@footnote{``Guix'' is pronounced like ``geeks'', or ``ɡiːks''
315 using the international phonetic alphabet (IPA).} is a package
316 management tool for the GNU system. Guix makes it easy for unprivileged
317 users to install, upgrade, or remove packages, to roll back to a
318 previous package set, to build packages from source, and generally
319 assists with the creation and maintenance of software environments.
321 @cindex user interfaces
322 Guix provides a command-line package management interface
323 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}), a set of command-line utilities
324 (@pxref{Utilities}), as well as Scheme programming interfaces
325 (@pxref{Programming Interface}).
327 Its @dfn{build daemon} is responsible for building packages on behalf of
328 users (@pxref{Setting Up the Daemon}) and for downloading pre-built
329 binaries from authorized sources (@pxref{Substitutes}).
331 @cindex extensibility of the distribution
332 @cindex customization, of packages
333 Guix includes package definitions for many GNU and non-GNU packages, all
334 of which @uref{https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html, respect the
335 user's computing freedom}. It is @emph{extensible}: users can write
336 their own package definitions (@pxref{Defining Packages}) and make them
337 available as independent package modules (@pxref{Package Modules}). It
338 is also @emph{customizable}: users can @emph{derive} specialized package
339 definitions from existing ones, including from the command line
340 (@pxref{Package Transformation Options}).
342 @cindex Guix System Distribution
344 You can install GNU@tie{}Guix on top of an existing GNU/Linux system
345 where it complements the available tools without interference
346 (@pxref{Installation}), or you can use it as part of the standalone
347 @dfn{Guix System Distribution} or GuixSD (@pxref{GNU Distribution}).
348 With GNU@tie{}GuixSD, you @emph{declare} all aspects of the operating
349 system configuration and Guix takes care of instantiating the
350 configuration in a transactional, reproducible, and stateless fashion
351 (@pxref{System Configuration}).
353 @cindex functional package management
354 Under the hood, Guix implements the @dfn{functional package management}
355 discipline pioneered by Nix (@pxref{Acknowledgments}).
356 In Guix, the package build and installation process is seen
357 as a @emph{function}, in the mathematical sense. That function takes inputs,
358 such as build scripts, a compiler, and libraries, and
359 returns an installed package. As a pure function, its result depends
360 solely on its inputs---for instance, it cannot refer to software or
361 scripts that were not explicitly passed as inputs. A build function
362 always produces the same result when passed a given set of inputs. It
363 cannot alter the environment of the running system in
364 any way; for instance, it cannot create, modify, or delete files outside
365 of its build and installation directories. This is achieved by running
366 build processes in isolated environments (or @dfn{containers}), where only their
367 explicit inputs are visible.
370 The result of package build functions is @dfn{cached} in the file
371 system, in a special directory called @dfn{the store} (@pxref{The
372 Store}). Each package is installed in a directory of its own in the
373 store---by default under @file{/gnu/store}. The directory name contains
374 a hash of all the inputs used to build that package; thus, changing an
375 input yields a different directory name.
377 This approach is the foundation for the salient features of Guix: support
378 for transactional package upgrade and rollback, per-user installation, and
379 garbage collection of packages (@pxref{Features}).
382 @c *********************************************************************
384 @chapter Installation
386 @cindex installing Guix
387 GNU Guix is available for download from its website at
388 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/guix/}. This section describes the
389 software requirements of Guix, as well as how to install it and get
392 Note that this section is concerned with the installation of the package
393 manager, which can be done on top of a running GNU/Linux system. If,
394 instead, you want to install the complete GNU operating system,
395 @pxref{System Installation}.
397 @cindex foreign distro
398 When installed on a running GNU/Linux system---thereafter called a
399 @dfn{foreign distro}---GNU@tie{}Guix complements the available tools
400 without interference. Its data lives exclusively in two directories,
401 usually @file{/gnu/store} and @file{/var/guix}; other files on your
402 system, such as @file{/etc}, are left untouched.
404 Once installed, Guix can be updated by running @command{guix pull}
405 (@pxref{Invoking guix pull}).
408 * Binary Installation:: Getting Guix running in no time!
409 * Requirements:: Software needed to build and run Guix.
410 * Running the Test Suite:: Testing Guix.
411 * Setting Up the Daemon:: Preparing the build daemon's environment.
412 * Invoking guix-daemon:: Running the build daemon.
413 * Application Setup:: Application-specific setup.
416 @node Binary Installation
417 @section Binary Installation
419 @cindex installing Guix from binaries
420 This section describes how to install Guix on an arbitrary system from a
421 self-contained tarball providing binaries for Guix and for all its
422 dependencies. This is often quicker than installing from source, which
423 is described in the next sections. The only requirement is to have
427 @uref{https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/guix.git/plain/etc/guix-install.sh,
428 shell installer script}, which automates the download, installation, and
429 initial configuration of Guix. It should be run as the root user.
431 Installing goes along these lines:
435 @cindex downloading Guix binary
436 Download the binary tarball from
437 @indicateurl{https://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz},
438 where @var{system} is @code{x86_64-linux} for an @code{x86_64} machine
439 already running the kernel Linux, and so on.
441 @c The following is somewhat duplicated in ``System Installation''.
442 Make sure to download the associated @file{.sig} file and to verify the
443 authenticity of the tarball against it, along these lines:
446 $ wget https://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz.sig
447 $ gpg --verify guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz.sig
450 If that command fails because you do not have the required public key,
451 then run this command to import it:
454 $ gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys @value{OPENPGP-SIGNING-KEY-ID}
458 and rerun the @code{gpg --verify} command.
459 @c end authentication part
462 Now, you need to become the @code{root} user. Depending on your distribution,
463 you may have to run @code{su -} or @code{sudo -i}. As @code{root}, run:
467 # tar --warning=no-timestamp -xf \
468 guix-binary-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.tar.xz
469 # mv var/guix /var/ && mv gnu /
472 This creates @file{/gnu/store} (@pxref{The Store}) and @file{/var/guix}.
473 The latter contains a ready-to-use profile for @code{root} (see next
476 Do @emph{not} unpack the tarball on a working Guix system since that
477 would overwrite its own essential files.
479 The @code{--warning=no-timestamp} option makes sure GNU@tie{}tar does
480 not emit warnings about ``implausibly old time stamps'' (such
481 warnings were triggered by GNU@tie{}tar 1.26 and older; recent
483 They stem from the fact that all the
484 files in the archive have their modification time set to zero (which
485 means January 1st, 1970.) This is done on purpose to make sure the
486 archive content is independent of its creation time, thus making it
490 Make @code{root}'s profile available under @file{~root/.guix-profile}:
493 # ln -sf /var/guix/profiles/per-user/root/guix-profile \
497 Source @file{etc/profile} to augment @code{PATH} and other relevant
498 environment variables:
501 # GUIX_PROFILE="`echo ~root`/.guix-profile" ; \
502 source $GUIX_PROFILE/etc/profile
506 Create the group and user accounts for build users as explained below
507 (@pxref{Build Environment Setup}).
510 Run the daemon, and set it to automatically start on boot.
512 If your host distro uses the systemd init system, this can be achieved
515 @c Versions of systemd that supported symlinked service files are not
516 @c yet widely deployed, so we should suggest that users copy the service
519 @c See this thread for more information:
520 @c http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2017-01/msg01199.html
523 # cp ~root/.guix-profile/lib/systemd/system/guix-daemon.service \
525 # systemctl start guix-daemon && systemctl enable guix-daemon
528 If your host distro uses the Upstart init system:
531 # initctl reload-configuration
532 # cp ~root/.guix-profile/lib/upstart/system/guix-daemon.conf /etc/init/
536 Otherwise, you can still start the daemon manually with:
539 # ~root/.guix-profile/bin/guix-daemon --build-users-group=guixbuild
543 Make the @command{guix} command available to other users on the machine,
547 # mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
549 # ln -s /var/guix/profiles/per-user/root/guix-profile/bin/guix
552 It is also a good idea to make the Info version of this manual available
556 # mkdir -p /usr/local/share/info
557 # cd /usr/local/share/info
558 # for i in /var/guix/profiles/per-user/root/guix-profile/share/info/* ;
562 That way, assuming @file{/usr/local/share/info} is in the search path,
563 running @command{info guix} will open this manual (@pxref{Other Info
564 Directories,,, texinfo, GNU Texinfo}, for more details on changing the
568 @cindex substitutes, authorization thereof
569 To use substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org} or one of its mirrors
570 (@pxref{Substitutes}), authorize them:
573 # guix archive --authorize < ~root/.guix-profile/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub
577 Each user may need to perform a few additional steps to make their Guix
578 environment ready for use, @pxref{Application Setup}.
581 Voilà, the installation is complete!
583 You can confirm that Guix is working by installing a sample package into
587 # guix package -i hello
590 The @code{guix} package must remain available in @code{root}'s profile,
591 or it would become subject to garbage collection---in which case you
592 would find yourself badly handicapped by the lack of the @command{guix}
593 command. In other words, do not remove @code{guix} by running
594 @code{guix package -r guix}.
596 The binary installation tarball can be (re)produced and verified simply
597 by running the following command in the Guix source tree:
600 make guix-binary.@var{system}.tar.xz
604 ... which, in turn, runs:
607 guix pack -s @var{system} --localstatedir guix
610 @xref{Invoking guix pack}, for more info on this handy tool.
613 @section Requirements
615 This section lists requirements when building Guix from source. The
616 build procedure for Guix is the same as for other GNU software, and is
617 not covered here. Please see the files @file{README} and @file{INSTALL}
618 in the Guix source tree for additional details.
620 GNU Guix depends on the following packages:
623 @item @url{http://gnu.org/software/guile/, GNU Guile}, version 2.0.13 or
624 later, including 2.2.x;
625 @item @url{https://notabug.org/cwebber/guile-gcrypt, Guile-Gcrypt}, version
628 @uref{http://gnutls.org/, GnuTLS}, specifically its Guile bindings
629 (@pxref{Guile Preparations, how to install the GnuTLS bindings for
630 Guile,, gnutls-guile, GnuTLS-Guile});
632 @uref{https://notabug.org/civodul/guile-sqlite3, Guile-SQLite3}, version 0.1.0
635 @c FIXME: Specify a version number once a release has been made.
636 @uref{https://gitlab.com/guile-git/guile-git, Guile-Git}, from August
638 @item @url{http://zlib.net, zlib};
639 @item @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/make/, GNU Make}.
642 The following dependencies are optional:
647 @url{http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/guile-json/, Guile-JSON} will
648 allow you to use the @command{guix import pypi} command (@pxref{Invoking
649 guix import}). It is of
650 interest primarily for developers and not for casual users.
653 @c Note: We need at least 0.10.2 for 'channel-send-eof'.
654 Support for build offloading (@pxref{Daemon Offload Setup}) and
655 @command{guix copy} (@pxref{Invoking guix copy}) depends on
656 @uref{https://github.com/artyom-poptsov/guile-ssh, Guile-SSH},
657 version 0.10.2 or later.
660 When @url{http://www.bzip.org, libbz2} is available,
661 @command{guix-daemon} can use it to compress build logs.
664 Unless @code{--disable-daemon} was passed to @command{configure}, the
665 following packages are also needed:
668 @item @url{http://gnupg.org/, GNU libgcrypt};
669 @item @url{http://sqlite.org, SQLite 3};
670 @item @url{http://gcc.gnu.org, GCC's g++}, with support for the
674 @cindex state directory
675 When configuring Guix on a system that already has a Guix installation,
676 be sure to specify the same state directory as the existing installation
677 using the @code{--localstatedir} option of the @command{configure}
678 script (@pxref{Directory Variables, @code{localstatedir},, standards,
679 GNU Coding Standards}). The @command{configure} script protects against
680 unintended misconfiguration of @var{localstatedir} so you do not
681 inadvertently corrupt your store (@pxref{The Store}).
683 @cindex Nix, compatibility
684 When a working installation of @url{http://nixos.org/nix/, the Nix package
685 manager} is available, you
686 can instead configure Guix with @code{--disable-daemon}. In that case,
687 Nix replaces the three dependencies above.
689 Guix is compatible with Nix, so it is possible to share the same store
690 between both. To do so, you must pass @command{configure} not only the
691 same @code{--with-store-dir} value, but also the same
692 @code{--localstatedir} value. The latter is essential because it
693 specifies where the database that stores metadata about the store is
694 located, among other things. The default values for Nix are
695 @code{--with-store-dir=/nix/store} and @code{--localstatedir=/nix/var}.
696 Note that @code{--disable-daemon} is not required if
697 your goal is to share the store with Nix.
699 @node Running the Test Suite
700 @section Running the Test Suite
703 After a successful @command{configure} and @code{make} run, it is a good
704 idea to run the test suite. It can help catch issues with the setup or
705 environment, or bugs in Guix itself---and really, reporting test
706 failures is a good way to help improve the software. To run the test
713 Test cases can run in parallel: you can use the @code{-j} option of
714 GNU@tie{}make to speed things up. The first run may take a few minutes
715 on a recent machine; subsequent runs will be faster because the store
716 that is created for test purposes will already have various things in
719 It is also possible to run a subset of the tests by defining the
720 @code{TESTS} makefile variable as in this example:
723 make check TESTS="tests/store.scm tests/cpio.scm"
726 By default, tests results are displayed at a file level. In order to
727 see the details of every individual test cases, it is possible to define
728 the @code{SCM_LOG_DRIVER_FLAGS} makefile variable as in this example:
731 make check TESTS="tests/base64.scm" SCM_LOG_DRIVER_FLAGS="--brief=no"
734 Upon failure, please email @email{bug-guix@@gnu.org} and attach the
735 @file{test-suite.log} file. Please specify the Guix version being used
736 as well as version numbers of the dependencies (@pxref{Requirements}) in
739 Guix also comes with a whole-system test suite that tests complete
740 GuixSD operating system instances. It can only run on systems where
741 Guix is already installed, using:
748 or, again, by defining @code{TESTS} to select a subset of tests to run:
751 make check-system TESTS="basic mcron"
754 These system tests are defined in the @code{(gnu tests @dots{})}
755 modules. They work by running the operating systems under test with
756 lightweight instrumentation in a virtual machine (VM). They can be
757 computationally intensive or rather cheap, depending on whether
758 substitutes are available for their dependencies (@pxref{Substitutes}).
759 Some of them require a lot of storage space to hold VM images.
761 Again in case of test failures, please send @email{bug-guix@@gnu.org}
764 @node Setting Up the Daemon
765 @section Setting Up the Daemon
768 Operations such as building a package or running the garbage collector
769 are all performed by a specialized process, the @dfn{build daemon}, on
770 behalf of clients. Only the daemon may access the store and its
771 associated database. Thus, any operation that manipulates the store
772 goes through the daemon. For instance, command-line tools such as
773 @command{guix package} and @command{guix build} communicate with the
774 daemon (@i{via} remote procedure calls) to instruct it what to do.
776 The following sections explain how to prepare the build daemon's
777 environment. See also @ref{Substitutes}, for information on how to allow
778 the daemon to download pre-built binaries.
781 * Build Environment Setup:: Preparing the isolated build environment.
782 * Daemon Offload Setup:: Offloading builds to remote machines.
783 * SELinux Support:: Using an SELinux policy for the daemon.
786 @node Build Environment Setup
787 @subsection Build Environment Setup
789 @cindex build environment
790 In a standard multi-user setup, Guix and its daemon---the
791 @command{guix-daemon} program---are installed by the system
792 administrator; @file{/gnu/store} is owned by @code{root} and
793 @command{guix-daemon} runs as @code{root}. Unprivileged users may use
794 Guix tools to build packages or otherwise access the store, and the
795 daemon will do it on their behalf, ensuring that the store is kept in a
796 consistent state, and allowing built packages to be shared among users.
799 When @command{guix-daemon} runs as @code{root}, you may not want package
800 build processes themselves to run as @code{root} too, for obvious
801 security reasons. To avoid that, a special pool of @dfn{build users}
802 should be created for use by build processes started by the daemon.
803 These build users need not have a shell and a home directory: they will
804 just be used when the daemon drops @code{root} privileges in build
805 processes. Having several such users allows the daemon to launch
806 distinct build processes under separate UIDs, which guarantees that they
807 do not interfere with each other---an essential feature since builds are
808 regarded as pure functions (@pxref{Introduction}).
810 On a GNU/Linux system, a build user pool may be created like this (using
811 Bash syntax and the @code{shadow} commands):
813 @c See http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-guix/2013-01/msg00239.html
814 @c for why `-G' is needed.
816 # groupadd --system guixbuild
817 # for i in `seq -w 1 10`;
819 useradd -g guixbuild -G guixbuild \
820 -d /var/empty -s `which nologin` \
821 -c "Guix build user $i" --system \
827 The number of build users determines how many build jobs may run in
828 parallel, as specified by the @option{--max-jobs} option
829 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon, @option{--max-jobs}}). To use
830 @command{guix system vm} and related commands, you may need to add the
831 build users to the @code{kvm} group so they can access @file{/dev/kvm},
832 using @code{-G guixbuild,kvm} instead of @code{-G guixbuild}
833 (@pxref{Invoking guix system}).
835 The @code{guix-daemon} program may then be run as @code{root} with the
836 following command@footnote{If your machine uses the systemd init system,
837 dropping the @file{@var{prefix}/lib/systemd/system/guix-daemon.service}
838 file in @file{/etc/systemd/system} will ensure that
839 @command{guix-daemon} is automatically started. Similarly, if your
840 machine uses the Upstart init system, drop the
841 @file{@var{prefix}/lib/upstart/system/guix-daemon.conf}
842 file in @file{/etc/init}.}:
845 # guix-daemon --build-users-group=guixbuild
850 This way, the daemon starts build processes in a chroot, under one of
851 the @code{guixbuilder} users. On GNU/Linux, by default, the chroot
852 environment contains nothing but:
854 @c Keep this list in sync with libstore/build.cc! -----------------------
857 a minimal @code{/dev} directory, created mostly independently from the
858 host @code{/dev}@footnote{``Mostly'', because while the set of files
859 that appear in the chroot's @code{/dev} is fixed, most of these files
860 can only be created if the host has them.};
863 the @code{/proc} directory; it only shows the processes of the container
864 since a separate PID name space is used;
867 @file{/etc/passwd} with an entry for the current user and an entry for
871 @file{/etc/group} with an entry for the user's group;
874 @file{/etc/hosts} with an entry that maps @code{localhost} to
878 a writable @file{/tmp} directory.
881 You can influence the directory where the daemon stores build trees
882 @i{via} the @code{TMPDIR} environment variable. However, the build tree
883 within the chroot is always called @file{/tmp/guix-build-@var{name}.drv-0},
884 where @var{name} is the derivation name---e.g., @code{coreutils-8.24}.
885 This way, the value of @code{TMPDIR} does not leak inside build
886 environments, which avoids discrepancies in cases where build processes
887 capture the name of their build tree.
890 The daemon also honors the @code{http_proxy} environment variable for
891 HTTP downloads it performs, be it for fixed-output derivations
892 (@pxref{Derivations}) or for substitutes (@pxref{Substitutes}).
894 If you are installing Guix as an unprivileged user, it is still possible
895 to run @command{guix-daemon} provided you pass @code{--disable-chroot}.
896 However, build processes will not be isolated from one another, and not
897 from the rest of the system. Thus, build processes may interfere with
898 each other, and may access programs, libraries, and other files
899 available on the system---making it much harder to view them as
900 @emph{pure} functions.
903 @node Daemon Offload Setup
904 @subsection Using the Offload Facility
908 When desired, the build daemon can @dfn{offload} derivation builds to
909 other machines running Guix, using the @code{offload} @dfn{build
910 hook}@footnote{This feature is available only when
911 @uref{https://github.com/artyom-poptsov/guile-ssh, Guile-SSH} is
913 feature is enabled, a list of user-specified build machines is read from
914 @file{/etc/guix/machines.scm}; every time a build is requested, for
915 instance via @code{guix build}, the daemon attempts to offload it to one
916 of the machines that satisfy the constraints of the derivation, in
917 particular its system type---e.g., @file{x86_64-linux}. Missing
918 prerequisites for the build are copied over SSH to the target machine,
919 which then proceeds with the build; upon success the output(s) of the
920 build are copied back to the initial machine.
922 The @file{/etc/guix/machines.scm} file typically looks like this:
926 (name "eightysix.example.org")
927 (system "x86_64-linux")
928 (host-key "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3Nza@dots{}")
930 (speed 2.)) ;incredibly fast!
933 (name "meeps.example.org")
934 (system "mips64el-linux")
935 (host-key "ssh-rsa AAAAB3Nza@dots{}")
938 (string-append (getenv "HOME")
939 "/.ssh/identity-for-guix"))))
943 In the example above we specify a list of two build machines, one for
944 the @code{x86_64} architecture and one for the @code{mips64el}
947 In fact, this file is---not surprisingly!---a Scheme file that is
948 evaluated when the @code{offload} hook is started. Its return value
949 must be a list of @code{build-machine} objects. While this example
950 shows a fixed list of build machines, one could imagine, say, using
951 DNS-SD to return a list of potential build machines discovered in the
952 local network (@pxref{Introduction, Guile-Avahi,, guile-avahi, Using
953 Avahi in Guile Scheme Programs}). The @code{build-machine} data type is
956 @deftp {Data Type} build-machine
957 This data type represents build machines to which the daemon may offload
958 builds. The important fields are:
963 The host name of the remote machine.
966 The system type of the remote machine---e.g., @code{"x86_64-linux"}.
969 The user account to use when connecting to the remote machine over SSH.
970 Note that the SSH key pair must @emph{not} be passphrase-protected, to
971 allow non-interactive logins.
974 This must be the machine's SSH @dfn{public host key} in OpenSSH format.
975 This is used to authenticate the machine when we connect to it. It is a
976 long string that looks like this:
979 ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC@dots{}mde+UhL hint@@example.org
982 If the machine is running the OpenSSH daemon, @command{sshd}, the host
983 key can be found in a file such as
984 @file{/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub}.
986 If the machine is running the SSH daemon of GNU@tie{}lsh,
987 @command{lshd}, the host key is in @file{/etc/lsh/host-key.pub} or a
988 similar file. It can be converted to the OpenSSH format using
989 @command{lsh-export-key} (@pxref{Converting keys,,, lsh, LSH Manual}):
992 $ lsh-export-key --openssh < /etc/lsh/host-key.pub
993 ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAAEOp8FoQAAAQEAs1eB46LV@dots{}
998 A number of optional fields may be specified:
1002 @item @code{port} (default: @code{22})
1003 Port number of SSH server on the machine.
1005 @item @code{private-key} (default: @file{~root/.ssh/id_rsa})
1006 The SSH private key file to use when connecting to the machine, in
1007 OpenSSH format. This key must not be protected with a passphrase.
1009 Note that the default value is the private key @emph{of the root
1010 account}. Make sure it exists if you use the default.
1012 @item @code{compression} (default: @code{"zlib@@openssh.com,zlib"})
1013 @itemx @code{compression-level} (default: @code{3})
1014 The SSH-level compression methods and compression level requested.
1016 Note that offloading relies on SSH compression to reduce bandwidth usage
1017 when transferring files to and from build machines.
1019 @item @code{daemon-socket} (default: @code{"/var/guix/daemon-socket/socket"})
1020 File name of the Unix-domain socket @command{guix-daemon} is listening
1023 @item @code{parallel-builds} (default: @code{1})
1024 The number of builds that may run in parallel on the machine.
1026 @item @code{speed} (default: @code{1.0})
1027 A ``relative speed factor''. The offload scheduler will tend to prefer
1028 machines with a higher speed factor.
1030 @item @code{features} (default: @code{'()})
1031 A list of strings denoting specific features supported by the machine.
1032 An example is @code{"kvm"} for machines that have the KVM Linux modules
1033 and corresponding hardware support. Derivations can request features by
1034 name, and they will be scheduled on matching build machines.
1039 The @code{guile} command must be in the search path on the build
1040 machines. In addition, the Guix modules must be in
1041 @code{$GUILE_LOAD_PATH} on the build machine---you can check whether
1042 this is the case by running:
1045 ssh build-machine guile -c "'(use-modules (guix config))'"
1048 There is one last thing to do once @file{machines.scm} is in place. As
1049 explained above, when offloading, files are transferred back and forth
1050 between the machine stores. For this to work, you first need to
1051 generate a key pair on each machine to allow the daemon to export signed
1052 archives of files from the store (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}):
1055 # guix archive --generate-key
1059 Each build machine must authorize the key of the master machine so that
1060 it accepts store items it receives from the master:
1063 # guix archive --authorize < master-public-key.txt
1067 Likewise, the master machine must authorize the key of each build machine.
1069 All the fuss with keys is here to express pairwise mutual trust
1070 relations between the master and the build machines. Concretely, when
1071 the master receives files from a build machine (and @i{vice versa}), its
1072 build daemon can make sure they are genuine, have not been tampered
1073 with, and that they are signed by an authorized key.
1075 @cindex offload test
1076 To test whether your setup is operational, run this command on the
1083 This will attempt to connect to each of the build machines specified in
1084 @file{/etc/guix/machines.scm}, make sure Guile and the Guix modules are
1085 available on each machine, attempt to export to the machine and import
1086 from it, and report any error in the process.
1088 If you want to test a different machine file, just specify it on the
1092 # guix offload test machines-qualif.scm
1095 Last, you can test the subset of the machines whose name matches a
1096 regular expression like this:
1099 # guix offload test machines.scm '\.gnu\.org$'
1102 @cindex offload status
1103 To display the current load of all build hosts, run this command on the
1107 # guix offload status
1111 @node SELinux Support
1112 @subsection SELinux Support
1114 @cindex SELinux, daemon policy
1115 @cindex mandatory access control, SELinux
1116 @cindex security, guix-daemon
1117 Guix includes an SELinux policy file at @file{etc/guix-daemon.cil} that
1118 can be installed on a system where SELinux is enabled, in order to label
1119 Guix files and to specify the expected behavior of the daemon. Since
1120 GuixSD does not provide an SELinux base policy, the daemon policy cannot
1123 @subsubsection Installing the SELinux policy
1124 @cindex SELinux, policy installation
1125 To install the policy run this command as root:
1128 semodule -i etc/guix-daemon.cil
1131 Then relabel the file system with @code{restorecon} or by a different
1132 mechanism provided by your system.
1134 Once the policy is installed, the file system has been relabeled, and
1135 the daemon has been restarted, it should be running in the
1136 @code{guix_daemon_t} context. You can confirm this with the following
1140 ps -Zax | grep guix-daemon
1143 Monitor the SELinux log files as you run a command like @code{guix build
1144 hello} to convince yourself that SELinux permits all necessary
1147 @subsubsection Limitations
1148 @cindex SELinux, limitations
1150 This policy is not perfect. Here is a list of limitations or quirks
1151 that should be considered when deploying the provided SELinux policy for
1156 @code{guix_daemon_socket_t} isn’t actually used. None of the socket
1157 operations involve contexts that have anything to do with
1158 @code{guix_daemon_socket_t}. It doesn’t hurt to have this unused label,
1159 but it would be preferrable to define socket rules for only this label.
1162 @code{guix gc} cannot access arbitrary links to profiles. By design,
1163 the file label of the destination of a symlink is independent of the
1164 file label of the link itself. Although all profiles under
1165 $localstatedir are labelled, the links to these profiles inherit the
1166 label of the directory they are in. For links in the user’s home
1167 directory this will be @code{user_home_t}. But for links from the root
1168 user’s home directory, or @file{/tmp}, or the HTTP server’s working
1169 directory, etc, this won’t work. @code{guix gc} would be prevented from
1170 reading and following these links.
1173 The daemon’s feature to listen for TCP connections might no longer work.
1174 This might require extra rules, because SELinux treats network sockets
1175 differently from files.
1178 Currently all files with a name matching the regular expression
1179 @code{/gnu/store/.+-(guix-.+|profile)/bin/guix-daemon} are assigned the
1180 label @code{guix_daemon_exec_t}; this means that @emph{any} file with
1181 that name in any profile would be permitted to run in the
1182 @code{guix_daemon_t} domain. This is not ideal. An attacker could
1183 build a package that provides this executable and convince a user to
1184 install and run it, which lifts it into the @code{guix_daemon_t} domain.
1185 At that point SELinux could not prevent it from accessing files that are
1186 allowed for processes in that domain.
1188 We could generate a much more restrictive policy at installation time,
1189 so that only the @emph{exact} file name of the currently installed
1190 @code{guix-daemon} executable would be labelled with
1191 @code{guix_daemon_exec_t}, instead of using a broad regular expression.
1192 The downside is that root would have to install or upgrade the policy at
1193 installation time whenever the Guix package that provides the
1194 effectively running @code{guix-daemon} executable is upgraded.
1197 @node Invoking guix-daemon
1198 @section Invoking @command{guix-daemon}
1200 The @command{guix-daemon} program implements all the functionality to
1201 access the store. This includes launching build processes, running the
1202 garbage collector, querying the availability of a build result, etc. It
1203 is normally run as @code{root} like this:
1206 # guix-daemon --build-users-group=guixbuild
1210 For details on how to set it up, @pxref{Setting Up the Daemon}.
1213 @cindex container, build environment
1214 @cindex build environment
1215 @cindex reproducible builds
1216 By default, @command{guix-daemon} launches build processes under
1217 different UIDs, taken from the build group specified with
1218 @code{--build-users-group}. In addition, each build process is run in a
1219 chroot environment that only contains the subset of the store that the
1220 build process depends on, as specified by its derivation
1221 (@pxref{Programming Interface, derivation}), plus a set of specific
1222 system directories. By default, the latter contains @file{/dev} and
1223 @file{/dev/pts}. Furthermore, on GNU/Linux, the build environment is a
1224 @dfn{container}: in addition to having its own file system tree, it has
1225 a separate mount name space, its own PID name space, network name space,
1226 etc. This helps achieve reproducible builds (@pxref{Features}).
1228 When the daemon performs a build on behalf of the user, it creates a
1229 build directory under @file{/tmp} or under the directory specified by
1230 its @code{TMPDIR} environment variable; this directory is shared with
1231 the container for the duration of the build. Be aware that using a
1232 directory other than @file{/tmp} can affect build results---for example,
1233 with a longer directory name, a build process that uses Unix-domain
1234 sockets might hit the name length limitation for @code{sun_path}, which
1235 it would otherwise not hit.
1237 The build directory is automatically deleted upon completion, unless the
1238 build failed and the client specified @option{--keep-failed}
1239 (@pxref{Invoking guix build, @option{--keep-failed}}).
1241 The following command-line options are supported:
1244 @item --build-users-group=@var{group}
1245 Take users from @var{group} to run build processes (@pxref{Setting Up
1246 the Daemon, build users}).
1248 @item --no-substitutes
1250 Do not use substitutes for build products. That is, always build things
1251 locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries
1252 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
1254 When the daemon runs with @code{--no-substitutes}, clients can still
1255 explicitly enable substitution @i{via} the @code{set-build-options}
1256 remote procedure call (@pxref{The Store}).
1258 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
1259 @anchor{daemon-substitute-urls}
1260 Consider @var{urls} the default whitespace-separated list of substitute
1261 source URLs. When this option is omitted,
1262 @indicateurl{https://mirror.hydra.gnu.org https://hydra.gnu.org} is used
1263 (@code{mirror.hydra.gnu.org} is a mirror of @code{hydra.gnu.org}).
1265 This means that substitutes may be downloaded from @var{urls}, as long
1266 as they are signed by a trusted signature (@pxref{Substitutes}).
1269 @item --no-build-hook
1270 Do not use the @dfn{build hook}.
1272 The build hook is a helper program that the daemon can start and to
1273 which it submits build requests. This mechanism is used to offload
1274 builds to other machines (@pxref{Daemon Offload Setup}).
1276 @item --cache-failures
1277 Cache build failures. By default, only successful builds are cached.
1279 When this option is used, @command{guix gc --list-failures} can be used
1280 to query the set of store items marked as failed; @command{guix gc
1281 --clear-failures} removes store items from the set of cached failures.
1282 @xref{Invoking guix gc}.
1284 @item --cores=@var{n}
1286 Use @var{n} CPU cores to build each derivation; @code{0} means as many
1289 The default value is @code{0}, but it may be overridden by clients, such
1290 as the @code{--cores} option of @command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking
1293 The effect is to define the @code{NIX_BUILD_CORES} environment variable
1294 in the build process, which can then use it to exploit internal
1295 parallelism---for instance, by running @code{make -j$NIX_BUILD_CORES}.
1297 @item --max-jobs=@var{n}
1299 Allow at most @var{n} build jobs in parallel. The default value is
1300 @code{1}. Setting it to @code{0} means that no builds will be performed
1301 locally; instead, the daemon will offload builds (@pxref{Daemon Offload
1302 Setup}), or simply fail.
1304 @item --max-silent-time=@var{seconds}
1305 When the build or substitution process remains silent for more than
1306 @var{seconds}, terminate it and report a build failure.
1308 The default value is @code{0}, which disables the timeout.
1310 The value specified here can be overridden by clients (@pxref{Common
1311 Build Options, @code{--max-silent-time}}).
1313 @item --timeout=@var{seconds}
1314 Likewise, when the build or substitution process lasts for more than
1315 @var{seconds}, terminate it and report a build failure.
1317 The default value is @code{0}, which disables the timeout.
1319 The value specified here can be overridden by clients (@pxref{Common
1320 Build Options, @code{--timeout}}).
1322 @item --rounds=@var{N}
1323 Build each derivation @var{n} times in a row, and raise an error if
1324 consecutive build results are not bit-for-bit identical. Note that this
1325 setting can be overridden by clients such as @command{guix build}
1326 (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
1328 When used in conjunction with @option{--keep-failed}, the differing
1329 output is kept in the store, under @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-check}.
1330 This makes it easy to look for differences between the two results.
1333 Produce debugging output.
1335 This is useful to debug daemon start-up issues, but then it may be
1336 overridden by clients, for example the @code{--verbosity} option of
1337 @command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
1339 @item --chroot-directory=@var{dir}
1340 Add @var{dir} to the build chroot.
1342 Doing this may change the result of build processes---for instance if
1343 they use optional dependencies found in @var{dir} when it is available,
1344 and not otherwise. For that reason, it is not recommended to do so.
1345 Instead, make sure that each derivation declares all the inputs that it
1348 @item --disable-chroot
1349 Disable chroot builds.
1351 Using this option is not recommended since, again, it would allow build
1352 processes to gain access to undeclared dependencies. It is necessary,
1353 though, when @command{guix-daemon} is running under an unprivileged user
1356 @item --log-compression=@var{type}
1357 Compress build logs according to @var{type}, one of @code{gzip},
1358 @code{bzip2}, or @code{none}.
1360 Unless @code{--lose-logs} is used, all the build logs are kept in the
1361 @var{localstatedir}. To save space, the daemon automatically compresses
1362 them with bzip2 by default.
1364 @item --disable-deduplication
1365 @cindex deduplication
1366 Disable automatic file ``deduplication'' in the store.
1368 By default, files added to the store are automatically ``deduplicated'':
1369 if a newly added file is identical to another one found in the store,
1370 the daemon makes the new file a hard link to the other file. This can
1371 noticeably reduce disk usage, at the expense of slightly increased
1372 input/output load at the end of a build process. This option disables
1375 @item --gc-keep-outputs[=yes|no]
1376 Tell whether the garbage collector (GC) must keep outputs of live
1380 @cindex garbage collector roots
1381 When set to ``yes'', the GC will keep the outputs of any live derivation
1382 available in the store---the @code{.drv} files. The default is ``no'',
1383 meaning that derivation outputs are kept only if they are reachable from a GC
1384 root. @xref{Invoking guix gc}, for more on GC roots.
1386 @item --gc-keep-derivations[=yes|no]
1387 Tell whether the garbage collector (GC) must keep derivations
1388 corresponding to live outputs.
1390 When set to ``yes'', as is the case by default, the GC keeps
1391 derivations---i.e., @code{.drv} files---as long as at least one of their
1392 outputs is live. This allows users to keep track of the origins of
1393 items in their store. Setting it to ``no'' saves a bit of disk space.
1395 In this way, setting @code{--gc-keep-derivations} to ``yes'' causes liveness
1396 to flow from outputs to derivations, and setting @code{--gc-keep-outputs} to
1397 ``yes'' causes liveness to flow from derivations to outputs. When both are
1398 set to ``yes'', the effect is to keep all the build prerequisites (the
1399 sources, compiler, libraries, and other build-time tools) of live objects in
1400 the store, regardless of whether these prerequisites are reachable from a GC
1401 root. This is convenient for developers since it saves rebuilds or downloads.
1403 @item --impersonate-linux-2.6
1404 On Linux-based systems, impersonate Linux 2.6. This means that the
1405 kernel's @code{uname} system call will report 2.6 as the release number.
1407 This might be helpful to build programs that (usually wrongfully) depend
1408 on the kernel version number.
1411 Do not keep build logs. By default they are kept under
1412 @code{@var{localstatedir}/guix/log}.
1414 @item --system=@var{system}
1415 Assume @var{system} as the current system type. By default it is the
1416 architecture/kernel pair found at configure time, such as
1417 @code{x86_64-linux}.
1419 @item --listen=@var{endpoint}
1420 Listen for connections on @var{endpoint}. @var{endpoint} is interpreted
1421 as the file name of a Unix-domain socket if it starts with
1422 @code{/} (slash sign). Otherwise, @var{endpoint} is interpreted as a
1423 host name or host name and port to listen to. Here are a few examples:
1426 @item --listen=/gnu/var/daemon
1427 Listen for connections on the @file{/gnu/var/daemon} Unix-domain socket,
1428 creating it if needed.
1430 @item --listen=localhost
1431 @cindex daemon, remote access
1432 @cindex remote access to the daemon
1433 @cindex daemon, cluster setup
1434 @cindex clusters, daemon setup
1435 Listen for TCP connections on the network interface corresponding to
1436 @code{localhost}, on port 44146.
1438 @item --listen=128.0.0.42:1234
1439 Listen for TCP connections on the network interface corresponding to
1440 @code{128.0.0.42}, on port 1234.
1443 This option can be repeated multiple times, in which case
1444 @command{guix-daemon} accepts connections on all the specified
1445 endpoints. Users can tell client commands what endpoint to connect to
1446 by setting the @code{GUIX_DAEMON_SOCKET} environment variable
1447 (@pxref{The Store, @code{GUIX_DAEMON_SOCKET}}).
1450 The daemon protocol is @emph{unauthenticated and unencrypted}. Using
1451 @code{--listen=@var{host}} is suitable on local networks, such as
1452 clusters, where only trusted nodes may connect to the build daemon. In
1453 other cases where remote access to the daemon is needed, we recommend
1454 using Unix-domain sockets along with SSH.
1457 When @code{--listen} is omitted, @command{guix-daemon} listens for
1458 connections on the Unix-domain socket located at
1459 @file{@var{localstatedir}/guix/daemon-socket/socket}.
1463 @node Application Setup
1464 @section Application Setup
1466 @cindex foreign distro
1467 When using Guix on top of GNU/Linux distribution other than GuixSD---a
1468 so-called @dfn{foreign distro}---a few additional steps are needed to
1469 get everything in place. Here are some of them.
1473 @anchor{locales-and-locpath}
1474 @cindex locales, when not on GuixSD
1476 @vindex GUIX_LOCPATH
1477 Packages installed @i{via} Guix will not use the locale data of the
1478 host system. Instead, you must first install one of the locale packages
1479 available with Guix and then define the @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} environment
1483 $ guix package -i glibc-locales
1484 $ export GUIX_LOCPATH=$HOME/.guix-profile/lib/locale
1487 Note that the @code{glibc-locales} package contains data for all the
1488 locales supported by the GNU@tie{}libc and weighs in at around
1489 110@tie{}MiB. Alternatively, the @code{glibc-utf8-locales} is smaller but
1490 limited to a few UTF-8 locales.
1492 The @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} variable plays a role similar to @code{LOCPATH}
1493 (@pxref{Locale Names, @code{LOCPATH},, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
1494 Manual}). There are two important differences though:
1498 @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} is honored only by the libc in Guix, and not by the libc
1499 provided by foreign distros. Thus, using @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} allows you
1500 to make sure the programs of the foreign distro will not end up loading
1501 incompatible locale data.
1504 libc suffixes each entry of @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} with @code{/X.Y}, where
1505 @code{X.Y} is the libc version---e.g., @code{2.22}. This means that,
1506 should your Guix profile contain a mixture of programs linked against
1507 different libc version, each libc version will only try to load locale
1508 data in the right format.
1511 This is important because the locale data format used by different libc
1512 versions may be incompatible.
1514 @subsection Name Service Switch
1516 @cindex name service switch, glibc
1517 @cindex NSS (name service switch), glibc
1518 @cindex nscd (name service caching daemon)
1519 @cindex name service caching daemon (nscd)
1520 When using Guix on a foreign distro, we @emph{strongly recommend} that
1521 the system run the GNU C library's @dfn{name service cache daemon},
1522 @command{nscd}, which should be listening on the
1523 @file{/var/run/nscd/socket} socket. Failing to do that, applications
1524 installed with Guix may fail to look up host names or user accounts, or
1525 may even crash. The next paragraphs explain why.
1527 @cindex @file{nsswitch.conf}
1528 The GNU C library implements a @dfn{name service switch} (NSS), which is
1529 an extensible mechanism for ``name lookups'' in general: host name
1530 resolution, user accounts, and more (@pxref{Name Service Switch,,, libc,
1531 The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
1533 @cindex Network information service (NIS)
1534 @cindex NIS (Network information service)
1535 Being extensible, the NSS supports @dfn{plugins}, which provide new name
1536 lookup implementations: for example, the @code{nss-mdns} plugin allow
1537 resolution of @code{.local} host names, the @code{nis} plugin allows
1538 user account lookup using the Network information service (NIS), and so
1539 on. These extra ``lookup services'' are configured system-wide in
1540 @file{/etc/nsswitch.conf}, and all the programs running on the system
1541 honor those settings (@pxref{NSS Configuration File,,, libc, The GNU C
1544 When they perform a name lookup---for instance by calling the
1545 @code{getaddrinfo} function in C---applications first try to connect to
1546 the nscd; on success, nscd performs name lookups on their behalf. If
1547 the nscd is not running, then they perform the name lookup by
1548 themselves, by loading the name lookup services into their own address
1549 space and running it. These name lookup services---the
1550 @file{libnss_*.so} files---are @code{dlopen}'d, but they may come from
1551 the host system's C library, rather than from the C library the
1552 application is linked against (the C library coming from Guix).
1554 And this is where the problem is: if your application is linked against
1555 Guix's C library (say, glibc 2.24) and tries to load NSS plugins from
1556 another C library (say, @code{libnss_mdns.so} for glibc 2.22), it will
1557 likely crash or have its name lookups fail unexpectedly.
1559 Running @command{nscd} on the system, among other advantages, eliminates
1560 this binary incompatibility problem because those @code{libnss_*.so}
1561 files are loaded in the @command{nscd} process, not in applications
1564 @subsection X11 Fonts
1567 The majority of graphical applications use Fontconfig to locate and
1568 load fonts and perform X11-client-side rendering. The @code{fontconfig}
1569 package in Guix looks for fonts in @file{$HOME/.guix-profile}
1570 by default. Thus, to allow graphical applications installed with Guix
1571 to display fonts, you have to install fonts with Guix as well.
1572 Essential font packages include @code{gs-fonts}, @code{font-dejavu}, and
1573 @code{font-gnu-freefont-ttf}.
1575 To display text written in Chinese languages, Japanese, or Korean in
1576 graphical applications, consider installing
1577 @code{font-adobe-source-han-sans} or @code{font-wqy-zenhei}. The former
1578 has multiple outputs, one per language family (@pxref{Packages with
1579 Multiple Outputs}). For instance, the following command installs fonts
1580 for Chinese languages:
1583 guix package -i font-adobe-source-han-sans:cn
1586 @cindex @code{xterm}
1587 Older programs such as @command{xterm} do not use Fontconfig and instead
1588 rely on server-side font rendering. Such programs require to specify a
1589 full name of a font using XLFD (X Logical Font Description), like this:
1592 -*-dejavu sans-medium-r-normal-*-*-100-*-*-*-*-*-1
1595 To be able to use such full names for the TrueType fonts installed in
1596 your Guix profile, you need to extend the font path of the X server:
1598 @c Note: 'xset' does not accept symlinks so the trick below arranges to
1599 @c get at the real directory. See <https://bugs.gnu.org/30655>.
1601 xset +fp $(dirname $(readlink -f ~/.guix-profile/share/fonts/truetype/fonts.dir))
1604 @cindex @code{xlsfonts}
1605 After that, you can run @code{xlsfonts} (from @code{xlsfonts} package)
1606 to make sure your TrueType fonts are listed there.
1608 @cindex @code{fc-cache}
1610 After installing fonts you may have to refresh the font cache to use
1611 them in applications. The same applies when applications installed via
1612 Guix do not seem to find fonts. To force rebuilding of the font cache
1613 run @code{fc-cache -f}. The @code{fc-cache} command is provided by the
1614 @code{fontconfig} package.
1616 @subsection X.509 Certificates
1618 @cindex @code{nss-certs}
1619 The @code{nss-certs} package provides X.509 certificates, which allow
1620 programs to authenticate Web servers accessed over HTTPS.
1622 When using Guix on a foreign distro, you can install this package and
1623 define the relevant environment variables so that packages know where to
1624 look for certificates. @xref{X.509 Certificates}, for detailed
1627 @subsection Emacs Packages
1629 @cindex @code{emacs}
1630 When you install Emacs packages with Guix, the elisp files may be placed
1631 either in @file{$HOME/.guix-profile/share/emacs/site-lisp/} or in
1633 @file{$HOME/.guix-profile/share/emacs/site-lisp/guix.d/}. The latter
1634 directory exists because potentially there may exist thousands of Emacs
1635 packages and storing all their files in a single directory may not be
1636 reliable (because of name conflicts). So we think using a separate
1637 directory for each package is a good idea. It is very similar to how
1638 the Emacs package system organizes the file structure (@pxref{Package
1639 Files,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
1641 By default, Emacs (installed with Guix) ``knows'' where these packages
1642 are placed, so you do not need to perform any configuration. If, for
1643 some reason, you want to avoid auto-loading Emacs packages installed
1644 with Guix, you can do so by running Emacs with @code{--no-site-file}
1645 option (@pxref{Init File,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
1647 @subsection The GCC toolchain
1652 Guix offers individual compiler packages such as @code{gcc} but if you
1653 are in need of a complete toolchain for compiling and linking source
1654 code what you really want is the @code{gcc-toolchain} package. This
1655 package provides a complete GCC toolchain for C/C++ development,
1656 including GCC itself, the GNU C Library (headers and binaries, plus
1657 debugging symbols in the @code{debug} output), Binutils, and a linker
1660 @cindex attempt to use impure library, error message
1662 The wrapper's purpose is to inspect the @code{-L} and @code{-l} switches
1663 passed to the linker, add corresponding @code{-rpath} arguments, and
1664 invoke the actual linker with this new set of arguments. By default,
1665 the linker wrapper refuses to link to libraries outside the store to
1666 ensure ``purity''. This can be annoying when using the toolchain to
1667 link with local libraries. To allow references to libraries outside the
1668 store you need to define the environment variable
1669 @code{GUIX_LD_WRAPPER_ALLOW_IMPURITIES}.
1673 @c *********************************************************************
1674 @node Package Management
1675 @chapter Package Management
1678 The purpose of GNU Guix is to allow users to easily install, upgrade, and
1679 remove software packages, without having to know about their build
1680 procedures or dependencies. Guix also goes beyond this obvious set of
1683 This chapter describes the main features of Guix, as well as the
1684 package management tools it provides. Along with the command-line
1685 interface described below (@pxref{Invoking guix package, @code{guix
1686 package}}), you may also use the Emacs-Guix interface (@pxref{Top,,,
1687 emacs-guix, The Emacs-Guix Reference Manual}), after installing
1688 @code{emacs-guix} package (run @kbd{M-x guix-help} command to start
1692 guix package -i emacs-guix
1696 * Features:: How Guix will make your life brighter.
1697 * Invoking guix package:: Package installation, removal, etc.
1698 * Substitutes:: Downloading pre-built binaries.
1699 * Packages with Multiple Outputs:: Single source package, multiple outputs.
1700 * Invoking guix gc:: Running the garbage collector.
1701 * Invoking guix pull:: Fetching the latest Guix and distribution.
1702 * Channels:: Customizing the package collection.
1703 * Inferiors:: Interacting with another revision of Guix.
1704 * Invoking guix describe:: Display information about your Guix revision.
1705 * Invoking guix pack:: Creating software bundles.
1706 * Invoking guix archive:: Exporting and importing store files.
1712 When using Guix, each package ends up in the @dfn{package store}, in its
1713 own directory---something that resembles
1714 @file{/gnu/store/xxx-package-1.2}, where @code{xxx} is a base32 string.
1716 Instead of referring to these directories, users have their own
1717 @dfn{profile}, which points to the packages that they actually want to
1718 use. These profiles are stored within each user's home directory, at
1719 @code{$HOME/.guix-profile}.
1721 For example, @code{alice} installs GCC 4.7.2. As a result,
1722 @file{/home/alice/.guix-profile/bin/gcc} points to
1723 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.7.2/bin/gcc}. Now, on the same machine,
1724 @code{bob} had already installed GCC 4.8.0. The profile of @code{bob}
1725 simply continues to point to
1726 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.8.0/bin/gcc}---i.e., both versions of GCC
1727 coexist on the same system without any interference.
1729 The @command{guix package} command is the central tool to manage
1730 packages (@pxref{Invoking guix package}). It operates on the per-user
1731 profiles, and can be used @emph{with normal user privileges}.
1733 @cindex transactions
1734 The command provides the obvious install, remove, and upgrade
1735 operations. Each invocation is actually a @emph{transaction}: either
1736 the specified operation succeeds, or nothing happens. Thus, if the
1737 @command{guix package} process is terminated during the transaction,
1738 or if a power outage occurs during the transaction, then the user's
1739 profile remains in its previous state, and remains usable.
1741 In addition, any package transaction may be @emph{rolled back}. So, if,
1742 for example, an upgrade installs a new version of a package that turns
1743 out to have a serious bug, users may roll back to the previous instance
1744 of their profile, which was known to work well. Similarly, the global
1745 system configuration on GuixSD is subject to
1746 transactional upgrades and roll-back
1747 (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}).
1749 All packages in the package store may be @emph{garbage-collected}.
1750 Guix can determine which packages are still referenced by user
1751 profiles, and remove those that are provably no longer referenced
1752 (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}). Users may also explicitly remove old
1753 generations of their profile so that the packages they refer to can be
1756 @cindex reproducibility
1757 @cindex reproducible builds
1758 Guix takes a @dfn{purely functional} approach to package
1759 management, as described in the introduction (@pxref{Introduction}).
1760 Each @file{/gnu/store} package directory name contains a hash of all the
1761 inputs that were used to build that package---compiler, libraries, build
1762 scripts, etc. This direct correspondence allows users to make sure a
1763 given package installation matches the current state of their
1764 distribution. It also helps maximize @dfn{build reproducibility}:
1765 thanks to the isolated build environments that are used, a given build
1766 is likely to yield bit-identical files when performed on different
1767 machines (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon, container}).
1770 This foundation allows Guix to support @dfn{transparent binary/source
1771 deployment}. When a pre-built binary for a @file{/gnu/store} item is
1772 available from an external source---a @dfn{substitute}, Guix just
1773 downloads it and unpacks it;
1774 otherwise, it builds the package from source, locally
1775 (@pxref{Substitutes}). Because build results are usually bit-for-bit
1776 reproducible, users do not have to trust servers that provide
1777 substitutes: they can force a local build and @emph{challenge} providers
1778 (@pxref{Invoking guix challenge}).
1780 Control over the build environment is a feature that is also useful for
1781 developers. The @command{guix environment} command allows developers of
1782 a package to quickly set up the right development environment for their
1783 package, without having to manually install the dependencies of the
1784 package into their profile (@pxref{Invoking guix environment}).
1786 @cindex replication, of software environments
1787 @cindex provenance tracking, of software artifacts
1788 All of Guix and its package definitions is version-controlled, and
1789 @command{guix pull} allows you to ``travel in time'' on the history of Guix
1790 itself (@pxref{Invoking guix pull}). This makes it possible to replicate a
1791 Guix instance on a different machine or at a later point in time, which in
1792 turn allows you to @emph{replicate complete software environments}, while
1793 retaining precise @dfn{provenance tracking} of the software.
1795 @node Invoking guix package
1796 @section Invoking @command{guix package}
1798 @cindex installing packages
1799 @cindex removing packages
1800 @cindex package installation
1801 @cindex package removal
1802 The @command{guix package} command is the tool that allows users to
1803 install, upgrade, and remove packages, as well as rolling back to
1804 previous configurations. It operates only on the user's own profile,
1805 and works with normal user privileges (@pxref{Features}). Its syntax
1809 guix package @var{options}
1811 @cindex transactions
1812 Primarily, @var{options} specifies the operations to be performed during
1813 the transaction. Upon completion, a new profile is created, but
1814 previous @dfn{generations} of the profile remain available, should the user
1817 For example, to remove @code{lua} and install @code{guile} and
1818 @code{guile-cairo} in a single transaction:
1821 guix package -r lua -i guile guile-cairo
1824 @command{guix package} also supports a @dfn{declarative approach}
1825 whereby the user specifies the exact set of packages to be available and
1826 passes it @i{via} the @option{--manifest} option
1827 (@pxref{profile-manifest, @option{--manifest}}).
1830 For each user, a symlink to the user's default profile is automatically
1831 created in @file{$HOME/.guix-profile}. This symlink always points to the
1832 current generation of the user's default profile. Thus, users can add
1833 @file{$HOME/.guix-profile/bin} to their @code{PATH} environment
1834 variable, and so on.
1835 @cindex search paths
1836 If you are not using the Guix System Distribution, consider adding the
1837 following lines to your @file{~/.bash_profile} (@pxref{Bash Startup
1838 Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}) so that newly-spawned
1839 shells get all the right environment variable definitions:
1842 GUIX_PROFILE="$HOME/.guix-profile" ; \
1843 source "$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/profile"
1846 In a multi-user setup, user profiles are stored in a place registered as
1847 a @dfn{garbage-collector root}, which @file{$HOME/.guix-profile} points
1848 to (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}). That directory is normally
1849 @code{@var{localstatedir}/guix/profiles/per-user/@var{user}}, where
1850 @var{localstatedir} is the value passed to @code{configure} as
1851 @code{--localstatedir}, and @var{user} is the user name. The
1852 @file{per-user} directory is created when @command{guix-daemon} is
1853 started, and the @var{user} sub-directory is created by @command{guix
1856 The @var{options} can be among the following:
1860 @item --install=@var{package} @dots{}
1861 @itemx -i @var{package} @dots{}
1862 Install the specified @var{package}s.
1864 Each @var{package} may specify either a simple package name, such as
1865 @code{guile}, or a package name followed by an at-sign and version number,
1866 such as @code{guile@@1.8.8} or simply @code{guile@@1.8} (in the latter
1867 case, the newest version prefixed by @code{1.8} is selected.)
1869 If no version number is specified, the
1870 newest available version will be selected. In addition, @var{package}
1871 may contain a colon, followed by the name of one of the outputs of the
1872 package, as in @code{gcc:doc} or @code{binutils@@2.22:lib}
1873 (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}). Packages with a corresponding
1874 name (and optionally version) are searched for among the GNU
1875 distribution modules (@pxref{Package Modules}).
1877 @cindex propagated inputs
1878 Sometimes packages have @dfn{propagated inputs}: these are dependencies
1879 that automatically get installed along with the required package
1880 (@pxref{package-propagated-inputs, @code{propagated-inputs} in
1881 @code{package} objects}, for information about propagated inputs in
1882 package definitions).
1884 @anchor{package-cmd-propagated-inputs}
1885 An example is the GNU MPC library: its C header files refer to those of
1886 the GNU MPFR library, which in turn refer to those of the GMP library.
1887 Thus, when installing MPC, the MPFR and GMP libraries also get installed
1888 in the profile; removing MPC also removes MPFR and GMP---unless they had
1889 also been explicitly installed by the user.
1891 Besides, packages sometimes rely on the definition of environment
1892 variables for their search paths (see explanation of
1893 @code{--search-paths} below). Any missing or possibly incorrect
1894 environment variable definitions are reported here.
1896 @item --install-from-expression=@var{exp}
1898 Install the package @var{exp} evaluates to.
1900 @var{exp} must be a Scheme expression that evaluates to a
1901 @code{<package>} object. This option is notably useful to disambiguate
1902 between same-named variants of a package, with expressions such as
1903 @code{(@@ (gnu packages base) guile-final)}.
1905 Note that this option installs the first output of the specified
1906 package, which may be insufficient when needing a specific output of a
1907 multiple-output package.
1909 @item --install-from-file=@var{file}
1910 @itemx -f @var{file}
1911 Install the package that the code within @var{file} evaluates to.
1913 As an example, @var{file} might contain a definition like this
1914 (@pxref{Defining Packages}):
1917 @verbatiminclude package-hello.scm
1920 Developers may find it useful to include such a @file{guix.scm} file
1921 in the root of their project source tree that can be used to test
1922 development snapshots and create reproducible development environments
1923 (@pxref{Invoking guix environment}).
1925 @item --remove=@var{package} @dots{}
1926 @itemx -r @var{package} @dots{}
1927 Remove the specified @var{package}s.
1929 As for @code{--install}, each @var{package} may specify a version number
1930 and/or output name in addition to the package name. For instance,
1931 @code{-r glibc:debug} would remove the @code{debug} output of
1934 @item --upgrade[=@var{regexp} @dots{}]
1935 @itemx -u [@var{regexp} @dots{}]
1936 @cindex upgrading packages
1937 Upgrade all the installed packages. If one or more @var{regexp}s are
1938 specified, upgrade only installed packages whose name matches a
1939 @var{regexp}. Also see the @code{--do-not-upgrade} option below.
1941 Note that this upgrades package to the latest version of packages found
1942 in the distribution currently installed. To update your distribution,
1943 you should regularly run @command{guix pull} (@pxref{Invoking guix
1946 @item --do-not-upgrade[=@var{regexp} @dots{}]
1947 When used together with the @code{--upgrade} option, do @emph{not}
1948 upgrade any packages whose name matches a @var{regexp}. For example, to
1949 upgrade all packages in the current profile except those containing the
1950 substring ``emacs'':
1953 $ guix package --upgrade . --do-not-upgrade emacs
1956 @item @anchor{profile-manifest}--manifest=@var{file}
1957 @itemx -m @var{file}
1958 @cindex profile declaration
1959 @cindex profile manifest
1960 Create a new generation of the profile from the manifest object
1961 returned by the Scheme code in @var{file}.
1963 This allows you to @emph{declare} the profile's contents rather than
1964 constructing it through a sequence of @code{--install} and similar
1965 commands. The advantage is that @var{file} can be put under version
1966 control, copied to different machines to reproduce the same profile, and
1969 @c FIXME: Add reference to (guix profile) documentation when available.
1970 @var{file} must return a @dfn{manifest} object, which is roughly a list
1973 @findex packages->manifest
1975 (use-package-modules guile emacs)
1980 ;; Use a specific package output.
1981 (list guile-2.0 "debug")))
1984 @findex specifications->manifest
1985 In this example we have to know which modules define the @code{emacs}
1986 and @code{guile-2.0} variables to provide the right
1987 @code{use-package-modules} line, which can be cumbersome. We can
1988 instead provide regular package specifications and let
1989 @code{specifications->manifest} look up the corresponding package
1993 (specifications->manifest
1994 '("emacs" "guile@@2.2" "guile@@2.2:debug"))
1998 @cindex rolling back
1999 @cindex undoing transactions
2000 @cindex transactions, undoing
2001 Roll back to the previous @dfn{generation} of the profile---i.e., undo
2002 the last transaction.
2004 When combined with options such as @code{--install}, roll back occurs
2005 before any other actions.
2007 When rolling back from the first generation that actually contains
2008 installed packages, the profile is made to point to the @dfn{zeroth
2009 generation}, which contains no files apart from its own metadata.
2011 After having rolled back, installing, removing, or upgrading packages
2012 overwrites previous future generations. Thus, the history of the
2013 generations in a profile is always linear.
2015 @item --switch-generation=@var{pattern}
2016 @itemx -S @var{pattern}
2018 Switch to a particular generation defined by @var{pattern}.
2020 @var{pattern} may be either a generation number or a number prefixed
2021 with ``+'' or ``-''. The latter means: move forward/backward by a
2022 specified number of generations. For example, if you want to return to
2023 the latest generation after @code{--roll-back}, use
2024 @code{--switch-generation=+1}.
2026 The difference between @code{--roll-back} and
2027 @code{--switch-generation=-1} is that @code{--switch-generation} will
2028 not make a zeroth generation, so if a specified generation does not
2029 exist, the current generation will not be changed.
2031 @item --search-paths[=@var{kind}]
2032 @cindex search paths
2033 Report environment variable definitions, in Bash syntax, that may be
2034 needed in order to use the set of installed packages. These environment
2035 variables are used to specify @dfn{search paths} for files used by some
2036 of the installed packages.
2038 For example, GCC needs the @code{CPATH} and @code{LIBRARY_PATH}
2039 environment variables to be defined so it can look for headers and
2040 libraries in the user's profile (@pxref{Environment Variables,,, gcc,
2041 Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)}). If GCC and, say, the C
2042 library are installed in the profile, then @code{--search-paths} will
2043 suggest setting these variables to @code{@var{profile}/include} and
2044 @code{@var{profile}/lib}, respectively.
2046 The typical use case is to define these environment variables in the
2050 $ eval `guix package --search-paths`
2053 @var{kind} may be one of @code{exact}, @code{prefix}, or @code{suffix},
2054 meaning that the returned environment variable definitions will either
2055 be exact settings, or prefixes or suffixes of the current value of these
2056 variables. When omitted, @var{kind} defaults to @code{exact}.
2058 This option can also be used to compute the @emph{combined} search paths
2059 of several profiles. Consider this example:
2062 $ guix package -p foo -i guile
2063 $ guix package -p bar -i guile-json
2064 $ guix package -p foo -p bar --search-paths
2067 The last command above reports about the @code{GUILE_LOAD_PATH}
2068 variable, even though, taken individually, neither @file{foo} nor
2069 @file{bar} would lead to that recommendation.
2072 @item --profile=@var{profile}
2073 @itemx -p @var{profile}
2074 Use @var{profile} instead of the user's default profile.
2076 @cindex collisions, in a profile
2077 @cindex colliding packages in profiles
2078 @cindex profile collisions
2079 @item --allow-collisions
2080 Allow colliding packages in the new profile. Use at your own risk!
2082 By default, @command{guix package} reports as an error @dfn{collisions}
2083 in the profile. Collisions happen when two or more different versions
2084 or variants of a given package end up in the profile.
2087 Produce verbose output. In particular, emit the build log of the
2088 environment on the standard error port.
2091 Use the bootstrap Guile to build the profile. This option is only
2092 useful to distribution developers.
2096 In addition to these actions, @command{guix package} supports the
2097 following options to query the current state of a profile, or the
2098 availability of packages:
2102 @item --search=@var{regexp}
2103 @itemx -s @var{regexp}
2104 @cindex searching for packages
2105 List the available packages whose name, synopsis, or description matches
2106 @var{regexp}, sorted by relevance. Print all the metadata of matching packages in
2107 @code{recutils} format (@pxref{Top, GNU recutils databases,, recutils,
2108 GNU recutils manual}).
2110 This allows specific fields to be extracted using the @command{recsel}
2111 command, for instance:
2114 $ guix package -s malloc | recsel -p name,version,relevance
2128 Similarly, to show the name of all the packages available under the
2129 terms of the GNU@tie{}LGPL version 3:
2132 $ guix package -s "" | recsel -p name -e 'license ~ "LGPL 3"'
2139 It is also possible to refine search results using several @code{-s}
2140 flags. For example, the following command returns a list of board
2144 $ guix package -s '\<board\>' -s game | recsel -p name
2149 If we were to omit @code{-s game}, we would also get software packages
2150 that deal with printed circuit boards; removing the angle brackets
2151 around @code{board} would further add packages that have to do with
2154 And now for a more elaborate example. The following command searches
2155 for cryptographic libraries, filters out Haskell, Perl, Python, and Ruby
2156 libraries, and prints the name and synopsis of the matching packages:
2159 $ guix package -s crypto -s library | \
2160 recsel -e '! (name ~ "^(ghc|perl|python|ruby)")' -p name,synopsis
2164 @xref{Selection Expressions,,, recutils, GNU recutils manual}, for more
2165 information on @dfn{selection expressions} for @code{recsel -e}.
2167 @item --show=@var{package}
2168 Show details about @var{package}, taken from the list of available packages, in
2169 @code{recutils} format (@pxref{Top, GNU recutils databases,, recutils, GNU
2173 $ guix package --show=python | recsel -p name,version
2181 You may also specify the full name of a package to only get details about a
2182 specific version of it:
2184 $ guix package --show=python@@3.4 | recsel -p name,version
2191 @item --list-installed[=@var{regexp}]
2192 @itemx -I [@var{regexp}]
2193 List the currently installed packages in the specified profile, with the
2194 most recently installed packages shown last. When @var{regexp} is
2195 specified, list only installed packages whose name matches @var{regexp}.
2197 For each installed package, print the following items, separated by
2198 tabs: the package name, its version string, the part of the package that
2199 is installed (for instance, @code{out} for the default output,
2200 @code{include} for its headers, etc.), and the path of this package in
2203 @item --list-available[=@var{regexp}]
2204 @itemx -A [@var{regexp}]
2205 List packages currently available in the distribution for this system
2206 (@pxref{GNU Distribution}). When @var{regexp} is specified, list only
2207 installed packages whose name matches @var{regexp}.
2209 For each package, print the following items separated by tabs: its name,
2210 its version string, the parts of the package (@pxref{Packages with
2211 Multiple Outputs}), and the source location of its definition.
2213 @item --list-generations[=@var{pattern}]
2214 @itemx -l [@var{pattern}]
2216 Return a list of generations along with their creation dates; for each
2217 generation, show the installed packages, with the most recently
2218 installed packages shown last. Note that the zeroth generation is never
2221 For each installed package, print the following items, separated by
2222 tabs: the name of a package, its version string, the part of the package
2223 that is installed (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}), and the
2224 location of this package in the store.
2226 When @var{pattern} is used, the command returns only matching
2227 generations. Valid patterns include:
2230 @item @emph{Integers and comma-separated integers}. Both patterns denote
2231 generation numbers. For instance, @code{--list-generations=1} returns
2234 And @code{--list-generations=1,8,2} outputs three generations in the
2235 specified order. Neither spaces nor trailing commas are allowed.
2237 @item @emph{Ranges}. @code{--list-generations=2..9} prints the
2238 specified generations and everything in between. Note that the start of
2239 a range must be smaller than its end.
2241 It is also possible to omit the endpoint. For example,
2242 @code{--list-generations=2..}, returns all generations starting from the
2245 @item @emph{Durations}. You can also get the last @emph{N}@tie{}days, weeks,
2246 or months by passing an integer along with the first letter of the
2247 duration. For example, @code{--list-generations=20d} lists generations
2248 that are up to 20 days old.
2251 @item --delete-generations[=@var{pattern}]
2252 @itemx -d [@var{pattern}]
2253 When @var{pattern} is omitted, delete all generations except the current
2256 This command accepts the same patterns as @option{--list-generations}.
2257 When @var{pattern} is specified, delete the matching generations. When
2258 @var{pattern} specifies a duration, generations @emph{older} than the
2259 specified duration match. For instance, @code{--delete-generations=1m}
2260 deletes generations that are more than one month old.
2262 If the current generation matches, it is @emph{not} deleted. Also, the
2263 zeroth generation is never deleted.
2265 Note that deleting generations prevents rolling back to them.
2266 Consequently, this command must be used with care.
2270 Finally, since @command{guix package} may actually start build
2271 processes, it supports all the common build options (@pxref{Common Build
2272 Options}). It also supports package transformation options, such as
2273 @option{--with-source} (@pxref{Package Transformation Options}).
2274 However, note that package transformations are lost when upgrading; to
2275 preserve transformations across upgrades, you should define your own
2276 package variant in a Guile module and add it to @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH}
2277 (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
2280 @section Substitutes
2283 @cindex pre-built binaries
2284 Guix supports transparent source/binary deployment, which means that it
2285 can either build things locally, or download pre-built items from a
2286 server, or both. We call these pre-built items @dfn{substitutes}---they
2287 are substitutes for local build results. In many cases, downloading a
2288 substitute is much faster than building things locally.
2290 Substitutes can be anything resulting from a derivation build
2291 (@pxref{Derivations}). Of course, in the common case, they are
2292 pre-built package binaries, but source tarballs, for instance, which
2293 also result from derivation builds, can be available as substitutes.
2296 * Official Substitute Server:: One particular source of substitutes.
2297 * Substitute Server Authorization:: How to enable or disable substitutes.
2298 * Substitute Authentication:: How Guix verifies substitutes.
2299 * Proxy Settings:: How to get substitutes via proxy.
2300 * Substitution Failure:: What happens when substitution fails.
2301 * On Trusting Binaries:: How can you trust that binary blob?
2304 @node Official Substitute Server
2305 @subsection Official Substitute Server
2309 The @code{mirror.hydra.gnu.org} server is a front-end to an official build farm
2310 that builds packages from Guix continuously for some
2311 architectures, and makes them available as substitutes. This is the
2312 default source of substitutes; it can be overridden by passing the
2313 @option{--substitute-urls} option either to @command{guix-daemon}
2314 (@pxref{daemon-substitute-urls,, @code{guix-daemon --substitute-urls}})
2315 or to client tools such as @command{guix package}
2316 (@pxref{client-substitute-urls,, client @option{--substitute-urls}
2319 Substitute URLs can be either HTTP or HTTPS.
2320 HTTPS is recommended because communications are encrypted; conversely,
2321 using HTTP makes all communications visible to an eavesdropper, who
2322 could use the information gathered to determine, for instance, whether
2323 your system has unpatched security vulnerabilities.
2325 Substitutes from the official build farm are enabled by default when
2326 using the Guix System Distribution (@pxref{GNU Distribution}). However,
2327 they are disabled by default when using Guix on a foreign distribution,
2328 unless you have explicitly enabled them via one of the recommended
2329 installation steps (@pxref{Installation}). The following paragraphs
2330 describe how to enable or disable substitutes for the official build
2331 farm; the same procedure can also be used to enable substitutes for any
2332 other substitute server.
2334 @node Substitute Server Authorization
2335 @subsection Substitute Server Authorization
2338 @cindex substitutes, authorization thereof
2339 @cindex access control list (ACL), for substitutes
2340 @cindex ACL (access control list), for substitutes
2341 To allow Guix to download substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org} or a
2343 must add its public key to the access control list (ACL) of archive
2344 imports, using the @command{guix archive} command (@pxref{Invoking guix
2345 archive}). Doing so implies that you trust @code{hydra.gnu.org} to not
2346 be compromised and to serve genuine substitutes.
2348 The public key for @code{hydra.gnu.org} is installed along with Guix, in
2349 @code{@var{prefix}/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub}, where @var{prefix} is
2350 the installation prefix of Guix. If you installed Guix from source,
2351 make sure you checked the GPG signature of
2352 @file{guix-@value{VERSION}.tar.gz}, which contains this public key file.
2353 Then, you can run something like this:
2356 # guix archive --authorize < @var{prefix}/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub
2360 Similarly, the @file{berlin.guixsd.org.pub} file contains the public key
2361 for the project's new build farm, reachable at
2362 @indicateurl{https://berlin.guixsd.org}.
2364 As of this writing @code{berlin.guixsd.org} is being upgraded so it can
2365 better scale up, but you might want to give it a try. It is backed by
2366 20 x86_64/i686 build nodes and may be able to provide substitutes more
2367 quickly than @code{mirror.hydra.gnu.org}.
2370 Once this is in place, the output of a command like @code{guix build}
2371 should change from something like:
2374 $ guix build emacs --dry-run
2375 The following derivations would be built:
2376 /gnu/store/yr7bnx8xwcayd6j95r2clmkdl1qh688w-emacs-24.3.drv
2377 /gnu/store/x8qsh1hlhgjx6cwsjyvybnfv2i37z23w-dbus-1.6.4.tar.gz.drv
2378 /gnu/store/1ixwp12fl950d15h2cj11c73733jay0z-alsa-lib-1.0.27.1.tar.bz2.drv
2379 /gnu/store/nlma1pw0p603fpfiqy7kn4zm105r5dmw-util-linux-2.21.drv
2387 $ guix build emacs --dry-run
2388 112.3 MB would be downloaded:
2389 /gnu/store/pk3n22lbq6ydamyymqkkz7i69wiwjiwi-emacs-24.3
2390 /gnu/store/2ygn4ncnhrpr61rssa6z0d9x22si0va3-libjpeg-8d
2391 /gnu/store/71yz6lgx4dazma9dwn2mcjxaah9w77jq-cairo-1.12.16
2392 /gnu/store/7zdhgp0n1518lvfn8mb96sxqfmvqrl7v-libxrender-0.9.7
2397 This indicates that substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org} are usable and
2398 will be downloaded, when possible, for future builds.
2400 @cindex substitutes, how to disable
2401 The substitute mechanism can be disabled globally by running
2402 @code{guix-daemon} with @code{--no-substitutes} (@pxref{Invoking
2403 guix-daemon}). It can also be disabled temporarily by passing the
2404 @code{--no-substitutes} option to @command{guix package}, @command{guix
2405 build}, and other command-line tools.
2407 @node Substitute Authentication
2408 @subsection Substitute Authentication
2410 @cindex digital signatures
2411 Guix detects and raises an error when attempting to use a substitute
2412 that has been tampered with. Likewise, it ignores substitutes that are
2413 not signed, or that are not signed by one of the keys listed in the ACL.
2415 There is one exception though: if an unauthorized server provides
2416 substitutes that are @emph{bit-for-bit identical} to those provided by
2417 an authorized server, then the unauthorized server becomes eligible for
2418 downloads. For example, assume we have chosen two substitute servers
2422 --substitute-urls="https://a.example.org https://b.example.org"
2426 @cindex reproducible builds
2427 If the ACL contains only the key for @code{b.example.org}, and if
2428 @code{a.example.org} happens to serve the @emph{exact same} substitutes,
2429 then Guix will download substitutes from @code{a.example.org} because it
2430 comes first in the list and can be considered a mirror of
2431 @code{b.example.org}. In practice, independent build machines usually
2432 produce the same binaries, thanks to bit-reproducible builds (see
2435 When using HTTPS, the server's X.509 certificate is @emph{not} validated
2436 (in other words, the server is not authenticated), contrary to what
2437 HTTPS clients such as Web browsers usually do. This is because Guix
2438 authenticates substitute information itself, as explained above, which
2439 is what we care about (whereas X.509 certificates are about
2440 authenticating bindings between domain names and public keys.)
2442 @node Proxy Settings
2443 @subsection Proxy Settings
2446 Substitutes are downloaded over HTTP or HTTPS.
2447 The @code{http_proxy} environment
2448 variable can be set in the environment of @command{guix-daemon} and is
2449 honored for downloads of substitutes. Note that the value of
2450 @code{http_proxy} in the environment where @command{guix build},
2451 @command{guix package}, and other client commands are run has
2452 @emph{absolutely no effect}.
2454 @node Substitution Failure
2455 @subsection Substitution Failure
2457 Even when a substitute for a derivation is available, sometimes the
2458 substitution attempt will fail. This can happen for a variety of
2459 reasons: the substitute server might be offline, the substitute may
2460 recently have been deleted, the connection might have been interrupted,
2463 When substitutes are enabled and a substitute for a derivation is
2464 available, but the substitution attempt fails, Guix will attempt to
2465 build the derivation locally depending on whether or not
2466 @code{--fallback} was given (@pxref{fallback-option,, common build
2467 option @code{--fallback}}). Specifically, if @code{--fallback} was
2468 omitted, then no local build will be performed, and the derivation is
2469 considered to have failed. However, if @code{--fallback} was given,
2470 then Guix will attempt to build the derivation locally, and the success
2471 or failure of the derivation depends on the success or failure of the
2472 local build. Note that when substitutes are disabled or no substitute
2473 is available for the derivation in question, a local build will
2474 @emph{always} be performed, regardless of whether or not
2475 @code{--fallback} was given.
2477 To get an idea of how many substitutes are available right now, you can
2478 try running the @command{guix weather} command (@pxref{Invoking guix
2479 weather}). This command provides statistics on the substitutes provided
2482 @node On Trusting Binaries
2483 @subsection On Trusting Binaries
2485 @cindex trust, of pre-built binaries
2486 Today, each individual's control over their own computing is at the
2487 mercy of institutions, corporations, and groups with enough power and
2488 determination to subvert the computing infrastructure and exploit its
2489 weaknesses. While using @code{hydra.gnu.org} substitutes can be
2490 convenient, we encourage users to also build on their own, or even run
2491 their own build farm, such that @code{hydra.gnu.org} is less of an
2492 interesting target. One way to help is by publishing the software you
2493 build using @command{guix publish} so that others have one more choice
2494 of server to download substitutes from (@pxref{Invoking guix publish}).
2496 Guix has the foundations to maximize build reproducibility
2497 (@pxref{Features}). In most cases, independent builds of a given
2498 package or derivation should yield bit-identical results. Thus, through
2499 a diverse set of independent package builds, we can strengthen the
2500 integrity of our systems. The @command{guix challenge} command aims to
2501 help users assess substitute servers, and to assist developers in
2502 finding out about non-deterministic package builds (@pxref{Invoking guix
2503 challenge}). Similarly, the @option{--check} option of @command{guix
2504 build} allows users to check whether previously-installed substitutes
2505 are genuine by rebuilding them locally (@pxref{build-check,
2506 @command{guix build --check}}).
2508 In the future, we want Guix to have support to publish and retrieve
2509 binaries to/from other users, in a peer-to-peer fashion. If you would
2510 like to discuss this project, join us on @email{guix-devel@@gnu.org}.
2512 @node Packages with Multiple Outputs
2513 @section Packages with Multiple Outputs
2515 @cindex multiple-output packages
2516 @cindex package outputs
2519 Often, packages defined in Guix have a single @dfn{output}---i.e., the
2520 source package leads to exactly one directory in the store. When running
2521 @command{guix package -i glibc}, one installs the default output of the
2522 GNU libc package; the default output is called @code{out}, but its name
2523 can be omitted as shown in this command. In this particular case, the
2524 default output of @code{glibc} contains all the C header files, shared
2525 libraries, static libraries, Info documentation, and other supporting
2528 Sometimes it is more appropriate to separate the various types of files
2529 produced from a single source package into separate outputs. For
2530 instance, the GLib C library (used by GTK+ and related packages)
2531 installs more than 20 MiB of reference documentation as HTML pages.
2532 To save space for users who do not need it, the documentation goes to a
2533 separate output, called @code{doc}. To install the main GLib output,
2534 which contains everything but the documentation, one would run:
2537 guix package -i glib
2540 @cindex documentation
2541 The command to install its documentation is:
2544 guix package -i glib:doc
2547 Some packages install programs with different ``dependency footprints''.
2548 For instance, the WordNet package installs both command-line tools and
2549 graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The former depend solely on the C
2550 library, whereas the latter depend on Tcl/Tk and the underlying X
2551 libraries. In this case, we leave the command-line tools in the default
2552 output, whereas the GUIs are in a separate output. This allows users
2553 who do not need the GUIs to save space. The @command{guix size} command
2554 can help find out about such situations (@pxref{Invoking guix size}).
2555 @command{guix graph} can also be helpful (@pxref{Invoking guix graph}).
2557 There are several such multiple-output packages in the GNU distribution.
2558 Other conventional output names include @code{lib} for libraries and
2559 possibly header files, @code{bin} for stand-alone programs, and
2560 @code{debug} for debugging information (@pxref{Installing Debugging
2561 Files}). The outputs of a packages are listed in the third column of
2562 the output of @command{guix package --list-available} (@pxref{Invoking
2566 @node Invoking guix gc
2567 @section Invoking @command{guix gc}
2569 @cindex garbage collector
2571 Packages that are installed, but not used, may be @dfn{garbage-collected}.
2572 The @command{guix gc} command allows users to explicitly run the garbage
2573 collector to reclaim space from the @file{/gnu/store} directory. It is
2574 the @emph{only} way to remove files from @file{/gnu/store}---removing
2575 files or directories manually may break it beyond repair!
2578 @cindex garbage collector roots
2579 The garbage collector has a set of known @dfn{roots}: any file under
2580 @file{/gnu/store} reachable from a root is considered @dfn{live} and
2581 cannot be deleted; any other file is considered @dfn{dead} and may be
2582 deleted. The set of garbage collector roots (``GC roots'' for short)
2583 includes default user profiles; by default, the symlinks under
2584 @file{/var/guix/gcroots} represent these GC roots. New GC roots can be
2585 added with @command{guix build --root}, for example (@pxref{Invoking
2588 Prior to running @code{guix gc --collect-garbage} to make space, it is
2589 often useful to remove old generations from user profiles; that way, old
2590 package builds referenced by those generations can be reclaimed. This
2591 is achieved by running @code{guix package --delete-generations}
2592 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
2594 Our recommendation is to run a garbage collection periodically, or when
2595 you are short on disk space. For instance, to guarantee that at least
2596 5@tie{}GB are available on your disk, simply run:
2602 It is perfectly safe to run as a non-interactive periodic job
2603 (@pxref{Scheduled Job Execution}, for how to set up such a job on
2604 GuixSD). Running @command{guix gc} with no arguments will collect as
2605 much garbage as it can, but that is often inconvenient: you may find
2606 yourself having to rebuild or re-download software that is ``dead'' from
2607 the GC viewpoint but that is necessary to build other pieces of
2608 software---e.g., the compiler tool chain.
2610 The @command{guix gc} command has three modes of operation: it can be
2611 used to garbage-collect any dead files (the default), to delete specific
2612 files (the @code{--delete} option), to print garbage-collector
2613 information, or for more advanced queries. The garbage collection
2614 options are as follows:
2617 @item --collect-garbage[=@var{min}]
2618 @itemx -C [@var{min}]
2619 Collect garbage---i.e., unreachable @file{/gnu/store} files and
2620 sub-directories. This is the default operation when no option is
2623 When @var{min} is given, stop once @var{min} bytes have been collected.
2624 @var{min} may be a number of bytes, or it may include a unit as a
2625 suffix, such as @code{MiB} for mebibytes and @code{GB} for gigabytes
2626 (@pxref{Block size, size specifications,, coreutils, GNU Coreutils}).
2628 When @var{min} is omitted, collect all the garbage.
2630 @item --free-space=@var{free}
2631 @itemx -F @var{free}
2632 Collect garbage until @var{free} space is available under
2633 @file{/gnu/store}, if possible; @var{free} denotes storage space, such
2634 as @code{500MiB}, as described above.
2636 When @var{free} or more is already available in @file{/gnu/store}, do
2637 nothing and exit immediately.
2641 Attempt to delete all the store files and directories specified as
2642 arguments. This fails if some of the files are not in the store, or if
2643 they are still live.
2645 @item --list-failures
2646 List store items corresponding to cached build failures.
2648 This prints nothing unless the daemon was started with
2649 @option{--cache-failures} (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon,
2650 @option{--cache-failures}}).
2652 @item --clear-failures
2653 Remove the specified store items from the failed-build cache.
2655 Again, this option only makes sense when the daemon is started with
2656 @option{--cache-failures}. Otherwise, it does nothing.
2659 Show the list of dead files and directories still present in the
2660 store---i.e., files and directories no longer reachable from any root.
2663 Show the list of live store files and directories.
2667 In addition, the references among existing store files can be queried:
2673 @cindex package dependencies
2674 List the references (respectively, the referrers) of store files given
2680 List the requisites of the store files passed as arguments. Requisites
2681 include the store files themselves, their references, and the references
2682 of these, recursively. In other words, the returned list is the
2683 @dfn{transitive closure} of the store files.
2685 @xref{Invoking guix size}, for a tool to profile the size of the closure
2686 of an element. @xref{Invoking guix graph}, for a tool to visualize
2687 the graph of references.
2691 Return the derivation(s) leading to the given store items
2692 (@pxref{Derivations}).
2694 For example, this command:
2697 guix gc --derivers `guix package -I ^emacs$ | cut -f4`
2701 returns the @file{.drv} file(s) leading to the @code{emacs} package
2702 installed in your profile.
2704 Note that there may be zero matching @file{.drv} files, for instance
2705 because these files have been garbage-collected. There can also be more
2706 than one matching @file{.drv} due to fixed-output derivations.
2709 Lastly, the following options allow you to check the integrity of the
2710 store and to control disk usage.
2714 @item --verify[=@var{options}]
2715 @cindex integrity, of the store
2716 @cindex integrity checking
2717 Verify the integrity of the store.
2719 By default, make sure that all the store items marked as valid in the
2720 database of the daemon actually exist in @file{/gnu/store}.
2722 When provided, @var{options} must be a comma-separated list containing one
2723 or more of @code{contents} and @code{repair}.
2725 When passing @option{--verify=contents}, the daemon computes the
2726 content hash of each store item and compares it against its hash in the
2727 database. Hash mismatches are reported as data corruptions. Because it
2728 traverses @emph{all the files in the store}, this command can take a
2729 long time, especially on systems with a slow disk drive.
2731 @cindex repairing the store
2732 @cindex corruption, recovering from
2733 Using @option{--verify=repair} or @option{--verify=contents,repair}
2734 causes the daemon to try to repair corrupt store items by fetching
2735 substitutes for them (@pxref{Substitutes}). Because repairing is not
2736 atomic, and thus potentially dangerous, it is available only to the
2737 system administrator. A lightweight alternative, when you know exactly
2738 which items in the store are corrupt, is @command{guix build --repair}
2739 (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
2742 @cindex deduplication
2743 Optimize the store by hard-linking identical files---this is
2744 @dfn{deduplication}.
2746 The daemon performs deduplication after each successful build or archive
2747 import, unless it was started with @code{--disable-deduplication}
2748 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon, @code{--disable-deduplication}}). Thus,
2749 this option is primarily useful when the daemon was running with
2750 @code{--disable-deduplication}.
2754 @node Invoking guix pull
2755 @section Invoking @command{guix pull}
2757 @cindex upgrading Guix
2758 @cindex updating Guix
2759 @cindex @command{guix pull}
2761 Packages are installed or upgraded to the latest version available in
2762 the distribution currently available on your local machine. To update
2763 that distribution, along with the Guix tools, you must run @command{guix
2764 pull}: the command downloads the latest Guix source code and package
2765 descriptions, and deploys it. Source code is downloaded from a
2766 @uref{https://git-scm.com, Git} repository, by default the official
2767 GNU@tie{}Guix repository, though this can be customized.
2769 On completion, @command{guix package} will use packages and package
2770 versions from this just-retrieved copy of Guix. Not only that, but all
2771 the Guix commands and Scheme modules will also be taken from that latest
2772 version. New @command{guix} sub-commands added by the update also
2775 Any user can update their Guix copy using @command{guix pull}, and the
2776 effect is limited to the user who run @command{guix pull}. For
2777 instance, when user @code{root} runs @command{guix pull}, this has no
2778 effect on the version of Guix that user @code{alice} sees, and vice
2781 The result of running @command{guix pull} is a @dfn{profile} available
2782 under @file{~/.config/guix/current} containing the latest Guix. Thus,
2783 make sure to add it to the beginning of your search path so that you use
2784 the latest version, and similarly for the Info manual
2785 (@pxref{Documentation}):
2788 export PATH="$HOME/.config/guix/current/bin:$PATH"
2789 export INFOPATH="$HOME/.config/guix/current/share/info:$INFOPATH"
2792 The @code{--list-generations} or @code{-l} option lists past generations
2793 produced by @command{guix pull}, along with details about their provenance:
2797 Generation 1 Jun 10 2018 00:18:18
2799 repository URL: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git
2800 branch: origin/master
2801 commit: 65956ad3526ba09e1f7a40722c96c6ef7c0936fe
2803 Generation 2 Jun 11 2018 11:02:49
2805 repository URL: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git
2806 branch: origin/master
2807 commit: e0cc7f669bec22c37481dd03a7941c7d11a64f1d
2808 2 new packages: keepalived, libnfnetlink
2809 6 packages upgraded: emacs-nix-mode@@2.0.4,
2810 guile2.0-guix@@0.14.0-12.77a1aac, guix@@0.14.0-12.77a1aac,
2811 heimdal@@7.5.0, milkytracker@@1.02.00, nix@@2.0.4
2813 Generation 3 Jun 13 2018 23:31:07 (current)
2815 repository URL: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git
2816 branch: origin/master
2817 commit: 844cc1c8f394f03b404c5bb3aee086922373490c
2818 28 new packages: emacs-helm-ls-git, emacs-helm-mu, @dots{}
2819 69 packages upgraded: borg@@1.1.6, cheese@@3.28.0, @dots{}
2822 @ref{Invoking guix describe, @command{guix describe}}, for other ways to
2823 describe the current status of Guix.
2825 This @code{~/.config/guix/current} profile works like any other profile
2826 created by @command{guix package} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}). That
2827 is, you can list generations, roll back to the previous
2828 generation---i.e., the previous Guix---and so on:
2831 $ guix package -p ~/.config/guix/current --roll-back
2832 switched from generation 3 to 2
2833 $ guix package -p ~/.config/guix/current --delete-generations=1
2834 deleting /home/charlie/.config/guix/current-1-link
2837 The @command{guix pull} command is usually invoked with no arguments,
2838 but it supports the following options:
2842 Produce verbose output, writing build logs to the standard error output.
2844 @item --url=@var{url}
2845 @itemx --commit=@var{commit}
2846 @itemx --branch=@var{branch}
2847 Download code from the specified @var{url}, at the given @var{commit} (a valid
2848 Git commit ID represented as a hexadecimal string), or @var{branch}.
2850 @cindex @file{channels.scm}, configuration file
2851 @cindex configuration file for channels
2852 These options are provided for convenience, but you can also specify your
2853 configuration in the @file{~/.config/guix/channels.scm} file or using the
2854 @option{--channels} option (see below).
2856 @item --channels=@var{file}
2857 @itemx -C @var{file}
2858 Read the list of channels from @var{file} instead of
2859 @file{~/.config/guix/channels.scm}. @var{file} must contain Scheme code that
2860 evaluates to a list of channel objects. @xref{Channels}, for more
2863 @item --list-generations[=@var{pattern}]
2864 @itemx -l [@var{pattern}]
2865 List all the generations of @file{~/.config/guix/current} or, if @var{pattern}
2866 is provided, the subset of generations that match @var{pattern}.
2867 The syntax of @var{pattern} is the same as with @code{guix package
2868 --list-generations} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
2870 @ref{Invoking guix describe}, for a way to display information about the
2871 current generation only.
2873 @item --profile=@var{profile}
2874 @itemx -p @var{profile}
2875 Use @var{profile} instead of @file{~/.config/guix/current}.
2878 Use the bootstrap Guile to build the latest Guix. This option is only
2879 useful to Guix developers.
2882 The @dfn{channel} mechanism allows you to instruct @command{guix pull} which
2883 repository and branch to pull from, as well as @emph{additional} repositories
2884 containing package modules that should be deployed. @xref{Channels}, for more
2887 In addition, @command{guix pull} supports all the common build options
2888 (@pxref{Common Build Options}).
2894 @cindex @file{channels.scm}, configuration file
2895 @cindex configuration file for channels
2896 @cindex @command{guix pull}, configuration file
2897 @cindex configuration of @command{guix pull}
2898 Guix and its package collection are updated by running @command{guix pull}
2899 (@pxref{Invoking guix pull}). By default @command{guix pull} downloads and
2900 deploys Guix itself from the official GNU@tie{}Guix repository. This can be
2901 customized by defining @dfn{channels} in the
2902 @file{~/.config/guix/channels.scm} file. A channel specifies a URL and branch
2903 of a Git repository to be deployed, and @command{guix pull} can be instructed
2904 to pull from one or more channels. In other words, channels can be used to
2905 @emph{customize} and to @emph{extend} Guix, as we will see below.
2907 @subsection Using a Custom Guix Channel
2909 The channel called @code{guix} specifies where Guix itself---its command-line
2910 tools as well as its package collection---should be downloaded. For instance,
2911 suppose you want to update from your own copy of the Guix repository at
2912 @code{example.org}, and specifically the @code{super-hacks} branch, you can
2913 write in @code{~/.config/guix/channels.scm} this specification:
2916 ;; Tell 'guix pull' to use my own repo.
2919 (url "https://example.org/my-guix.git")
2920 (branch "super-hacks")))
2924 From there on, @command{guix pull} will fetch code from the @code{super-hacks}
2925 branch of the repository at @code{example.org}.
2927 @subsection Specifying Additional Channels
2929 @cindex extending the package collection (channels)
2930 @cindex personal packages (channels)
2931 @cindex channels, for personal packages
2932 You can also specify @emph{additional channels} to pull from. Let's say you
2933 have a bunch of custom package variants or personal packages that you think
2934 would make little sense to contribute to the Guix project, but would like to
2935 have these packages transparently available to you at the command line. You
2936 would first write modules containing those package definitions (@pxref{Package
2937 Modules}), maintain them in a Git repository, and then you and anyone else can
2938 use it as an additional channel to get packages from. Neat, no?
2940 @c What follows stems from discussions at
2941 @c <https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=22629#134> as well as
2942 @c earlier discussions on guix-devel@gnu.org.
2944 Before you, dear user, shout---``woow this is @emph{soooo coool}!''---and
2945 publish your personal channel to the world, we would like to share a few words
2950 Before publishing a channel, please consider contributing your package
2951 definitions to Guix proper (@pxref{Contributing}). Guix as a project is open
2952 to free software of all sorts, and packages in Guix proper are readily
2953 available to all Guix users and benefit from the project's quality assurance
2957 When you maintain package definitions outside Guix, we, Guix developers,
2958 consider that @emph{the compatibility burden is on you}. Remember that
2959 package modules and package definitions are just Scheme code that uses various
2960 programming interfaces (APIs). We want to remain free to change these APIs to
2961 keep improving Guix, possibly in ways that break your channel. We never
2962 change APIs gratuitously, but we will @emph{not} commit to freezing APIs
2966 Corollary: if you're using an external channel and that channel breaks, please
2967 @emph{report the issue to the channel authors}, not to the Guix project.
2970 You've been warned! Having said this, we believe external channels are a
2971 practical way to exert your freedom to augment Guix' package collection and to
2972 share your improvements, which are basic tenets of
2973 @uref{https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html, free software}. Please
2974 email us at @email{guix-devel@@gnu.org} if you'd like to discuss this.
2977 Once you have a Git repository containing your own package modules, you can
2978 write @code{~/.config/guix/channels.scm} to instruct @command{guix pull} to
2979 pull from your personal channel @emph{in addition} to the default Guix
2982 @vindex %default-channels
2984 ;; Add my personal packages to those Guix provides.
2986 (name 'my-personal-packages)
2987 (url "https://example.org/personal-packages.git"))
2992 Note that the snippet above is (as always!) Scheme code; we use @code{cons} to
2993 add a channel the list of channels that the variable @code{%default-channels}
2994 is bound to (@pxref{Pairs, @code{cons} and lists,, guile, GNU Guile Reference
2995 Manual}). With this file in place, @command{guix pull} builds not only Guix
2996 but also the package modules from your own repository. The result in
2997 @file{~/.config/guix/current} is the union of Guix with your own package
3001 $ guix pull --list-generations
3003 Generation 19 Aug 27 2018 16:20:48
3005 repository URL: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git
3007 commit: d894ab8e9bfabcefa6c49d9ba2e834dd5a73a300
3008 my-personal-packages dd3df5e
3009 repository URL: https://example.org/personal-packages.git
3011 commit: dd3df5e2c8818760a8fc0bd699e55d3b69fef2bb
3012 11 new packages: my-gimp, my-emacs-with-cool-features, @dots{}
3013 4 packages upgraded: emacs-racket-mode@@0.0.2-2.1b78827, @dots{}
3017 The output of @command{guix pull} above shows that Generation@tie{}19 includes
3018 both Guix and packages from the @code{my-personal-packages} channel. Among
3019 the new and upgraded packages that are listed, some like @code{my-gimp} and
3020 @code{my-emacs-with-cool-features} might come from
3021 @code{my-personal-packages}, while others come from the Guix default channel.
3023 @subsection Replicating Guix
3025 @cindex pinning, channels
3026 @cindex replicating Guix
3027 @cindex reproducibility, of Guix
3028 The @command{guix pull --list-generations} output above shows precisely which
3029 commits were used to build this instance of Guix. We can thus replicate it,
3030 say, on another machine, by providing a channel specification in
3031 @file{~/.config/guix/channels.scm} that is ``pinned'' to these commits:
3034 ;; Deploy specific commits of my channels of interest.
3037 (url "https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git")
3038 (commit "d894ab8e9bfabcefa6c49d9ba2e834dd5a73a300"))
3040 (name 'my-personal-packages)
3041 (url "https://example.org/personal-packages.git")
3042 (branch "dd3df5e2c8818760a8fc0bd699e55d3b69fef2bb")))
3045 The @command{guix describe --format=channels} command can even generate this
3046 list of channels directly (@pxref{Invoking guix describe}).
3048 At this point the two machines run the @emph{exact same Guix}, with access to
3049 the @emph{exact same packages}. The output of @command{guix build gimp} on
3050 one machine will be exactly the same, bit for bit, as the output of the same
3051 command on the other machine. It also means both machines have access to all
3052 the source code of Guix and, transitively, to all the source code of every
3055 This gives you super powers, allowing you to track the provenance of binary
3056 artifacts with very fine grain, and to reproduce software environments at
3057 will---some sort of ``meta reproducibility'' capabilities, if you will.
3058 @xref{Inferiors}, for another way to take advantage of these super powers.
3063 @c TODO: Remove this once we're more confident about API stability.
3065 The functionality described here is a ``technology preview'' as of version
3066 @value{VERSION}. As such, the interface is subject to change.
3070 @cindex composition of Guix revisions
3071 Sometimes you might need to mix packages from the revision of Guix you're
3072 currently running with packages available in a different revision of Guix.
3073 Guix @dfn{inferiors} allow you to achieve that by composing different Guix
3074 revisions in arbitrary ways.
3076 @cindex inferior packages
3077 Technically, an ``inferior'' is essentially a separate Guix process connected
3078 to your main Guix process through a REPL (@pxref{Invoking guix repl}). The
3079 @code{(guix inferior)} module allows you to create inferiors and to
3080 communicate with them. It also provides a high-level interface to browse and
3081 manipulate the packages that an inferior provides---@dfn{inferior packages}.
3083 When combined with channels (@pxref{Channels}), inferiors provide a simple way
3084 to interact with a separate revision of Guix. For example, let's assume you
3085 want to install in your profile the current @code{guile} package, along with
3086 the @code{guile-json} as it existed in an older revision of Guix---perhaps
3087 because the newer @code{guile-json} has an incompatible API and you want to
3088 run your code against the old API@. To do that, you could write a manifest for
3089 use by @code{guix package --manifest} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}); in that
3090 manifest, you would create an inferior for that old Guix revision you care
3091 about, and you would look up the @code{guile-json} package in the inferior:
3094 (use-modules (guix inferior) (guix channels)
3095 (srfi srfi-1)) ;for 'first'
3098 ;; This is the old revision from which we want to
3099 ;; extract guile-json.
3102 (url "https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git")
3104 "65956ad3526ba09e1f7a40722c96c6ef7c0936fe"))))
3107 ;; An inferior representing the above revision.
3108 (inferior-for-channels channels))
3110 ;; Now create a manifest with the current "guile" package
3111 ;; and the old "guile-json" package.
3113 (list (first (lookup-inferior-packages inferior "guile-json"))
3114 (specification->package "guile")))
3117 On its first run, @command{guix package --manifest} might have to build the
3118 channel you specified before it can create the inferior; subsequent runs will
3119 be much faster because the Guix revision will be cached.
3121 The @code{(guix inferior)} module provides the following procedures to open an
3124 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} inferior-for-channels @var{channels} @
3125 [#:cache-directory] [#:ttl]
3126 Return an inferior for @var{channels}, a list of channels. Use the cache at
3127 @var{cache-directory}, where entries can be reclaimed after @var{ttl} seconds.
3128 This procedure opens a new connection to the build daemon.
3130 As a side effect, this procedure may build or substitute binaries for
3131 @var{channels}, which can take time.
3134 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} open-inferior @var{directory} @
3135 [#:command "bin/guix"]
3136 Open the inferior Guix in @var{directory}, running
3137 @code{@var{directory}/@var{command} repl} or equivalent. Return @code{#f} if
3138 the inferior could not be launched.
3141 @cindex inferior packages
3142 The procedures listed below allow you to obtain and manipulate inferior
3145 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} inferior-packages @var{inferior}
3146 Return the list of packages known to @var{inferior}.
3149 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} lookup-inferior-packages @var{inferior} @var{name} @
3151 Return the sorted list of inferior packages matching @var{name} in
3152 @var{inferior}, with highest version numbers first. If @var{version} is true,
3153 return only packages with a version number prefixed by @var{version}.
3156 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package? @var{obj}
3157 Return true if @var{obj} is an inferior package.
3160 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-name @var{package}
3161 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-version @var{package}
3162 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-synopsis @var{package}
3163 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-description @var{package}
3164 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-home-page @var{package}
3165 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-location @var{package}
3166 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-inputs @var{package}
3167 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-native-inputs @var{package}
3168 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-propagated-inputs @var{package}
3169 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-transitive-propagated-inputs @var{package}
3170 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-native-search-paths @var{package}
3171 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-transitive-native-search-paths @var{package}
3172 @deffnx {Scheme Procedure} inferior-package-search-paths @var{package}
3173 These procedures are the counterpart of package record accessors
3174 (@pxref{package Reference}). Most of them work by querying the inferior
3175 @var{package} comes from, so the inferior must still be live when you call
3179 Inferior packages can be used transparently like any other package or
3180 file-like object in G-expressions (@pxref{G-Expressions}). They are also
3181 transparently handled by the @code{packages->manifest} procedure, which is
3182 commonly use in manifests (@pxref{Invoking guix package, the
3183 @option{--manifest} option of @command{guix package}}). Thus you can insert
3184 an inferior package pretty much anywhere you would insert a regular package:
3185 in manifests, in the @code{packages} field of your @code{operating-system}
3186 declaration, and so on.
3188 @node Invoking guix describe
3189 @section Invoking @command{guix describe}
3191 @cindex reproducibility
3192 @cindex replicating Guix
3193 Often you may want to answer questions like: ``Which revision of Guix am I
3194 using?'' or ``Which channels am I using?'' This is useful information in many
3195 situations: if you want to @emph{replicate} an environment on a different
3196 machine or user account, if you want to report a bug or to determine what
3197 change in the channels you are using caused it, or if you want to record your
3198 system state for reproducibility purposes. The @command{guix describe}
3199 command answers these questions.
3201 When run from a @command{guix pull}ed @command{guix}, @command{guix describe}
3202 displays the channel(s) that it was built from, including their repository URL
3203 and commit IDs (@pxref{Channels}):
3207 Generation 10 Sep 03 2018 17:32:44 (current)
3209 repository URL: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git
3211 commit: e0fa68c7718fffd33d81af415279d6ddb518f727
3214 If you're familiar with the Git version control system, this is similar in
3215 spirit to @command{git describe}; the output is also similar to that of
3216 @command{guix pull --list-generations}, but limited to the current generation
3217 (@pxref{Invoking guix pull, the @option{--list-generations} option}). Because
3218 the Git commit ID shown above unambiguously refers to a snapshot of Guix, this
3219 information is all it takes to describe the revision of Guix you're using, and
3220 also to replicate it.
3222 To make it easier to replicate Guix, @command{guix describe} can also be asked
3223 to return a list of channels instead of the human-readable description above:
3226 $ guix describe -f channels
3229 (url "https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git")
3231 "e0fa68c7718fffd33d81af415279d6ddb518f727")))
3235 You can save this to a file and feed it to @command{guix pull -C} on some
3236 other machine or at a later point in time, which will instantiate @emph{this
3237 exact Guix revision} (@pxref{Invoking guix pull, the @option{-C} option}).
3238 From there on, since you're able to deploy the same revision of Guix, you can
3239 just as well @emph{replicate a complete software environment}. We humbly
3240 think that this is @emph{awesome}, and we hope you'll like it too!
3242 The details of the options supported by @command{guix describe} are as
3246 @item --format=@var{format}
3247 @itemx -f @var{format}
3248 Produce output in the specified @var{format}, one of:
3252 produce human-readable output;
3254 produce a list of channel specifications that can be passed to @command{guix
3255 pull -C} or installed as @file{~/.config/guix/channels.scm} (@pxref{Invoking
3260 @node Invoking guix pack
3261 @section Invoking @command{guix pack}
3263 Occasionally you want to pass software to people who are not (yet!)
3264 lucky enough to be using Guix. You'd tell them to run @command{guix
3265 package -i @var{something}}, but that's not possible in this case. This
3266 is where @command{guix pack} comes in.
3269 If you are looking for ways to exchange binaries among machines that
3270 already run Guix, @pxref{Invoking guix copy}, @ref{Invoking guix
3271 publish}, and @ref{Invoking guix archive}.
3276 @cindex application bundle
3277 @cindex software bundle
3278 The @command{guix pack} command creates a shrink-wrapped @dfn{pack} or
3279 @dfn{software bundle}: it creates a tarball or some other archive
3280 containing the binaries of the software you're interested in, and all
3281 its dependencies. The resulting archive can be used on any machine that
3282 does not have Guix, and people can run the exact same binaries as those
3283 you have with Guix. The pack itself is created in a bit-reproducible
3284 fashion, so anyone can verify that it really contains the build results
3285 that you pretend to be shipping.
3287 For example, to create a bundle containing Guile, Emacs, Geiser, and all
3288 their dependencies, you can run:
3291 $ guix pack guile emacs geiser
3293 /gnu/store/@dots{}-pack.tar.gz
3296 The result here is a tarball containing a @file{/gnu/store} directory
3297 with all the relevant packages. The resulting tarball contains a
3298 @dfn{profile} with the three packages of interest; the profile is the
3299 same as would be created by @command{guix package -i}. It is this
3300 mechanism that is used to create Guix's own standalone binary tarball
3301 (@pxref{Binary Installation}).
3303 Users of this pack would have to run
3304 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-profile/bin/guile} to run Guile, which you may
3305 find inconvenient. To work around it, you can create, say, a
3306 @file{/opt/gnu/bin} symlink to the profile:
3309 guix pack -S /opt/gnu/bin=bin guile emacs geiser
3313 That way, users can happily type @file{/opt/gnu/bin/guile} and enjoy.
3315 @cindex relocatable binaries, with @command{guix pack}
3316 What if the recipient of your pack does not have root privileges on
3317 their machine, and thus cannot unpack it in the root file system? In
3318 that case, you will want to use the @code{--relocatable} option (see
3319 below). This option produces @dfn{relocatable binaries}, meaning they
3320 they can be placed anywhere in the file system hierarchy: in the example
3321 above, users can unpack your tarball in their home directory and
3322 directly run @file{./opt/gnu/bin/guile}.
3324 @cindex Docker, build an image with guix pack
3325 Alternatively, you can produce a pack in the Docker image format using
3326 the following command:
3329 guix pack -f docker guile emacs geiser
3333 The result is a tarball that can be passed to the @command{docker load}
3335 @uref{https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/load/, Docker
3336 documentation} for more information.
3338 @cindex Singularity, build an image with guix pack
3339 @cindex SquashFS, build an image with guix pack
3340 Yet another option is to produce a SquashFS image with the following
3344 guix pack -f squashfs guile emacs geiser
3348 The result is a SquashFS file system image that can either be mounted or
3349 directly be used as a file system container image with the
3350 @uref{http://singularity.lbl.gov, Singularity container execution
3351 environment}, using commands like @command{singularity shell} or
3352 @command{singularity exec}.
3354 Several command-line options allow you to customize your pack:
3357 @item --format=@var{format}
3358 @itemx -f @var{format}
3359 Produce a pack in the given @var{format}.
3361 The available formats are:
3365 This is the default format. It produces a tarball containing all the
3366 specified binaries and symlinks.
3369 This produces a tarball that follows the
3370 @uref{https://github.com/docker/docker/blob/master/image/spec/v1.2.md,
3371 Docker Image Specification}.
3374 This produces a SquashFS image containing all the specified binaries and
3375 symlinks, as well as empty mount points for virtual file systems like
3381 Produce @dfn{relocatable binaries}---i.e., binaries that can be placed
3382 anywhere in the file system hierarchy and run from there. For example,
3383 if you create a pack containing Bash with:
3386 guix pack -R -S /mybin=bin bash
3390 ... you can copy that pack to a machine that lacks Guix, and from your
3391 home directory as a normal user, run:
3399 In that shell, if you type @code{ls /gnu/store}, you'll notice that
3400 @file{/gnu/store} shows up and contains all the dependencies of
3401 @code{bash}, even though the machine actually lacks @file{/gnu/store}
3402 altogether! That is probably the simplest way to deploy Guix-built
3403 software on a non-Guix machine.
3405 There's a gotcha though: this technique relies on the @dfn{user
3406 namespace} feature of the kernel Linux, which allows unprivileged users
3407 to mount or change root. Old versions of Linux did not support it, and
3408 some GNU/Linux distributions turn it off; on these systems, programs
3409 from the pack @emph{will fail to run}, unless they are unpacked in the
3412 @item --expression=@var{expr}
3413 @itemx -e @var{expr}
3414 Consider the package @var{expr} evaluates to.
3416 This has the same purpose as the same-named option in @command{guix
3417 build} (@pxref{Additional Build Options, @code{--expression} in
3418 @command{guix build}}).
3420 @item --manifest=@var{file}
3421 @itemx -m @var{file}
3422 Use the packages contained in the manifest object returned by the Scheme
3425 This has a similar purpose as the same-named option in @command{guix
3426 package} (@pxref{profile-manifest, @option{--manifest}}) and uses the
3427 same manifest files. It allows you to define a collection of packages
3428 once and use it both for creating profiles and for creating archives
3429 for use on machines that do not have Guix installed. Note that you can
3430 specify @emph{either} a manifest file @emph{or} a list of packages,
3433 @item --system=@var{system}
3434 @itemx -s @var{system}
3435 Attempt to build for @var{system}---e.g., @code{i686-linux}---instead of
3436 the system type of the build host.
3438 @item --target=@var{triplet}
3439 @cindex cross-compilation
3440 Cross-build for @var{triplet}, which must be a valid GNU triplet, such
3441 as @code{"mips64el-linux-gnu"} (@pxref{Specifying target triplets, GNU
3442 configuration triplets,, autoconf, Autoconf}).
3444 @item --compression=@var{tool}
3445 @itemx -C @var{tool}
3446 Compress the resulting tarball using @var{tool}---one of @code{gzip},
3447 @code{bzip2}, @code{xz}, @code{lzip}, or @code{none} for no compression.
3449 @item --symlink=@var{spec}
3450 @itemx -S @var{spec}
3451 Add the symlinks specified by @var{spec} to the pack. This option can
3452 appear several times.
3454 @var{spec} has the form @code{@var{source}=@var{target}}, where
3455 @var{source} is the symlink that will be created and @var{target} is the
3458 For instance, @code{-S /opt/gnu/bin=bin} creates a @file{/opt/gnu/bin}
3459 symlink pointing to the @file{bin} sub-directory of the profile.
3461 @item --localstatedir
3462 Include the ``local state directory'', @file{/var/guix}, in the
3465 @file{/var/guix} contains the store database (@pxref{The Store}) as well
3466 as garbage-collector roots (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}). Providing it in
3467 the pack means that the store is ``complete'' and manageable by Guix;
3468 not providing it pack means that the store is ``dead'': items cannot be
3469 added to it or removed from it after extraction of the pack.
3471 One use case for this is the Guix self-contained binary tarball
3472 (@pxref{Binary Installation}).
3475 Use the bootstrap binaries to build the pack. This option is only
3476 useful to Guix developers.
3479 In addition, @command{guix pack} supports all the common build options
3480 (@pxref{Common Build Options}) and all the package transformation
3481 options (@pxref{Package Transformation Options}).
3484 @node Invoking guix archive
3485 @section Invoking @command{guix archive}
3487 @cindex @command{guix archive}
3489 The @command{guix archive} command allows users to @dfn{export} files
3490 from the store into a single archive, and to later @dfn{import} them on
3491 a machine that runs Guix.
3492 In particular, it allows store files to be transferred from one machine
3493 to the store on another machine.
3496 If you're looking for a way to produce archives in a format suitable for
3497 tools other than Guix, @pxref{Invoking guix pack}.
3500 @cindex exporting store items
3501 To export store files as an archive to standard output, run:
3504 guix archive --export @var{options} @var{specifications}...
3507 @var{specifications} may be either store file names or package
3508 specifications, as for @command{guix package} (@pxref{Invoking guix
3509 package}). For instance, the following command creates an archive
3510 containing the @code{gui} output of the @code{git} package and the main
3511 output of @code{emacs}:
3514 guix archive --export git:gui /gnu/store/...-emacs-24.3 > great.nar
3517 If the specified packages are not built yet, @command{guix archive}
3518 automatically builds them. The build process may be controlled with the
3519 common build options (@pxref{Common Build Options}).
3521 To transfer the @code{emacs} package to a machine connected over SSH,
3525 guix archive --export -r emacs | ssh the-machine guix archive --import
3529 Similarly, a complete user profile may be transferred from one machine
3530 to another like this:
3533 guix archive --export -r $(readlink -f ~/.guix-profile) | \
3534 ssh the-machine guix-archive --import
3538 However, note that, in both examples, all of @code{emacs} and the
3539 profile as well as all of their dependencies are transferred (due to
3540 @code{-r}), regardless of what is already available in the store on the
3541 target machine. The @code{--missing} option can help figure out which
3542 items are missing from the target store. The @command{guix copy}
3543 command simplifies and optimizes this whole process, so this is probably
3544 what you should use in this case (@pxref{Invoking guix copy}).
3546 @cindex nar, archive format
3547 @cindex normalized archive (nar)
3548 Archives are stored in the ``normalized archive'' or ``nar'' format, which is
3549 comparable in spirit to `tar', but with differences
3550 that make it more appropriate for our purposes. First, rather than
3551 recording all Unix metadata for each file, the nar format only mentions
3552 the file type (regular, directory, or symbolic link); Unix permissions
3553 and owner/group are dismissed. Second, the order in which directory
3554 entries are stored always follows the order of file names according to
3555 the C locale collation order. This makes archive production fully
3558 When exporting, the daemon digitally signs the contents of the archive,
3559 and that digital signature is appended. When importing, the daemon
3560 verifies the signature and rejects the import in case of an invalid
3561 signature or if the signing key is not authorized.
3562 @c FIXME: Add xref to daemon doc about signatures.
3564 The main options are:
3568 Export the specified store files or packages (see below.) Write the
3569 resulting archive to the standard output.
3571 Dependencies are @emph{not} included in the output, unless
3572 @code{--recursive} is passed.
3576 When combined with @code{--export}, this instructs @command{guix
3577 archive} to include dependencies of the given items in the archive.
3578 Thus, the resulting archive is self-contained: it contains the closure
3579 of the exported store items.
3582 Read an archive from the standard input, and import the files listed
3583 therein into the store. Abort if the archive has an invalid digital
3584 signature, or if it is signed by a public key not among the authorized
3585 keys (see @code{--authorize} below.)
3588 Read a list of store file names from the standard input, one per line,
3589 and write on the standard output the subset of these files missing from
3592 @item --generate-key[=@var{parameters}]
3593 @cindex signing, archives
3594 Generate a new key pair for the daemon. This is a prerequisite before
3595 archives can be exported with @code{--export}. Note that this operation
3596 usually takes time, because it needs to gather enough entropy to
3597 generate the key pair.
3599 The generated key pair is typically stored under @file{/etc/guix}, in
3600 @file{signing-key.pub} (public key) and @file{signing-key.sec} (private
3601 key, which must be kept secret.) When @var{parameters} is omitted,
3602 an ECDSA key using the Ed25519 curve is generated, or, for Libgcrypt
3603 versions before 1.6.0, it is a 4096-bit RSA key.
3604 Alternatively, @var{parameters} can specify
3605 @code{genkey} parameters suitable for Libgcrypt (@pxref{General
3606 public-key related Functions, @code{gcry_pk_genkey},, gcrypt, The
3607 Libgcrypt Reference Manual}).
3610 @cindex authorizing, archives
3611 Authorize imports signed by the public key passed on standard input.
3612 The public key must be in ``s-expression advanced format''---i.e., the
3613 same format as the @file{signing-key.pub} file.
3615 The list of authorized keys is kept in the human-editable file
3616 @file{/etc/guix/acl}. The file contains
3617 @url{http://people.csail.mit.edu/rivest/Sexp.txt, ``advanced-format
3618 s-expressions''} and is structured as an access-control list in the
3619 @url{http://theworld.com/~cme/spki.txt, Simple Public-Key Infrastructure
3622 @item --extract=@var{directory}
3623 @itemx -x @var{directory}
3624 Read a single-item archive as served by substitute servers
3625 (@pxref{Substitutes}) and extract it to @var{directory}. This is a
3626 low-level operation needed in only very narrow use cases; see below.
3628 For example, the following command extracts the substitute for Emacs
3629 served by @code{hydra.gnu.org} to @file{/tmp/emacs}:
3633 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-emacs-24.5 \
3634 | bunzip2 | guix archive -x /tmp/emacs
3637 Single-item archives are different from multiple-item archives produced
3638 by @command{guix archive --export}; they contain a single store item,
3639 and they do @emph{not} embed a signature. Thus this operation does
3640 @emph{no} signature verification and its output should be considered
3643 The primary purpose of this operation is to facilitate inspection of
3644 archive contents coming from possibly untrusted substitute servers.
3648 @c *********************************************************************
3649 @node Programming Interface
3650 @chapter Programming Interface
3652 GNU Guix provides several Scheme programming interfaces (APIs) to
3653 define, build, and query packages. The first interface allows users to
3654 write high-level package definitions. These definitions refer to
3655 familiar packaging concepts, such as the name and version of a package,
3656 its build system, and its dependencies. These definitions can then be
3657 turned into concrete build actions.
3659 Build actions are performed by the Guix daemon, on behalf of users. In a
3660 standard setup, the daemon has write access to the store---the
3661 @file{/gnu/store} directory---whereas users do not. The recommended
3662 setup also has the daemon perform builds in chroots, under a specific
3663 build users, to minimize interference with the rest of the system.
3666 Lower-level APIs are available to interact with the daemon and the
3667 store. To instruct the daemon to perform a build action, users actually
3668 provide it with a @dfn{derivation}. A derivation is a low-level
3669 representation of the build actions to be taken, and the environment in
3670 which they should occur---derivations are to package definitions what
3671 assembly is to C programs. The term ``derivation'' comes from the fact
3672 that build results @emph{derive} from them.
3674 This chapter describes all these APIs in turn, starting from high-level
3675 package definitions.
3678 * Defining Packages:: Defining new packages.
3679 * Build Systems:: Specifying how packages are built.
3680 * The Store:: Manipulating the package store.
3681 * Derivations:: Low-level interface to package derivations.
3682 * The Store Monad:: Purely functional interface to the store.
3683 * G-Expressions:: Manipulating build expressions.
3684 * Invoking guix repl:: Fiddling with Guix interactively.
3687 @node Defining Packages
3688 @section Defining Packages
3690 The high-level interface to package definitions is implemented in the
3691 @code{(guix packages)} and @code{(guix build-system)} modules. As an
3692 example, the package definition, or @dfn{recipe}, for the GNU Hello
3693 package looks like this:
3696 (define-module (gnu packages hello)
3697 #:use-module (guix packages)
3698 #:use-module (guix download)
3699 #:use-module (guix build-system gnu)
3700 #:use-module (guix licenses)
3701 #:use-module (gnu packages gawk))
3703 (define-public hello
3709 (uri (string-append "mirror://gnu/hello/hello-" version
3713 "0ssi1wpaf7plaswqqjwigppsg5fyh99vdlb9kzl7c9lng89ndq1i"))))
3714 (build-system gnu-build-system)
3715 (arguments '(#:configure-flags '("--enable-silent-rules")))
3716 (inputs `(("gawk" ,gawk)))
3717 (synopsis "Hello, GNU world: An example GNU package")
3718 (description "Guess what GNU Hello prints!")
3719 (home-page "http://www.gnu.org/software/hello/")
3724 Without being a Scheme expert, the reader may have guessed the meaning
3725 of the various fields here. This expression binds the variable
3726 @code{hello} to a @code{<package>} object, which is essentially a record
3727 (@pxref{SRFI-9, Scheme records,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}).
3728 This package object can be inspected using procedures found in the
3729 @code{(guix packages)} module; for instance, @code{(package-name hello)}
3730 returns---surprise!---@code{"hello"}.
3732 With luck, you may be able to import part or all of the definition of
3733 the package you are interested in from another repository, using the
3734 @code{guix import} command (@pxref{Invoking guix import}).
3736 In the example above, @var{hello} is defined in a module of its own,
3737 @code{(gnu packages hello)}. Technically, this is not strictly
3738 necessary, but it is convenient to do so: all the packages defined in
3739 modules under @code{(gnu packages @dots{})} are automatically known to
3740 the command-line tools (@pxref{Package Modules}).
3742 There are a few points worth noting in the above package definition:
3746 The @code{source} field of the package is an @code{<origin>} object
3747 (@pxref{origin Reference}, for the complete reference).
3748 Here, the @code{url-fetch} method from @code{(guix download)} is used,
3749 meaning that the source is a file to be downloaded over FTP or HTTP.
3751 The @code{mirror://gnu} prefix instructs @code{url-fetch} to use one of
3752 the GNU mirrors defined in @code{(guix download)}.
3754 The @code{sha256} field specifies the expected SHA256 hash of the file
3755 being downloaded. It is mandatory, and allows Guix to check the
3756 integrity of the file. The @code{(base32 @dots{})} form introduces the
3757 base32 representation of the hash. You can obtain this information with
3758 @code{guix download} (@pxref{Invoking guix download}) and @code{guix
3759 hash} (@pxref{Invoking guix hash}).
3762 When needed, the @code{origin} form can also have a @code{patches} field
3763 listing patches to be applied, and a @code{snippet} field giving a
3764 Scheme expression to modify the source code.
3767 @cindex GNU Build System
3768 The @code{build-system} field specifies the procedure to build the
3769 package (@pxref{Build Systems}). Here, @var{gnu-build-system}
3770 represents the familiar GNU Build System, where packages may be
3771 configured, built, and installed with the usual @code{./configure &&
3772 make && make check && make install} command sequence.
3775 The @code{arguments} field specifies options for the build system
3776 (@pxref{Build Systems}). Here it is interpreted by
3777 @var{gnu-build-system} as a request run @file{configure} with the
3778 @code{--enable-silent-rules} flag.
3784 What about these quote (@code{'}) characters? They are Scheme syntax to
3785 introduce a literal list; @code{'} is synonymous with @code{quote}.
3786 @xref{Expression Syntax, quoting,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual},
3787 for details. Here the value of the @code{arguments} field is a list of
3788 arguments passed to the build system down the road, as with @code{apply}
3789 (@pxref{Fly Evaluation, @code{apply},, guile, GNU Guile Reference
3792 The hash-colon (@code{#:}) sequence defines a Scheme @dfn{keyword}
3793 (@pxref{Keywords,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}), and
3794 @code{#:configure-flags} is a keyword used to pass a keyword argument
3795 to the build system (@pxref{Coding With Keywords,,, guile, GNU Guile
3799 The @code{inputs} field specifies inputs to the build process---i.e.,
3800 build-time or run-time dependencies of the package. Here, we define an
3801 input called @code{"gawk"} whose value is that of the @var{gawk}
3802 variable; @var{gawk} is itself bound to a @code{<package>} object.
3804 @cindex backquote (quasiquote)
3807 @cindex comma (unquote)
3811 @findex unquote-splicing
3812 Again, @code{`} (a backquote, synonymous with @code{quasiquote}) allows
3813 us to introduce a literal list in the @code{inputs} field, while
3814 @code{,} (a comma, synonymous with @code{unquote}) allows us to insert a
3815 value in that list (@pxref{Expression Syntax, unquote,, guile, GNU Guile
3818 Note that GCC, Coreutils, Bash, and other essential tools do not need to
3819 be specified as inputs here. Instead, @var{gnu-build-system} takes care
3820 of ensuring that they are present (@pxref{Build Systems}).
3822 However, any other dependencies need to be specified in the
3823 @code{inputs} field. Any dependency not specified here will simply be
3824 unavailable to the build process, possibly leading to a build failure.
3827 @xref{package Reference}, for a full description of possible fields.
3829 Once a package definition is in place, the
3830 package may actually be built using the @code{guix build} command-line
3831 tool (@pxref{Invoking guix build}), troubleshooting any build failures
3832 you encounter (@pxref{Debugging Build Failures}). You can easily jump back to the
3833 package definition using the @command{guix edit} command
3834 (@pxref{Invoking guix edit}).
3835 @xref{Packaging Guidelines}, for
3836 more information on how to test package definitions, and
3837 @ref{Invoking guix lint}, for information on how to check a definition
3838 for style conformance.
3839 @vindex GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH
3840 Lastly, @pxref{Channels}, for information
3841 on how to extend the distribution by adding your own package definitions
3844 Finally, updating the package definition to a new upstream version
3845 can be partly automated by the @command{guix refresh} command
3846 (@pxref{Invoking guix refresh}).
3848 Behind the scenes, a derivation corresponding to the @code{<package>}
3849 object is first computed by the @code{package-derivation} procedure.
3850 That derivation is stored in a @code{.drv} file under @file{/gnu/store}.
3851 The build actions it prescribes may then be realized by using the
3852 @code{build-derivations} procedure (@pxref{The Store}).
3854 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} package-derivation @var{store} @var{package} [@var{system}]
3855 Return the @code{<derivation>} object of @var{package} for @var{system}
3856 (@pxref{Derivations}).
3858 @var{package} must be a valid @code{<package>} object, and @var{system}
3859 must be a string denoting the target system type---e.g.,
3860 @code{"x86_64-linux"} for an x86_64 Linux-based GNU system. @var{store}
3861 must be a connection to the daemon, which operates on the store
3862 (@pxref{The Store}).
3866 @cindex cross-compilation
3867 Similarly, it is possible to compute a derivation that cross-builds a
3868 package for some other system:
3870 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} package-cross-derivation @var{store} @
3871 @var{package} @var{target} [@var{system}]
3872 Return the @code{<derivation>} object of @var{package} cross-built from
3873 @var{system} to @var{target}.
3875 @var{target} must be a valid GNU triplet denoting the target hardware
3876 and operating system, such as @code{"mips64el-linux-gnu"}
3877 (@pxref{Configuration Names, GNU configuration triplets,, configure, GNU
3878 Configure and Build System}).
3881 @cindex package transformations
3882 @cindex input rewriting
3883 @cindex dependency tree rewriting
3884 Packages can be manipulated in arbitrary ways. An example of a useful
3885 transformation is @dfn{input rewriting}, whereby the dependency tree of
3886 a package is rewritten by replacing specific inputs by others:
3888 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} package-input-rewriting @var{replacements} @
3889 [@var{rewrite-name}]
3890 Return a procedure that, when passed a package, replaces its direct and
3891 indirect dependencies (but not its implicit inputs) according to
3892 @var{replacements}. @var{replacements} is a list of package pairs; the
3893 first element of each pair is the package to replace, and the second one
3896 Optionally, @var{rewrite-name} is a one-argument procedure that takes
3897 the name of a package and returns its new name after rewrite.
3901 Consider this example:
3904 (define libressl-instead-of-openssl
3905 ;; This is a procedure to replace OPENSSL by LIBRESSL,
3907 (package-input-rewriting `((,openssl . ,libressl))))
3909 (define git-with-libressl
3910 (libressl-instead-of-openssl git))
3914 Here we first define a rewriting procedure that replaces @var{openssl}
3915 with @var{libressl}. Then we use it to define a @dfn{variant} of the
3916 @var{git} package that uses @var{libressl} instead of @var{openssl}.
3917 This is exactly what the @option{--with-input} command-line option does
3918 (@pxref{Package Transformation Options, @option{--with-input}}).
3920 A more generic procedure to rewrite a package dependency graph is
3921 @code{package-mapping}: it supports arbitrary changes to nodes in the
3924 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} package-mapping @var{proc} [@var{cut?}]
3925 Return a procedure that, given a package, applies @var{proc} to all the packages
3926 depended on and returns the resulting package. The procedure stops recursion
3927 when @var{cut?} returns true for a given package.
3931 * package Reference:: The package data type.
3932 * origin Reference:: The origin data type.
3936 @node package Reference
3937 @subsection @code{package} Reference
3939 This section summarizes all the options available in @code{package}
3940 declarations (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
3942 @deftp {Data Type} package
3943 This is the data type representing a package recipe.
3947 The name of the package, as a string.
3949 @item @code{version}
3950 The version of the package, as a string.
3953 An object telling how the source code for the package should be
3954 acquired. Most of the time, this is an @code{origin} object, which
3955 denotes a file fetched from the Internet (@pxref{origin Reference}). It
3956 can also be any other ``file-like'' object such as a @code{local-file},
3957 which denotes a file from the local file system (@pxref{G-Expressions,
3958 @code{local-file}}).
3960 @item @code{build-system}
3961 The build system that should be used to build the package (@pxref{Build
3964 @item @code{arguments} (default: @code{'()})
3965 The arguments that should be passed to the build system. This is a
3966 list, typically containing sequential keyword-value pairs.
3968 @item @code{inputs} (default: @code{'()})
3969 @itemx @code{native-inputs} (default: @code{'()})
3970 @itemx @code{propagated-inputs} (default: @code{'()})
3971 @cindex inputs, of packages
3972 These fields list dependencies of the package. Each one is a list of
3973 tuples, where each tuple has a label for the input (a string) as its
3974 first element, a package, origin, or derivation as its second element,
3975 and optionally the name of the output thereof that should be used, which
3976 defaults to @code{"out"} (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}, for
3977 more on package outputs). For example, the list below specifies three
3981 `(("libffi" ,libffi)
3982 ("libunistring" ,libunistring)
3983 ("glib:bin" ,glib "bin")) ;the "bin" output of Glib
3986 @cindex cross compilation, package dependencies
3987 The distinction between @code{native-inputs} and @code{inputs} is
3988 necessary when considering cross-compilation. When cross-compiling,
3989 dependencies listed in @code{inputs} are built for the @emph{target}
3990 architecture; conversely, dependencies listed in @code{native-inputs}
3991 are built for the architecture of the @emph{build} machine.
3993 @code{native-inputs} is typically used to list tools needed at
3994 build time, but not at run time, such as Autoconf, Automake, pkg-config,
3995 Gettext, or Bison. @command{guix lint} can report likely mistakes in
3996 this area (@pxref{Invoking guix lint}).
3998 @anchor{package-propagated-inputs}
3999 Lastly, @code{propagated-inputs} is similar to @code{inputs}, but the
4000 specified packages will be automatically installed alongside the package
4001 they belong to (@pxref{package-cmd-propagated-inputs, @command{guix
4002 package}}, for information on how @command{guix package} deals with
4005 For example this is necessary when a C/C++ library needs headers of
4006 another library to compile, or when a pkg-config file refers to another
4007 one @i{via} its @code{Requires} field.
4009 Another example where @code{propagated-inputs} is useful is for languages
4010 that lack a facility to record the run-time search path akin to the
4011 @code{RUNPATH} of ELF files; this includes Guile, Python, Perl, and
4012 more. To ensure that libraries written in those languages can find
4013 library code they depend on at run time, run-time dependencies must be
4014 listed in @code{propagated-inputs} rather than @code{inputs}.
4016 @item @code{self-native-input?} (default: @code{#f})
4017 This is a Boolean field telling whether the package should use itself as
4018 a native input when cross-compiling.
4020 @item @code{outputs} (default: @code{'("out")})
4021 The list of output names of the package. @xref{Packages with Multiple
4022 Outputs}, for typical uses of additional outputs.
4024 @item @code{native-search-paths} (default: @code{'()})
4025 @itemx @code{search-paths} (default: @code{'()})
4026 A list of @code{search-path-specification} objects describing
4027 search-path environment variables honored by the package.
4029 @item @code{replacement} (default: @code{#f})
4030 This must be either @code{#f} or a package object that will be used as a
4031 @dfn{replacement} for this package. @xref{Security Updates, grafts},
4034 @item @code{synopsis}
4035 A one-line description of the package.
4037 @item @code{description}
4038 A more elaborate description of the package.
4040 @item @code{license}
4041 @cindex license, of packages
4042 The license of the package; a value from @code{(guix licenses)},
4043 or a list of such values.
4045 @item @code{home-page}
4046 The URL to the home-page of the package, as a string.
4048 @item @code{supported-systems} (default: @var{%supported-systems})
4049 The list of systems supported by the package, as strings of the form
4050 @code{architecture-kernel}, for example @code{"x86_64-linux"}.
4052 @item @code{maintainers} (default: @code{'()})
4053 The list of maintainers of the package, as @code{maintainer} objects.
4055 @item @code{location} (default: source location of the @code{package} form)
4056 The source location of the package. It is useful to override this when
4057 inheriting from another package, in which case this field is not
4058 automatically corrected.
4063 @node origin Reference
4064 @subsection @code{origin} Reference
4066 This section summarizes all the options available in @code{origin}
4067 declarations (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
4069 @deftp {Data Type} origin
4070 This is the data type representing a source code origin.
4074 An object containing the URI of the source. The object type depends on
4075 the @code{method} (see below). For example, when using the
4076 @var{url-fetch} method of @code{(guix download)}, the valid @code{uri}
4077 values are: a URL represented as a string, or a list thereof.
4080 A procedure that handles the URI.
4085 @item @var{url-fetch} from @code{(guix download)}
4086 download a file from the HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP URL specified in the
4090 @item @var{git-fetch} from @code{(guix git-download)}
4091 clone the Git version control repository, and check out the revision
4092 specified in the @code{uri} field as a @code{git-reference} object; a
4093 @code{git-reference} looks like this:
4097 (url "git://git.debian.org/git/pkg-shadow/shadow")
4098 (commit "v4.1.5.1"))
4103 A bytevector containing the SHA-256 hash of the source. Typically the
4104 @code{base32} form is used here to generate the bytevector from a
4107 You can obtain this information using @code{guix download}
4108 (@pxref{Invoking guix download}) or @code{guix hash} (@pxref{Invoking
4111 @item @code{file-name} (default: @code{#f})
4112 The file name under which the source code should be saved. When this is
4113 @code{#f}, a sensible default value will be used in most cases. In case
4114 the source is fetched from a URL, the file name from the URL will be
4115 used. For version control checkouts, it is recommended to provide the
4116 file name explicitly because the default is not very descriptive.
4118 @item @code{patches} (default: @code{'()})
4119 A list of file names, origins, or file-like objects (@pxref{G-Expressions,
4120 file-like objects}) pointing to patches to be applied to the source.
4122 This list of patches must be unconditional. In particular, it cannot
4123 depend on the value of @code{%current-system} or
4124 @code{%current-target-system}.
4126 @item @code{snippet} (default: @code{#f})
4127 A G-expression (@pxref{G-Expressions}) or S-expression that will be run
4128 in the source directory. This is a convenient way to modify the source,
4129 sometimes more convenient than a patch.
4131 @item @code{patch-flags} (default: @code{'("-p1")})
4132 A list of command-line flags that should be passed to the @code{patch}
4135 @item @code{patch-inputs} (default: @code{#f})
4136 Input packages or derivations to the patching process. When this is
4137 @code{#f}, the usual set of inputs necessary for patching are provided,
4138 such as GNU@tie{}Patch.
4140 @item @code{modules} (default: @code{'()})
4141 A list of Guile modules that should be loaded during the patching
4142 process and while running the code in the @code{snippet} field.
4144 @item @code{patch-guile} (default: @code{#f})
4145 The Guile package that should be used in the patching process. When
4146 this is @code{#f}, a sensible default is used.
4152 @section Build Systems
4154 @cindex build system
4155 Each package definition specifies a @dfn{build system} and arguments for
4156 that build system (@pxref{Defining Packages}). This @code{build-system}
4157 field represents the build procedure of the package, as well as implicit
4158 dependencies of that build procedure.
4160 Build systems are @code{<build-system>} objects. The interface to
4161 create and manipulate them is provided by the @code{(guix build-system)}
4162 module, and actual build systems are exported by specific modules.
4164 @cindex bag (low-level package representation)
4165 Under the hood, build systems first compile package objects to
4166 @dfn{bags}. A @dfn{bag} is like a package, but with less
4167 ornamentation---in other words, a bag is a lower-level representation of
4168 a package, which includes all the inputs of that package, including some
4169 that were implicitly added by the build system. This intermediate
4170 representation is then compiled to a derivation (@pxref{Derivations}).
4172 Build systems accept an optional list of @dfn{arguments}. In package
4173 definitions, these are passed @i{via} the @code{arguments} field
4174 (@pxref{Defining Packages}). They are typically keyword arguments
4175 (@pxref{Optional Arguments, keyword arguments in Guile,, guile, GNU
4176 Guile Reference Manual}). The value of these arguments is usually
4177 evaluated in the @dfn{build stratum}---i.e., by a Guile process launched
4178 by the daemon (@pxref{Derivations}).
4180 The main build system is @var{gnu-build-system}, which implements the
4181 standard build procedure for GNU and many other packages. It
4182 is provided by the @code{(guix build-system gnu)} module.
4184 @defvr {Scheme Variable} gnu-build-system
4185 @var{gnu-build-system} represents the GNU Build System, and variants
4186 thereof (@pxref{Configuration, configuration and makefile conventions,,
4187 standards, GNU Coding Standards}).
4189 @cindex build phases
4190 In a nutshell, packages using it are configured, built, and installed with
4191 the usual @code{./configure && make && make check && make install}
4192 command sequence. In practice, a few additional steps are often needed.
4193 All these steps are split up in separate @dfn{phases},
4194 notably@footnote{Please see the @code{(guix build gnu-build-system)}
4195 modules for more details about the build phases.}:
4199 Unpack the source tarball, and change the current directory to the
4200 extracted source tree. If the source is actually a directory, copy it
4201 to the build tree, and enter that directory.
4203 @item patch-source-shebangs
4204 Patch shebangs encountered in source files so they refer to the right
4205 store file names. For instance, this changes @code{#!/bin/sh} to
4206 @code{#!/gnu/store/@dots{}-bash-4.3/bin/sh}.
4209 Run the @file{configure} script with a number of default options, such
4210 as @code{--prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}}, as well as the options specified
4211 by the @code{#:configure-flags} argument.
4214 Run @code{make} with the list of flags specified with
4215 @code{#:make-flags}. If the @code{#:parallel-build?} argument is true
4216 (the default), build with @code{make -j}.
4219 Run @code{make check}, or some other target specified with
4220 @code{#:test-target}, unless @code{#:tests? #f} is passed. If the
4221 @code{#:parallel-tests?} argument is true (the default), run @code{make
4225 Run @code{make install} with the flags listed in @code{#:make-flags}.
4227 @item patch-shebangs
4228 Patch shebangs on the installed executable files.
4231 Strip debugging symbols from ELF files (unless @code{#:strip-binaries?}
4232 is false), copying them to the @code{debug} output when available
4233 (@pxref{Installing Debugging Files}).
4236 @vindex %standard-phases
4237 The build-side module @code{(guix build gnu-build-system)} defines
4238 @var{%standard-phases} as the default list of build phases.
4239 @var{%standard-phases} is a list of symbol/procedure pairs, where the
4240 procedure implements the actual phase.
4242 The list of phases used for a particular package can be changed with the
4243 @code{#:phases} parameter. For instance, passing:
4246 #:phases (modify-phases %standard-phases (delete 'configure))
4249 means that all the phases described above will be used, except the
4250 @code{configure} phase.
4252 In addition, this build system ensures that the ``standard'' environment
4253 for GNU packages is available. This includes tools such as GCC, libc,
4254 Coreutils, Bash, Make, Diffutils, grep, and sed (see the @code{(guix
4255 build-system gnu)} module for a complete list). We call these the
4256 @dfn{implicit inputs} of a package, because package definitions do not
4257 have to mention them.
4260 Other @code{<build-system>} objects are defined to support other
4261 conventions and tools used by free software packages. They inherit most
4262 of @var{gnu-build-system}, and differ mainly in the set of inputs
4263 implicitly added to the build process, and in the list of phases
4264 executed. Some of these build systems are listed below.
4266 @defvr {Scheme Variable} ant-build-system
4267 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system ant)}. It
4268 implements the build procedure for Java packages that can be built with
4269 @url{http://ant.apache.org/, Ant build tool}.
4271 It adds both @code{ant} and the @dfn{Java Development Kit} (JDK) as
4272 provided by the @code{icedtea} package to the set of inputs. Different
4273 packages can be specified with the @code{#:ant} and @code{#:jdk}
4274 parameters, respectively.
4276 When the original package does not provide a suitable Ant build file,
4277 the parameter @code{#:jar-name} can be used to generate a minimal Ant
4278 build file @file{build.xml} with tasks to build the specified jar
4279 archive. In this case the parameter @code{#:source-dir} can be used to
4280 specify the source sub-directory, defaulting to ``src''.
4282 The @code{#:main-class} parameter can be used with the minimal ant
4283 buildfile to specify the main class of the resulting jar. This makes the
4284 jar file executable. The @code{#:test-include} parameter can be used to
4285 specify the list of junit tests to run. It defaults to
4286 @code{(list "**/*Test.java")}. The @code{#:test-exclude} can be used to
4287 disable some tests. It defaults to @code{(list "**/Abstract*.java")},
4288 because abstract classes cannot be run as tests.
4290 The parameter @code{#:build-target} can be used to specify the Ant task
4291 that should be run during the @code{build} phase. By default the
4292 ``jar'' task will be run.
4296 @defvr {Scheme Variable} android-ndk-build-system
4297 @cindex Android distribution
4298 @cindex Android NDK build system
4299 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system android-ndk)}. It
4300 implements a build procedure for Android NDK (native development kit)
4301 packages using a Guix-specific build process.
4303 The build system assumes that packages install their public interface
4304 (header) files to the subdirectory "include" of the "out" output and
4305 their libraries to the subdirectory "lib" of the "out" output.
4307 It's also assumed that the union of all the dependencies of a package
4308 has no conflicting files.
4310 For the time being, cross-compilation is not supported - so right now
4311 the libraries and header files are assumed to be host tools.
4315 @defvr {Scheme Variable} asdf-build-system/source
4316 @defvrx {Scheme Variable} asdf-build-system/sbcl
4317 @defvrx {Scheme Variable} asdf-build-system/ecl
4319 These variables, exported by @code{(guix build-system asdf)}, implement
4320 build procedures for Common Lisp packages using
4321 @url{https://common-lisp.net/project/asdf/, ``ASDF''}. ASDF is a system
4322 definition facility for Common Lisp programs and libraries.
4324 The @code{asdf-build-system/source} system installs the packages in
4325 source form, and can be loaded using any common lisp implementation, via
4326 ASDF. The others, such as @code{asdf-build-system/sbcl}, install binary
4327 systems in the format which a particular implementation understands.
4328 These build systems can also be used to produce executable programs, or
4329 lisp images which contain a set of packages pre-loaded.
4331 The build system uses naming conventions. For binary packages, the
4332 package name should be prefixed with the lisp implementation, such as
4333 @code{sbcl-} for @code{asdf-build-system/sbcl}.
4335 Additionally, the corresponding source package should be labeled using
4336 the same convention as python packages (see @ref{Python Modules}), using
4337 the @code{cl-} prefix.
4339 For binary packages, each system should be defined as a Guix package.
4340 If one package @code{origin} contains several systems, package variants
4341 can be created in order to build all the systems. Source packages,
4342 which use @code{asdf-build-system/source}, may contain several systems.
4344 In order to create executable programs and images, the build-side
4345 procedures @code{build-program} and @code{build-image} can be used.
4346 They should be called in a build phase after the @code{create-symlinks}
4347 phase, so that the system which was just built can be used within the
4348 resulting image. @code{build-program} requires a list of Common Lisp
4349 expressions to be passed as the @code{#:entry-program} argument.
4351 If the system is not defined within its own @code{.asd} file of the same
4352 name, then the @code{#:asd-file} parameter should be used to specify
4353 which file the system is defined in. Furthermore, if the package
4354 defines a system for its tests in a separate file, it will be loaded
4355 before the tests are run if it is specified by the
4356 @code{#:test-asd-file} parameter. If it is not set, the files
4357 @code{<system>-tests.asd}, @code{<system>-test.asd}, @code{tests.asd},
4358 and @code{test.asd} will be tried if they exist.
4360 If for some reason the package must be named in a different way than the
4361 naming conventions suggest, the @code{#:asd-system-name} parameter can
4362 be used to specify the name of the system.
4366 @defvr {Scheme Variable} cargo-build-system
4367 @cindex Rust programming language
4368 @cindex Cargo (Rust build system)
4369 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system cargo)}. It
4370 supports builds of packages using Cargo, the build tool of the
4371 @uref{https://www.rust-lang.org, Rust programming language}.
4373 In its @code{configure} phase, this build system replaces dependencies
4374 specified in the @file{Carto.toml} file with inputs to the Guix package.
4375 The @code{install} phase installs the binaries, and it also installs the
4376 source code and @file{Cargo.toml} file.
4379 @defvr {Scheme Variable} cmake-build-system
4380 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system cmake)}. It
4381 implements the build procedure for packages using the
4382 @url{http://www.cmake.org, CMake build tool}.
4384 It automatically adds the @code{cmake} package to the set of inputs.
4385 Which package is used can be specified with the @code{#:cmake}
4388 The @code{#:configure-flags} parameter is taken as a list of flags
4389 passed to the @command{cmake} command. The @code{#:build-type}
4390 parameter specifies in abstract terms the flags passed to the compiler;
4391 it defaults to @code{"RelWithDebInfo"} (short for ``release mode with
4392 debugging information''), which roughly means that code is compiled with
4393 @code{-O2 -g}, as is the case for Autoconf-based packages by default.
4396 @defvr {Scheme Variable} go-build-system
4397 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system go)}. It
4398 implements a build procedure for Go packages using the standard
4399 @url{https://golang.org/cmd/go/#hdr-Compile_packages_and_dependencies,
4400 Go build mechanisms}.
4402 The user is expected to provide a value for the key @code{#:import-path}
4403 and, in some cases, @code{#:unpack-path}. The
4404 @url{https://golang.org/doc/code.html#ImportPaths, import path}
4405 corresponds to the file system path expected by the package's build
4406 scripts and any referring packages, and provides a unique way to
4407 refer to a Go package. It is typically based on a combination of the
4408 package source code's remote URI and file system hierarchy structure. In
4409 some cases, you will need to unpack the package's source code to a
4410 different directory structure than the one indicated by the import path,
4411 and @code{#:unpack-path} should be used in such cases.
4413 Packages that provide Go libraries should be installed along with their
4414 source code. The key @code{#:install-source?}, which defaults to
4415 @code{#t}, controls whether or not the source code is installed. It can
4416 be set to @code{#f} for packages that only provide executable files.
4419 @defvr {Scheme Variable} glib-or-gtk-build-system
4420 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system glib-or-gtk)}. It
4421 is intended for use with packages making use of GLib or GTK+.
4423 This build system adds the following two phases to the ones defined by
4424 @var{gnu-build-system}:
4427 @item glib-or-gtk-wrap
4428 The phase @code{glib-or-gtk-wrap} ensures that programs in
4429 @file{bin/} are able to find GLib ``schemas'' and
4430 @uref{https://developer.gnome.org/gtk3/stable/gtk-running.html, GTK+
4431 modules}. This is achieved by wrapping the programs in launch scripts
4432 that appropriately set the @code{XDG_DATA_DIRS} and @code{GTK_PATH}
4433 environment variables.
4435 It is possible to exclude specific package outputs from that wrapping
4436 process by listing their names in the
4437 @code{#:glib-or-gtk-wrap-excluded-outputs} parameter. This is useful
4438 when an output is known not to contain any GLib or GTK+ binaries, and
4439 where wrapping would gratuitously add a dependency of that output on
4442 @item glib-or-gtk-compile-schemas
4443 The phase @code{glib-or-gtk-compile-schemas} makes sure that all
4444 @uref{https://developer.gnome.org/gio/stable/glib-compile-schemas.html,
4445 GSettings schemas} of GLib are compiled. Compilation is performed by the
4446 @command{glib-compile-schemas} program. It is provided by the package
4447 @code{glib:bin} which is automatically imported by the build system.
4448 The @code{glib} package providing @command{glib-compile-schemas} can be
4449 specified with the @code{#:glib} parameter.
4452 Both phases are executed after the @code{install} phase.
4455 @defvr {Scheme Variable} guile-build-system
4456 This build system is for Guile packages that consist exclusively of Scheme
4457 code and that are so lean that they don't even have a makefile, let alone a
4458 @file{configure} script. It compiles Scheme code using @command{guild
4459 compile} (@pxref{Compilation,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}) and
4460 installs the @file{.scm} and @file{.go} files in the right place. It also
4461 installs documentation.
4463 This build system supports cross-compilation by using the @code{--target}
4464 option of @command{guild compile}.
4466 Packages built with @code{guile-build-system} must provide a Guile package in
4467 their @code{native-inputs} field.
4470 @defvr {Scheme Variable} minify-build-system
4471 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system minify)}. It
4472 implements a minification procedure for simple JavaScript packages.
4474 It adds @code{uglify-js} to the set of inputs and uses it to compress
4475 all JavaScript files in the @file{src} directory. A different minifier
4476 package can be specified with the @code{#:uglify-js} parameter, but it
4477 is expected that the package writes the minified code to the standard
4480 When the input JavaScript files are not all located in the @file{src}
4481 directory, the parameter @code{#:javascript-files} can be used to
4482 specify a list of file names to feed to the minifier.
4485 @defvr {Scheme Variable} ocaml-build-system
4486 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system ocaml)}. It implements
4487 a build procedure for @uref{https://ocaml.org, OCaml} packages, which consists
4488 of choosing the correct set of commands to run for each package. OCaml
4489 packages can expect many different commands to be run. This build system will
4492 When the package has a @file{setup.ml} file present at the top-level, it will
4493 run @code{ocaml setup.ml -configure}, @code{ocaml setup.ml -build} and
4494 @code{ocaml setup.ml -install}. The build system will assume that this file
4495 was generated by @uref{http://oasis.forge.ocamlcore.org/, OASIS} and will take
4496 care of setting the prefix and enabling tests if they are not disabled. You
4497 can pass configure and build flags with the @code{#:configure-flags} and
4498 @code{#:build-flags}. The @code{#:test-flags} key can be passed to change the
4499 set of flags used to enable tests. The @code{#:use-make?} key can be used to
4500 bypass this system in the build and install phases.
4502 When the package has a @file{configure} file, it is assumed that it is a
4503 hand-made configure script that requires a different argument format than
4504 in the @code{gnu-build-system}. You can add more flags with the
4505 @code{#:configure-flags} key.
4507 When the package has a @file{Makefile} file (or @code{#:use-make?} is
4508 @code{#t}), it will be used and more flags can be passed to the build and
4509 install phases with the @code{#:make-flags} key.
4511 Finally, some packages do not have these files and use a somewhat standard
4512 location for its build system. In that case, the build system will run
4513 @code{ocaml pkg/pkg.ml} or @code{ocaml pkg/build.ml} and take care of
4514 providing the path to the required findlib module. Additional flags can
4515 be passed via the @code{#:build-flags} key. Install is taken care of by
4516 @command{opam-installer}. In this case, the @code{opam} package must
4517 be added to the @code{native-inputs} field of the package definition.
4519 Note that most OCaml packages assume they will be installed in the same
4520 directory as OCaml, which is not what we want in guix. In particular, they
4521 will install @file{.so} files in their module's directory, which is usually
4522 fine because it is in the OCaml compiler directory. In guix though, these
4523 libraries cannot be found and we use @code{CAML_LD_LIBRARY_PATH}. This
4524 variable points to @file{lib/ocaml/site-lib/stubslibs} and this is where
4525 @file{.so} libraries should be installed.
4528 @defvr {Scheme Variable} python-build-system
4529 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system python)}. It
4530 implements the more or less standard build procedure used by Python
4531 packages, which consists in running @code{python setup.py build} and
4532 then @code{python setup.py install --prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}}.
4534 For packages that install stand-alone Python programs under @code{bin/},
4535 it takes care of wrapping these programs so that their @code{PYTHONPATH}
4536 environment variable points to all the Python libraries they depend on.
4538 Which Python package is used to perform the build can be specified with
4539 the @code{#:python} parameter. This is a useful way to force a package
4540 to be built for a specific version of the Python interpreter, which
4541 might be necessary if the package is only compatible with a single
4542 interpreter version.
4544 By default guix calls @code{setup.py} under control of
4545 @code{setuptools}, much like @command{pip} does. Some packages are not
4546 compatible with setuptools (and pip), thus you can disable this by
4547 setting the @code{#:use-setuptools} parameter to @code{#f}.
4550 @defvr {Scheme Variable} perl-build-system
4551 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system perl)}. It
4552 implements the standard build procedure for Perl packages, which either
4553 consists in running @code{perl Build.PL --prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}},
4554 followed by @code{Build} and @code{Build install}; or in running
4555 @code{perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/gnu/store/@dots{}}, followed by
4556 @code{make} and @code{make install}, depending on which of
4557 @code{Build.PL} or @code{Makefile.PL} is present in the package
4558 distribution. Preference is given to the former if both @code{Build.PL}
4559 and @code{Makefile.PL} exist in the package distribution. This
4560 preference can be reversed by specifying @code{#t} for the
4561 @code{#:make-maker?} parameter.
4563 The initial @code{perl Makefile.PL} or @code{perl Build.PL} invocation
4564 passes flags specified by the @code{#:make-maker-flags} or
4565 @code{#:module-build-flags} parameter, respectively.
4567 Which Perl package is used can be specified with @code{#:perl}.
4570 @defvr {Scheme Variable} r-build-system
4571 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system r)}. It
4572 implements the build procedure used by @uref{http://r-project.org, R}
4573 packages, which essentially is little more than running @code{R CMD
4574 INSTALL --library=/gnu/store/@dots{}} in an environment where
4575 @code{R_LIBS_SITE} contains the paths to all R package inputs. Tests
4576 are run after installation using the R function
4577 @code{tools::testInstalledPackage}.
4580 @defvr {Scheme Variable} texlive-build-system
4581 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system texlive)}. It is
4582 used to build TeX packages in batch mode with a specified engine. The
4583 build system sets the @code{TEXINPUTS} variable to find all TeX source
4584 files in the inputs.
4586 By default it runs @code{luatex} on all files ending on @code{ins}. A
4587 different engine and format can be specified with the
4588 @code{#:tex-format} argument. Different build targets can be specified
4589 with the @code{#:build-targets} argument, which expects a list of file
4590 names. The build system adds only @code{texlive-bin} and
4591 @code{texlive-latex-base} (both from @code{(gnu packages tex}) to the
4592 inputs. Both can be overridden with the arguments @code{#:texlive-bin}
4593 and @code{#:texlive-latex-base}, respectively.
4595 The @code{#:tex-directory} parameter tells the build system where to
4596 install the built files under the texmf tree.
4599 @defvr {Scheme Variable} ruby-build-system
4600 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system ruby)}. It
4601 implements the RubyGems build procedure used by Ruby packages, which
4602 involves running @code{gem build} followed by @code{gem install}.
4604 The @code{source} field of a package that uses this build system
4605 typically references a gem archive, since this is the format that Ruby
4606 developers use when releasing their software. The build system unpacks
4607 the gem archive, potentially patches the source, runs the test suite,
4608 repackages the gem, and installs it. Additionally, directories and
4609 tarballs may be referenced to allow building unreleased gems from Git or
4610 a traditional source release tarball.
4612 Which Ruby package is used can be specified with the @code{#:ruby}
4613 parameter. A list of additional flags to be passed to the @command{gem}
4614 command can be specified with the @code{#:gem-flags} parameter.
4617 @defvr {Scheme Variable} waf-build-system
4618 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system waf)}. It
4619 implements a build procedure around the @code{waf} script. The common
4620 phases---@code{configure}, @code{build}, and @code{install}---are
4621 implemented by passing their names as arguments to the @code{waf}
4624 The @code{waf} script is executed by the Python interpreter. Which
4625 Python package is used to run the script can be specified with the
4626 @code{#:python} parameter.
4629 @defvr {Scheme Variable} scons-build-system
4630 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system scons)}. It
4631 implements the build procedure used by the SCons software construction
4632 tool. This build system runs @code{scons} to build the package,
4633 @code{scons test} to run tests, and then @code{scons install} to install
4636 Additional flags to be passed to @code{scons} can be specified with the
4637 @code{#:scons-flags} parameter. The version of Python used to run SCons
4638 can be specified by selecting the appropriate SCons package with the
4639 @code{#:scons} parameter.
4642 @defvr {Scheme Variable} haskell-build-system
4643 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system haskell)}. It
4644 implements the Cabal build procedure used by Haskell packages, which
4645 involves running @code{runhaskell Setup.hs configure
4646 --prefix=/gnu/store/@dots{}} and @code{runhaskell Setup.hs build}.
4647 Instead of installing the package by running @code{runhaskell Setup.hs
4648 install}, to avoid trying to register libraries in the read-only
4649 compiler store directory, the build system uses @code{runhaskell
4650 Setup.hs copy}, followed by @code{runhaskell Setup.hs register}. In
4651 addition, the build system generates the package documentation by
4652 running @code{runhaskell Setup.hs haddock}, unless @code{#:haddock? #f}
4653 is passed. Optional Haddock parameters can be passed with the help of
4654 the @code{#:haddock-flags} parameter. If the file @code{Setup.hs} is
4655 not found, the build system looks for @code{Setup.lhs} instead.
4657 Which Haskell compiler is used can be specified with the @code{#:haskell}
4658 parameter which defaults to @code{ghc}.
4661 @defvr {Scheme Variable} dub-build-system
4662 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system dub)}. It
4663 implements the Dub build procedure used by D packages, which
4664 involves running @code{dub build} and @code{dub run}.
4665 Installation is done by copying the files manually.
4667 Which D compiler is used can be specified with the @code{#:ldc}
4668 parameter which defaults to @code{ldc}.
4671 @defvr {Scheme Variable} emacs-build-system
4672 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system emacs)}. It
4673 implements an installation procedure similar to the packaging system
4674 of Emacs itself (@pxref{Packages,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
4676 It first creates the @code{@var{package}-autoloads.el} file, then it
4677 byte compiles all Emacs Lisp files. Differently from the Emacs
4678 packaging system, the Info documentation files are moved to the standard
4679 documentation directory and the @file{dir} file is deleted. Each
4680 package is installed in its own directory under
4681 @file{share/emacs/site-lisp/guix.d}.
4684 @defvr {Scheme Variable} font-build-system
4685 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system font)}. It
4686 implements an installation procedure for font packages where upstream
4687 provides pre-compiled TrueType, OpenType, etc. font files that merely
4688 need to be copied into place. It copies font files to standard
4689 locations in the output directory.
4692 @defvr {Scheme Variable} meson-build-system
4693 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system meson)}. It
4694 implements the build procedure for packages that use
4695 @url{http://mesonbuild.com, Meson} as their build system.
4697 It adds both Meson and @uref{https://ninja-build.org/, Ninja} to the set
4698 of inputs, and they can be changed with the parameters @code{#:meson}
4699 and @code{#:ninja} if needed. The default Meson is
4700 @code{meson-for-build}, which is special because it doesn't clear the
4701 @code{RUNPATH} of binaries and libraries when they are installed.
4703 This build system is an extension of @var{gnu-build-system}, but with the
4704 following phases changed to some specific for Meson:
4709 The phase runs @code{meson} with the flags specified in
4710 @code{#:configure-flags}. The flag @code{--build-type} is always set to
4711 @code{plain} unless something else is specified in @code{#:build-type}.
4714 The phase runs @code{ninja} to build the package in parallel by default, but
4715 this can be changed with @code{#:parallel-build?}.
4718 The phase runs @code{ninja} with the target specified in @code{#:test-target},
4719 which is @code{"test"} by default.
4722 The phase runs @code{ninja install} and can not be changed.
4725 Apart from that, the build system also adds the following phases:
4730 This phase ensures that all binaries can find the libraries they need.
4731 It searches for required libraries in subdirectories of the package being
4732 built, and adds those to @code{RUNPATH} where needed. It also removes
4733 references to libraries left over from the build phase by
4734 @code{meson-for-build}, such as test dependencies, that aren't actually
4735 required for the program to run.
4737 @item glib-or-gtk-wrap
4738 This phase is the phase provided by @code{glib-or-gtk-build-system}, and it
4739 is not enabled by default. It can be enabled with @code{#:glib-or-gtk?}.
4741 @item glib-or-gtk-compile-schemas
4742 This phase is the phase provided by @code{glib-or-gtk-build-system}, and it
4743 is not enabled by default. It can be enabled with @code{#:glib-or-gtk?}.
4747 Lastly, for packages that do not need anything as sophisticated, a
4748 ``trivial'' build system is provided. It is trivial in the sense that
4749 it provides basically no support: it does not pull any implicit inputs,
4750 and does not have a notion of build phases.
4752 @defvr {Scheme Variable} trivial-build-system
4753 This variable is exported by @code{(guix build-system trivial)}.
4755 This build system requires a @code{#:builder} argument. This argument
4756 must be a Scheme expression that builds the package output(s)---as
4757 with @code{build-expression->derivation} (@pxref{Derivations,
4758 @code{build-expression->derivation}}).
4768 Conceptually, the @dfn{store} is the place where derivations that have
4769 been built successfully are stored---by default, @file{/gnu/store}.
4770 Sub-directories in the store are referred to as @dfn{store items} or
4771 sometimes @dfn{store paths}. The store has an associated database that
4772 contains information such as the store paths referred to by each store
4773 path, and the list of @emph{valid} store items---results of successful
4774 builds. This database resides in @file{@var{localstatedir}/guix/db},
4775 where @var{localstatedir} is the state directory specified @i{via}
4776 @option{--localstatedir} at configure time, usually @file{/var}.
4778 The store is @emph{always} accessed by the daemon on behalf of its clients
4779 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}). To manipulate the store, clients
4780 connect to the daemon over a Unix-domain socket, send requests to it,
4781 and read the result---these are remote procedure calls, or RPCs.
4784 Users must @emph{never} modify files under @file{/gnu/store} directly.
4785 This would lead to inconsistencies and break the immutability
4786 assumptions of Guix's functional model (@pxref{Introduction}).
4788 @xref{Invoking guix gc, @command{guix gc --verify}}, for information on
4789 how to check the integrity of the store and attempt recovery from
4790 accidental modifications.
4793 The @code{(guix store)} module provides procedures to connect to the
4794 daemon, and to perform RPCs. These are described below. By default,
4795 @code{open-connection}, and thus all the @command{guix} commands,
4796 connect to the local daemon or to the URI specified by the
4797 @code{GUIX_DAEMON_SOCKET} environment variable.
4799 @defvr {Environment Variable} GUIX_DAEMON_SOCKET
4800 When set, the value of this variable should be a file name or a URI
4801 designating the daemon endpoint. When it is a file name, it denotes a
4802 Unix-domain socket to connect to. In addition to file names, the
4803 supported URI schemes are:
4808 These are for Unix-domain sockets.
4809 @code{file:///var/guix/daemon-socket/socket} is equivalent to
4810 @file{/var/guix/daemon-socket/socket}.
4813 @cindex daemon, remote access
4814 @cindex remote access to the daemon
4815 @cindex daemon, cluster setup
4816 @cindex clusters, daemon setup
4817 These URIs denote connections over TCP/IP, without encryption nor
4818 authentication of the remote host. The URI must specify the host name
4819 and optionally a port number (by default port 44146 is used):
4822 guix://master.guix.example.org:1234
4825 This setup is suitable on local networks, such as clusters, where only
4826 trusted nodes may connect to the build daemon at
4827 @code{master.guix.example.org}.
4829 The @code{--listen} option of @command{guix-daemon} can be used to
4830 instruct it to listen for TCP connections (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon,
4834 @cindex SSH access to build daemons
4835 These URIs allow you to connect to a remote daemon over
4836 SSH@footnote{This feature requires Guile-SSH (@pxref{Requirements}).}.
4837 A typical URL might look like this:
4840 ssh://charlie@@guix.example.org:22
4843 As for @command{guix copy}, the usual OpenSSH client configuration files
4844 are honored (@pxref{Invoking guix copy}).
4847 Additional URI schemes may be supported in the future.
4849 @c XXX: Remove this note when the protocol incurs fewer round trips
4850 @c and when (guix derivations) no longer relies on file system access.
4852 The ability to connect to remote build daemons is considered
4853 experimental as of @value{VERSION}. Please get in touch with us to
4854 share any problems or suggestions you may have (@pxref{Contributing}).
4858 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} open-connection [@var{uri}] [#:reserve-space? #t]
4859 Connect to the daemon over the Unix-domain socket at @var{uri} (a string). When
4860 @var{reserve-space?} is true, instruct it to reserve a little bit of
4861 extra space on the file system so that the garbage collector can still
4862 operate should the disk become full. Return a server object.
4864 @var{file} defaults to @var{%default-socket-path}, which is the normal
4865 location given the options that were passed to @command{configure}.
4868 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} close-connection @var{server}
4869 Close the connection to @var{server}.
4872 @defvr {Scheme Variable} current-build-output-port
4873 This variable is bound to a SRFI-39 parameter, which refers to the port
4874 where build and error logs sent by the daemon should be written.
4877 Procedures that make RPCs all take a server object as their first
4880 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} valid-path? @var{server} @var{path}
4881 @cindex invalid store items
4882 Return @code{#t} when @var{path} designates a valid store item and
4883 @code{#f} otherwise (an invalid item may exist on disk but still be
4884 invalid, for instance because it is the result of an aborted or failed
4887 A @code{&nix-protocol-error} condition is raised if @var{path} is not
4888 prefixed by the store directory (@file{/gnu/store}).
4891 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} add-text-to-store @var{server} @var{name} @var{text} [@var{references}]
4892 Add @var{text} under file @var{name} in the store, and return its store
4893 path. @var{references} is the list of store paths referred to by the
4894 resulting store path.
4897 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} build-derivations @var{server} @var{derivations}
4898 Build @var{derivations} (a list of @code{<derivation>} objects or
4899 derivation paths), and return when the worker is done building them.
4900 Return @code{#t} on success.
4903 Note that the @code{(guix monads)} module provides a monad as well as
4904 monadic versions of the above procedures, with the goal of making it
4905 more convenient to work with code that accesses the store (@pxref{The
4909 @i{This section is currently incomplete.}
4912 @section Derivations
4915 Low-level build actions and the environment in which they are performed
4916 are represented by @dfn{derivations}. A derivation contains the
4917 following pieces of information:
4921 The outputs of the derivation---derivations produce at least one file or
4922 directory in the store, but may produce more.
4925 The inputs of the derivations, which may be other derivations or plain
4926 files in the store (patches, build scripts, etc.)
4929 The system type targeted by the derivation---e.g., @code{x86_64-linux}.
4932 The file name of a build script in the store, along with the arguments
4936 A list of environment variables to be defined.
4940 @cindex derivation path
4941 Derivations allow clients of the daemon to communicate build actions to
4942 the store. They exist in two forms: as an in-memory representation,
4943 both on the client- and daemon-side, and as files in the store whose
4944 name end in @code{.drv}---these files are referred to as @dfn{derivation
4945 paths}. Derivations paths can be passed to the @code{build-derivations}
4946 procedure to perform the build actions they prescribe (@pxref{The
4949 @cindex fixed-output derivations
4950 Operations such as file downloads and version-control checkouts for
4951 which the expected content hash is known in advance are modeled as
4952 @dfn{fixed-output derivations}. Unlike regular derivations, the outputs
4953 of a fixed-output derivation are independent of its inputs---e.g., a
4954 source code download produces the same result regardless of the download
4955 method and tools being used.
4957 The @code{(guix derivations)} module provides a representation of
4958 derivations as Scheme objects, along with procedures to create and
4959 otherwise manipulate derivations. The lowest-level primitive to create
4960 a derivation is the @code{derivation} procedure:
4962 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} derivation @var{store} @var{name} @var{builder} @
4963 @var{args} [#:outputs '("out")] [#:hash #f] [#:hash-algo #f] @
4964 [#:recursive? #f] [#:inputs '()] [#:env-vars '()] @
4965 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:references-graphs #f] @
4966 [#:allowed-references #f] [#:disallowed-references #f] @
4967 [#:leaked-env-vars #f] [#:local-build? #f] @
4968 [#:substitutable? #t]
4969 Build a derivation with the given arguments, and return the resulting
4970 @code{<derivation>} object.
4972 When @var{hash} and @var{hash-algo} are given, a
4973 @dfn{fixed-output derivation} is created---i.e., one whose result is
4974 known in advance, such as a file download. If, in addition,
4975 @var{recursive?} is true, then that fixed output may be an executable
4976 file or a directory and @var{hash} must be the hash of an archive
4977 containing this output.
4979 When @var{references-graphs} is true, it must be a list of file
4980 name/store path pairs. In that case, the reference graph of each store
4981 path is exported in the build environment in the corresponding file, in
4982 a simple text format.
4984 When @var{allowed-references} is true, it must be a list of store items
4985 or outputs that the derivation's output may refer to. Likewise,
4986 @var{disallowed-references}, if true, must be a list of things the
4987 outputs may @emph{not} refer to.
4989 When @var{leaked-env-vars} is true, it must be a list of strings
4990 denoting environment variables that are allowed to ``leak'' from the
4991 daemon's environment to the build environment. This is only applicable
4992 to fixed-output derivations---i.e., when @var{hash} is true. The main
4993 use is to allow variables such as @code{http_proxy} to be passed to
4994 derivations that download files.
4996 When @var{local-build?} is true, declare that the derivation is not a
4997 good candidate for offloading and should rather be built locally
4998 (@pxref{Daemon Offload Setup}). This is the case for small derivations
4999 where the costs of data transfers would outweigh the benefits.
5001 When @var{substitutable?} is false, declare that substitutes of the
5002 derivation's output should not be used (@pxref{Substitutes}). This is
5003 useful, for instance, when building packages that capture details of the
5004 host CPU instruction set.
5008 Here's an example with a shell script as its builder, assuming
5009 @var{store} is an open connection to the daemon, and @var{bash} points
5010 to a Bash executable in the store:
5013 (use-modules (guix utils)
5017 (let ((builder ; add the Bash script to the store
5018 (add-text-to-store store "my-builder.sh"
5019 "echo hello world > $out\n" '())))
5020 (derivation store "foo"
5021 bash `("-e" ,builder)
5022 #:inputs `((,bash) (,builder))
5023 #:env-vars '(("HOME" . "/homeless"))))
5024 @result{} #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-foo.drv => /gnu/store/@dots{}-foo>
5027 As can be guessed, this primitive is cumbersome to use directly. A
5028 better approach is to write build scripts in Scheme, of course! The
5029 best course of action for that is to write the build code as a
5030 ``G-expression'', and to pass it to @code{gexp->derivation}. For more
5031 information, @pxref{G-Expressions}.
5033 Once upon a time, @code{gexp->derivation} did not exist and constructing
5034 derivations with build code written in Scheme was achieved with
5035 @code{build-expression->derivation}, documented below. This procedure
5036 is now deprecated in favor of the much nicer @code{gexp->derivation}.
5038 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} build-expression->derivation @var{store} @
5039 @var{name} @var{exp} @
5040 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:inputs '()] @
5041 [#:outputs '("out")] [#:hash #f] [#:hash-algo #f] @
5042 [#:recursive? #f] [#:env-vars '()] [#:modules '()] @
5043 [#:references-graphs #f] [#:allowed-references #f] @
5044 [#:disallowed-references #f] @
5045 [#:local-build? #f] [#:substitutable? #t] [#:guile-for-build #f]
5046 Return a derivation that executes Scheme expression @var{exp} as a
5047 builder for derivation @var{name}. @var{inputs} must be a list of
5048 @code{(name drv-path sub-drv)} tuples; when @var{sub-drv} is omitted,
5049 @code{"out"} is assumed. @var{modules} is a list of names of Guile
5050 modules from the current search path to be copied in the store,
5051 compiled, and made available in the load path during the execution of
5052 @var{exp}---e.g., @code{((guix build utils) (guix build
5053 gnu-build-system))}.
5055 @var{exp} is evaluated in an environment where @code{%outputs} is bound
5056 to a list of output/path pairs, and where @code{%build-inputs} is bound
5057 to a list of string/output-path pairs made from @var{inputs}.
5058 Optionally, @var{env-vars} is a list of string pairs specifying the name
5059 and value of environment variables visible to the builder. The builder
5060 terminates by passing the result of @var{exp} to @code{exit}; thus, when
5061 @var{exp} returns @code{#f}, the build is considered to have failed.
5063 @var{exp} is built using @var{guile-for-build} (a derivation). When
5064 @var{guile-for-build} is omitted or is @code{#f}, the value of the
5065 @code{%guile-for-build} fluid is used instead.
5067 See the @code{derivation} procedure for the meaning of
5068 @var{references-graphs}, @var{allowed-references},
5069 @var{disallowed-references}, @var{local-build?}, and
5070 @var{substitutable?}.
5074 Here's an example of a single-output derivation that creates a directory
5075 containing one file:
5078 (let ((builder '(let ((out (assoc-ref %outputs "out")))
5079 (mkdir out) ; create /gnu/store/@dots{}-goo
5080 (call-with-output-file (string-append out "/test")
5082 (display '(hello guix) p))))))
5083 (build-expression->derivation store "goo" builder))
5085 @result{} #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-goo.drv => @dots{}>
5089 @node The Store Monad
5090 @section The Store Monad
5094 The procedures that operate on the store described in the previous
5095 sections all take an open connection to the build daemon as their first
5096 argument. Although the underlying model is functional, they either have
5097 side effects or depend on the current state of the store.
5099 The former is inconvenient: the connection to the build daemon has to be
5100 carried around in all those functions, making it impossible to compose
5101 functions that do not take that parameter with functions that do. The
5102 latter can be problematic: since store operations have side effects
5103 and/or depend on external state, they have to be properly sequenced.
5105 @cindex monadic values
5106 @cindex monadic functions
5107 This is where the @code{(guix monads)} module comes in. This module
5108 provides a framework for working with @dfn{monads}, and a particularly
5109 useful monad for our uses, the @dfn{store monad}. Monads are a
5110 construct that allows two things: associating ``context'' with values
5111 (in our case, the context is the store), and building sequences of
5112 computations (here computations include accesses to the store). Values
5113 in a monad---values that carry this additional context---are called
5114 @dfn{monadic values}; procedures that return such values are called
5115 @dfn{monadic procedures}.
5117 Consider this ``normal'' procedure:
5120 (define (sh-symlink store)
5121 ;; Return a derivation that symlinks the 'bash' executable.
5122 (let* ((drv (package-derivation store bash))
5123 (out (derivation->output-path drv))
5124 (sh (string-append out "/bin/bash")))
5125 (build-expression->derivation store "sh"
5126 `(symlink ,sh %output))))
5129 Using @code{(guix monads)} and @code{(guix gexp)}, it may be rewritten
5130 as a monadic function:
5133 (define (sh-symlink)
5134 ;; Same, but return a monadic value.
5135 (mlet %store-monad ((drv (package->derivation bash)))
5136 (gexp->derivation "sh"
5137 #~(symlink (string-append #$drv "/bin/bash")
5141 There are several things to note in the second version: the @code{store}
5142 parameter is now implicit and is ``threaded'' in the calls to the
5143 @code{package->derivation} and @code{gexp->derivation} monadic
5144 procedures, and the monadic value returned by @code{package->derivation}
5145 is @dfn{bound} using @code{mlet} instead of plain @code{let}.
5147 As it turns out, the call to @code{package->derivation} can even be
5148 omitted since it will take place implicitly, as we will see later
5149 (@pxref{G-Expressions}):
5152 (define (sh-symlink)
5153 (gexp->derivation "sh"
5154 #~(symlink (string-append #$bash "/bin/bash")
5159 @c <https://syntaxexclamation.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/escaping-continuations/>
5160 @c for the funny quote.
5161 Calling the monadic @code{sh-symlink} has no effect. As someone once
5162 said, ``you exit a monad like you exit a building on fire: by running''.
5163 So, to exit the monad and get the desired effect, one must use
5164 @code{run-with-store}:
5167 (run-with-store (open-connection) (sh-symlink))
5168 @result{} /gnu/store/...-sh-symlink
5171 Note that the @code{(guix monad-repl)} module extends the Guile REPL with
5172 new ``meta-commands'' to make it easier to deal with monadic procedures:
5173 @code{run-in-store}, and @code{enter-store-monad}. The former is used
5174 to ``run'' a single monadic value through the store:
5177 scheme@@(guile-user)> ,run-in-store (package->derivation hello)
5178 $1 = #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-hello-2.9.drv => @dots{}>
5181 The latter enters a recursive REPL, where all the return values are
5182 automatically run through the store:
5185 scheme@@(guile-user)> ,enter-store-monad
5186 store-monad@@(guile-user) [1]> (package->derivation hello)
5187 $2 = #<derivation /gnu/store/@dots{}-hello-2.9.drv => @dots{}>
5188 store-monad@@(guile-user) [1]> (text-file "foo" "Hello!")
5189 $3 = "/gnu/store/@dots{}-foo"
5190 store-monad@@(guile-user) [1]> ,q
5191 scheme@@(guile-user)>
5195 Note that non-monadic values cannot be returned in the
5196 @code{store-monad} REPL.
5198 The main syntactic forms to deal with monads in general are provided by
5199 the @code{(guix monads)} module and are described below.
5201 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} with-monad @var{monad} @var{body} ...
5202 Evaluate any @code{>>=} or @code{return} forms in @var{body} as being
5206 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} return @var{val}
5207 Return a monadic value that encapsulates @var{val}.
5210 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} >>= @var{mval} @var{mproc} ...
5211 @dfn{Bind} monadic value @var{mval}, passing its ``contents'' to monadic
5212 procedures @var{mproc}@dots{}@footnote{This operation is commonly
5213 referred to as ``bind'', but that name denotes an unrelated procedure in
5214 Guile. Thus we use this somewhat cryptic symbol inherited from the
5215 Haskell language.}. There can be one @var{mproc} or several of them, as
5220 (with-monad %state-monad
5222 (lambda (x) (return (+ 1 x)))
5223 (lambda (x) (return (* 2 x)))))
5227 @result{} some-state
5231 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} mlet @var{monad} ((@var{var} @var{mval}) ...) @
5233 @deffnx {Scheme Syntax} mlet* @var{monad} ((@var{var} @var{mval}) ...) @
5235 Bind the variables @var{var} to the monadic values @var{mval} in
5236 @var{body}, which is a sequence of expressions. As with the bind
5237 operator, this can be thought of as ``unpacking'' the raw, non-monadic
5238 value ``contained'' in @var{mval} and making @var{var} refer to that
5239 raw, non-monadic value within the scope of the @var{body}. The form
5240 (@var{var} -> @var{val}) binds @var{var} to the ``normal'' value
5241 @var{val}, as per @code{let}. The binding operations occur in sequence
5242 from left to right. The last expression of @var{body} must be a monadic
5243 expression, and its result will become the result of the @code{mlet} or
5244 @code{mlet*} when run in the @var{monad}.
5246 @code{mlet*} is to @code{mlet} what @code{let*} is to @code{let}
5247 (@pxref{Local Bindings,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}).
5250 @deffn {Scheme System} mbegin @var{monad} @var{mexp} ...
5251 Bind @var{mexp} and the following monadic expressions in sequence,
5252 returning the result of the last expression. Every expression in the
5253 sequence must be a monadic expression.
5255 This is akin to @code{mlet}, except that the return values of the
5256 monadic expressions are ignored. In that sense, it is analogous to
5257 @code{begin}, but applied to monadic expressions.
5260 @deffn {Scheme System} mwhen @var{condition} @var{mexp0} @var{mexp*} ...
5261 When @var{condition} is true, evaluate the sequence of monadic
5262 expressions @var{mexp0}..@var{mexp*} as in an @code{mbegin}. When
5263 @var{condition} is false, return @code{*unspecified*} in the current
5264 monad. Every expression in the sequence must be a monadic expression.
5267 @deffn {Scheme System} munless @var{condition} @var{mexp0} @var{mexp*} ...
5268 When @var{condition} is false, evaluate the sequence of monadic
5269 expressions @var{mexp0}..@var{mexp*} as in an @code{mbegin}. When
5270 @var{condition} is true, return @code{*unspecified*} in the current
5271 monad. Every expression in the sequence must be a monadic expression.
5275 The @code{(guix monads)} module provides the @dfn{state monad}, which
5276 allows an additional value---the state---to be @emph{threaded} through
5277 monadic procedure calls.
5279 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %state-monad
5280 The state monad. Procedures in the state monad can access and change
5281 the state that is threaded.
5283 Consider the example below. The @code{square} procedure returns a value
5284 in the state monad. It returns the square of its argument, but also
5285 increments the current state value:
5289 (mlet %state-monad ((count (current-state)))
5290 (mbegin %state-monad
5291 (set-current-state (+ 1 count))
5294 (run-with-state (sequence %state-monad (map square (iota 3))) 0)
5299 When ``run'' through @var{%state-monad}, we obtain that additional state
5300 value, which is the number of @code{square} calls.
5303 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} current-state
5304 Return the current state as a monadic value.
5307 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} set-current-state @var{value}
5308 Set the current state to @var{value} and return the previous state as a
5312 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} state-push @var{value}
5313 Push @var{value} to the current state, which is assumed to be a list,
5314 and return the previous state as a monadic value.
5317 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} state-pop
5318 Pop a value from the current state and return it as a monadic value.
5319 The state is assumed to be a list.
5322 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} run-with-state @var{mval} [@var{state}]
5323 Run monadic value @var{mval} starting with @var{state} as the initial
5324 state. Return two values: the resulting value, and the resulting state.
5327 The main interface to the store monad, provided by the @code{(guix
5328 store)} module, is as follows.
5330 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %store-monad
5331 The store monad---an alias for @var{%state-monad}.
5333 Values in the store monad encapsulate accesses to the store. When its
5334 effect is needed, a value of the store monad must be ``evaluated'' by
5335 passing it to the @code{run-with-store} procedure (see below.)
5338 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} run-with-store @var{store} @var{mval} [#:guile-for-build] [#:system (%current-system)]
5339 Run @var{mval}, a monadic value in the store monad, in @var{store}, an
5340 open store connection.
5343 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} text-file @var{name} @var{text} [@var{references}]
5344 Return as a monadic value the absolute file name in the store of the file
5345 containing @var{text}, a string. @var{references} is a list of store items that the
5346 resulting text file refers to; it defaults to the empty list.
5349 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} binary-file @var{name} @var{data} [@var{references}]
5350 Return as a monadic value the absolute file name in the store of the file
5351 containing @var{data}, a bytevector. @var{references} is a list of store
5352 items that the resulting binary file refers to; it defaults to the empty list.
5355 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} interned-file @var{file} [@var{name}] @
5356 [#:recursive? #t] [#:select? (const #t)]
5357 Return the name of @var{file} once interned in the store. Use
5358 @var{name} as its store name, or the basename of @var{file} if
5359 @var{name} is omitted.
5361 When @var{recursive?} is true, the contents of @var{file} are added
5362 recursively; if @var{file} designates a flat file and @var{recursive?}
5363 is true, its contents are added, and its permission bits are kept.
5365 When @var{recursive?} is true, call @code{(@var{select?} @var{file}
5366 @var{stat})} for each directory entry, where @var{file} is the entry's
5367 absolute file name and @var{stat} is the result of @code{lstat}; exclude
5368 entries for which @var{select?} does not return true.
5370 The example below adds a file to the store, under two different names:
5373 (run-with-store (open-connection)
5374 (mlet %store-monad ((a (interned-file "README"))
5375 (b (interned-file "README" "LEGU-MIN")))
5376 (return (list a b))))
5378 @result{} ("/gnu/store/rwm@dots{}-README" "/gnu/store/44i@dots{}-LEGU-MIN")
5383 The @code{(guix packages)} module exports the following package-related
5386 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} package-file @var{package} [@var{file}] @
5387 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:target #f] @
5390 value in the absolute file name of @var{file} within the @var{output}
5391 directory of @var{package}. When @var{file} is omitted, return the name
5392 of the @var{output} directory of @var{package}. When @var{target} is
5393 true, use it as a cross-compilation target triplet.
5396 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} package->derivation @var{package} [@var{system}]
5397 @deffnx {Monadic Procedure} package->cross-derivation @var{package} @
5398 @var{target} [@var{system}]
5399 Monadic version of @code{package-derivation} and
5400 @code{package-cross-derivation} (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
5405 @section G-Expressions
5407 @cindex G-expression
5408 @cindex build code quoting
5409 So we have ``derivations'', which represent a sequence of build actions
5410 to be performed to produce an item in the store (@pxref{Derivations}).
5411 These build actions are performed when asking the daemon to actually
5412 build the derivations; they are run by the daemon in a container
5413 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}).
5415 @cindex strata of code
5416 It should come as no surprise that we like to write these build actions
5417 in Scheme. When we do that, we end up with two @dfn{strata} of Scheme
5418 code@footnote{The term @dfn{stratum} in this context was coined by
5419 Manuel Serrano et al.@: in the context of their work on Hop. Oleg
5420 Kiselyov, who has written insightful
5421 @url{http://okmij.org/ftp/meta-programming/#meta-scheme, essays and code
5422 on this topic}, refers to this kind of code generation as
5423 @dfn{staging}.}: the ``host code''---code that defines packages, talks
5424 to the daemon, etc.---and the ``build code''---code that actually
5425 performs build actions, such as making directories, invoking
5426 @command{make}, etc.
5428 To describe a derivation and its build actions, one typically needs to
5429 embed build code inside host code. It boils down to manipulating build
5430 code as data, and the homoiconicity of Scheme---code has a direct
5431 representation as data---comes in handy for that. But we need more than
5432 the normal @code{quasiquote} mechanism in Scheme to construct build
5435 The @code{(guix gexp)} module implements @dfn{G-expressions}, a form of
5436 S-expressions adapted to build expressions. G-expressions, or
5437 @dfn{gexps}, consist essentially of three syntactic forms: @code{gexp},
5438 @code{ungexp}, and @code{ungexp-splicing} (or simply: @code{#~},
5439 @code{#$}, and @code{#$@@}), which are comparable to
5440 @code{quasiquote}, @code{unquote}, and @code{unquote-splicing},
5441 respectively (@pxref{Expression Syntax, @code{quasiquote},, guile,
5442 GNU Guile Reference Manual}). However, there are major differences:
5446 Gexps are meant to be written to a file and run or manipulated by other
5450 When a high-level object such as a package or derivation is unquoted
5451 inside a gexp, the result is as if its output file name had been
5455 Gexps carry information about the packages or derivations they refer to,
5456 and these dependencies are automatically added as inputs to the build
5457 processes that use them.
5460 @cindex lowering, of high-level objects in gexps
5461 This mechanism is not limited to package and derivation
5462 objects: @dfn{compilers} able to ``lower'' other high-level objects to
5463 derivations or files in the store can be defined,
5464 such that these objects can also be inserted
5465 into gexps. For example, a useful type of high-level objects that can be
5466 inserted in a gexp is ``file-like objects'', which make it easy to
5467 add files to the store and to refer to them in
5468 derivations and such (see @code{local-file} and @code{plain-file}
5471 To illustrate the idea, here is an example of a gexp:
5478 (symlink (string-append #$coreutils "/bin/ls")
5482 This gexp can be passed to @code{gexp->derivation}; we obtain a
5483 derivation that builds a directory containing exactly one symlink to
5484 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22/bin/ls}:
5487 (gexp->derivation "the-thing" build-exp)
5490 As one would expect, the @code{"/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22"} string is
5491 substituted to the reference to the @var{coreutils} package in the
5492 actual build code, and @var{coreutils} is automatically made an input to
5493 the derivation. Likewise, @code{#$output} (equivalent to @code{(ungexp
5494 output)}) is replaced by a string containing the directory name of the
5495 output of the derivation.
5497 @cindex cross compilation
5498 In a cross-compilation context, it is useful to distinguish between
5499 references to the @emph{native} build of a package---that can run on the
5500 host---versus references to cross builds of a package. To that end, the
5501 @code{#+} plays the same role as @code{#$}, but is a reference to a
5502 native package build:
5505 (gexp->derivation "vi"
5508 (system* (string-append #+coreutils "/bin/ln")
5510 (string-append #$emacs "/bin/emacs")
5511 (string-append #$output "/bin/vi")))
5512 #:target "mips64el-linux-gnu")
5516 In the example above, the native build of @var{coreutils} is used, so
5517 that @command{ln} can actually run on the host; but then the
5518 cross-compiled build of @var{emacs} is referenced.
5520 @cindex imported modules, for gexps
5521 @findex with-imported-modules
5522 Another gexp feature is @dfn{imported modules}: sometimes you want to be
5523 able to use certain Guile modules from the ``host environment'' in the
5524 gexp, so those modules should be imported in the ``build environment''.
5525 The @code{with-imported-modules} form allows you to express that:
5528 (let ((build (with-imported-modules '((guix build utils))
5530 (use-modules (guix build utils))
5531 (mkdir-p (string-append #$output "/bin"))))))
5532 (gexp->derivation "empty-dir"
5535 (display "success!\n")
5540 In this example, the @code{(guix build utils)} module is automatically
5541 pulled into the isolated build environment of our gexp, such that
5542 @code{(use-modules (guix build utils))} works as expected.
5544 @cindex module closure
5545 @findex source-module-closure
5546 Usually you want the @emph{closure} of the module to be imported---i.e.,
5547 the module itself and all the modules it depends on---rather than just
5548 the module; failing to do that, attempts to use the module will fail
5549 because of missing dependent modules. The @code{source-module-closure}
5550 procedure computes the closure of a module by looking at its source file
5551 headers, which comes in handy in this case:
5554 (use-modules (guix modules)) ;for 'source-module-closure'
5556 (with-imported-modules (source-module-closure
5557 '((guix build utils)
5559 (gexp->derivation "something-with-vms"
5561 (use-modules (guix build utils)
5566 @cindex extensions, for gexps
5567 @findex with-extensions
5568 In the same vein, sometimes you want to import not just pure-Scheme
5569 modules, but also ``extensions'' such as Guile bindings to C libraries
5570 or other ``full-blown'' packages. Say you need the @code{guile-json}
5571 package available on the build side, here's how you would do it:
5574 (use-modules (gnu packages guile)) ;for 'guile-json'
5576 (with-extensions (list guile-json)
5577 (gexp->derivation "something-with-json"
5579 (use-modules (json))
5583 The syntactic form to construct gexps is summarized below.
5585 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} #~@var{exp}
5586 @deffnx {Scheme Syntax} (gexp @var{exp})
5587 Return a G-expression containing @var{exp}. @var{exp} may contain one
5588 or more of the following forms:
5592 @itemx (ungexp @var{obj})
5593 Introduce a reference to @var{obj}. @var{obj} may have one of the
5594 supported types, for example a package or a
5595 derivation, in which case the @code{ungexp} form is replaced by its
5596 output file name---e.g., @code{"/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22}.
5598 If @var{obj} is a list, it is traversed and references to supported
5599 objects are substituted similarly.
5601 If @var{obj} is another gexp, its contents are inserted and its
5602 dependencies are added to those of the containing gexp.
5604 If @var{obj} is another kind of object, it is inserted as is.
5606 @item #$@var{obj}:@var{output}
5607 @itemx (ungexp @var{obj} @var{output})
5608 This is like the form above, but referring explicitly to the
5609 @var{output} of @var{obj}---this is useful when @var{obj} produces
5610 multiple outputs (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}).
5613 @itemx #+@var{obj}:output
5614 @itemx (ungexp-native @var{obj})
5615 @itemx (ungexp-native @var{obj} @var{output})
5616 Same as @code{ungexp}, but produces a reference to the @emph{native}
5617 build of @var{obj} when used in a cross compilation context.
5619 @item #$output[:@var{output}]
5620 @itemx (ungexp output [@var{output}])
5621 Insert a reference to derivation output @var{output}, or to the main
5622 output when @var{output} is omitted.
5624 This only makes sense for gexps passed to @code{gexp->derivation}.
5627 @itemx (ungexp-splicing @var{lst})
5628 Like the above, but splices the contents of @var{lst} inside the
5632 @itemx (ungexp-native-splicing @var{lst})
5633 Like the above, but refers to native builds of the objects listed in
5638 G-expressions created by @code{gexp} or @code{#~} are run-time objects
5639 of the @code{gexp?} type (see below.)
5642 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} with-imported-modules @var{modules} @var{body}@dots{}
5643 Mark the gexps defined in @var{body}@dots{} as requiring @var{modules}
5644 in their execution environment.
5646 Each item in @var{modules} can be the name of a module, such as
5647 @code{(guix build utils)}, or it can be a module name, followed by an
5648 arrow, followed by a file-like object:
5651 `((guix build utils)
5653 ((guix config) => ,(scheme-file "config.scm"
5654 #~(define-module @dots{}))))
5658 In the example above, the first two modules are taken from the search
5659 path, and the last one is created from the given file-like object.
5661 This form has @emph{lexical} scope: it has an effect on the gexps
5662 directly defined in @var{body}@dots{}, but not on those defined, say, in
5663 procedures called from @var{body}@dots{}.
5666 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} with-extensions @var{extensions} @var{body}@dots{}
5667 Mark the gexps defined in @var{body}@dots{} as requiring
5668 @var{extensions} in their build and execution environment.
5669 @var{extensions} is typically a list of package objects such as those
5670 defined in the @code{(gnu packages guile)} module.
5672 Concretely, the packages listed in @var{extensions} are added to the
5673 load path while compiling imported modules in @var{body}@dots{}; they
5674 are also added to the load path of the gexp returned by
5678 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} gexp? @var{obj}
5679 Return @code{#t} if @var{obj} is a G-expression.
5682 G-expressions are meant to be written to disk, either as code building
5683 some derivation, or as plain files in the store. The monadic procedures
5684 below allow you to do that (@pxref{The Store Monad}, for more
5685 information about monads.)
5687 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} gexp->derivation @var{name} @var{exp} @
5688 [#:system (%current-system)] [#:target #f] [#:graft? #t] @
5689 [#:hash #f] [#:hash-algo #f] @
5690 [#:recursive? #f] [#:env-vars '()] [#:modules '()] @
5691 [#:module-path @var{%load-path}] @
5692 [#:effective-version "2.2"] @
5693 [#:references-graphs #f] [#:allowed-references #f] @
5694 [#:disallowed-references #f] @
5695 [#:leaked-env-vars #f] @
5696 [#:script-name (string-append @var{name} "-builder")] @
5697 [#:deprecation-warnings #f] @
5698 [#:local-build? #f] [#:substitutable? #t] [#:guile-for-build #f]
5699 Return a derivation @var{name} that runs @var{exp} (a gexp) with
5700 @var{guile-for-build} (a derivation) on @var{system}; @var{exp} is
5701 stored in a file called @var{script-name}. When @var{target} is true,
5702 it is used as the cross-compilation target triplet for packages referred
5705 @var{modules} is deprecated in favor of @code{with-imported-modules}.
5707 make @var{modules} available in the evaluation context of @var{exp};
5708 @var{modules} is a list of names of Guile modules searched in
5709 @var{module-path} to be copied in the store, compiled, and made available in
5710 the load path during the execution of @var{exp}---e.g., @code{((guix
5711 build utils) (guix build gnu-build-system))}.
5713 @var{effective-version} determines the string to use when adding extensions of
5714 @var{exp} (see @code{with-extensions}) to the search path---e.g., @code{"2.2"}.
5716 @var{graft?} determines whether packages referred to by @var{exp} should be grafted when
5719 When @var{references-graphs} is true, it must be a list of tuples of one of the
5723 (@var{file-name} @var{package})
5724 (@var{file-name} @var{package} @var{output})
5725 (@var{file-name} @var{derivation})
5726 (@var{file-name} @var{derivation} @var{output})
5727 (@var{file-name} @var{store-item})
5730 The right-hand-side of each element of @var{references-graphs} is automatically made
5731 an input of the build process of @var{exp}. In the build environment, each
5732 @var{file-name} contains the reference graph of the corresponding item, in a simple
5735 @var{allowed-references} must be either @code{#f} or a list of output names and packages.
5736 In the latter case, the list denotes store items that the result is allowed to
5737 refer to. Any reference to another store item will lead to a build error.
5738 Similarly for @var{disallowed-references}, which can list items that must not be
5739 referenced by the outputs.
5741 @var{deprecation-warnings} determines whether to show deprecation warnings while
5742 compiling modules. It can be @code{#f}, @code{#t}, or @code{'detailed}.
5744 The other arguments are as for @code{derivation} (@pxref{Derivations}).
5747 @cindex file-like objects
5748 The @code{local-file}, @code{plain-file}, @code{computed-file},
5749 @code{program-file}, and @code{scheme-file} procedures below return
5750 @dfn{file-like objects}. That is, when unquoted in a G-expression,
5751 these objects lead to a file in the store. Consider this G-expression:
5754 #~(system* #$(file-append glibc "/sbin/nscd") "-f"
5755 #$(local-file "/tmp/my-nscd.conf"))
5758 The effect here is to ``intern'' @file{/tmp/my-nscd.conf} by copying it
5759 to the store. Once expanded, for instance @i{via}
5760 @code{gexp->derivation}, the G-expression refers to that copy under
5761 @file{/gnu/store}; thus, modifying or removing the file in @file{/tmp}
5762 does not have any effect on what the G-expression does.
5763 @code{plain-file} can be used similarly; it differs in that the file
5764 content is directly passed as a string.
5766 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} local-file @var{file} [@var{name}] @
5767 [#:recursive? #f] [#:select? (const #t)]
5768 Return an object representing local file @var{file} to add to the store; this
5769 object can be used in a gexp. If @var{file} is a relative file name, it is looked
5770 up relative to the source file where this form appears. @var{file} will be added to
5771 the store under @var{name}--by default the base name of @var{file}.
5773 When @var{recursive?} is true, the contents of @var{file} are added recursively; if @var{file}
5774 designates a flat file and @var{recursive?} is true, its contents are added, and its
5775 permission bits are kept.
5777 When @var{recursive?} is true, call @code{(@var{select?} @var{file}
5778 @var{stat})} for each directory entry, where @var{file} is the entry's
5779 absolute file name and @var{stat} is the result of @code{lstat}; exclude
5780 entries for which @var{select?} does not return true.
5782 This is the declarative counterpart of the @code{interned-file} monadic
5783 procedure (@pxref{The Store Monad, @code{interned-file}}).
5786 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} plain-file @var{name} @var{content}
5787 Return an object representing a text file called @var{name} with the given
5788 @var{content} (a string or a bytevector) to be added to the store.
5790 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{text-file}.
5793 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} computed-file @var{name} @var{gexp} @
5794 [#:options '(#:local-build? #t)]
5795 Return an object representing the store item @var{name}, a file or
5796 directory computed by @var{gexp}. @var{options}
5797 is a list of additional arguments to pass to @code{gexp->derivation}.
5799 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{gexp->derivation}.
5802 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} gexp->script @var{name} @var{exp} @
5803 [#:guile (default-guile)] [#:module-path %load-path]
5804 Return an executable script @var{name} that runs @var{exp} using
5805 @var{guile}, with @var{exp}'s imported modules in its search path.
5806 Look up @var{exp}'s modules in @var{module-path}.
5808 The example below builds a script that simply invokes the @command{ls}
5812 (use-modules (guix gexp) (gnu packages base))
5814 (gexp->script "list-files"
5815 #~(execl #$(file-append coreutils "/bin/ls")
5819 When ``running'' it through the store (@pxref{The Store Monad,
5820 @code{run-with-store}}), we obtain a derivation that produces an
5821 executable file @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-list-files} along these lines:
5824 #!/gnu/store/@dots{}-guile-2.0.11/bin/guile -ds
5826 (execl "/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.22"/bin/ls" "ls")
5830 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} program-file @var{name} @var{exp} @
5831 [#:guile #f] [#:module-path %load-path]
5832 Return an object representing the executable store item @var{name} that
5833 runs @var{gexp}. @var{guile} is the Guile package used to execute that
5834 script. Imported modules of @var{gexp} are looked up in @var{module-path}.
5836 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{gexp->script}.
5839 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} gexp->file @var{name} @var{exp} @
5840 [#:set-load-path? #t] [#:module-path %load-path] @
5842 [#:guile (default-guile)]
5843 Return a derivation that builds a file @var{name} containing @var{exp}.
5844 When @var{splice?} is true, @var{exp} is considered to be a list of
5845 expressions that will be spliced in the resulting file.
5847 When @var{set-load-path?} is true, emit code in the resulting file to
5848 set @code{%load-path} and @code{%load-compiled-path} to honor
5849 @var{exp}'s imported modules. Look up @var{exp}'s modules in
5852 The resulting file holds references to all the dependencies of @var{exp}
5853 or a subset thereof.
5856 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} scheme-file @var{name} @var{exp} [#:splice? #f]
5857 Return an object representing the Scheme file @var{name} that contains
5860 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{gexp->file}.
5863 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} text-file* @var{name} @var{text} @dots{}
5864 Return as a monadic value a derivation that builds a text file
5865 containing all of @var{text}. @var{text} may list, in addition to
5866 strings, objects of any type that can be used in a gexp: packages,
5867 derivations, local file objects, etc. The resulting store file holds
5868 references to all these.
5870 This variant should be preferred over @code{text-file} anytime the file
5871 to create will reference items from the store. This is typically the
5872 case when building a configuration file that embeds store file names,
5876 (define (profile.sh)
5877 ;; Return the name of a shell script in the store that
5878 ;; initializes the 'PATH' environment variable.
5879 (text-file* "profile.sh"
5880 "export PATH=" coreutils "/bin:"
5881 grep "/bin:" sed "/bin\n"))
5884 In this example, the resulting @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-profile.sh} file
5885 will reference @var{coreutils}, @var{grep}, and @var{sed}, thereby
5886 preventing them from being garbage-collected during its lifetime.
5889 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} mixed-text-file @var{name} @var{text} @dots{}
5890 Return an object representing store file @var{name} containing
5891 @var{text}. @var{text} is a sequence of strings and file-like objects,
5895 (mixed-text-file "profile"
5896 "export PATH=" coreutils "/bin:" grep "/bin")
5899 This is the declarative counterpart of @code{text-file*}.
5902 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} file-union @var{name} @var{files}
5903 Return a @code{<computed-file>} that builds a directory containing all of @var{files}.
5904 Each item in @var{files} must be a two-element list where the first element is the
5905 file name to use in the new directory, and the second element is a gexp
5906 denoting the target file. Here's an example:
5910 `(("hosts" ,(plain-file "hosts"
5911 "127.0.0.1 localhost"))
5912 ("bashrc" ,(plain-file "bashrc"
5913 "alias ls='ls --color=auto'"))))
5916 This yields an @code{etc} directory containing these two files.
5919 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} directory-union @var{name} @var{things}
5920 Return a directory that is the union of @var{things}, where @var{things} is a list of
5921 file-like objects denoting directories. For example:
5924 (directory-union "guile+emacs" (list guile emacs))
5927 yields a directory that is the union of the @code{guile} and @code{emacs} packages.
5930 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} file-append @var{obj} @var{suffix} @dots{}
5931 Return a file-like object that expands to the concatenation of @var{obj}
5932 and @var{suffix}, where @var{obj} is a lowerable object and each
5933 @var{suffix} is a string.
5935 As an example, consider this gexp:
5938 (gexp->script "run-uname"
5939 #~(system* #$(file-append coreutils
5943 The same effect could be achieved with:
5946 (gexp->script "run-uname"
5947 #~(system* (string-append #$coreutils
5951 There is one difference though: in the @code{file-append} case, the
5952 resulting script contains the absolute file name as a string, whereas in
5953 the second case, the resulting script contains a @code{(string-append
5954 @dots{})} expression to construct the file name @emph{at run time}.
5958 Of course, in addition to gexps embedded in ``host'' code, there are
5959 also modules containing build tools. To make it clear that they are
5960 meant to be used in the build stratum, these modules are kept in the
5961 @code{(guix build @dots{})} name space.
5963 @cindex lowering, of high-level objects in gexps
5964 Internally, high-level objects are @dfn{lowered}, using their compiler,
5965 to either derivations or store items. For instance, lowering a package
5966 yields a derivation, and lowering a @code{plain-file} yields a store
5967 item. This is achieved using the @code{lower-object} monadic procedure.
5969 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} lower-object @var{obj} [@var{system}] @
5971 Return as a value in @var{%store-monad} the derivation or store item
5972 corresponding to @var{obj} for @var{system}, cross-compiling for
5973 @var{target} if @var{target} is true. @var{obj} must be an object that
5974 has an associated gexp compiler, such as a @code{<package>}.
5977 @node Invoking guix repl
5978 @section Invoking @command{guix repl}
5980 @cindex REPL, read-eval-print loop
5981 The @command{guix repl} command spawns a Guile @dfn{read-eval-print loop}
5982 (REPL) for interactive programming (@pxref{Using Guile Interactively,,, guile,
5983 GNU Guile Reference Manual}). Compared to just launching the @command{guile}
5984 command, @command{guix repl} guarantees that all the Guix modules and all its
5985 dependencies are available in the search path. You can use it this way:
5989 scheme@@(guile-user)> ,use (gnu packages base)
5990 scheme@@(guile-user)> coreutils
5991 $1 = #<package coreutils@@8.29 gnu/packages/base.scm:327 3e28300>
5995 In addition, @command{guix repl} implements a simple machine-readable REPL
5996 protocol for use by @code{(guix inferior)}, a facility to interact with
5997 @dfn{inferiors}, separate processes running a potentially different revision
6000 The available options are as follows:
6003 @item --type=@var{type}
6004 @itemx -t @var{type}
6005 Start a REPL of the given @var{TYPE}, which can be one of the following:
6009 This is default, and it spawns a standard full-featured Guile REPL.
6011 Spawn a REPL that uses the machine-readable protocol. This is the protocol
6012 that the @code{(guix inferior)} module speaks.
6015 @item --listen=@var{endpoint}
6016 By default, @command{guix repl} reads from standard input and writes to
6017 standard output. When this option is passed, it will instead listen for
6018 connections on @var{endpoint}. Here are examples of valid options:
6021 @item --listen=tcp:37146
6022 Accept connections on localhost on port 37146.
6024 @item --listen=unix:/tmp/socket
6025 Accept connections on the Unix-domain socket @file{/tmp/socket}.
6029 @c *********************************************************************
6033 This section describes Guix command-line utilities. Some of them are
6034 primarily targeted at developers and users who write new package
6035 definitions, while others are more generally useful. They complement
6036 the Scheme programming interface of Guix in a convenient way.
6039 * Invoking guix build:: Building packages from the command line.
6040 * Invoking guix edit:: Editing package definitions.
6041 * Invoking guix download:: Downloading a file and printing its hash.
6042 * Invoking guix hash:: Computing the cryptographic hash of a file.
6043 * Invoking guix import:: Importing package definitions.
6044 * Invoking guix refresh:: Updating package definitions.
6045 * Invoking guix lint:: Finding errors in package definitions.
6046 * Invoking guix size:: Profiling disk usage.
6047 * Invoking guix graph:: Visualizing the graph of packages.
6048 * Invoking guix environment:: Setting up development environments.
6049 * Invoking guix publish:: Sharing substitutes.
6050 * Invoking guix challenge:: Challenging substitute servers.
6051 * Invoking guix copy:: Copying to and from a remote store.
6052 * Invoking guix container:: Process isolation.
6053 * Invoking guix weather:: Assessing substitute availability.
6056 @node Invoking guix build
6057 @section Invoking @command{guix build}
6059 @cindex package building
6060 @cindex @command{guix build}
6061 The @command{guix build} command builds packages or derivations and
6062 their dependencies, and prints the resulting store paths. Note that it
6063 does not modify the user's profile---this is the job of the
6064 @command{guix package} command (@pxref{Invoking guix package}). Thus,
6065 it is mainly useful for distribution developers.
6067 The general syntax is:
6070 guix build @var{options} @var{package-or-derivation}@dots{}
6073 As an example, the following command builds the latest versions of Emacs
6074 and of Guile, displays their build logs, and finally displays the
6075 resulting directories:
6078 guix build emacs guile
6081 Similarly, the following command builds all the available packages:
6084 guix build --quiet --keep-going \
6085 `guix package -A | cut -f1,2 --output-delimiter=@@`
6088 @var{package-or-derivation} may be either the name of a package found in
6089 the software distribution such as @code{coreutils} or
6090 @code{coreutils@@8.20}, or a derivation such as
6091 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.19.drv}. In the former case, a
6092 package with the corresponding name (and optionally version) is searched
6093 for among the GNU distribution modules (@pxref{Package Modules}).
6095 Alternatively, the @code{--expression} option may be used to specify a
6096 Scheme expression that evaluates to a package; this is useful when
6097 disambiguating among several same-named packages or package variants is
6100 There may be zero or more @var{options}. The available options are
6101 described in the subsections below.
6104 * Common Build Options:: Build options for most commands.
6105 * Package Transformation Options:: Creating variants of packages.
6106 * Additional Build Options:: Options specific to 'guix build'.
6107 * Debugging Build Failures:: Real life packaging experience.
6110 @node Common Build Options
6111 @subsection Common Build Options
6113 A number of options that control the build process are common to
6114 @command{guix build} and other commands that can spawn builds, such as
6115 @command{guix package} or @command{guix archive}. These are the
6120 @item --load-path=@var{directory}
6121 @itemx -L @var{directory}
6122 Add @var{directory} to the front of the package module search path
6123 (@pxref{Package Modules}).
6125 This allows users to define their own packages and make them visible to
6126 the command-line tools.
6130 Keep the build tree of failed builds. Thus, if a build fails, its build
6131 tree is kept under @file{/tmp}, in a directory whose name is shown at
6132 the end of the build log. This is useful when debugging build issues.
6133 @xref{Debugging Build Failures}, for tips and tricks on how to debug
6138 Keep going when some of the derivations fail to build; return only once
6139 all the builds have either completed or failed.
6141 The default behavior is to stop as soon as one of the specified
6142 derivations has failed.
6146 Do not build the derivations.
6148 @anchor{fallback-option}
6150 When substituting a pre-built binary fails, fall back to building
6151 packages locally (@pxref{Substitution Failure}).
6153 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
6154 @anchor{client-substitute-urls}
6155 Consider @var{urls} the whitespace-separated list of substitute source
6156 URLs, overriding the default list of URLs of @command{guix-daemon}
6157 (@pxref{daemon-substitute-urls,, @command{guix-daemon} URLs}).
6159 This means that substitutes may be downloaded from @var{urls}, provided
6160 they are signed by a key authorized by the system administrator
6161 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
6163 When @var{urls} is the empty string, substitutes are effectively
6166 @item --no-substitutes
6167 Do not use substitutes for build products. That is, always build things
6168 locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries
6169 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
6172 Do not ``graft'' packages. In practice, this means that package updates
6173 available as grafts are not applied. @xref{Security Updates}, for more
6174 information on grafts.
6176 @item --rounds=@var{n}
6177 Build each derivation @var{n} times in a row, and raise an error if
6178 consecutive build results are not bit-for-bit identical.
6180 This is a useful way to detect non-deterministic builds processes.
6181 Non-deterministic build processes are a problem because they make it
6182 practically impossible for users to @emph{verify} whether third-party
6183 binaries are genuine. @xref{Invoking guix challenge}, for more.
6185 Note that, currently, the differing build results are not kept around,
6186 so you will have to manually investigate in case of an error---e.g., by
6187 stashing one of the build results with @code{guix archive --export}
6188 (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}), then rebuilding, and finally comparing
6191 @item --no-build-hook
6192 Do not attempt to offload builds @i{via} the ``build hook'' of the daemon
6193 (@pxref{Daemon Offload Setup}). That is, always build things locally
6194 instead of offloading builds to remote machines.
6196 @item --max-silent-time=@var{seconds}
6197 When the build or substitution process remains silent for more than
6198 @var{seconds}, terminate it and report a build failure.
6200 By default, the daemon's setting is honored (@pxref{Invoking
6201 guix-daemon, @code{--max-silent-time}}).
6203 @item --timeout=@var{seconds}
6204 Likewise, when the build or substitution process lasts for more than
6205 @var{seconds}, terminate it and report a build failure.
6207 By default, the daemon's setting is honored (@pxref{Invoking
6208 guix-daemon, @code{--timeout}}).
6210 @item --verbosity=@var{level}
6211 Use the given verbosity level. @var{level} must be an integer between 0
6212 and 5; higher means more verbose output. Setting a level of 4 or more
6213 may be helpful when debugging setup issues with the build daemon.
6215 @item --cores=@var{n}
6217 Allow the use of up to @var{n} CPU cores for the build. The special
6218 value @code{0} means to use as many CPU cores as available.
6220 @item --max-jobs=@var{n}
6222 Allow at most @var{n} build jobs in parallel. @xref{Invoking
6223 guix-daemon, @code{--max-jobs}}, for details about this option and the
6224 equivalent @command{guix-daemon} option.
6228 Behind the scenes, @command{guix build} is essentially an interface to
6229 the @code{package-derivation} procedure of the @code{(guix packages)}
6230 module, and to the @code{build-derivations} procedure of the @code{(guix
6231 derivations)} module.
6233 In addition to options explicitly passed on the command line,
6234 @command{guix build} and other @command{guix} commands that support
6235 building honor the @code{GUIX_BUILD_OPTIONS} environment variable.
6237 @defvr {Environment Variable} GUIX_BUILD_OPTIONS
6238 Users can define this variable to a list of command line options that
6239 will automatically be used by @command{guix build} and other
6240 @command{guix} commands that can perform builds, as in the example
6244 $ export GUIX_BUILD_OPTIONS="--no-substitutes -c 2 -L /foo/bar"
6247 These options are parsed independently, and the result is appended to
6248 the parsed command-line options.
6252 @node Package Transformation Options
6253 @subsection Package Transformation Options
6255 @cindex package variants
6256 Another set of command-line options supported by @command{guix build}
6257 and also @command{guix package} are @dfn{package transformation
6258 options}. These are options that make it possible to define @dfn{package
6259 variants}---for instance, packages built from different source code.
6260 This is a convenient way to create customized packages on the fly
6261 without having to type in the definitions of package variants
6262 (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
6266 @item --with-source=@var{source}
6267 @itemx --with-source=@var{package}=@var{source}
6268 @itemx --with-source=@var{package}@@@var{version}=@var{source}
6269 Use @var{source} as the source of @var{package}, and @var{version} as
6271 @var{source} must be a file name or a URL, as for @command{guix
6272 download} (@pxref{Invoking guix download}).
6274 When @var{package} is omitted,
6275 it is taken to be the package name specified on the
6276 command line that matches the base of @var{source}---e.g.,
6277 if @var{source} is @code{/src/guile-2.0.10.tar.gz}, the corresponding
6278 package is @code{guile}.
6280 Likewise, when @var{version} is omitted, the version string is inferred from
6281 @var{source}; in the previous example, it is @code{2.0.10}.
6283 This option allows users to try out versions of packages other than the
6284 one provided by the distribution. The example below downloads
6285 @file{ed-1.7.tar.gz} from a GNU mirror and uses that as the source for
6286 the @code{ed} package:
6289 guix build ed --with-source=mirror://gnu/ed/ed-1.7.tar.gz
6292 As a developer, @code{--with-source} makes it easy to test release
6296 guix build guile --with-source=../guile-2.0.9.219-e1bb7.tar.xz
6299 @dots{} or to build from a checkout in a pristine environment:
6302 $ git clone git://git.sv.gnu.org/guix.git
6303 $ guix build guix --with-source=guix@@1.0=./guix
6306 @item --with-input=@var{package}=@var{replacement}
6307 Replace dependency on @var{package} by a dependency on
6308 @var{replacement}. @var{package} must be a package name, and
6309 @var{replacement} must be a package specification such as @code{guile}
6310 or @code{guile@@1.8}.
6312 For instance, the following command builds Guix, but replaces its
6313 dependency on the current stable version of Guile with a dependency on
6314 the legacy version of Guile, @code{guile@@2.0}:
6317 guix build --with-input=guile=guile@@2.0 guix
6320 This is a recursive, deep replacement. So in this example, both
6321 @code{guix} and its dependency @code{guile-json} (which also depends on
6322 @code{guile}) get rebuilt against @code{guile@@2.0}.
6324 This is implemented using the @code{package-input-rewriting} Scheme
6325 procedure (@pxref{Defining Packages, @code{package-input-rewriting}}).
6327 @item --with-graft=@var{package}=@var{replacement}
6328 This is similar to @code{--with-input} but with an important difference:
6329 instead of rebuilding the whole dependency chain, @var{replacement} is
6330 built and then @dfn{grafted} onto the binaries that were initially
6331 referring to @var{package}. @xref{Security Updates}, for more
6332 information on grafts.
6334 For example, the command below grafts version 3.5.4 of GnuTLS onto Wget
6335 and all its dependencies, replacing references to the version of GnuTLS
6336 they currently refer to:
6339 guix build --with-graft=gnutls=gnutls@@3.5.4 wget
6342 This has the advantage of being much faster than rebuilding everything.
6343 But there is a caveat: it works if and only if @var{package} and
6344 @var{replacement} are strictly compatible---for example, if they provide
6345 a library, the application binary interface (ABI) of those libraries
6346 must be compatible. If @var{replacement} is somehow incompatible with
6347 @var{package}, then the resulting package may be unusable. Use with
6352 @node Additional Build Options
6353 @subsection Additional Build Options
6355 The command-line options presented below are specific to @command{guix
6362 Build quietly, without displaying the build log. Upon completion, the
6363 build log is kept in @file{/var} (or similar) and can always be
6364 retrieved using the @option{--log-file} option.
6366 @item --file=@var{file}
6367 @itemx -f @var{file}
6369 Build the package or derivation that the code within @var{file}
6372 As an example, @var{file} might contain a package definition like this
6373 (@pxref{Defining Packages}):
6376 @verbatiminclude package-hello.scm
6379 @item --expression=@var{expr}
6380 @itemx -e @var{expr}
6381 Build the package or derivation @var{expr} evaluates to.
6383 For example, @var{expr} may be @code{(@@ (gnu packages guile)
6384 guile-1.8)}, which unambiguously designates this specific variant of
6385 version 1.8 of Guile.
6387 Alternatively, @var{expr} may be a G-expression, in which case it is used
6388 as a build program passed to @code{gexp->derivation}
6389 (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
6391 Lastly, @var{expr} may refer to a zero-argument monadic procedure
6392 (@pxref{The Store Monad}). The procedure must return a derivation as a
6393 monadic value, which is then passed through @code{run-with-store}.
6397 Build the source derivations of the packages, rather than the packages
6400 For instance, @code{guix build -S gcc} returns something like
6401 @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-4.7.2.tar.bz2}, which is the GCC
6404 The returned source tarball is the result of applying any patches and
6405 code snippets specified in the package @code{origin} (@pxref{Defining
6409 Fetch and return the source of @var{package-or-derivation} and all their
6410 dependencies, recursively. This is a handy way to obtain a local copy
6411 of all the source code needed to build @var{packages}, allowing you to
6412 eventually build them even without network access. It is an extension
6413 of the @code{--source} option and can accept one of the following
6414 optional argument values:
6418 This value causes the @code{--sources} option to behave in the same way
6419 as the @code{--source} option.
6422 Build the source derivations of all packages, including any source that
6423 might be listed as @code{inputs}. This is the default value.
6426 $ guix build --sources tzdata
6427 The following derivations will be built:
6428 /gnu/store/@dots{}-tzdata2015b.tar.gz.drv
6429 /gnu/store/@dots{}-tzcode2015b.tar.gz.drv
6433 Build the source derivations of all packages, as well of all transitive
6434 inputs to the packages. This can be used e.g. to
6435 prefetch package source for later offline building.
6438 $ guix build --sources=transitive tzdata
6439 The following derivations will be built:
6440 /gnu/store/@dots{}-tzcode2015b.tar.gz.drv
6441 /gnu/store/@dots{}-findutils-4.4.2.tar.xz.drv
6442 /gnu/store/@dots{}-grep-2.21.tar.xz.drv
6443 /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.23.tar.xz.drv
6444 /gnu/store/@dots{}-make-4.1.tar.xz.drv
6445 /gnu/store/@dots{}-bash-4.3.tar.xz.drv
6451 @item --system=@var{system}
6452 @itemx -s @var{system}
6453 Attempt to build for @var{system}---e.g., @code{i686-linux}---instead of
6454 the system type of the build host.
6457 The @code{--system} flag is for @emph{native} compilation and must not
6458 be confused with cross-compilation. See @code{--target} below for
6459 information on cross-compilation.
6462 An example use of this is on Linux-based systems, which can emulate
6463 different personalities. For instance, passing
6464 @code{--system=i686-linux} on an @code{x86_64-linux} system or
6465 @code{--system=armhf-linux} on an @code{aarch64-linux} system allows you
6466 to build packages in a complete 32-bit environment.
6469 Building for an @code{armhf-linux} system is unconditionally enabled on
6470 @code{aarch64-linux} machines, although certain aarch64 chipsets do not
6471 allow for this functionality, notably the ThunderX.
6474 Similarly, when transparent emulation with QEMU and @code{binfmt_misc}
6475 is enabled (@pxref{Virtualization Services,
6476 @code{qemu-binfmt-service-type}}), you can build for any system for
6477 which a QEMU @code{binfmt_misc} handler is installed.
6479 Builds for a system other than that of the machine you are using can
6480 also be offloaded to a remote machine of the right architecture.
6481 @xref{Daemon Offload Setup}, for more information on offloading.
6483 @item --target=@var{triplet}
6484 @cindex cross-compilation
6485 Cross-build for @var{triplet}, which must be a valid GNU triplet, such
6486 as @code{"mips64el-linux-gnu"} (@pxref{Specifying target triplets, GNU
6487 configuration triplets,, autoconf, Autoconf}).
6489 @anchor{build-check}
6491 @cindex determinism, checking
6492 @cindex reproducibility, checking
6493 Rebuild @var{package-or-derivation}, which are already available in the
6494 store, and raise an error if the build results are not bit-for-bit
6497 This mechanism allows you to check whether previously installed
6498 substitutes are genuine (@pxref{Substitutes}), or whether the build result
6499 of a package is deterministic. @xref{Invoking guix challenge}, for more
6500 background information and tools.
6502 When used in conjunction with @option{--keep-failed}, the differing
6503 output is kept in the store, under @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-check}.
6504 This makes it easy to look for differences between the two results.
6507 @cindex repairing store items
6508 @cindex corruption, recovering from
6509 Attempt to repair the specified store items, if they are corrupt, by
6510 re-downloading or rebuilding them.
6512 This operation is not atomic and thus restricted to @code{root}.
6516 Return the derivation paths, not the output paths, of the given
6519 @item --root=@var{file}
6520 @itemx -r @var{file}
6521 @cindex GC roots, adding
6522 @cindex garbage collector roots, adding
6523 Make @var{file} a symlink to the result, and register it as a garbage
6526 Consequently, the results of this @command{guix build} invocation are
6527 protected from garbage collection until @var{file} is removed. When
6528 that option is omitted, build results are eligible for garbage
6529 collection as soon as the build completes. @xref{Invoking guix gc}, for
6533 @cindex build logs, access
6534 Return the build log file names or URLs for the given
6535 @var{package-or-derivation}, or raise an error if build logs are
6538 This works regardless of how packages or derivations are specified. For
6539 instance, the following invocations are equivalent:
6542 guix build --log-file `guix build -d guile`
6543 guix build --log-file `guix build guile`
6544 guix build --log-file guile
6545 guix build --log-file -e '(@@ (gnu packages guile) guile-2.0)'
6548 If a log is unavailable locally, and unless @code{--no-substitutes} is
6549 passed, the command looks for a corresponding log on one of the
6550 substitute servers (as specified with @code{--substitute-urls}.)
6552 So for instance, imagine you want to see the build log of GDB on MIPS,
6553 but you are actually on an @code{x86_64} machine:
6556 $ guix build --log-file gdb -s mips64el-linux
6557 https://hydra.gnu.org/log/@dots{}-gdb-7.10
6560 You can freely access a huge library of build logs!
6563 @node Debugging Build Failures
6564 @subsection Debugging Build Failures
6566 @cindex build failures, debugging
6567 When defining a new package (@pxref{Defining Packages}), you will
6568 probably find yourself spending some time debugging and tweaking the
6569 build until it succeeds. To do that, you need to operate the build
6570 commands yourself in an environment as close as possible to the one the
6573 To that end, the first thing to do is to use the @option{--keep-failed}
6574 or @option{-K} option of @command{guix build}, which will keep the
6575 failed build tree in @file{/tmp} or whatever directory you specified as
6576 @code{TMPDIR} (@pxref{Invoking guix build, @code{--keep-failed}}).
6578 From there on, you can @command{cd} to the failed build tree and source
6579 the @file{environment-variables} file, which contains all the
6580 environment variable definitions that were in place when the build
6581 failed. So let's say you're debugging a build failure in package
6582 @code{foo}; a typical session would look like this:
6586 @dots{} @i{build fails}
6587 $ cd /tmp/guix-build-foo.drv-0
6588 $ source ./environment-variables
6592 Now, you can invoke commands as if you were the daemon (almost) and
6593 troubleshoot your build process.
6595 Sometimes it happens that, for example, a package's tests pass when you
6596 run them manually but they fail when the daemon runs them. This can
6597 happen because the daemon runs builds in containers where, unlike in our
6598 environment above, network access is missing, @file{/bin/sh} does not
6599 exist, etc. (@pxref{Build Environment Setup}).
6601 In such cases, you may need to run inspect the build process from within
6602 a container similar to the one the build daemon creates:
6607 $ cd /tmp/guix-build-foo.drv-0
6608 $ guix environment --no-grafts -C foo --ad-hoc strace gdb
6609 [env]# source ./environment-variables
6613 Here, @command{guix environment -C} creates a container and spawns a new
6614 shell in it (@pxref{Invoking guix environment}). The @command{--ad-hoc
6615 strace gdb} part adds the @command{strace} and @command{gdb} commands to
6616 the container, which would may find handy while debugging. The
6617 @option{--no-grafts} option makes sure we get the exact same
6618 environment, with ungrafted packages (@pxref{Security Updates}, for more
6621 To get closer to a container like that used by the build daemon, we can
6622 remove @file{/bin/sh}:
6628 (Don't worry, this is harmless: this is all happening in the throw-away
6629 container created by @command{guix environment}.)
6631 The @command{strace} command is probably not in the search path, but we
6635 [env]# $GUIX_ENVIRONMENT/bin/strace -f -o log make check
6638 In this way, not only you will have reproduced the environment variables
6639 the daemon uses, you will also be running the build process in a container
6640 similar to the one the daemon uses.
6643 @node Invoking guix edit
6644 @section Invoking @command{guix edit}
6646 @cindex @command{guix edit}
6647 @cindex package definition, editing
6648 So many packages, so many source files! The @command{guix edit} command
6649 facilitates the life of users and packagers by pointing their editor at
6650 the source file containing the definition of the specified packages.
6654 guix edit gcc@@4.9 vim
6658 launches the program specified in the @code{VISUAL} or in the
6659 @code{EDITOR} environment variable to view the recipe of GCC@tie{}4.9.3
6662 If you are using a Guix Git checkout (@pxref{Building from Git}), or
6663 have created your own packages on @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH}
6664 (@pxref{Package Modules}), you will be able to edit the package
6665 recipes. In other cases, you will be able to examine the read-only recipes
6666 for packages currently in the store.
6669 @node Invoking guix download
6670 @section Invoking @command{guix download}
6672 @cindex @command{guix download}
6673 @cindex downloading package sources
6674 When writing a package definition, developers typically need to download
6675 a source tarball, compute its SHA256 hash, and write that
6676 hash in the package definition (@pxref{Defining Packages}). The
6677 @command{guix download} tool helps with this task: it downloads a file
6678 from the given URI, adds it to the store, and prints both its file name
6679 in the store and its SHA256 hash.
6681 The fact that the downloaded file is added to the store saves bandwidth:
6682 when the developer eventually tries to build the newly defined package
6683 with @command{guix build}, the source tarball will not have to be
6684 downloaded again because it is already in the store. It is also a
6685 convenient way to temporarily stash files, which may be deleted
6686 eventually (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}).
6688 The @command{guix download} command supports the same URIs as used in
6689 package definitions. In particular, it supports @code{mirror://} URIs.
6690 @code{https} URIs (HTTP over TLS) are supported @emph{provided} the
6691 Guile bindings for GnuTLS are available in the user's environment; when
6692 they are not available, an error is raised. @xref{Guile Preparations,
6693 how to install the GnuTLS bindings for Guile,, gnutls-guile,
6694 GnuTLS-Guile}, for more information.
6696 @command{guix download} verifies HTTPS server certificates by loading
6697 the certificates of X.509 authorities from the directory pointed to by
6698 the @code{SSL_CERT_DIR} environment variable (@pxref{X.509
6699 Certificates}), unless @option{--no-check-certificate} is used.
6701 The following options are available:
6704 @item --format=@var{fmt}
6706 Write the hash in the format specified by @var{fmt}. For more
6707 information on the valid values for @var{fmt}, @pxref{Invoking guix hash}.
6709 @item --no-check-certificate
6710 Do not validate the X.509 certificates of HTTPS servers.
6712 When using this option, you have @emph{absolutely no guarantee} that you
6713 are communicating with the authentic server responsible for the given
6714 URL, which makes you vulnerable to ``man-in-the-middle'' attacks.
6716 @item --output=@var{file}
6717 @itemx -o @var{file}
6718 Save the downloaded file to @var{file} instead of adding it to the
6722 @node Invoking guix hash
6723 @section Invoking @command{guix hash}
6725 @cindex @command{guix hash}
6726 The @command{guix hash} command computes the SHA256 hash of a file.
6727 It is primarily a convenience tool for anyone contributing to the
6728 distribution: it computes the cryptographic hash of a file, which can be
6729 used in the definition of a package (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
6731 The general syntax is:
6734 guix hash @var{option} @var{file}
6737 When @var{file} is @code{-} (a hyphen), @command{guix hash} computes the
6738 hash of data read from standard input. @command{guix hash} has the
6743 @item --format=@var{fmt}
6745 Write the hash in the format specified by @var{fmt}.
6747 Supported formats: @code{nix-base32}, @code{base32}, @code{base16}
6748 (@code{hex} and @code{hexadecimal} can be used as well).
6750 If the @option{--format} option is not specified, @command{guix hash}
6751 will output the hash in @code{nix-base32}. This representation is used
6752 in the definitions of packages.
6756 Compute the hash on @var{file} recursively.
6758 In this case, the hash is computed on an archive containing @var{file},
6759 including its children if it is a directory. Some of the metadata of
6760 @var{file} is part of the archive; for instance, when @var{file} is a
6761 regular file, the hash is different depending on whether @var{file} is
6762 executable or not. Metadata such as time stamps has no impact on the
6763 hash (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}).
6764 @c FIXME: Replace xref above with xref to an ``Archive'' section when
6769 When combined with @option{--recursive}, exclude version control system
6770 directories (@file{.bzr}, @file{.git}, @file{.hg}, etc.)
6773 As an example, here is how you would compute the hash of a Git checkout,
6774 which is useful when using the @code{git-fetch} method (@pxref{origin
6778 $ git clone http://example.org/foo.git
6784 @node Invoking guix import
6785 @section Invoking @command{guix import}
6787 @cindex importing packages
6788 @cindex package import
6789 @cindex package conversion
6790 @cindex Invoking @command{guix import}
6791 The @command{guix import} command is useful for people who would like to
6792 add a package to the distribution with as little work as
6793 possible---a legitimate demand. The command knows of a few
6794 repositories from which it can ``import'' package metadata. The result
6795 is a package definition, or a template thereof, in the format we know
6796 (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
6798 The general syntax is:
6801 guix import @var{importer} @var{options}@dots{}
6804 @var{importer} specifies the source from which to import package
6805 metadata, and @var{options} specifies a package identifier and other
6806 options specific to @var{importer}. Currently, the available
6811 Import metadata for the given GNU package. This provides a template
6812 for the latest version of that GNU package, including the hash of its
6813 source tarball, and its canonical synopsis and description.
6815 Additional information such as the package dependencies and its
6816 license needs to be figured out manually.
6818 For example, the following command returns a package definition for
6822 guix import gnu hello
6825 Specific command-line options are:
6828 @item --key-download=@var{policy}
6829 As for @code{guix refresh}, specify the policy to handle missing OpenPGP
6830 keys when verifying the package signature. @xref{Invoking guix
6831 refresh, @code{--key-download}}.
6836 Import metadata from the @uref{https://pypi.python.org/, Python Package
6837 Index}@footnote{This functionality requires Guile-JSON to be installed.
6838 @xref{Requirements}.}. Information is taken from the JSON-formatted
6839 description available at @code{pypi.python.org} and usually includes all
6840 the relevant information, including package dependencies. For maximum
6841 efficiency, it is recommended to install the @command{unzip} utility, so
6842 that the importer can unzip Python wheels and gather data from them.
6844 The command below imports metadata for the @code{itsdangerous} Python
6848 guix import pypi itsdangerous
6854 Traverse the dependency graph of the given upstream package recursively
6855 and generate package expressions for all those packages that are not yet
6861 Import metadata from @uref{https://rubygems.org/,
6862 RubyGems}@footnote{This functionality requires Guile-JSON to be
6863 installed. @xref{Requirements}.}. Information is taken from the
6864 JSON-formatted description available at @code{rubygems.org} and includes
6865 most relevant information, including runtime dependencies. There are
6866 some caveats, however. The metadata doesn't distinguish between
6867 synopses and descriptions, so the same string is used for both fields.
6868 Additionally, the details of non-Ruby dependencies required to build
6869 native extensions is unavailable and left as an exercise to the
6872 The command below imports metadata for the @code{rails} Ruby package:
6875 guix import gem rails
6881 Traverse the dependency graph of the given upstream package recursively
6882 and generate package expressions for all those packages that are not yet
6888 Import metadata from @uref{https://www.metacpan.org/, MetaCPAN}@footnote{This
6889 functionality requires Guile-JSON to be installed.
6890 @xref{Requirements}.}.
6891 Information is taken from the JSON-formatted metadata provided through
6892 @uref{https://fastapi.metacpan.org/, MetaCPAN's API} and includes most
6893 relevant information, such as module dependencies. License information
6894 should be checked closely. If Perl is available in the store, then the
6895 @code{corelist} utility will be used to filter core modules out of the
6896 list of dependencies.
6898 The command command below imports metadata for the @code{Acme::Boolean}
6902 guix import cpan Acme::Boolean
6907 @cindex Bioconductor
6908 Import metadata from @uref{https://cran.r-project.org/, CRAN}, the
6909 central repository for the @uref{http://r-project.org, GNU@tie{}R
6910 statistical and graphical environment}.
6912 Information is extracted from the @code{DESCRIPTION} file of the package.
6914 The command command below imports metadata for the @code{Cairo}
6918 guix import cran Cairo
6921 When @code{--recursive} is added, the importer will traverse the
6922 dependency graph of the given upstream package recursively and generate
6923 package expressions for all those packages that are not yet in Guix.
6925 When @code{--archive=bioconductor} is added, metadata is imported from
6926 @uref{https://www.bioconductor.org/, Bioconductor}, a repository of R
6927 packages for for the analysis and comprehension of high-throughput
6928 genomic data in bioinformatics.
6930 Information is extracted from the @code{DESCRIPTION} file of a package
6931 published on the web interface of the Bioconductor SVN repository.
6933 The command below imports metadata for the @code{GenomicRanges}
6937 guix import cran --archive=bioconductor GenomicRanges
6943 Import metadata from @uref{http://www.ctan.org/, CTAN}, the
6944 comprehensive TeX archive network for TeX packages that are part of the
6945 @uref{https://www.tug.org/texlive/, TeX Live distribution}.
6947 Information about the package is obtained through the XML API provided
6948 by CTAN, while the source code is downloaded from the SVN repository of
6949 the Tex Live project. This is done because the CTAN does not keep
6952 The command command below imports metadata for the @code{fontspec}
6956 guix import texlive fontspec
6959 When @code{--archive=DIRECTORY} is added, the source code is downloaded
6960 not from the @file{latex} sub-directory of the @file{texmf-dist/source}
6961 tree in the TeX Live SVN repository, but from the specified sibling
6962 directory under the same root.
6964 The command below imports metadata for the @code{ifxetex} package from
6965 CTAN while fetching the sources from the directory
6966 @file{texmf/source/generic}:
6969 guix import texlive --archive=generic ifxetex
6973 @cindex JSON, import
6974 Import package metadata from a local JSON file@footnote{This
6975 functionality requires Guile-JSON to be installed.
6976 @xref{Requirements}.}. Consider the following example package
6977 definition in JSON format:
6983 "source": "mirror://gnu/hello/hello-2.10.tar.gz",
6984 "build-system": "gnu",
6985 "home-page": "https://www.gnu.org/software/hello/",
6986 "synopsis": "Hello, GNU world: An example GNU package",
6987 "description": "GNU Hello prints a greeting.",
6988 "license": "GPL-3.0+",
6989 "native-inputs": ["gcc@@6"]
6993 The field names are the same as for the @code{<package>} record
6994 (@xref{Defining Packages}). References to other packages are provided
6995 as JSON lists of quoted package specification strings such as
6996 @code{guile} or @code{guile@@2.0}.
6998 The importer also supports a more explicit source definition using the
6999 common fields for @code{<origin>} records:
7005 "method": "url-fetch",
7006 "uri": "mirror://gnu/hello/hello-2.10.tar.gz",
7008 "base32": "0ssi1wpaf7plaswqqjwigppsg5fyh99vdlb9kzl7c9lng89ndq1i"
7015 The command below reads metadata from the JSON file @code{hello.json}
7016 and outputs a package expression:
7019 guix import json hello.json
7023 Import metadata from a local copy of the source of the
7024 @uref{http://nixos.org/nixpkgs/, Nixpkgs distribution}@footnote{This
7025 relies on the @command{nix-instantiate} command of
7026 @uref{http://nixos.org/nix/, Nix}.}. Package definitions in Nixpkgs are
7027 typically written in a mixture of Nix-language and Bash code. This
7028 command only imports the high-level package structure that is written in
7029 the Nix language. It normally includes all the basic fields of a
7032 When importing a GNU package, the synopsis and descriptions are replaced
7033 by their canonical upstream variant.
7035 Usually, you will first need to do:
7038 export NIX_REMOTE=daemon
7042 so that @command{nix-instantiate} does not try to open the Nix database.
7044 As an example, the command below imports the package definition of
7045 LibreOffice (more precisely, it imports the definition of the package
7046 bound to the @code{libreoffice} top-level attribute):
7049 guix import nix ~/path/to/nixpkgs libreoffice
7054 Import metadata from the Haskell community's central package archive
7055 @uref{https://hackage.haskell.org/, Hackage}. Information is taken from
7056 Cabal files and includes all the relevant information, including package
7059 Specific command-line options are:
7064 Read a Cabal file from standard input.
7065 @item --no-test-dependencies
7067 Do not include dependencies required only by the test suites.
7068 @item --cabal-environment=@var{alist}
7069 @itemx -e @var{alist}
7070 @var{alist} is a Scheme alist defining the environment in which the
7071 Cabal conditionals are evaluated. The accepted keys are: @code{os},
7072 @code{arch}, @code{impl} and a string representing the name of a flag.
7073 The value associated with a flag has to be either the symbol
7074 @code{true} or @code{false}. The value associated with other keys
7075 has to conform to the Cabal file format definition. The default value
7076 associated with the keys @code{os}, @code{arch} and @code{impl} is
7077 @samp{linux}, @samp{x86_64} and @samp{ghc}, respectively.
7080 Traverse the dependency graph of the given upstream package recursively
7081 and generate package expressions for all those packages that are not yet
7085 The command below imports metadata for the latest version of the
7086 @code{HTTP} Haskell package without including test dependencies and
7087 specifying the value of the flag @samp{network-uri} as @code{false}:
7090 guix import hackage -t -e "'((\"network-uri\" . false))" HTTP
7093 A specific package version may optionally be specified by following the
7094 package name by an at-sign and a version number as in the following example:
7097 guix import hackage mtl@@2.1.3.1
7102 The @code{stackage} importer is a wrapper around the @code{hackage} one.
7103 It takes a package name, looks up the package version included in a
7104 long-term support (LTS) @uref{https://www.stackage.org, Stackage}
7105 release and uses the @code{hackage} importer to retrieve its metadata.
7106 Note that it is up to you to select an LTS release compatible with the
7107 GHC compiler used by Guix.
7109 Specific command-line options are:
7112 @item --no-test-dependencies
7114 Do not include dependencies required only by the test suites.
7115 @item --lts-version=@var{version}
7116 @itemx -l @var{version}
7117 @var{version} is the desired LTS release version. If omitted the latest
7121 Traverse the dependency graph of the given upstream package recursively
7122 and generate package expressions for all those packages that are not yet
7126 The command below imports metadata for the @code{HTTP} Haskell package
7127 included in the LTS Stackage release version 7.18:
7130 guix import stackage --lts-version=7.18 HTTP
7135 Import metadata from an Emacs Lisp Package Archive (ELPA) package
7136 repository (@pxref{Packages,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
7138 Specific command-line options are:
7141 @item --archive=@var{repo}
7142 @itemx -a @var{repo}
7143 @var{repo} identifies the archive repository from which to retrieve the
7144 information. Currently the supported repositories and their identifiers
7148 @uref{http://elpa.gnu.org/packages, GNU}, selected by the @code{gnu}
7149 identifier. This is the default.
7151 Packages from @code{elpa.gnu.org} are signed with one of the keys
7152 contained in the GnuPG keyring at
7153 @file{share/emacs/25.1/etc/package-keyring.gpg} (or similar) in the
7154 @code{emacs} package (@pxref{Package Installation, ELPA package
7155 signatures,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
7158 @uref{http://stable.melpa.org/packages, MELPA-Stable}, selected by the
7159 @code{melpa-stable} identifier.
7162 @uref{http://melpa.org/packages, MELPA}, selected by the @code{melpa}
7168 Traverse the dependency graph of the given upstream package recursively
7169 and generate package expressions for all those packages that are not yet
7175 Import metadata from the crates.io Rust package repository
7176 @uref{https://crates.io, crates.io}.
7181 Import metadata from the @uref{https://opam.ocaml.org/, OPAM} package
7182 repository used by the OCaml community.
7185 The structure of the @command{guix import} code is modular. It would be
7186 useful to have more importers for other package formats, and your help
7187 is welcome here (@pxref{Contributing}).
7189 @node Invoking guix refresh
7190 @section Invoking @command{guix refresh}
7192 @cindex @command {guix refresh}
7193 The primary audience of the @command{guix refresh} command is developers
7194 of the GNU software distribution. By default, it reports any packages
7195 provided by the distribution that are outdated compared to the latest
7196 upstream version, like this:
7200 gnu/packages/gettext.scm:29:13: gettext would be upgraded from 0.18.1.1 to 0.18.2.1
7201 gnu/packages/glib.scm:77:12: glib would be upgraded from 2.34.3 to 2.37.0
7204 Alternately, one can specify packages to consider, in which case a
7205 warning is emitted for packages that lack an updater:
7208 $ guix refresh coreutils guile guile-ssh
7209 gnu/packages/ssh.scm:205:2: warning: no updater for guile-ssh
7210 gnu/packages/guile.scm:136:12: guile would be upgraded from 2.0.12 to 2.0.13
7213 @command{guix refresh} browses the upstream repository of each package and determines
7214 the highest version number of the releases therein. The command
7215 knows how to update specific types of packages: GNU packages, ELPA
7216 packages, etc.---see the documentation for @option{--type} below. There
7217 are many packages, though, for which it lacks a method to determine
7218 whether a new upstream release is available. However, the mechanism is
7219 extensible, so feel free to get in touch with us to add a new method!
7221 Sometimes the upstream name differs from the package name used in Guix,
7222 and @command{guix refresh} needs a little help. Most updaters honor the
7223 @code{upstream-name} property in package definitions, which can be used
7227 (define-public network-manager
7229 (name "network-manager")
7231 (properties '((upstream-name . "NetworkManager")))))
7234 When passed @code{--update}, it modifies distribution source files to
7235 update the version numbers and source tarball hashes of those package
7236 recipes (@pxref{Defining Packages}). This is achieved by downloading
7237 each package's latest source tarball and its associated OpenPGP
7238 signature, authenticating the downloaded tarball against its signature
7239 using @command{gpg}, and finally computing its hash. When the public
7240 key used to sign the tarball is missing from the user's keyring, an
7241 attempt is made to automatically retrieve it from a public key server;
7242 when this is successful, the key is added to the user's keyring; otherwise,
7243 @command{guix refresh} reports an error.
7245 The following options are supported:
7249 @item --expression=@var{expr}
7250 @itemx -e @var{expr}
7251 Consider the package @var{expr} evaluates to.
7253 This is useful to precisely refer to a package, as in this example:
7256 guix refresh -l -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages commencement) glibc-final)'
7259 This command lists the dependents of the ``final'' libc (essentially all
7264 Update distribution source files (package recipes) in place. This is
7265 usually run from a checkout of the Guix source tree (@pxref{Running
7266 Guix Before It Is Installed}):
7269 $ ./pre-inst-env guix refresh -s non-core -u
7272 @xref{Defining Packages}, for more information on package definitions.
7274 @item --select=[@var{subset}]
7275 @itemx -s @var{subset}
7276 Select all the packages in @var{subset}, one of @code{core} or
7279 The @code{core} subset refers to all the packages at the core of the
7280 distribution---i.e., packages that are used to build ``everything
7281 else''. This includes GCC, libc, Binutils, Bash, etc. Usually,
7282 changing one of these packages in the distribution entails a rebuild of
7283 all the others. Thus, such updates are an inconvenience to users in
7284 terms of build time or bandwidth used to achieve the upgrade.
7286 The @code{non-core} subset refers to the remaining packages. It is
7287 typically useful in cases where an update of the core packages would be
7290 @item --manifest=@var{file}
7291 @itemx -m @var{file}
7292 Select all the packages from the manifest in @var{file}. This is useful to
7293 check if any packages of the user manifest can be updated.
7295 @item --type=@var{updater}
7296 @itemx -t @var{updater}
7297 Select only packages handled by @var{updater} (may be a comma-separated
7298 list of updaters). Currently, @var{updater} may be one of:
7302 the updater for GNU packages;
7304 the updater for GNOME packages;
7306 the updater for KDE packages;
7308 the updater for X.org packages;
7310 the updater for packages hosted on kernel.org;
7312 the updater for @uref{http://elpa.gnu.org/, ELPA} packages;
7314 the updater for @uref{https://cran.r-project.org/, CRAN} packages;
7316 the updater for @uref{https://www.bioconductor.org/, Bioconductor} R packages;
7318 the updater for @uref{http://www.cpan.org/, CPAN} packages;
7320 the updater for @uref{https://pypi.python.org, PyPI} packages.
7322 the updater for @uref{https://rubygems.org, RubyGems} packages.
7324 the updater for @uref{https://github.com, GitHub} packages.
7326 the updater for @uref{https://hackage.haskell.org, Hackage} packages.
7328 the updater for @uref{https://www.stackage.org, Stackage} packages.
7330 the updater for @uref{https://crates.io, Crates} packages.
7333 For instance, the following command only checks for updates of Emacs
7334 packages hosted at @code{elpa.gnu.org} and for updates of CRAN packages:
7337 $ guix refresh --type=elpa,cran
7338 gnu/packages/statistics.scm:819:13: r-testthat would be upgraded from 0.10.0 to 0.11.0
7339 gnu/packages/emacs.scm:856:13: emacs-auctex would be upgraded from 11.88.6 to 11.88.9
7344 In addition, @command{guix refresh} can be passed one or more package
7345 names, as in this example:
7348 $ ./pre-inst-env guix refresh -u emacs idutils gcc@@4.8
7352 The command above specifically updates the @code{emacs} and
7353 @code{idutils} packages. The @code{--select} option would have no
7354 effect in this case.
7356 When considering whether to upgrade a package, it is sometimes
7357 convenient to know which packages would be affected by the upgrade and
7358 should be checked for compatibility. For this the following option may
7359 be used when passing @command{guix refresh} one or more package names:
7363 @item --list-updaters
7365 List available updaters and exit (see @option{--type} above.)
7367 For each updater, display the fraction of packages it covers; at the
7368 end, display the fraction of packages covered by all these updaters.
7370 @item --list-dependent
7372 List top-level dependent packages that would need to be rebuilt as a
7373 result of upgrading one or more packages.
7375 @xref{Invoking guix graph, the @code{reverse-package} type of
7376 @command{guix graph}}, for information on how to visualize the list of
7377 dependents of a package.
7381 Be aware that the @code{--list-dependent} option only
7382 @emph{approximates} the rebuilds that would be required as a result of
7383 an upgrade. More rebuilds might be required under some circumstances.
7386 $ guix refresh --list-dependent flex
7387 Building the following 120 packages would ensure 213 dependent packages are rebuilt:
7388 hop@@2.4.0 geiser@@0.4 notmuch@@0.18 mu@@0.9.9.5 cflow@@1.4 idutils@@4.6 @dots{}
7391 The command above lists a set of packages that could be built to check
7392 for compatibility with an upgraded @code{flex} package.
7394 The following options can be used to customize GnuPG operation:
7398 @item --gpg=@var{command}
7399 Use @var{command} as the GnuPG 2.x command. @var{command} is searched
7400 for in @code{$PATH}.
7402 @item --keyring=@var{file}
7403 Use @var{file} as the keyring for upstream keys. @var{file} must be in the
7404 @dfn{keybox format}. Keybox files usually have a name ending in @file{.kbx}
7405 and the GNU@tie{}Privacy Guard (GPG) can manipulate these files
7406 (@pxref{kbxutil, @command{kbxutil},, gnupg, Using the GNU Privacy Guard}, for
7407 information on a tool to manipulate keybox files).
7409 When this option is omitted, @command{guix refresh} uses
7410 @file{~/.config/guix/upstream/trustedkeys.kbx} as the keyring for upstream
7411 signing keys. OpenPGP signatures are checked against keys from this keyring;
7412 missing keys are downloaded to this keyring as well (see
7413 @option{--key-download} below.)
7415 You can export keys from your default GPG keyring into a keybox file using
7416 commands like this one:
7419 gpg --export rms@@gnu.org | kbxutil --import-openpgp >> mykeyring.kbx
7422 Likewise, you can fetch keys to a specific keybox file like this:
7425 gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring mykeyring.kbx \
7426 --recv-keys @value{OPENPGP-SIGNING-KEY-ID}
7429 @ref{GPG Configuration Options, @option{--keyring},, gnupg, Using the GNU
7430 Privacy Guard}, for more information on GPG's @option{--keyring} option.
7432 @item --key-download=@var{policy}
7433 Handle missing OpenPGP keys according to @var{policy}, which may be one
7438 Always download missing OpenPGP keys from the key server, and add them
7439 to the user's GnuPG keyring.
7442 Never try to download missing OpenPGP keys. Instead just bail out.
7445 When a package signed with an unknown OpenPGP key is encountered, ask
7446 the user whether to download it or not. This is the default behavior.
7449 @item --key-server=@var{host}
7450 Use @var{host} as the OpenPGP key server when importing a public key.
7454 The @code{github} updater uses the
7455 @uref{https://developer.github.com/v3/, GitHub API} to query for new
7456 releases. When used repeatedly e.g. when refreshing all packages,
7457 GitHub will eventually refuse to answer any further API requests. By
7458 default 60 API requests per hour are allowed, and a full refresh on all
7459 GitHub packages in Guix requires more than this. Authentication with
7460 GitHub through the use of an API token alleviates these limits. To use
7461 an API token, set the environment variable @code{GUIX_GITHUB_TOKEN} to a
7462 token procured from @uref{https://github.com/settings/tokens} or
7466 @node Invoking guix lint
7467 @section Invoking @command{guix lint}
7469 @cindex @command{guix lint}
7470 @cindex package, checking for errors
7471 The @command{guix lint} command is meant to help package developers avoid
7472 common errors and use a consistent style. It runs a number of checks on
7473 a given set of packages in order to find common mistakes in their
7474 definitions. Available @dfn{checkers} include (see
7475 @code{--list-checkers} for a complete list):
7480 Validate certain typographical and stylistic rules about package
7481 descriptions and synopses.
7483 @item inputs-should-be-native
7484 Identify inputs that should most likely be native inputs.
7489 @itemx source-file-name
7490 Probe @code{home-page} and @code{source} URLs and report those that are
7491 invalid. Suggest a @code{mirror://} URL when applicable. Check that
7492 the source file name is meaningful, e.g. is not
7493 just a version number or ``git-checkout'', without a declared
7494 @code{file-name} (@pxref{origin Reference}).
7497 @cindex security vulnerabilities
7498 @cindex CVE, Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
7499 Report known vulnerabilities found in the Common Vulnerabilities and
7500 Exposures (CVE) databases of the current and past year
7501 @uref{https://nvd.nist.gov/download.cfm#CVE_FEED, published by the US
7504 To view information about a particular vulnerability, visit pages such as:
7508 @indicateurl{https://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-YYYY-ABCD}
7510 @indicateurl{https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-YYYY-ABCD}
7514 where @code{CVE-YYYY-ABCD} is the CVE identifier---e.g.,
7515 @code{CVE-2015-7554}.
7517 Package developers can specify in package recipes the
7518 @uref{https://nvd.nist.gov/cpe.cfm,Common Platform Enumeration (CPE)}
7519 name and version of the package when they differ from the name or version
7520 that Guix uses, as in this example:
7526 ;; CPE calls this package "grub2".
7527 (properties '((cpe-name . "grub2")
7528 (cpe-version . "2.3")))
7531 @c See <http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/03/15/3>.
7532 Some entries in the CVE database do not specify which version of a
7533 package they apply to, and would thus ``stick around'' forever. Package
7534 developers who found CVE alerts and verified they can be ignored can
7535 declare them as in this example:
7541 ;; These CVEs no longer apply and can be safely ignored.
7542 (properties `((lint-hidden-cve . ("CVE-2011-0433"
7545 "CVE-2011-5244")))))
7549 Warn about obvious source code formatting issues: trailing white space,
7550 use of tabulations, etc.
7553 The general syntax is:
7556 guix lint @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
7559 If no package is given on the command line, then all packages are checked.
7560 The @var{options} may be zero or more of the following:
7563 @item --list-checkers
7565 List and describe all the available checkers that will be run on packages
7570 Only enable the checkers specified in a comma-separated list using the
7571 names returned by @code{--list-checkers}.
7575 @node Invoking guix size
7576 @section Invoking @command{guix size}
7579 @cindex package size
7581 @cindex @command{guix size}
7582 The @command{guix size} command helps package developers profile the
7583 disk usage of packages. It is easy to overlook the impact of an
7584 additional dependency added to a package, or the impact of using a
7585 single output for a package that could easily be split (@pxref{Packages
7586 with Multiple Outputs}). Such are the typical issues that
7587 @command{guix size} can highlight.
7589 The command can be passed one or more package specifications
7590 such as @code{gcc@@4.8}
7591 or @code{guile:debug}, or a file name in the store. Consider this
7595 $ guix size coreutils
7596 store item total self
7597 /gnu/store/@dots{}-gcc-5.5.0-lib 60.4 30.1 38.1%
7598 /gnu/store/@dots{}-glibc-2.27 30.3 28.8 36.6%
7599 /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.28 78.9 15.0 19.0%
7600 /gnu/store/@dots{}-gmp-6.1.2 63.1 2.7 3.4%
7601 /gnu/store/@dots{}-bash-static-4.4.12 1.5 1.5 1.9%
7602 /gnu/store/@dots{}-acl-2.2.52 61.1 0.4 0.5%
7603 /gnu/store/@dots{}-attr-2.4.47 60.6 0.2 0.3%
7604 /gnu/store/@dots{}-libcap-2.25 60.5 0.2 0.2%
7609 The store items listed here constitute the @dfn{transitive closure} of
7610 Coreutils---i.e., Coreutils and all its dependencies, recursively---as
7611 would be returned by:
7614 $ guix gc -R /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.23
7617 Here the output shows three columns next to store items. The first column,
7618 labeled ``total'', shows the size in mebibytes (MiB) of the closure of
7619 the store item---that is, its own size plus the size of all its
7620 dependencies. The next column, labeled ``self'', shows the size of the
7621 item itself. The last column shows the ratio of the size of the item
7622 itself to the space occupied by all the items listed here.
7624 In this example, we see that the closure of Coreutils weighs in at
7625 79@tie{}MiB, most of which is taken by libc and GCC's run-time support
7626 libraries. (That libc and GCC's libraries represent a large fraction of
7627 the closure is not a problem @i{per se} because they are always available
7628 on the system anyway.)
7630 When the package(s) passed to @command{guix size} are available in the
7631 store@footnote{More precisely, @command{guix size} looks for the
7632 @emph{ungrafted} variant of the given package(s), as returned by
7633 @code{guix build @var{package} --no-grafts}. @xref{Security Updates},
7634 for information on grafts.}, @command{guix size} queries the daemon to determine its
7635 dependencies, and measures its size in the store, similar to @command{du
7636 -ms --apparent-size} (@pxref{du invocation,,, coreutils, GNU
7639 When the given packages are @emph{not} in the store, @command{guix size}
7640 reports information based on the available substitutes
7641 (@pxref{Substitutes}). This makes it possible it to profile disk usage of
7642 store items that are not even on disk, only available remotely.
7644 You can also specify several package names:
7647 $ guix size coreutils grep sed bash
7648 store item total self
7649 /gnu/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.24 77.8 13.8 13.4%
7650 /gnu/store/@dots{}-grep-2.22 73.1 0.8 0.8%
7651 /gnu/store/@dots{}-bash-4.3.42 72.3 4.7 4.6%
7652 /gnu/store/@dots{}-readline-6.3 67.6 1.2 1.2%
7658 In this example we see that the combination of the four packages takes
7659 102.3@tie{}MiB in total, which is much less than the sum of each closure
7660 since they have a lot of dependencies in common.
7662 The available options are:
7666 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
7667 Use substitute information from @var{urls}.
7668 @xref{client-substitute-urls, the same option for @code{guix build}}.
7670 @item --sort=@var{key}
7671 Sort lines according to @var{key}, one of the following options:
7675 the size of each item (the default);
7677 the total size of the item's closure.
7680 @item --map-file=@var{file}
7681 Write a graphical map of disk usage in PNG format to @var{file}.
7683 For the example above, the map looks like this:
7685 @image{images/coreutils-size-map,5in,, map of Coreutils disk usage
7686 produced by @command{guix size}}
7688 This option requires that
7689 @uref{http://wingolog.org/software/guile-charting/, Guile-Charting} be
7690 installed and visible in Guile's module search path. When that is not
7691 the case, @command{guix size} fails as it tries to load it.
7693 @item --system=@var{system}
7694 @itemx -s @var{system}
7695 Consider packages for @var{system}---e.g., @code{x86_64-linux}.
7699 @node Invoking guix graph
7700 @section Invoking @command{guix graph}
7703 @cindex @command{guix graph}
7704 @cindex package dependencies
7705 Packages and their dependencies form a @dfn{graph}, specifically a
7706 directed acyclic graph (DAG). It can quickly become difficult to have a
7707 mental model of the package DAG, so the @command{guix graph} command
7708 provides a visual representation of the DAG. By default,
7709 @command{guix graph} emits a DAG representation in the input format of
7710 @uref{http://www.graphviz.org/, Graphviz}, so its output can be passed
7711 directly to the @command{dot} command of Graphviz. It can also emit an
7712 HTML page with embedded JavaScript code to display a ``chord diagram''
7713 in a Web browser, using the @uref{https://d3js.org/, d3.js} library, or
7714 emit Cypher queries to construct a graph in a graph database supporting
7715 the @uref{http://www.opencypher.org/, openCypher} query language.
7716 The general syntax is:
7719 guix graph @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
7722 For example, the following command generates a PDF file representing the
7723 package DAG for the GNU@tie{}Core Utilities, showing its build-time
7727 guix graph coreutils | dot -Tpdf > dag.pdf
7730 The output looks like this:
7732 @image{images/coreutils-graph,2in,,Dependency graph of the GNU Coreutils}
7734 Nice little graph, no?
7736 But there is more than one graph! The one above is concise: it is the
7737 graph of package objects, omitting implicit inputs such as GCC, libc,
7738 grep, etc. It is often useful to have such a concise graph, but
7739 sometimes one may want to see more details. @command{guix graph} supports
7740 several types of graphs, allowing you to choose the level of detail:
7744 This is the default type used in the example above. It shows the DAG of
7745 package objects, excluding implicit dependencies. It is concise, but
7746 filters out many details.
7748 @item reverse-package
7749 This shows the @emph{reverse} DAG of packages. For example:
7752 guix graph --type=reverse-package ocaml
7755 ... yields the graph of packages that depend on OCaml.
7757 Note that for core packages this can yield huge graphs. If all you want
7758 is to know the number of packages that depend on a given package, use
7759 @command{guix refresh --list-dependent} (@pxref{Invoking guix refresh,
7760 @option{--list-dependent}}).
7763 This is the package DAG, @emph{including} implicit inputs.
7765 For instance, the following command:
7768 guix graph --type=bag-emerged coreutils | dot -Tpdf > dag.pdf
7771 ... yields this bigger graph:
7773 @image{images/coreutils-bag-graph,,5in,Detailed dependency graph of the GNU Coreutils}
7775 At the bottom of the graph, we see all the implicit inputs of
7776 @var{gnu-build-system} (@pxref{Build Systems, @code{gnu-build-system}}).
7778 Now, note that the dependencies of these implicit inputs---that is, the
7779 @dfn{bootstrap dependencies} (@pxref{Bootstrapping})---are not shown
7780 here, for conciseness.
7783 Similar to @code{bag-emerged}, but this time including all the bootstrap
7786 @item bag-with-origins
7787 Similar to @code{bag}, but also showing origins and their dependencies.
7790 This is the most detailed representation: It shows the DAG of
7791 derivations (@pxref{Derivations}) and plain store items. Compared to
7792 the above representation, many additional nodes are visible, including
7793 build scripts, patches, Guile modules, etc.
7795 For this type of graph, it is also possible to pass a @file{.drv} file
7796 name instead of a package name, as in:
7799 guix graph -t derivation `guix system build -d my-config.scm`
7803 This is the graph of @dfn{package modules} (@pxref{Package Modules}).
7804 For example, the following command shows the graph for the package
7805 module that defines the @code{guile} package:
7808 guix graph -t module guile | dot -Tpdf > module-graph.pdf
7812 All the types above correspond to @emph{build-time dependencies}. The
7813 following graph type represents the @emph{run-time dependencies}:
7817 This is the graph of @dfn{references} of a package output, as returned
7818 by @command{guix gc --references} (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}).
7820 If the given package output is not available in the store, @command{guix
7821 graph} attempts to obtain dependency information from substitutes.
7823 Here you can also pass a store file name instead of a package name. For
7824 example, the command below produces the reference graph of your profile
7825 (which can be big!):
7828 guix graph -t references `readlink -f ~/.guix-profile`
7832 This is the graph of the @dfn{referrers} of a store item, as returned by
7833 @command{guix gc --referrers} (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}).
7835 This relies exclusively on local information from your store. For
7836 instance, let us suppose that the current Inkscape is available in 10
7837 profiles on your machine; @command{guix graph -t referrers inkscape}
7838 will show a graph rooted at Inkscape and with those 10 profiles linked
7841 It can help determine what is preventing a store item from being garbage
7846 The available options are the following:
7849 @item --type=@var{type}
7850 @itemx -t @var{type}
7851 Produce a graph output of @var{type}, where @var{type} must be one of
7852 the values listed above.
7855 List the supported graph types.
7857 @item --backend=@var{backend}
7858 @itemx -b @var{backend}
7859 Produce a graph using the selected @var{backend}.
7861 @item --list-backends
7862 List the supported graph backends.
7864 Currently, the available backends are Graphviz and d3.js.
7866 @item --expression=@var{expr}
7867 @itemx -e @var{expr}
7868 Consider the package @var{expr} evaluates to.
7870 This is useful to precisely refer to a package, as in this example:
7873 guix graph -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages commencement) gnu-make-final)'
7876 @item --system=@var{system}
7877 @itemx -s @var{system}
7878 Display the graph for @var{system}---e.g., @code{i686-linux}.
7880 The package dependency graph is largely architecture-independent, but there
7881 are some architecture-dependent bits that this option allows you to visualize.
7885 @node Invoking guix environment
7886 @section Invoking @command{guix environment}
7888 @cindex reproducible build environments
7889 @cindex development environments
7890 @cindex @command{guix environment}
7891 @cindex environment, package build environment
7892 The purpose of @command{guix environment} is to assist hackers in
7893 creating reproducible development environments without polluting their
7894 package profile. The @command{guix environment} tool takes one or more
7895 packages, builds all of their inputs, and creates a shell
7896 environment to use them.
7898 The general syntax is:
7901 guix environment @var{options} @var{package}@dots{}
7904 The following example spawns a new shell set up for the development of
7908 guix environment guile
7911 If the needed dependencies are not built yet, @command{guix environment}
7912 automatically builds them. The environment of the new shell is an augmented
7913 version of the environment that @command{guix environment} was run in.
7914 It contains the necessary search paths for building the given package
7915 added to the existing environment variables. To create a ``pure''
7916 environment, in which the original environment variables have been unset,
7917 use the @code{--pure} option@footnote{Users sometimes wrongfully augment
7918 environment variables such as @code{PATH} in their @file{~/.bashrc}
7919 file. As a consequence, when @code{guix environment} launches it, Bash
7920 may read @file{~/.bashrc}, thereby introducing ``impurities'' in these
7921 environment variables. It is an error to define such environment
7922 variables in @file{.bashrc}; instead, they should be defined in
7923 @file{.bash_profile}, which is sourced only by log-in shells.
7924 @xref{Bash Startup Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}, for
7925 details on Bash start-up files.}.
7927 @vindex GUIX_ENVIRONMENT
7928 @command{guix environment} defines the @code{GUIX_ENVIRONMENT}
7929 variable in the shell it spawns; its value is the file name of the
7930 profile of this environment. This allows users to, say, define a
7931 specific prompt for development environments in their @file{.bashrc}
7932 (@pxref{Bash Startup Files,,, bash, The GNU Bash Reference Manual}):
7935 if [ -n "$GUIX_ENVIRONMENT" ]
7937 export PS1="\u@@\h \w [dev]\$ "
7942 ... or to browse the profile:
7945 $ ls "$GUIX_ENVIRONMENT/bin"
7948 Additionally, more than one package may be specified, in which case the
7949 union of the inputs for the given packages are used. For example, the
7950 command below spawns a shell where all of the dependencies of both Guile
7951 and Emacs are available:
7954 guix environment guile emacs
7957 Sometimes an interactive shell session is not desired. An arbitrary
7958 command may be invoked by placing the @code{--} token to separate the
7959 command from the rest of the arguments:
7962 guix environment guile -- make -j4
7965 In other situations, it is more convenient to specify the list of
7966 packages needed in the environment. For example, the following command
7967 runs @command{python} from an environment containing Python@tie{}2.7 and
7971 guix environment --ad-hoc python2-numpy python-2.7 -- python
7974 Furthermore, one might want the dependencies of a package and also some
7975 additional packages that are not build-time or runtime dependencies, but
7976 are useful when developing nonetheless. Because of this, the
7977 @code{--ad-hoc} flag is positional. Packages appearing before
7978 @code{--ad-hoc} are interpreted as packages whose dependencies will be
7979 added to the environment. Packages appearing after are interpreted as
7980 packages that will be added to the environment directly. For example,
7981 the following command creates a Guix development environment that
7982 additionally includes Git and strace:
7985 guix environment guix --ad-hoc git strace
7988 Sometimes it is desirable to isolate the environment as much as
7989 possible, for maximal purity and reproducibility. In particular, when
7990 using Guix on a host distro that is not GuixSD, it is desirable to
7991 prevent access to @file{/usr/bin} and other system-wide resources from
7992 the development environment. For example, the following command spawns
7993 a Guile REPL in a ``container'' where only the store and the current
7994 working directory are mounted:
7997 guix environment --ad-hoc --container guile -- guile
8001 The @code{--container} option requires Linux-libre 3.19 or newer.
8004 The available options are summarized below.
8007 @item --root=@var{file}
8008 @itemx -r @var{file}
8009 @cindex persistent environment
8010 @cindex garbage collector root, for environments
8011 Make @var{file} a symlink to the profile for this environment, and
8012 register it as a garbage collector root.
8014 This is useful if you want to protect your environment from garbage
8015 collection, to make it ``persistent''.
8017 When this option is omitted, the environment is protected from garbage
8018 collection only for the duration of the @command{guix environment}
8019 session. This means that next time you recreate the same environment,
8020 you could have to rebuild or re-download packages. @xref{Invoking guix
8021 gc}, for more on GC roots.
8023 @item --expression=@var{expr}
8024 @itemx -e @var{expr}
8025 Create an environment for the package or list of packages that
8026 @var{expr} evaluates to.
8028 For example, running:
8031 guix environment -e '(@@ (gnu packages maths) petsc-openmpi)'
8034 starts a shell with the environment for this specific variant of the
8040 guix environment --ad-hoc -e '(@@ (gnu) %base-packages)'
8043 starts a shell with all the GuixSD base packages available.
8045 The above commands only use the default output of the given packages.
8046 To select other outputs, two element tuples can be specified:
8049 guix environment --ad-hoc -e '(list (@@ (gnu packages bash) bash) "include")'
8052 @item --load=@var{file}
8053 @itemx -l @var{file}
8054 Create an environment for the package or list of packages that the code
8055 within @var{file} evaluates to.
8057 As an example, @var{file} might contain a definition like this
8058 (@pxref{Defining Packages}):
8061 @verbatiminclude environment-gdb.scm
8064 @item --manifest=@var{file}
8065 @itemx -m @var{file}
8066 Create an environment for the packages contained in the manifest object
8067 returned by the Scheme code in @var{file}.
8069 This is similar to the same-named option in @command{guix package}
8070 (@pxref{profile-manifest, @option{--manifest}}) and uses the same
8074 Include all specified packages in the resulting environment, as if an
8075 @i{ad hoc} package were defined with them as inputs. This option is
8076 useful for quickly creating an environment without having to write a
8077 package expression to contain the desired inputs.
8079 For instance, the command:
8082 guix environment --ad-hoc guile guile-sdl -- guile
8085 runs @command{guile} in an environment where Guile and Guile-SDL are
8088 Note that this example implicitly asks for the default output of
8089 @code{guile} and @code{guile-sdl}, but it is possible to ask for a
8090 specific output---e.g., @code{glib:bin} asks for the @code{bin} output
8091 of @code{glib} (@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}).
8093 This option may be composed with the default behavior of @command{guix
8094 environment}. Packages appearing before @code{--ad-hoc} are interpreted
8095 as packages whose dependencies will be added to the environment, the
8096 default behavior. Packages appearing after are interpreted as packages
8097 that will be added to the environment directly.
8100 Unset existing environment variables when building the new environment.
8101 This has the effect of creating an environment in which search paths
8102 only contain package inputs.
8104 @item --search-paths
8105 Display the environment variable definitions that make up the
8108 @item --system=@var{system}
8109 @itemx -s @var{system}
8110 Attempt to build for @var{system}---e.g., @code{i686-linux}.
8115 Run @var{command} within an isolated container. The current working
8116 directory outside the container is mapped inside the container.
8117 Additionally, unless overridden with @code{--user}, a dummy home
8118 directory is created that matches the current user's home directory, and
8119 @file{/etc/passwd} is configured accordingly. The spawned process runs
8120 as the current user outside the container, but has root privileges in
8121 the context of the container.
8125 For containers, share the network namespace with the host system.
8126 Containers created without this flag only have access to the loopback
8129 @item --link-profile
8131 For containers, link the environment profile to
8132 @file{~/.guix-profile} within the container. This is equivalent to
8133 running the command @command{ln -s $GUIX_ENVIRONMENT ~/.guix-profile}
8134 within the container. Linking will fail and abort the environment if
8135 the directory already exists, which will certainly be the case if
8136 @command{guix environment} was invoked in the user's home directory.
8138 Certain packages are configured to look in
8139 @code{~/.guix-profile} for configuration files and data;@footnote{For
8140 example, the @code{fontconfig} package inspects
8141 @file{~/.guix-profile/share/fonts} for additional fonts.}
8142 @code{--link-profile} allows these programs to behave as expected within
8145 @item --user=@var{user}
8146 @itemx -u @var{user}
8147 For containers, use the username @var{user} in place of the current
8148 user. The generated @file{/etc/passwd} entry within the container will
8149 contain the name @var{user}; the home directory will be
8150 @file{/home/USER}; and no user GECOS data will be copied. @var{user}
8151 need not exist on the system.
8153 Additionally, any shared or exposed path (see @code{--share} and
8154 @code{--expose} respectively) whose target is within the current user's
8155 home directory will be remapped relative to @file{/home/USER}; this
8156 includes the automatic mapping of the current working directory.
8159 # will expose paths as /home/foo/wd, /home/foo/test, and /home/foo/target
8161 guix environment --container --user=foo \
8162 --expose=$HOME/test \
8163 --expose=/tmp/target=$HOME/target
8166 While this will limit the leaking of user identity through home paths
8167 and each of the user fields, this is only one useful component of a
8168 broader privacy/anonymity solution---not one in and of itself.
8170 @item --expose=@var{source}[=@var{target}]
8171 For containers, expose the file system @var{source} from the host system
8172 as the read-only file system @var{target} within the container. If
8173 @var{target} is not specified, @var{source} is used as the target mount
8174 point in the container.
8176 The example below spawns a Guile REPL in a container in which the user's
8177 home directory is accessible read-only via the @file{/exchange}
8181 guix environment --container --expose=$HOME=/exchange --ad-hoc guile -- guile
8184 @item --share=@var{source}[=@var{target}]
8185 For containers, share the file system @var{source} from the host system
8186 as the writable file system @var{target} within the container. If
8187 @var{target} is not specified, @var{source} is used as the target mount
8188 point in the container.
8190 The example below spawns a Guile REPL in a container in which the user's
8191 home directory is accessible for both reading and writing via the
8192 @file{/exchange} directory:
8195 guix environment --container --share=$HOME=/exchange --ad-hoc guile -- guile
8199 @command{guix environment}
8200 also supports all of the common build options that @command{guix
8201 build} supports (@pxref{Common Build Options}).
8204 @node Invoking guix publish
8205 @section Invoking @command{guix publish}
8207 @cindex @command{guix publish}
8208 The purpose of @command{guix publish} is to enable users to easily share
8209 their store with others, who can then use it as a substitute server
8210 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
8212 When @command{guix publish} runs, it spawns an HTTP server which allows
8213 anyone with network access to obtain substitutes from it. This means
8214 that any machine running Guix can also act as if it were a build farm,
8215 since the HTTP interface is compatible with Hydra, the software behind
8216 the @code{hydra.gnu.org} build farm.
8218 For security, each substitute is signed, allowing recipients to check
8219 their authenticity and integrity (@pxref{Substitutes}). Because
8220 @command{guix publish} uses the signing key of the system, which is only
8221 readable by the system administrator, it must be started as root; the
8222 @code{--user} option makes it drop root privileges early on.
8224 The signing key pair must be generated before @command{guix publish} is
8225 launched, using @command{guix archive --generate-key} (@pxref{Invoking
8228 The general syntax is:
8231 guix publish @var{options}@dots{}
8234 Running @command{guix publish} without any additional arguments will
8235 spawn an HTTP server on port 8080:
8241 Once a publishing server has been authorized (@pxref{Invoking guix
8242 archive}), the daemon may download substitutes from it:
8245 guix-daemon --substitute-urls=http://example.org:8080
8248 By default, @command{guix publish} compresses archives on the fly as it
8249 serves them. This ``on-the-fly'' mode is convenient in that it requires
8250 no setup and is immediately available. However, when serving lots of
8251 clients, we recommend using the @option{--cache} option, which enables
8252 caching of the archives before they are sent to clients---see below for
8253 details. The @command{guix weather} command provides a handy way to
8254 check what a server provides (@pxref{Invoking guix weather}).
8256 As a bonus, @command{guix publish} also serves as a content-addressed
8257 mirror for source files referenced in @code{origin} records
8258 (@pxref{origin Reference}). For instance, assuming @command{guix
8259 publish} is running on @code{example.org}, the following URL returns the
8260 raw @file{hello-2.10.tar.gz} file with the given SHA256 hash
8261 (represented in @code{nix-base32} format, @pxref{Invoking guix hash}):
8264 http://example.org/file/hello-2.10.tar.gz/sha256/0ssi1@dots{}ndq1i
8267 Obviously, these URLs only work for files that are in the store; in
8268 other cases, they return 404 (``Not Found'').
8270 @cindex build logs, publication
8271 Build logs are available from @code{/log} URLs like:
8274 http://example.org/log/gwspk@dots{}-guile-2.2.3
8278 When @command{guix-daemon} is configured to save compressed build logs,
8279 as is the case by default (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}), @code{/log}
8280 URLs return the compressed log as-is, with an appropriate
8281 @code{Content-Type} and/or @code{Content-Encoding} header. We recommend
8282 running @command{guix-daemon} with @code{--log-compression=gzip} since
8283 Web browsers can automatically decompress it, which is not the case with
8286 The following options are available:
8289 @item --port=@var{port}
8290 @itemx -p @var{port}
8291 Listen for HTTP requests on @var{port}.
8293 @item --listen=@var{host}
8294 Listen on the network interface for @var{host}. The default is to
8295 accept connections from any interface.
8297 @item --user=@var{user}
8298 @itemx -u @var{user}
8299 Change privileges to @var{user} as soon as possible---i.e., once the
8300 server socket is open and the signing key has been read.
8302 @item --compression[=@var{level}]
8303 @itemx -C [@var{level}]
8304 Compress data using the given @var{level}. When @var{level} is zero,
8305 disable compression. The range 1 to 9 corresponds to different gzip
8306 compression levels: 1 is the fastest, and 9 is the best (CPU-intensive).
8309 Unless @option{--cache} is used, compression occurs on the fly and
8310 the compressed streams are not
8311 cached. Thus, to reduce load on the machine that runs @command{guix
8312 publish}, it may be a good idea to choose a low compression level, to
8313 run @command{guix publish} behind a caching proxy, or to use
8314 @option{--cache}. Using @option{--cache} has the advantage that it
8315 allows @command{guix publish} to add @code{Content-Length} HTTP header
8318 @item --cache=@var{directory}
8319 @itemx -c @var{directory}
8320 Cache archives and meta-data (@code{.narinfo} URLs) to @var{directory}
8321 and only serve archives that are in cache.
8323 When this option is omitted, archives and meta-data are created
8324 on-the-fly. This can reduce the available bandwidth, especially when
8325 compression is enabled, since this may become CPU-bound. Another
8326 drawback of the default mode is that the length of archives is not known
8327 in advance, so @command{guix publish} does not add a
8328 @code{Content-Length} HTTP header to its responses, which in turn
8329 prevents clients from knowing the amount of data being downloaded.
8331 Conversely, when @option{--cache} is used, the first request for a store
8332 item (@i{via} a @code{.narinfo} URL) returns 404 and triggers a
8333 background process to @dfn{bake} the archive---computing its
8334 @code{.narinfo} and compressing the archive, if needed. Once the
8335 archive is cached in @var{directory}, subsequent requests succeed and
8336 are served directly from the cache, which guarantees that clients get
8337 the best possible bandwidth.
8339 The ``baking'' process is performed by worker threads. By default, one
8340 thread per CPU core is created, but this can be customized. See
8341 @option{--workers} below.
8343 When @option{--ttl} is used, cached entries are automatically deleted
8344 when they have expired.
8346 @item --workers=@var{N}
8347 When @option{--cache} is used, request the allocation of @var{N} worker
8348 threads to ``bake'' archives.
8350 @item --ttl=@var{ttl}
8351 Produce @code{Cache-Control} HTTP headers that advertise a time-to-live
8352 (TTL) of @var{ttl}. @var{ttl} must denote a duration: @code{5d} means 5
8353 days, @code{1m} means 1 month, and so on.
8355 This allows the user's Guix to keep substitute information in cache for
8356 @var{ttl}. However, note that @code{guix publish} does not itself
8357 guarantee that the store items it provides will indeed remain available
8358 for as long as @var{ttl}.
8360 Additionally, when @option{--cache} is used, cached entries that have
8361 not been accessed for @var{ttl} and that no longer have a corresponding
8362 item in the store, may be deleted.
8364 @item --nar-path=@var{path}
8365 Use @var{path} as the prefix for the URLs of ``nar'' files
8366 (@pxref{Invoking guix archive, normalized archives}).
8368 By default, nars are served at a URL such as
8369 @code{/nar/gzip/@dots{}-coreutils-8.25}. This option allows you to
8370 change the @code{/nar} part to @var{path}.
8372 @item --public-key=@var{file}
8373 @itemx --private-key=@var{file}
8374 Use the specific @var{file}s as the public/private key pair used to sign
8375 the store items being published.
8377 The files must correspond to the same key pair (the private key is used
8378 for signing and the public key is merely advertised in the signature
8379 metadata). They must contain keys in the canonical s-expression format
8380 as produced by @command{guix archive --generate-key} (@pxref{Invoking
8381 guix archive}). By default, @file{/etc/guix/signing-key.pub} and
8382 @file{/etc/guix/signing-key.sec} are used.
8384 @item --repl[=@var{port}]
8385 @itemx -r [@var{port}]
8386 Spawn a Guile REPL server (@pxref{REPL Servers,,, guile, GNU Guile
8387 Reference Manual}) on @var{port} (37146 by default). This is used
8388 primarily for debugging a running @command{guix publish} server.
8391 Enabling @command{guix publish} on a GuixSD system is a one-liner: just
8392 instantiate a @code{guix-publish-service-type} service in the @code{services} field
8393 of the @code{operating-system} declaration (@pxref{guix-publish-service-type,
8394 @code{guix-publish-service-type}}).
8396 If you are instead running Guix on a ``foreign distro'', follow these
8401 If your host distro uses the systemd init system:
8404 # ln -s ~root/.guix-profile/lib/systemd/system/guix-publish.service \
8405 /etc/systemd/system/
8406 # systemctl start guix-publish && systemctl enable guix-publish
8410 If your host distro uses the Upstart init system:
8413 # ln -s ~root/.guix-profile/lib/upstart/system/guix-publish.conf /etc/init/
8414 # start guix-publish
8418 Otherwise, proceed similarly with your distro's init system.
8421 @node Invoking guix challenge
8422 @section Invoking @command{guix challenge}
8424 @cindex reproducible builds
8425 @cindex verifiable builds
8426 @cindex @command{guix challenge}
8428 Do the binaries provided by this server really correspond to the source
8429 code it claims to build? Is a package build process deterministic?
8430 These are the questions the @command{guix challenge} command attempts to
8433 The former is obviously an important question: Before using a substitute
8434 server (@pxref{Substitutes}), one had better @emph{verify} that it
8435 provides the right binaries, and thus @emph{challenge} it. The latter
8436 is what enables the former: If package builds are deterministic, then
8437 independent builds of the package should yield the exact same result,
8438 bit for bit; if a server provides a binary different from the one
8439 obtained locally, it may be either corrupt or malicious.
8441 We know that the hash that shows up in @file{/gnu/store} file names is
8442 the hash of all the inputs of the process that built the file or
8443 directory---compilers, libraries, build scripts,
8444 etc. (@pxref{Introduction}). Assuming deterministic build processes,
8445 one store file name should map to exactly one build output.
8446 @command{guix challenge} checks whether there is, indeed, a single
8447 mapping by comparing the build outputs of several independent builds of
8448 any given store item.
8450 The command output looks like this:
8453 $ guix challenge --substitute-urls="https://hydra.gnu.org https://guix.example.org"
8454 updating list of substitutes from 'https://hydra.gnu.org'... 100.0%
8455 updating list of substitutes from 'https://guix.example.org'... 100.0%
8456 /gnu/store/@dots{}-openssl-1.0.2d contents differ:
8457 local hash: 0725l22r5jnzazaacncwsvp9kgf42266ayyp814v7djxs7nk963q
8458 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-openssl-1.0.2d: 0725l22r5jnzazaacncwsvp9kgf42266ayyp814v7djxs7nk963q
8459 https://guix.example.org/nar/@dots{}-openssl-1.0.2d: 1zy4fmaaqcnjrzzajkdn3f5gmjk754b43qkq47llbyak9z0qjyim
8460 /gnu/store/@dots{}-git-2.5.0 contents differ:
8461 local hash: 00p3bmryhjxrhpn2gxs2fy0a15lnip05l97205pgbk5ra395hyha
8462 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-git-2.5.0: 069nb85bv4d4a6slrwjdy8v1cn4cwspm3kdbmyb81d6zckj3nq9f
8463 https://guix.example.org/nar/@dots{}-git-2.5.0: 0mdqa9w1p6cmli6976v4wi0sw9r4p5prkj7lzfd1877wk11c9c73
8464 /gnu/store/@dots{}-pius-2.1.1 contents differ:
8465 local hash: 0k4v3m9z1zp8xzzizb7d8kjj72f9172xv078sq4wl73vnq9ig3ax
8466 https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-pius-2.1.1: 0k4v3m9z1zp8xzzizb7d8kjj72f9172xv078sq4wl73vnq9ig3ax
8467 https://guix.example.org/nar/@dots{}-pius-2.1.1: 1cy25x1a4fzq5rk0pmvc8xhwyffnqz95h2bpvqsz2mpvlbccy0gs
8471 6,406 store items were analyzed:
8472 - 4,749 (74.1%) were identical
8473 - 525 (8.2%) differed
8474 - 1,132 (17.7%) were inconclusive
8478 In this example, @command{guix challenge} first scans the store to
8479 determine the set of locally-built derivations---as opposed to store
8480 items that were downloaded from a substitute server---and then queries
8481 all the substitute servers. It then reports those store items for which
8482 the servers obtained a result different from the local build.
8484 @cindex non-determinism, in package builds
8485 As an example, @code{guix.example.org} always gets a different answer.
8486 Conversely, @code{hydra.gnu.org} agrees with local builds, except in the
8487 case of Git. This might indicate that the build process of Git is
8488 non-deterministic, meaning that its output varies as a function of
8489 various things that Guix does not fully control, in spite of building
8490 packages in isolated environments (@pxref{Features}). Most common
8491 sources of non-determinism include the addition of timestamps in build
8492 results, the inclusion of random numbers, and directory listings sorted
8493 by inode number. See @uref{https://reproducible-builds.org/docs/}, for
8496 To find out what is wrong with this Git binary, we can do something along
8497 these lines (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}):
8500 $ wget -q -O - https://hydra.gnu.org/nar/@dots{}-git-2.5.0 \
8501 | guix archive -x /tmp/git
8502 $ diff -ur --no-dereference /gnu/store/@dots{}-git.2.5.0 /tmp/git
8505 This command shows the difference between the files resulting from the
8506 local build, and the files resulting from the build on
8507 @code{hydra.gnu.org} (@pxref{Overview, Comparing and Merging Files,,
8508 diffutils, Comparing and Merging Files}). The @command{diff} command
8509 works great for text files. When binary files differ, a better option
8510 is @uref{https://diffoscope.org/, Diffoscope}, a tool that helps
8511 visualize differences for all kinds of files.
8513 Once you have done that work, you can tell whether the differences are due
8514 to a non-deterministic build process or to a malicious server. We try
8515 hard to remove sources of non-determinism in packages to make it easier
8516 to verify substitutes, but of course, this is a process that
8517 involves not just Guix, but a large part of the free software community.
8518 In the meantime, @command{guix challenge} is one tool to help address
8521 If you are writing packages for Guix, you are encouraged to check
8522 whether @code{hydra.gnu.org} and other substitute servers obtain the
8523 same build result as you did with:
8526 $ guix challenge @var{package}
8530 where @var{package} is a package specification such as
8531 @code{guile@@2.0} or @code{glibc:debug}.
8533 The general syntax is:
8536 guix challenge @var{options} [@var{packages}@dots{}]
8539 When a difference is found between the hash of a locally-built item and
8540 that of a server-provided substitute, or among substitutes provided by
8541 different servers, the command displays it as in the example above and
8542 its exit code is 2 (other non-zero exit codes denote other kinds of
8545 The one option that matters is:
8549 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
8550 Consider @var{urls} the whitespace-separated list of substitute source
8555 Show details about matches (identical contents) in addition to
8556 information about mismatches.
8560 @node Invoking guix copy
8561 @section Invoking @command{guix copy}
8563 @cindex copy, of store items, over SSH
8564 @cindex SSH, copy of store items
8565 @cindex sharing store items across machines
8566 @cindex transferring store items across machines
8567 The @command{guix copy} command copies items from the store of one
8568 machine to that of another machine over a secure shell (SSH)
8569 connection@footnote{This command is available only when Guile-SSH was
8570 found. @xref{Requirements}, for details.}. For example, the following
8571 command copies the @code{coreutils} package, the user's profile, and all
8572 their dependencies over to @var{host}, logged in as @var{user}:
8575 guix copy --to=@var{user}@@@var{host} \
8576 coreutils `readlink -f ~/.guix-profile`
8579 If some of the items to be copied are already present on @var{host},
8580 they are not actually sent.
8582 The command below retrieves @code{libreoffice} and @code{gimp} from
8583 @var{host}, assuming they are available there:
8586 guix copy --from=@var{host} libreoffice gimp
8589 The SSH connection is established using the Guile-SSH client, which is
8590 compatible with OpenSSH: it honors @file{~/.ssh/known_hosts} and
8591 @file{~/.ssh/config}, and uses the SSH agent for authentication.
8593 The key used to sign items that are sent must be accepted by the remote
8594 machine. Likewise, the key used by the remote machine to sign items you
8595 are retrieving must be in @file{/etc/guix/acl} so it is accepted by your
8596 own daemon. @xref{Invoking guix archive}, for more information about
8597 store item authentication.
8599 The general syntax is:
8602 guix copy [--to=@var{spec}|--from=@var{spec}] @var{items}@dots{}
8605 You must always specify one of the following options:
8608 @item --to=@var{spec}
8609 @itemx --from=@var{spec}
8610 Specify the host to send to or receive from. @var{spec} must be an SSH
8611 spec such as @code{example.org}, @code{charlie@@example.org}, or
8612 @code{charlie@@example.org:2222}.
8615 The @var{items} can be either package names, such as @code{gimp}, or
8616 store items, such as @file{/gnu/store/@dots{}-idutils-4.6}.
8618 When specifying the name of a package to send, it is first built if
8619 needed, unless @option{--dry-run} was specified. Common build options
8620 are supported (@pxref{Common Build Options}).
8623 @node Invoking guix container
8624 @section Invoking @command{guix container}
8626 @cindex @command{guix container}
8628 As of version @value{VERSION}, this tool is experimental. The interface
8629 is subject to radical change in the future.
8632 The purpose of @command{guix container} is to manipulate processes
8633 running within an isolated environment, commonly known as a
8634 ``container'', typically created by the @command{guix environment}
8635 (@pxref{Invoking guix environment}) and @command{guix system container}
8636 (@pxref{Invoking guix system}) commands.
8638 The general syntax is:
8641 guix container @var{action} @var{options}@dots{}
8644 @var{action} specifies the operation to perform with a container, and
8645 @var{options} specifies the context-specific arguments for the action.
8647 The following actions are available:
8651 Execute a command within the context of a running container.
8656 guix container exec @var{pid} @var{program} @var{arguments}@dots{}
8659 @var{pid} specifies the process ID of the running container.
8660 @var{program} specifies an executable file name within the root file
8661 system of the container. @var{arguments} are the additional options that
8662 will be passed to @var{program}.
8664 The following command launches an interactive login shell inside a
8665 GuixSD container, started by @command{guix system container}, and whose
8669 guix container exec 9001 /run/current-system/profile/bin/bash --login
8672 Note that the @var{pid} cannot be the parent process of a container. It
8673 must be PID 1 of the container or one of its child processes.
8677 @node Invoking guix weather
8678 @section Invoking @command{guix weather}
8680 Occasionally you're grumpy because substitutes are lacking and you end
8681 up building packages by yourself (@pxref{Substitutes}). The
8682 @command{guix weather} command reports on substitute availability on the
8683 specified servers so you can have an idea of whether you'll be grumpy
8684 today. It can sometimes be useful info as a user, but it is primarily
8685 useful to people running @command{guix publish} (@pxref{Invoking guix
8688 @cindex statistics, for substitutes
8689 @cindex availability of substitutes
8690 @cindex substitute availability
8691 @cindex weather, substitute availability
8692 Here's a sample run:
8695 $ guix weather --substitute-urls=https://guix.example.org
8696 computing 5,872 package derivations for x86_64-linux...
8697 looking for 6,128 store items on https://guix.example.org..
8698 updating list of substitutes from 'https://guix.example.org'... 100.0%
8699 https://guix.example.org
8700 43.4% substitutes available (2,658 out of 6,128)
8701 7,032.5 MiB of nars (compressed)
8702 19,824.2 MiB on disk (uncompressed)
8703 0.030 seconds per request (182.9 seconds in total)
8704 33.5 requests per second
8706 9.8% (342 out of 3,470) of the missing items are queued
8708 x86_64-linux: 518 (59.7%)
8709 i686-linux: 221 (25.5%)
8710 aarch64-linux: 128 (14.8%)
8711 build rate: 23.41 builds per hour
8712 x86_64-linux: 11.16 builds per hour
8713 i686-linux: 6.03 builds per hour
8714 aarch64-linux: 6.41 builds per hour
8717 @cindex continuous integration, statistics
8718 As you can see, it reports the fraction of all the packages for which
8719 substitutes are available on the server---regardless of whether
8720 substitutes are enabled, and regardless of whether this server's signing
8721 key is authorized. It also reports the size of the compressed archives
8722 (``nars'') provided by the server, the size the corresponding store
8723 items occupy in the store (assuming deduplication is turned off), and
8724 the server's throughput. The second part gives continuous integration
8725 (CI) statistics, if the server supports it.
8727 To achieve that, @command{guix weather} queries over HTTP(S) meta-data
8728 (@dfn{narinfos}) for all the relevant store items. Like @command{guix
8729 challenge}, it ignores signatures on those substitutes, which is
8730 innocuous since the command only gathers statistics and cannot install
8733 Among other things, it is possible to query specific system types and
8734 specific package sets. The available options are listed below.
8737 @item --substitute-urls=@var{urls}
8738 @var{urls} is the space-separated list of substitute server URLs to
8739 query. When this option is omitted, the default set of substitute
8742 @item --system=@var{system}
8743 @itemx -s @var{system}
8744 Query substitutes for @var{system}---e.g., @code{aarch64-linux}. This
8745 option can be repeated, in which case @command{guix weather} will query
8746 substitutes for several system types.
8748 @item --manifest=@var{file}
8749 Instead of querying substitutes for all the packages, only ask for those
8750 specified in @var{file}. @var{file} must contain a @dfn{manifest}, as
8751 with the @code{-m} option of @command{guix package} (@pxref{Invoking
8756 @c *********************************************************************
8757 @node GNU Distribution
8758 @chapter GNU Distribution
8760 @cindex Guix System Distribution
8762 Guix comes with a distribution of the GNU system consisting entirely of
8763 free software@footnote{The term ``free'' here refers to the
8764 @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html,freedom provided to
8765 users of that software}.}. The
8766 distribution can be installed on its own (@pxref{System Installation}),
8767 but it is also possible to install Guix as a package manager on top of
8768 an installed GNU/Linux system (@pxref{Installation}). To distinguish
8769 between the two, we refer to the standalone distribution as the Guix
8770 System Distribution, or GuixSD.
8772 The distribution provides core GNU packages such as GNU libc, GCC, and
8773 Binutils, as well as many GNU and non-GNU applications. The complete
8774 list of available packages can be browsed
8775 @url{http://www.gnu.org/software/guix/packages,on-line} or by
8776 running @command{guix package} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}):
8779 guix package --list-available
8782 Our goal is to provide a practical 100% free software distribution of
8783 Linux-based and other variants of GNU, with a focus on the promotion and
8784 tight integration of GNU components, and an emphasis on programs and
8785 tools that help users exert that freedom.
8787 Packages are currently available on the following platforms:
8792 Intel/AMD @code{x86_64} architecture, Linux-Libre kernel;
8795 Intel 32-bit architecture (IA32), Linux-Libre kernel;
8798 ARMv7-A architecture with hard float, Thumb-2 and NEON,
8799 using the EABI hard-float application binary interface (ABI),
8800 and Linux-Libre kernel.
8803 little-endian 64-bit ARMv8-A processors, Linux-Libre kernel. This is
8804 currently in an experimental stage, with limited support.
8805 @xref{Contributing}, for how to help!
8807 @item mips64el-linux
8808 little-endian 64-bit MIPS processors, specifically the Loongson series,
8809 n32 ABI, and Linux-Libre kernel.
8813 GuixSD itself is currently only available on @code{i686} and @code{x86_64}.
8816 For information on porting to other architectures or kernels,
8820 * System Installation:: Installing the whole operating system.
8821 * System Configuration:: Configuring the operating system.
8822 * Documentation:: Browsing software user manuals.
8823 * Installing Debugging Files:: Feeding the debugger.
8824 * Security Updates:: Deploying security fixes quickly.
8825 * Package Modules:: Packages from the programmer's viewpoint.
8826 * Packaging Guidelines:: Growing the distribution.
8827 * Bootstrapping:: GNU/Linux built from scratch.
8828 * Porting:: Targeting another platform or kernel.
8831 Building this distribution is a cooperative effort, and you are invited
8832 to join! @xref{Contributing}, for information about how you can help.
8834 @node System Installation
8835 @section System Installation
8837 @cindex installing GuixSD
8838 @cindex Guix System Distribution
8839 This section explains how to install the Guix System Distribution (GuixSD)
8840 on a machine. The Guix package manager can
8841 also be installed on top of a running GNU/Linux system,
8842 @pxref{Installation}.
8846 @c This paragraph is for people reading this from tty2 of the
8847 @c installation image.
8848 You are reading this documentation with an Info reader. For details on
8849 how to use it, hit the @key{RET} key (``return'' or ``enter'') on the
8850 link that follows: @pxref{Top, Info reader,, info-stnd, Stand-alone GNU
8851 Info}. Hit @kbd{l} afterwards to come back here.
8853 Alternately, run @command{info info} in another tty to keep the manual
8859 * Limitations:: What you can expect.
8860 * Hardware Considerations:: Supported hardware.
8861 * USB Stick and DVD Installation:: Preparing the installation medium.
8862 * Preparing for Installation:: Networking, partitioning, etc.
8863 * Proceeding with the Installation:: The real thing.
8864 * Installing GuixSD in a VM:: GuixSD playground.
8865 * Building the Installation Image:: How this comes to be.
8869 @subsection Limitations
8871 As of version @value{VERSION}, the Guix System Distribution (GuixSD) is
8872 not production-ready. It may contain bugs and lack important
8873 features. Thus, if you are looking for a stable production system that
8874 respects your freedom as a computer user, a good solution at this point
8875 is to consider @url{http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html, one of
8876 the more established GNU/Linux distributions}. We hope you can soon switch
8877 to the GuixSD without fear, of course. In the meantime, you can
8878 also keep using your distribution and try out the package manager on top
8879 of it (@pxref{Installation}).
8881 Before you proceed with the installation, be aware of the following
8882 noteworthy limitations applicable to version @value{VERSION}:
8886 The installation process does not include a graphical user interface and
8887 requires familiarity with GNU/Linux (see the following subsections to
8888 get a feel of what that means.)
8891 Support for the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is missing.
8894 More and more system services are provided (@pxref{Services}), but some
8898 More than 7,500 packages are available, but you might
8899 occasionally find that a useful package is missing.
8902 GNOME, Xfce, LXDE, and Enlightenment are available (@pxref{Desktop Services}),
8903 as well as a number of X11 window managers. However, some graphical
8904 applications may be missing, as well as KDE.
8907 You have been warned! But more than a disclaimer, this is an invitation
8908 to report issues (and success stories!), and to join us in improving it.
8909 @xref{Contributing}, for more info.
8912 @node Hardware Considerations
8913 @subsection Hardware Considerations
8915 @cindex hardware support on GuixSD
8916 GNU@tie{}GuixSD focuses on respecting the user's computing freedom. It
8917 builds around the kernel Linux-libre, which means that only hardware for
8918 which free software drivers and firmware exist is supported. Nowadays,
8919 a wide range of off-the-shelf hardware is supported on
8920 GNU/Linux-libre---from keyboards to graphics cards to scanners and
8921 Ethernet controllers. Unfortunately, there are still areas where
8922 hardware vendors deny users control over their own computing, and such
8923 hardware is not supported on GuixSD.
8925 @cindex WiFi, hardware support
8926 One of the main areas where free drivers or firmware are lacking is WiFi
8927 devices. WiFi devices known to work include those using Atheros chips
8928 (AR9271 and AR7010), which corresponds to the @code{ath9k} Linux-libre
8929 driver, and those using Broadcom/AirForce chips (BCM43xx with
8930 Wireless-Core Revision 5), which corresponds to the @code{b43-open}
8931 Linux-libre driver. Free firmware exists for both and is available
8932 out-of-the-box on GuixSD, as part of @var{%base-firmware}
8933 (@pxref{operating-system Reference, @code{firmware}}).
8935 @cindex RYF, Respects Your Freedom
8936 The @uref{https://www.fsf.org/, Free Software Foundation} runs
8937 @uref{https://www.fsf.org/ryf, @dfn{Respects Your Freedom}} (RYF), a
8938 certification program for hardware products that respect your freedom
8939 and your privacy and ensure that you have control over your device. We
8940 encourage you to check the list of RYF-certified devices.
8942 Another useful resource is the @uref{https://www.h-node.org/, H-Node}
8943 web site. It contains a catalog of hardware devices with information
8944 about their support in GNU/Linux.
8947 @node USB Stick and DVD Installation
8948 @subsection USB Stick and DVD Installation
8950 An ISO-9660 installation image that can be written to a USB stick or
8951 burnt to a DVD can be downloaded from
8952 @indicateurl{https://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.iso.xz},
8953 where @var{system} is one of:
8957 for a GNU/Linux system on Intel/AMD-compatible 64-bit CPUs;
8960 for a 32-bit GNU/Linux system on Intel-compatible CPUs.
8963 @c start duplication of authentication part from ``Binary Installation''
8964 Make sure to download the associated @file{.sig} file and to verify the
8965 authenticity of the image against it, along these lines:
8968 $ wget https://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.iso.xz.sig
8969 $ gpg --verify guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.iso.xz.sig
8972 If that command fails because you do not have the required public key,
8973 then run this command to import it:
8976 $ gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys @value{OPENPGP-SIGNING-KEY-ID}
8980 and rerun the @code{gpg --verify} command.
8983 This image contains the tools necessary for an installation.
8984 It is meant to be copied @emph{as is} to a large-enough USB stick or DVD.
8986 @unnumberedsubsubsec Copying to a USB Stick
8988 To copy the image to a USB stick, follow these steps:
8992 Decompress the image using the @command{xz} command:
8995 xz -d guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.iso.xz
8999 Insert a USB stick of 1@tie{}GiB or more into your machine, and determine
9000 its device name. Assuming that the USB stick is known as @file{/dev/sdX},
9001 copy the image with:
9004 dd if=guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.x86_64-linux.iso of=/dev/sdX
9008 Access to @file{/dev/sdX} usually requires root privileges.
9011 @unnumberedsubsubsec Burning on a DVD
9013 To copy the image to a DVD, follow these steps:
9017 Decompress the image using the @command{xz} command:
9020 xz -d guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.iso.xz
9024 Insert a blank DVD into your machine, and determine
9025 its device name. Assuming that the DVD drive is known as @file{/dev/srX},
9026 copy the image with:
9029 growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/srX=guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.x86_64.iso
9032 Access to @file{/dev/srX} usually requires root privileges.
9035 @unnumberedsubsubsec Booting
9037 Once this is done, you should be able to reboot the system and boot from
9038 the USB stick or DVD. The latter usually requires you to get in the
9039 BIOS or UEFI boot menu, where you can choose to boot from the USB stick.
9041 @xref{Installing GuixSD in a VM}, if, instead, you would like to install
9042 GuixSD in a virtual machine (VM).
9045 @node Preparing for Installation
9046 @subsection Preparing for Installation
9048 Once you have successfully booted your computer using the installation medium,
9049 you should end up with a root prompt. Several console TTYs are configured
9050 and can be used to run commands as root. TTY2 shows this documentation,
9051 browsable using the Info reader commands (@pxref{Top,,, info-stnd,
9052 Stand-alone GNU Info}). The installation system runs the GPM mouse
9053 daemon, which allows you to select text with the left mouse button and
9054 to paste it with the middle button.
9057 Installation requires access to the Internet so that any missing
9058 dependencies of your system configuration can be downloaded. See the
9059 ``Networking'' section below.
9062 The installation system includes many common tools needed for this task.
9063 But it is also a full-blown GuixSD system, which means that you can
9064 install additional packages, should you need it, using @command{guix
9065 package} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
9067 @subsubsection Keyboard Layout
9069 @cindex keyboard layout
9070 The installation image uses the US qwerty keyboard layout. If you want
9071 to change it, you can use the @command{loadkeys} command. For example,
9072 the following command selects the Dvorak keyboard layout:
9078 See the files under @file{/run/current-system/profile/share/keymaps} for
9079 a list of available keyboard layouts. Run @command{man loadkeys} for
9082 @subsubsection Networking
9084 Run the following command to see what your network interfaces are called:
9091 @dots{} or, using the GNU/Linux-specific @command{ip} command:
9097 @c http://cgit.freedesktop.org/systemd/systemd/tree/src/udev/udev-builtin-net_id.c#n20
9098 Wired interfaces have a name starting with @samp{e}; for example, the
9099 interface corresponding to the first on-board Ethernet controller is
9100 called @samp{eno1}. Wireless interfaces have a name starting with
9101 @samp{w}, like @samp{w1p2s0}.
9104 @item Wired connection
9105 To configure a wired network run the following command, substituting
9106 @var{interface} with the name of the wired interface you want to use.
9109 ifconfig @var{interface} up
9112 @item Wireless connection
9115 To configure wireless networking, you can create a configuration file
9116 for the @command{wpa_supplicant} configuration tool (its location is not
9117 important) using one of the available text editors such as
9121 nano wpa_supplicant.conf
9124 As an example, the following stanza can go to this file and will work
9125 for many wireless networks, provided you give the actual SSID and
9126 passphrase for the network you are connecting to:
9130 ssid="@var{my-ssid}"
9132 psk="the network's secret passphrase"
9136 Start the wireless service and run it in the background with the
9137 following command (substitute @var{interface} with the name of the
9138 network interface you want to use):
9141 wpa_supplicant -c wpa_supplicant.conf -i @var{interface} -B
9144 Run @command{man wpa_supplicant} for more information.
9148 At this point, you need to acquire an IP address. On a network where IP
9149 addresses are automatically assigned @i{via} DHCP, you can run:
9152 dhclient -v @var{interface}
9155 Try to ping a server to see if networking is up and running:
9161 Setting up network access is almost always a requirement because the
9162 image does not contain all the software and tools that may be needed.
9164 @cindex installing over SSH
9165 If you want to, you can continue the installation remotely by starting
9169 herd start ssh-daemon
9172 Make sure to either set a password with @command{passwd}, or configure
9173 OpenSSH public key authentication before logging in.
9175 @subsubsection Disk Partitioning
9177 Unless this has already been done, the next step is to partition, and
9178 then format the target partition(s).
9180 The installation image includes several partitioning tools, including
9181 Parted (@pxref{Overview,,, parted, GNU Parted User Manual}),
9182 @command{fdisk}, and @command{cfdisk}. Run it and set up your disk with
9183 the partition layout you want:
9189 If your disk uses the GUID Partition Table (GPT) format and you plan to
9190 install BIOS-based GRUB (which is the default), make sure a BIOS Boot
9191 Partition is available (@pxref{BIOS installation,,, grub, GNU GRUB
9194 @cindex EFI, installation
9195 @cindex UEFI, installation
9196 @cindex ESP, EFI system partition
9197 If you instead wish to use EFI-based GRUB, a FAT32 @dfn{EFI System Partition}
9198 (ESP) is required. This partition should be mounted at @file{/boot/efi} and
9199 must have the @code{esp} flag set. E.g., for @command{parted}:
9202 parted /dev/sda set 1 esp on
9206 @vindex grub-bootloader
9207 @vindex grub-efi-bootloader
9208 Unsure whether to use EFI- or BIOS-based GRUB? If the directory
9209 @file{/sys/firmware/efi} exists in the installation image, then you should
9210 probably perform an EFI installation, using @code{grub-efi-bootloader}.
9211 Otherwise you should use the BIOS-based GRUB, known as
9212 @code{grub-bootloader}. @xref{Bootloader Configuration}, for more info on
9216 Once you are done partitioning the target hard disk drive, you have to
9217 create a file system on the relevant partition(s)@footnote{Currently
9218 GuixSD only supports ext4 and btrfs file systems. In particular, code
9219 that reads file system UUIDs and labels only works for these file system
9220 types.}. For the ESP, if you have one and assuming it is
9221 @file{/dev/sda1}, run:
9224 mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1
9227 Preferably, assign file systems a label so that you can easily and
9228 reliably refer to them in @code{file-system} declarations (@pxref{File
9229 Systems}). This is typically done using the @code{-L} option of
9230 @command{mkfs.ext4} and related commands. So, assuming the target root
9231 partition lives at @file{/dev/sda2}, a file system with the label
9232 @code{my-root} can be created with:
9235 mkfs.ext4 -L my-root /dev/sda2
9238 @cindex encrypted disk
9239 If you are instead planning to encrypt the root partition, you can use
9240 the Cryptsetup/LUKS utilities to do that (see @inlinefmtifelse{html,
9241 @uref{https://linux.die.net/man/8/cryptsetup, @code{man cryptsetup}},
9242 @code{man cryptsetup}} for more information.) Assuming you want to
9243 store the root partition on @file{/dev/sda2}, the command sequence would
9244 be along these lines:
9247 cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sda2
9248 cryptsetup open --type luks /dev/sda2 my-partition
9249 mkfs.ext4 -L my-root /dev/mapper/my-partition
9252 Once that is done, mount the target file system under @file{/mnt}
9253 with a command like (again, assuming @code{my-root} is the label of the
9257 mount LABEL=my-root /mnt
9260 Also mount any other file systems you would like to use on the target
9261 system relative to this path. If you have @file{/boot} on a separate
9262 partition for example, mount it at @file{/mnt/boot} now so it is found
9263 by @code{guix system init} afterwards.
9265 Finally, if you plan to use one or more swap partitions (@pxref{Memory
9266 Concepts, swap space,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}), make
9267 sure to initialize them with @command{mkswap}. Assuming you have one
9268 swap partition on @file{/dev/sda3}, you would run:
9275 Alternatively, you may use a swap file. For example, assuming that in
9276 the new system you want to use the file @file{/swapfile} as a swap file,
9277 you would run@footnote{This example will work for many types of file
9278 systems (e.g., ext4). However, for copy-on-write file systems (e.g.,
9279 btrfs), the required steps may be different. For details, see the
9280 manual pages for @command{mkswap} and @command{swapon}.}:
9283 # This is 10 GiB of swap space. Adjust "count" to change the size.
9284 dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/swapfile bs=1MiB count=10240
9285 # For security, make the file readable and writable only by root.
9286 chmod 600 /mnt/swapfile
9287 mkswap /mnt/swapfile
9288 swapon /mnt/swapfile
9291 Note that if you have encrypted the root partition and created a swap
9292 file in its file system as described above, then the encryption also
9293 protects the swap file, just like any other file in that file system.
9295 @node Proceeding with the Installation
9296 @subsection Proceeding with the Installation
9298 With the target partitions ready and the target root mounted on
9299 @file{/mnt}, we're ready to go. First, run:
9302 herd start cow-store /mnt
9305 This makes @file{/gnu/store} copy-on-write, such that packages added to it
9306 during the installation phase are written to the target disk on @file{/mnt}
9307 rather than kept in memory. This is necessary because the first phase of
9308 the @command{guix system init} command (see below) entails downloads or
9309 builds to @file{/gnu/store} which, initially, is an in-memory file system.
9311 Next, you have to edit a file and
9312 provide the declaration of the operating system to be installed. To
9313 that end, the installation system comes with three text editors. We
9314 recommend GNU nano (@pxref{Top,,, nano, GNU nano Manual}), which
9315 supports syntax highlighting and parentheses matching; other editors
9316 include GNU Zile (an Emacs clone), and
9317 nvi (a clone of the original BSD @command{vi} editor).
9318 We strongly recommend storing that file on the target root file system, say,
9319 as @file{/mnt/etc/config.scm}. Failing to do that, you will have lost your
9320 configuration file once you have rebooted into the newly-installed system.
9322 @xref{Using the Configuration System}, for an overview of the
9323 configuration file. The example configurations discussed in that
9324 section are available under @file{/etc/configuration} in the
9325 installation image. Thus, to get started with a system configuration
9326 providing a graphical display server (a ``desktop'' system), you can run
9327 something along these lines:
9331 # cp /etc/configuration/desktop.scm /mnt/etc/config.scm
9332 # nano /mnt/etc/config.scm
9335 You should pay attention to what your configuration file contains, and
9340 Make sure the @code{bootloader-configuration} form refers to the target
9341 you want to install GRUB on. It should mention @code{grub-bootloader} if
9342 you are installing GRUB in the legacy way, or @code{grub-efi-bootloader}
9343 for newer UEFI systems. For legacy systems, the @code{target} field
9344 names a device, like @code{/dev/sda}; for UEFI systems it names a path
9345 to a mounted EFI partition, like @code{/boot/efi}, and do make sure the
9346 path is actually mounted.
9349 Be sure that your file system labels match the value of their respective
9350 @code{device} fields in your @code{file-system} configuration, assuming
9351 your @code{file-system} configuration uses the @code{file-system-label}
9352 procedure in its @code{device} field.
9355 If there are encrypted or RAID partitions, make sure to add a
9356 @code{mapped-devices} field to describe them (@pxref{Mapped Devices}).
9359 Once you are done preparing the configuration file, the new system must
9360 be initialized (remember that the target root file system is mounted
9364 guix system init /mnt/etc/config.scm /mnt
9368 This copies all the necessary files and installs GRUB on
9369 @file{/dev/sdX}, unless you pass the @option{--no-bootloader} option. For
9370 more information, @pxref{Invoking guix system}. This command may trigger
9371 downloads or builds of missing packages, which can take some time.
9373 Once that command has completed---and hopefully succeeded!---you can run
9374 @command{reboot} and boot into the new system. The @code{root} password
9375 in the new system is initially empty; other users' passwords need to be
9376 initialized by running the @command{passwd} command as @code{root},
9377 unless your configuration specifies otherwise
9378 (@pxref{user-account-password, user account passwords}).
9380 @cindex upgrading GuixSD
9381 From then on, you can update GuixSD whenever you want by running
9382 @command{guix pull} as @code{root} (@pxref{Invoking guix pull}), and
9383 then running @command{guix system reconfigure} to build a new system
9384 generation with the latest packages and services (@pxref{Invoking guix
9385 system}). We recommend doing that regularly so that your system
9386 includes the latest security updates (@pxref{Security Updates}).
9388 Join us on @code{#guix} on the Freenode IRC network or on
9389 @file{guix-devel@@gnu.org} to share your experience---good or not so
9392 @node Installing GuixSD in a VM
9393 @subsection Installing GuixSD in a Virtual Machine
9395 @cindex virtual machine, GuixSD installation
9396 @cindex virtual private server (VPS)
9397 @cindex VPS (virtual private server)
9398 If you'd like to install GuixSD in a virtual machine (VM) or on a
9399 virtual private server (VPS) rather than on your beloved machine, this
9402 To boot a @uref{http://qemu.org/,QEMU} VM for installing GuixSD in a
9403 disk image, follow these steps:
9407 First, retrieve and decompress the GuixSD installation image as
9408 described previously (@pxref{USB Stick and DVD Installation}).
9411 Create a disk image that will hold the installed system. To make a
9412 qcow2-formatted disk image, use the @command{qemu-img} command:
9415 qemu-img create -f qcow2 guixsd.img 50G
9418 The resulting file will be much smaller than 50 GB (typically less than
9419 1 MB), but it will grow as the virtualized storage device is filled up.
9422 Boot the USB installation image in an VM:
9425 qemu-system-x86_64 -m 1024 -smp 1 \
9426 -net user -net nic,model=virtio -boot menu=on \
9427 -drive file=guixsd-install-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.iso \
9428 -drive file=guixsd.img
9431 The ordering of the drives matters.
9433 In the VM console, quickly press the @kbd{F12} key to enter the boot
9434 menu. Then press the @kbd{2} key and the @kbd{RET} key to validate your
9438 You're now root in the VM, proceed with the installation process.
9439 @xref{Preparing for Installation}, and follow the instructions.
9442 Once installation is complete, you can boot the system that's on your
9443 @file{guixsd.img} image. @xref{Running GuixSD in a VM}, for how to do
9446 @node Building the Installation Image
9447 @subsection Building the Installation Image
9449 @cindex installation image
9450 The installation image described above was built using the @command{guix
9451 system} command, specifically:
9454 guix system disk-image gnu/system/install.scm
9457 Have a look at @file{gnu/system/install.scm} in the source tree,
9458 and see also @ref{Invoking guix system} for more information
9459 about the installation image.
9461 @subsection Building the Installation Image for ARM Boards
9463 Many ARM boards require a specific variant of the
9464 @uref{http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot/, U-Boot} bootloader.
9466 If you build a disk image and the bootloader is not available otherwise
9467 (on another boot drive etc), it's advisable to build an image that
9468 includes the bootloader, specifically:
9471 guix system disk-image --system=armhf-linux -e '((@@ (gnu system install) os-with-u-boot) (@@ (gnu system install) installation-os) "A20-OLinuXino-Lime2")'
9474 @code{A20-OLinuXino-Lime2} is the name of the board. If you specify an invalid
9475 board, a list of possible boards will be printed.
9477 @node System Configuration
9478 @section System Configuration
9480 @cindex system configuration
9481 The Guix System Distribution supports a consistent whole-system configuration
9482 mechanism. By that we mean that all aspects of the global system
9483 configuration---such as the available system services, timezone and
9484 locale settings, user accounts---are declared in a single place. Such
9485 a @dfn{system configuration} can be @dfn{instantiated}---i.e., effected.
9487 One of the advantages of putting all the system configuration under the
9488 control of Guix is that it supports transactional system upgrades, and
9489 makes it possible to roll back to a previous system instantiation,
9490 should something go wrong with the new one (@pxref{Features}). Another
9491 advantage is that it makes it easy to replicate the exact same configuration
9492 across different machines, or at different points in time, without
9493 having to resort to additional administration tools layered on top of
9494 the own tools of the system.
9495 @c Yes, we're talking of Puppet, Chef, & co. here. ↑
9497 This section describes this mechanism. First we focus on the system
9498 administrator's viewpoint---explaining how the system is configured and
9499 instantiated. Then we show how this mechanism can be extended, for
9500 instance to support new system services.
9503 * Using the Configuration System:: Customizing your GNU system.
9504 * operating-system Reference:: Detail of operating-system declarations.
9505 * File Systems:: Configuring file system mounts.
9506 * Mapped Devices:: Block device extra processing.
9507 * User Accounts:: Specifying user accounts.
9508 * Locales:: Language and cultural convention settings.
9509 * Services:: Specifying system services.
9510 * Setuid Programs:: Programs running with root privileges.
9511 * X.509 Certificates:: Authenticating HTTPS servers.
9512 * Name Service Switch:: Configuring libc's name service switch.
9513 * Initial RAM Disk:: Linux-Libre bootstrapping.
9514 * Bootloader Configuration:: Configuring the boot loader.
9515 * Invoking guix system:: Instantiating a system configuration.
9516 * Running GuixSD in a VM:: How to run GuixSD in a virtual machine.
9517 * Defining Services:: Adding new service definitions.
9520 @node Using the Configuration System
9521 @subsection Using the Configuration System
9523 The operating system is configured by providing an
9524 @code{operating-system} declaration in a file that can then be passed to
9525 the @command{guix system} command (@pxref{Invoking guix system}). A
9526 simple setup, with the default system services, the default Linux-Libre
9527 kernel, initial RAM disk, and boot loader looks like this:
9529 @findex operating-system
9531 @include os-config-bare-bones.texi
9534 This example should be self-describing. Some of the fields defined
9535 above, such as @code{host-name} and @code{bootloader}, are mandatory.
9536 Others, such as @code{packages} and @code{services}, can be omitted, in
9537 which case they get a default value.
9539 Below we discuss the effect of some of the most important fields
9540 (@pxref{operating-system Reference}, for details about all the available
9541 fields), and how to @dfn{instantiate} the operating system using
9542 @command{guix system}.
9544 @unnumberedsubsubsec Bootloader
9546 @cindex legacy boot, on Intel machines
9547 @cindex BIOS boot, on Intel machines
9550 The @code{bootloader} field describes the method that will be used to boot
9551 your system. Machines based on Intel processors can boot in ``legacy'' BIOS
9552 mode, as in the example above. However, more recent machines rely instead on
9553 the @dfn{Unified Extensible Firmware Interface} (UEFI) to boot. In that case,
9554 the @code{bootloader} field should contain something along these lines:
9557 (bootloader-configuration
9558 (bootloader grub-efi-bootloader)
9559 (target "/boot/efi"))
9562 @xref{Bootloader Configuration}, for more information on the available
9563 configuration options.
9565 @unnumberedsubsubsec Globally-Visible Packages
9567 @vindex %base-packages
9568 The @code{packages} field lists packages that will be globally visible
9569 on the system, for all user accounts---i.e., in every user's @code{PATH}
9570 environment variable---in addition to the per-user profiles
9571 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}). The @var{%base-packages} variable
9572 provides all the tools one would expect for basic user and administrator
9573 tasks---including the GNU Core Utilities, the GNU Networking Utilities,
9574 the GNU Zile lightweight text editor, @command{find}, @command{grep},
9575 etc. The example above adds GNU@tie{}Screen and OpenSSH to those,
9576 taken from the @code{(gnu packages screen)} and @code{(gnu packages ssh)}
9577 modules (@pxref{Package Modules}). The
9578 @code{(list package output)} syntax can be used to add a specific output
9582 (use-modules (gnu packages))
9583 (use-modules (gnu packages dns))
9587 (packages (cons (list bind "utils")
9591 @findex specification->package
9592 Referring to packages by variable name, like @code{bind} above, has
9593 the advantage of being unambiguous; it also allows typos and such to be
9594 diagnosed right away as ``unbound variables''. The downside is that one
9595 needs to know which module defines which package, and to augment the
9596 @code{use-package-modules} line accordingly. To avoid that, one can use
9597 the @code{specification->package} procedure of the @code{(gnu packages)}
9598 module, which returns the best package for a given name or name and
9602 (use-modules (gnu packages))
9606 (packages (append (map specification->package
9607 '("tcpdump" "htop" "gnupg@@2.0"))
9611 @unnumberedsubsubsec System Services
9614 @vindex %base-services
9615 The @code{services} field lists @dfn{system services} to be made
9616 available when the system starts (@pxref{Services}).
9617 The @code{operating-system} declaration above specifies that, in
9618 addition to the basic services, we want the @command{lshd} secure shell
9619 daemon listening on port 2222 (@pxref{Networking Services,
9620 @code{lsh-service}}). Under the hood,
9621 @code{lsh-service} arranges so that @code{lshd} is started with the
9622 right command-line options, possibly with supporting configuration files
9623 generated as needed (@pxref{Defining Services}).
9625 @cindex customization, of services
9626 @findex modify-services
9627 Occasionally, instead of using the base services as is, you will want to
9628 customize them. To do this, use @code{modify-services} (@pxref{Service
9629 Reference, @code{modify-services}}) to modify the list.
9631 For example, suppose you want to modify @code{guix-daemon} and Mingetty
9632 (the console log-in) in the @var{%base-services} list (@pxref{Base
9633 Services, @code{%base-services}}). To do that, you can write the
9634 following in your operating system declaration:
9637 (define %my-services
9638 ;; My very own list of services.
9639 (modify-services %base-services
9640 (guix-service-type config =>
9643 (use-substitutes? #f)
9644 (extra-options '("--gc-keep-derivations"))))
9645 (mingetty-service-type config =>
9646 (mingetty-configuration
9647 (inherit config)))))
9651 (services %my-services))
9654 This changes the configuration---i.e., the service parameters---of the
9655 @code{guix-service-type} instance, and that of all the
9656 @code{mingetty-service-type} instances in the @var{%base-services} list.
9657 Observe how this is accomplished: first, we arrange for the original
9658 configuration to be bound to the identifier @code{config} in the
9659 @var{body}, and then we write the @var{body} so that it evaluates to the
9660 desired configuration. In particular, notice how we use @code{inherit}
9661 to create a new configuration which has the same values as the old
9662 configuration, but with a few modifications.
9664 @cindex encrypted disk
9665 The configuration for a typical ``desktop'' usage, with an encrypted
9666 root partition, the X11 display
9667 server, GNOME and Xfce (users can choose which of these desktop
9668 environments to use at the log-in screen by pressing @kbd{F1}), network
9669 management, power management, and more, would look like this:
9672 @include os-config-desktop.texi
9675 A graphical system with a choice of lightweight window managers
9676 instead of full-blown desktop environments would look like this:
9679 @include os-config-lightweight-desktop.texi
9682 This example refers to the @file{/boot/efi} file system by its UUID,
9683 @code{1234-ABCD}. Replace this UUID with the right UUID on your system,
9684 as returned by the @command{blkid} command.
9686 @xref{Desktop Services}, for the exact list of services provided by
9687 @var{%desktop-services}. @xref{X.509 Certificates}, for background
9688 information about the @code{nss-certs} package that is used here.
9690 Again, @var{%desktop-services} is just a list of service objects. If
9691 you want to remove services from there, you can do so using the
9692 procedures for list filtering (@pxref{SRFI-1 Filtering and
9693 Partitioning,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}). For instance, the
9694 following expression returns a list that contains all the services in
9695 @var{%desktop-services} minus the Avahi service:
9698 (remove (lambda (service)
9699 (eq? (service-kind service) avahi-service-type))
9703 @unnumberedsubsubsec Instantiating the System
9705 Assuming the @code{operating-system} declaration
9706 is stored in the @file{my-system-config.scm}
9707 file, the @command{guix system reconfigure my-system-config.scm} command
9708 instantiates that configuration, and makes it the default GRUB boot
9709 entry (@pxref{Invoking guix system}).
9711 The normal way to change the system configuration is by updating this
9712 file and re-running @command{guix system reconfigure}. One should never
9713 have to touch files in @file{/etc} or to run commands that modify the
9714 system state such as @command{useradd} or @command{grub-install}. In
9715 fact, you must avoid that since that would not only void your warranty
9716 but also prevent you from rolling back to previous versions of your
9717 system, should you ever need to.
9719 @cindex roll-back, of the operating system
9720 Speaking of roll-back, each time you run @command{guix system
9721 reconfigure}, a new @dfn{generation} of the system is created---without
9722 modifying or deleting previous generations. Old system generations get
9723 an entry in the bootloader boot menu, allowing you to boot them in case
9724 something went wrong with the latest generation. Reassuring, no? The
9725 @command{guix system list-generations} command lists the system
9726 generations available on disk. It is also possible to roll back the
9727 system via the commands @command{guix system roll-back} and
9728 @command{guix system switch-generation}.
9730 Although the @command{guix system reconfigure} command will not modify
9731 previous generations, you must take care when the current generation is not
9732 the latest (e.g., after invoking @command{guix system roll-back}), since
9733 the operation might overwrite a later generation (@pxref{Invoking guix
9736 @unnumberedsubsubsec The Programming Interface
9738 At the Scheme level, the bulk of an @code{operating-system} declaration
9739 is instantiated with the following monadic procedure (@pxref{The Store
9742 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} operating-system-derivation os
9743 Return a derivation that builds @var{os}, an @code{operating-system}
9744 object (@pxref{Derivations}).
9746 The output of the derivation is a single directory that refers to all
9747 the packages, configuration files, and other supporting files needed to
9748 instantiate @var{os}.
9751 This procedure is provided by the @code{(gnu system)} module. Along
9752 with @code{(gnu services)} (@pxref{Services}), this module contains the
9753 guts of GuixSD. Make sure to visit it!
9756 @node operating-system Reference
9757 @subsection @code{operating-system} Reference
9759 This section summarizes all the options available in
9760 @code{operating-system} declarations (@pxref{Using the Configuration
9763 @deftp {Data Type} operating-system
9764 This is the data type representing an operating system configuration.
9765 By that, we mean all the global system configuration, not per-user
9766 configuration (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}).
9769 @item @code{kernel} (default: @var{linux-libre})
9770 The package object of the operating system kernel to use@footnote{Currently
9771 only the Linux-libre kernel is supported. In the future, it will be
9772 possible to use the GNU@tie{}Hurd.}.
9774 @item @code{kernel-arguments} (default: @code{'()})
9775 List of strings or gexps representing additional arguments to pass on
9776 the command-line of the kernel---e.g., @code{("console=ttyS0")}.
9778 @item @code{bootloader}
9779 The system bootloader configuration object. @xref{Bootloader Configuration}.
9781 @item @code{initrd-modules} (default: @code{%base-initrd-modules})
9783 @cindex initial RAM disk
9784 The list of Linux kernel modules that need to be available in the
9785 initial RAM disk. @xref{Initial RAM Disk}.
9787 @item @code{initrd} (default: @code{base-initrd})
9788 A monadic procedure that returns an initial RAM disk for the Linux
9789 kernel. This field is provided to support low-level customization and
9790 should rarely be needed for casual use. @xref{Initial RAM Disk}.
9792 @item @code{firmware} (default: @var{%base-firmware})
9794 List of firmware packages loadable by the operating system kernel.
9796 The default includes firmware needed for Atheros- and Broadcom-based
9797 WiFi devices (Linux-libre modules @code{ath9k} and @code{b43-open},
9798 respectively). @xref{Hardware Considerations}, for more info on
9801 @item @code{host-name}
9804 @item @code{hosts-file}
9806 A file-like object (@pxref{G-Expressions, file-like objects}) for use as
9807 @file{/etc/hosts} (@pxref{Host Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library
9808 Reference Manual}). The default is a file with entries for
9809 @code{localhost} and @var{host-name}.
9811 @item @code{mapped-devices} (default: @code{'()})
9812 A list of mapped devices. @xref{Mapped Devices}.
9814 @item @code{file-systems}
9815 A list of file systems. @xref{File Systems}.
9817 @item @code{swap-devices} (default: @code{'()})
9818 @cindex swap devices
9819 A list of strings identifying devices or files to be used for ``swap
9820 space'' (@pxref{Memory Concepts,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
9821 Manual}). For example, @code{'("/dev/sda3")} or @code{'("/swapfile")}.
9822 It is possible to specify a swap file in a file system on a mapped
9823 device, provided that the necessary device mapping and file system are
9824 also specified. @xref{Mapped Devices} and @ref{File Systems}.
9826 @item @code{users} (default: @code{%base-user-accounts})
9827 @itemx @code{groups} (default: @var{%base-groups})
9828 List of user accounts and groups. @xref{User Accounts}.
9830 If the @code{users} list lacks a user account with UID@tie{}0, a
9831 ``root'' account with UID@tie{}0 is automatically added.
9833 @item @code{skeletons} (default: @code{(default-skeletons)})
9834 A list target file name/file-like object tuples (@pxref{G-Expressions,
9835 file-like objects}). These are the skeleton files that will be added to
9836 the home directory of newly-created user accounts.
9838 For instance, a valid value may look like this:
9841 `((".bashrc" ,(plain-file "bashrc" "echo Hello\n"))
9842 (".guile" ,(plain-file "guile"
9843 "(use-modules (ice-9 readline))
9844 (activate-readline)")))
9847 @item @code{issue} (default: @var{%default-issue})
9848 A string denoting the contents of the @file{/etc/issue} file, which is
9849 displayed when users log in on a text console.
9851 @item @code{packages} (default: @var{%base-packages})
9852 The set of packages installed in the global profile, which is accessible
9853 at @file{/run/current-system/profile}.
9855 The default set includes core utilities and it is good practice to
9856 install non-core utilities in user profiles (@pxref{Invoking guix
9859 @item @code{timezone}
9860 A timezone identifying string---e.g., @code{"Europe/Paris"}.
9862 You can run the @command{tzselect} command to find out which timezone
9863 string corresponds to your region. Choosing an invalid timezone name
9864 causes @command{guix system} to fail.
9866 @item @code{locale} (default: @code{"en_US.utf8"})
9867 The name of the default locale (@pxref{Locale Names,,, libc, The GNU C
9868 Library Reference Manual}). @xref{Locales}, for more information.
9870 @item @code{locale-definitions} (default: @var{%default-locale-definitions})
9871 The list of locale definitions to be compiled and that may be used at
9872 run time. @xref{Locales}.
9874 @item @code{locale-libcs} (default: @code{(list @var{glibc})})
9875 The list of GNU@tie{}libc packages whose locale data and tools are used
9876 to build the locale definitions. @xref{Locales}, for compatibility
9877 considerations that justify this option.
9879 @item @code{name-service-switch} (default: @var{%default-nss})
9880 Configuration of the libc name service switch (NSS)---a
9881 @code{<name-service-switch>} object. @xref{Name Service Switch}, for
9884 @item @code{services} (default: @var{%base-services})
9885 A list of service objects denoting system services. @xref{Services}.
9887 @item @code{pam-services} (default: @code{(base-pam-services)})
9889 @cindex pluggable authentication modules
9890 Linux @dfn{pluggable authentication module} (PAM) services.
9891 @c FIXME: Add xref to PAM services section.
9893 @item @code{setuid-programs} (default: @var{%setuid-programs})
9894 List of string-valued G-expressions denoting setuid programs.
9895 @xref{Setuid Programs}.
9897 @item @code{sudoers-file} (default: @var{%sudoers-specification})
9898 @cindex sudoers file
9899 The contents of the @file{/etc/sudoers} file as a file-like object
9900 (@pxref{G-Expressions, @code{local-file} and @code{plain-file}}).
9902 This file specifies which users can use the @command{sudo} command, what
9903 they are allowed to do, and what privileges they may gain. The default
9904 is that only @code{root} and members of the @code{wheel} group may use
9911 @subsection File Systems
9913 The list of file systems to be mounted is specified in the
9914 @code{file-systems} field of the operating system declaration
9915 (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}). Each file system is declared
9916 using the @code{file-system} form, like this:
9920 (mount-point "/home")
9921 (device "/dev/sda3")
9925 As usual, some of the fields are mandatory---those shown in the example
9926 above---while others can be omitted. These are described below.
9928 @deftp {Data Type} file-system
9929 Objects of this type represent file systems to be mounted. They
9930 contain the following members:
9934 This is a string specifying the type of the file system---e.g.,
9937 @item @code{mount-point}
9938 This designates the place where the file system is to be mounted.
9941 This names the ``source'' of the file system. It can be one of three
9942 things: a file system label, a file system UUID, or the name of a
9943 @file{/dev} node. Labels and UUIDs offer a way to refer to file
9944 systems without having to hard-code their actual device
9945 name@footnote{Note that, while it is tempting to use
9946 @file{/dev/disk/by-uuid} and similar device names to achieve the same
9947 result, this is not recommended: These special device nodes are created
9948 by the udev daemon and may be unavailable at the time the device is
9951 @findex file-system-label
9952 File system labels are created using the @code{file-system-label}
9953 procedure, UUIDs are created using @code{uuid}, and @file{/dev} node are
9954 plain strings. Here's an example of a file system referred to by its
9955 label, as shown by the @command{e2label} command:
9959 (mount-point "/home")
9961 (device (file-system-label "my-home")))
9965 UUIDs are converted from their string representation (as shown by the
9966 @command{tune2fs -l} command) using the @code{uuid} form@footnote{The
9967 @code{uuid} form expects 16-byte UUIDs as defined in
9968 @uref{https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4122, RFC@tie{}4122}. This is the
9969 form of UUID used by the ext2 family of file systems and others, but it
9970 is different from ``UUIDs'' found in FAT file systems, for instance.},
9975 (mount-point "/home")
9977 (device (uuid "4dab5feb-d176-45de-b287-9b0a6e4c01cb")))
9980 When the source of a file system is a mapped device (@pxref{Mapped
9981 Devices}), its @code{device} field @emph{must} refer to the mapped
9982 device name---e.g., @file{"/dev/mapper/root-partition"}.
9983 This is required so that
9984 the system knows that mounting the file system depends on having the
9985 corresponding device mapping established.
9987 @item @code{flags} (default: @code{'()})
9988 This is a list of symbols denoting mount flags. Recognized flags
9989 include @code{read-only}, @code{bind-mount}, @code{no-dev} (disallow
9990 access to special files), @code{no-suid} (ignore setuid and setgid
9991 bits), and @code{no-exec} (disallow program execution.)
9993 @item @code{options} (default: @code{#f})
9994 This is either @code{#f}, or a string denoting mount options.
9996 @item @code{mount?} (default: @code{#t})
9997 This value indicates whether to automatically mount the file system when
9998 the system is brought up. When set to @code{#f}, the file system gets
9999 an entry in @file{/etc/fstab} (read by the @command{mount} command) but
10000 is not automatically mounted.
10002 @item @code{needed-for-boot?} (default: @code{#f})
10003 This Boolean value indicates whether the file system is needed when
10004 booting. If that is true, then the file system is mounted when the
10005 initial RAM disk (initrd) is loaded. This is always the case, for
10006 instance, for the root file system.
10008 @item @code{check?} (default: @code{#t})
10009 This Boolean indicates whether the file system needs to be checked for
10010 errors before being mounted.
10012 @item @code{create-mount-point?} (default: @code{#f})
10013 When true, the mount point is created if it does not exist yet.
10015 @item @code{dependencies} (default: @code{'()})
10016 This is a list of @code{<file-system>} or @code{<mapped-device>} objects
10017 representing file systems that must be mounted or mapped devices that
10018 must be opened before (and unmounted or closed after) this one.
10020 As an example, consider a hierarchy of mounts: @file{/sys/fs/cgroup} is
10021 a dependency of @file{/sys/fs/cgroup/cpu} and
10022 @file{/sys/fs/cgroup/memory}.
10024 Another example is a file system that depends on a mapped device, for
10025 example for an encrypted partition (@pxref{Mapped Devices}).
10029 The @code{(gnu system file-systems)} exports the following useful
10032 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-file-systems
10033 These are essential file systems that are required on normal systems,
10034 such as @var{%pseudo-terminal-file-system} and @var{%immutable-store} (see
10035 below.) Operating system declarations should always contain at least
10039 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %pseudo-terminal-file-system
10040 This is the file system to be mounted as @file{/dev/pts}. It supports
10041 @dfn{pseudo-terminals} created @i{via} @code{openpty} and similar
10042 functions (@pxref{Pseudo-Terminals,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
10043 Manual}). Pseudo-terminals are used by terminal emulators such as
10047 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %shared-memory-file-system
10048 This file system is mounted as @file{/dev/shm} and is used to support
10049 memory sharing across processes (@pxref{Memory-mapped I/O,
10050 @code{shm_open},, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
10053 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %immutable-store
10054 This file system performs a read-only ``bind mount'' of
10055 @file{/gnu/store}, making it read-only for all the users including
10056 @code{root}. This prevents against accidental modification by software
10057 running as @code{root} or by system administrators.
10059 The daemon itself is still able to write to the store: it remounts it
10060 read-write in its own ``name space.''
10063 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %binary-format-file-system
10064 The @code{binfmt_misc} file system, which allows handling of arbitrary
10065 executable file types to be delegated to user space. This requires the
10066 @code{binfmt.ko} kernel module to be loaded.
10069 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %fuse-control-file-system
10070 The @code{fusectl} file system, which allows unprivileged users to mount
10071 and unmount user-space FUSE file systems. This requires the
10072 @code{fuse.ko} kernel module to be loaded.
10075 @node Mapped Devices
10076 @subsection Mapped Devices
10078 @cindex device mapping
10079 @cindex mapped devices
10080 The Linux kernel has a notion of @dfn{device mapping}: a block device,
10081 such as a hard disk partition, can be @dfn{mapped} into another device,
10082 usually in @code{/dev/mapper/},
10083 with additional processing over the data that flows through
10084 it@footnote{Note that the GNU@tie{}Hurd makes no difference between the
10085 concept of a ``mapped device'' and that of a file system: both boil down
10086 to @emph{translating} input/output operations made on a file to
10087 operations on its backing store. Thus, the Hurd implements mapped
10088 devices, like file systems, using the generic @dfn{translator} mechanism
10089 (@pxref{Translators,,, hurd, The GNU Hurd Reference Manual}).}. A
10090 typical example is encryption device mapping: all writes to the mapped
10091 device are encrypted, and all reads are deciphered, transparently.
10092 Guix extends this notion by considering any device or set of devices that
10093 are @dfn{transformed} in some way to create a new device; for instance,
10094 RAID devices are obtained by @dfn{assembling} several other devices, such
10095 as hard disks or partitions, into a new one that behaves as one partition.
10096 Other examples, not yet implemented, are LVM logical volumes.
10098 Mapped devices are declared using the @code{mapped-device} form,
10099 defined as follows; for examples, see below.
10101 @deftp {Data Type} mapped-device
10102 Objects of this type represent device mappings that will be made when
10103 the system boots up.
10107 This is either a string specifying the name of the block device to be mapped,
10108 such as @code{"/dev/sda3"}, or a list of such strings when several devices
10109 need to be assembled for creating a new one.
10112 This string specifies the name of the resulting mapped device. For
10113 kernel mappers such as encrypted devices of type @code{luks-device-mapping},
10114 specifying @code{"my-partition"} leads to the creation of
10115 the @code{"/dev/mapper/my-partition"} device.
10116 For RAID devices of type @code{raid-device-mapping}, the full device name
10117 such as @code{"/dev/md0"} needs to be given.
10120 This must be a @code{mapped-device-kind} object, which specifies how
10121 @var{source} is mapped to @var{target}.
10125 @defvr {Scheme Variable} luks-device-mapping
10126 This defines LUKS block device encryption using the @command{cryptsetup}
10127 command from the package with the same name. It relies on the
10128 @code{dm-crypt} Linux kernel module.
10131 @defvr {Scheme Variable} raid-device-mapping
10132 This defines a RAID device, which is assembled using the @code{mdadm}
10133 command from the package with the same name. It requires a Linux kernel
10134 module for the appropriate RAID level to be loaded, such as @code{raid456}
10135 for RAID-4, RAID-5 or RAID-6, or @code{raid10} for RAID-10.
10138 @cindex disk encryption
10140 The following example specifies a mapping from @file{/dev/sda3} to
10141 @file{/dev/mapper/home} using LUKS---the
10142 @url{https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup,Linux Unified Key Setup}, a
10143 standard mechanism for disk encryption.
10144 The @file{/dev/mapper/home}
10145 device can then be used as the @code{device} of a @code{file-system}
10146 declaration (@pxref{File Systems}).
10150 (source "/dev/sda3")
10152 (type luks-device-mapping))
10155 Alternatively, to become independent of device numbering, one may obtain
10156 the LUKS UUID (@dfn{unique identifier}) of the source device by a
10160 cryptsetup luksUUID /dev/sda3
10163 and use it as follows:
10167 (source (uuid "cb67fc72-0d54-4c88-9d4b-b225f30b0f44"))
10169 (type luks-device-mapping))
10172 @cindex swap encryption
10173 It is also desirable to encrypt swap space, since swap space may contain
10174 sensitive data. One way to accomplish that is to use a swap file in a
10175 file system on a device mapped via LUKS encryption. In this way, the
10176 swap file is encrypted because the entire device is encrypted.
10177 @xref{Preparing for Installation,,Disk Partitioning}, for an example.
10179 A RAID device formed of the partitions @file{/dev/sda1} and @file{/dev/sdb1}
10180 may be declared as follows:
10184 (source (list "/dev/sda1" "/dev/sdb1"))
10185 (target "/dev/md0")
10186 (type raid-device-mapping))
10189 The @file{/dev/md0} device can then be used as the @code{device} of a
10190 @code{file-system} declaration (@pxref{File Systems}).
10191 Note that the RAID level need not be given; it is chosen during the
10192 initial creation and formatting of the RAID device and is determined
10193 automatically later.
10196 @node User Accounts
10197 @subsection User Accounts
10201 @cindex user accounts
10202 User accounts and groups are entirely managed through the
10203 @code{operating-system} declaration. They are specified with the
10204 @code{user-account} and @code{user-group} forms:
10210 (supplementary-groups '("wheel" ;allow use of sudo, etc.
10211 "audio" ;sound card
10212 "video" ;video devices such as webcams
10213 "cdrom")) ;the good ol' CD-ROM
10214 (comment "Bob's sister")
10215 (home-directory "/home/alice"))
10218 When booting or upon completion of @command{guix system reconfigure},
10219 the system ensures that only the user accounts and groups specified in
10220 the @code{operating-system} declaration exist, and with the specified
10221 properties. Thus, account or group creations or modifications made by
10222 directly invoking commands such as @command{useradd} are lost upon
10223 reconfiguration or reboot. This ensures that the system remains exactly
10226 @deftp {Data Type} user-account
10227 Objects of this type represent user accounts. The following members may
10232 The name of the user account.
10236 This is the name (a string) or identifier (a number) of the user group
10237 this account belongs to.
10239 @item @code{supplementary-groups} (default: @code{'()})
10240 Optionally, this can be defined as a list of group names that this
10241 account belongs to.
10243 @item @code{uid} (default: @code{#f})
10244 This is the user ID for this account (a number), or @code{#f}. In the
10245 latter case, a number is automatically chosen by the system when the
10246 account is created.
10248 @item @code{comment} (default: @code{""})
10249 A comment about the account, such as the account owner's full name.
10251 @item @code{home-directory}
10252 This is the name of the home directory for the account.
10254 @item @code{create-home-directory?} (default: @code{#t})
10255 Indicates whether the home directory of this account should be created
10256 if it does not exist yet.
10258 @item @code{shell} (default: Bash)
10259 This is a G-expression denoting the file name of a program to be used as
10260 the shell (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
10262 @item @code{system?} (default: @code{#f})
10263 This Boolean value indicates whether the account is a ``system''
10264 account. System accounts are sometimes treated specially; for instance,
10265 graphical login managers do not list them.
10267 @anchor{user-account-password}
10268 @item @code{password} (default: @code{#f})
10269 You would normally leave this field to @code{#f}, initialize user
10270 passwords as @code{root} with the @command{passwd} command, and then let
10271 users change it with @command{passwd}. Passwords set with
10272 @command{passwd} are of course preserved across reboot and
10275 If you @emph{do} want to have a preset password for an account, then
10276 this field must contain the encrypted password, as a string.
10277 @xref{crypt,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}, for more information
10278 on password encryption, and @ref{Encryption,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference
10279 Manual}, for information on Guile's @code{crypt} procedure.
10285 User group declarations are even simpler:
10288 (user-group (name "students"))
10291 @deftp {Data Type} user-group
10292 This type is for, well, user groups. There are just a few fields:
10296 The name of the group.
10298 @item @code{id} (default: @code{#f})
10299 The group identifier (a number). If @code{#f}, a new number is
10300 automatically allocated when the group is created.
10302 @item @code{system?} (default: @code{#f})
10303 This Boolean value indicates whether the group is a ``system'' group.
10304 System groups have low numerical IDs.
10306 @item @code{password} (default: @code{#f})
10307 What, user groups can have a password? Well, apparently yes. Unless
10308 @code{#f}, this field specifies the password of the group.
10313 For convenience, a variable lists all the basic user groups one may
10316 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-groups
10317 This is the list of basic user groups that users and/or packages expect
10318 to be present on the system. This includes groups such as ``root'',
10319 ``wheel'', and ``users'', as well as groups used to control access to
10320 specific devices such as ``audio'', ``disk'', and ``cdrom''.
10323 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-user-accounts
10324 This is the list of basic system accounts that programs may expect to
10325 find on a GNU/Linux system, such as the ``nobody'' account.
10327 Note that the ``root'' account is not included here. It is a
10328 special-case and is automatically added whether or not it is specified.
10332 @subsection Locales
10335 A @dfn{locale} defines cultural conventions for a particular language
10336 and region of the world (@pxref{Locales,,, libc, The GNU C Library
10337 Reference Manual}). Each locale has a name that typically has the form
10338 @code{@var{language}_@var{territory}.@var{codeset}}---e.g.,
10339 @code{fr_LU.utf8} designates the locale for the French language, with
10340 cultural conventions from Luxembourg, and using the UTF-8 encoding.
10342 @cindex locale definition
10343 Usually, you will want to specify the default locale for the machine
10344 using the @code{locale} field of the @code{operating-system} declaration
10345 (@pxref{operating-system Reference, @code{locale}}).
10347 The selected locale is automatically added to the @dfn{locale
10348 definitions} known to the system if needed, with its codeset inferred
10349 from its name---e.g., @code{bo_CN.utf8} will be assumed to use the
10350 @code{UTF-8} codeset. Additional locale definitions can be specified in
10351 the @code{locale-definitions} slot of @code{operating-system}---this is
10352 useful, for instance, if the codeset could not be inferred from the
10353 locale name. The default set of locale definitions includes some widely
10354 used locales, but not all the available locales, in order to save space.
10356 For instance, to add the North Frisian locale for Germany, the value of
10360 (cons (locale-definition
10361 (name "fy_DE.utf8") (source "fy_DE"))
10362 %default-locale-definitions)
10365 Likewise, to save space, one might want @code{locale-definitions} to
10366 list only the locales that are actually used, as in:
10369 (list (locale-definition
10370 (name "ja_JP.eucjp") (source "ja_JP")
10371 (charset "EUC-JP")))
10375 The compiled locale definitions are available at
10376 @file{/run/current-system/locale/X.Y}, where @code{X.Y} is the libc
10377 version, which is the default location where the GNU@tie{}libc provided
10378 by Guix looks for locale data. This can be overridden using the
10379 @code{LOCPATH} environment variable (@pxref{locales-and-locpath,
10380 @code{LOCPATH} and locale packages}).
10382 The @code{locale-definition} form is provided by the @code{(gnu system
10383 locale)} module. Details are given below.
10385 @deftp {Data Type} locale-definition
10386 This is the data type of a locale definition.
10391 The name of the locale. @xref{Locale Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library
10392 Reference Manual}, for more information on locale names.
10394 @item @code{source}
10395 The name of the source for that locale. This is typically the
10396 @code{@var{language}_@var{territory}} part of the locale name.
10398 @item @code{charset} (default: @code{"UTF-8"})
10399 The ``character set'' or ``code set'' for that locale,
10400 @uref{http://www.iana.org/assignments/character-sets, as defined by
10406 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-locale-definitions
10407 A list of commonly used UTF-8 locales, used as the default
10408 value of the @code{locale-definitions} field of @code{operating-system}
10411 @cindex locale name
10412 @cindex normalized codeset in locale names
10413 These locale definitions use the @dfn{normalized codeset} for the part
10414 that follows the dot in the name (@pxref{Using gettextized software,
10415 normalized codeset,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}). So for
10416 instance it has @code{uk_UA.utf8} but @emph{not}, say,
10417 @code{uk_UA.UTF-8}.
10420 @subsubsection Locale Data Compatibility Considerations
10422 @cindex incompatibility, of locale data
10423 @code{operating-system} declarations provide a @code{locale-libcs} field
10424 to specify the GNU@tie{}libc packages that are used to compile locale
10425 declarations (@pxref{operating-system Reference}). ``Why would I
10426 care?'', you may ask. Well, it turns out that the binary format of
10427 locale data is occasionally incompatible from one libc version to
10430 @c See <https://sourceware.org/ml/libc-alpha/2015-09/msg00575.html>
10431 @c and <https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2015-08/msg00737.html>.
10432 For instance, a program linked against libc version 2.21 is unable to
10433 read locale data produced with libc 2.22; worse, that program
10434 @emph{aborts} instead of simply ignoring the incompatible locale
10435 data@footnote{Versions 2.23 and later of GNU@tie{}libc will simply skip
10436 the incompatible locale data, which is already an improvement.}.
10437 Similarly, a program linked against libc 2.22 can read most, but not
10438 all, of the locale data from libc 2.21 (specifically, @code{LC_COLLATE}
10439 data is incompatible); thus calls to @code{setlocale} may fail, but
10440 programs will not abort.
10442 The ``problem'' in GuixSD is that users have a lot of freedom: They can
10443 choose whether and when to upgrade software in their profiles, and might
10444 be using a libc version different from the one the system administrator
10445 used to build the system-wide locale data.
10447 Fortunately, unprivileged users can also install their own locale data
10448 and define @var{GUIX_LOCPATH} accordingly (@pxref{locales-and-locpath,
10449 @code{GUIX_LOCPATH} and locale packages}).
10451 Still, it is best if the system-wide locale data at
10452 @file{/run/current-system/locale} is built for all the libc versions
10453 actually in use on the system, so that all the programs can access
10454 it---this is especially crucial on a multi-user system. To do that, the
10455 administrator can specify several libc packages in the
10456 @code{locale-libcs} field of @code{operating-system}:
10459 (use-package-modules base)
10463 (locale-libcs (list glibc-2.21 (canonical-package glibc))))
10466 This example would lead to a system containing locale definitions for
10467 both libc 2.21 and the current version of libc in
10468 @file{/run/current-system/locale}.
10472 @subsection Services
10474 @cindex system services
10475 An important part of preparing an @code{operating-system} declaration is
10476 listing @dfn{system services} and their configuration (@pxref{Using the
10477 Configuration System}). System services are typically daemons launched
10478 when the system boots, or other actions needed at that time---e.g.,
10479 configuring network access.
10481 GuixSD has a broad definition of ``service'' (@pxref{Service
10482 Composition}), but many services are managed by the GNU@tie{}Shepherd
10483 (@pxref{Shepherd Services}). On a running system, the @command{herd}
10484 command allows you to list the available services, show their status,
10485 start and stop them, or do other specific operations (@pxref{Jump
10486 Start,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}). For example:
10492 The above command, run as @code{root}, lists the currently defined
10493 services. The @command{herd doc} command shows a synopsis of the given
10498 Run libc's name service cache daemon (nscd).
10501 The @command{start}, @command{stop}, and @command{restart} sub-commands
10502 have the effect you would expect. For instance, the commands below stop
10503 the nscd service and restart the Xorg display server:
10507 Service nscd has been stopped.
10508 # herd restart xorg-server
10509 Service xorg-server has been stopped.
10510 Service xorg-server has been started.
10513 The following sections document the available services, starting with
10514 the core services, that may be used in an @code{operating-system}
10518 * Base Services:: Essential system services.
10519 * Scheduled Job Execution:: The mcron service.
10520 * Log Rotation:: The rottlog service.
10521 * Networking Services:: Network setup, SSH daemon, etc.
10522 * X Window:: Graphical display.
10523 * Printing Services:: Local and remote printer support.
10524 * Desktop Services:: D-Bus and desktop services.
10525 * Sound Services:: ALSA and Pulseaudio services.
10526 * Database Services:: SQL databases, key-value stores, etc.
10527 * Mail Services:: IMAP, POP3, SMTP, and all that.
10528 * Messaging Services:: Messaging services.
10529 * Telephony Services:: Telephony services.
10530 * Monitoring Services:: Monitoring services.
10531 * Kerberos Services:: Kerberos services.
10532 * Web Services:: Web servers.
10533 * Certificate Services:: TLS certificates via Let's Encrypt.
10534 * DNS Services:: DNS daemons.
10535 * VPN Services:: VPN daemons.
10536 * Network File System:: NFS related services.
10537 * Continuous Integration:: The Cuirass service.
10538 * Power Management Services:: Extending battery life.
10539 * Audio Services:: The MPD.
10540 * Virtualization Services:: Virtualization services.
10541 * Version Control Services:: Providing remote access to Git repositories.
10542 * Game Services:: Game servers.
10543 * Miscellaneous Services:: Other services.
10546 @node Base Services
10547 @subsubsection Base Services
10549 The @code{(gnu services base)} module provides definitions for the basic
10550 services that one expects from the system. The services exported by
10551 this module are listed below.
10553 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-services
10554 This variable contains a list of basic services (@pxref{Service Types
10555 and Services}, for more information on service objects) one would
10556 expect from the system: a login service (mingetty) on each tty, syslogd,
10557 the libc name service cache daemon (nscd), the udev device manager, and
10560 This is the default value of the @code{services} field of
10561 @code{operating-system} declarations. Usually, when customizing a
10562 system, you will want to append services to @var{%base-services}, like
10566 (cons* (avahi-service) (lsh-service) %base-services)
10570 @defvr {Scheme Variable} special-files-service-type
10571 This is the service that sets up ``special files'' such as
10572 @file{/bin/sh}; an instance of it is part of @code{%base-services}.
10574 The value associated with @code{special-files-service-type} services
10575 must be a list of tuples where the first element is the ``special file''
10576 and the second element is its target. By default it is:
10578 @cindex @file{/bin/sh}
10579 @cindex @file{sh}, in @file{/bin}
10581 `(("/bin/sh" ,(file-append @var{bash} "/bin/sh")))
10584 @cindex @file{/usr/bin/env}
10585 @cindex @file{env}, in @file{/usr/bin}
10586 If you want to add, say, @code{/usr/bin/env} to your system, you can
10590 `(("/bin/sh" ,(file-append @var{bash} "/bin/sh"))
10591 ("/usr/bin/env" ,(file-append @var{coreutils} "/bin/env")))
10594 Since this is part of @code{%base-services}, you can use
10595 @code{modify-services} to customize the set of special files
10596 (@pxref{Service Reference, @code{modify-services}}). But the simple way
10597 to add a special file is @i{via} the @code{extra-special-file} procedure
10601 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} extra-special-file @var{file} @var{target}
10602 Use @var{target} as the ``special file'' @var{file}.
10604 For example, adding the following lines to the @code{services} field of
10605 your operating system declaration leads to a @file{/usr/bin/env}
10609 (extra-special-file "/usr/bin/env"
10610 (file-append coreutils "/bin/env"))
10614 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} host-name-service @var{name}
10615 Return a service that sets the host name to @var{name}.
10618 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} login-service @var{config}
10619 Return a service to run login according to @var{config}, a
10620 @code{<login-configuration>} object, which specifies the message of the day,
10621 among other things.
10624 @deftp {Data Type} login-configuration
10625 This is the data type representing the configuration of login.
10630 @cindex message of the day
10631 A file-like object containing the ``message of the day''.
10633 @item @code{allow-empty-passwords?} (default: @code{#t})
10634 Allow empty passwords by default so that first-time users can log in when
10635 the 'root' account has just been created.
10640 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} mingetty-service @var{config}
10641 Return a service to run mingetty according to @var{config}, a
10642 @code{<mingetty-configuration>} object, which specifies the tty to run, among
10646 @deftp {Data Type} mingetty-configuration
10647 This is the data type representing the configuration of Mingetty, which
10648 provides the default implementation of virtual console log-in.
10653 The name of the console this Mingetty runs on---e.g., @code{"tty1"}.
10655 @item @code{auto-login} (default: @code{#f})
10656 When true, this field must be a string denoting the user name under
10657 which the system automatically logs in. When it is @code{#f}, a
10658 user name and password must be entered to log in.
10660 @item @code{login-program} (default: @code{#f})
10661 This must be either @code{#f}, in which case the default log-in program
10662 is used (@command{login} from the Shadow tool suite), or a gexp denoting
10663 the name of the log-in program.
10665 @item @code{login-pause?} (default: @code{#f})
10666 When set to @code{#t} in conjunction with @var{auto-login}, the user
10667 will have to press a key before the log-in shell is launched.
10669 @item @code{mingetty} (default: @var{mingetty})
10670 The Mingetty package to use.
10675 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} agetty-service @var{config}
10676 Return a service to run agetty according to @var{config}, an
10677 @code{<agetty-configuration>} object, which specifies the tty to run,
10678 among other things.
10681 @deftp {Data Type} agetty-configuration
10682 This is the data type representing the configuration of agetty, which
10683 implements virtual and serial console log-in. See the @code{agetty(8)}
10684 man page for more information.
10689 The name of the console this agetty runs on, as a string---e.g.,
10690 @code{"ttyS0"}. This argument is optional, it will default to
10691 a reasonable default serial port used by the kernel Linux.
10693 For this, if there is a value for an option @code{agetty.tty} in the kernel
10694 command line, agetty will extract the device name of the serial port
10695 from it and use that.
10697 If not and if there is a value for an option @code{console} with a tty in
10698 the Linux command line, agetty will extract the device name of the
10699 serial port from it and use that.
10701 In both cases, agetty will leave the other serial device settings
10702 (baud rate etc.) alone---in the hope that Linux pinned them to the
10705 @item @code{baud-rate} (default: @code{#f})
10706 A string containing a comma-separated list of one or more baud rates, in
10709 @item @code{term} (default: @code{#f})
10710 A string containing the value used for the @code{TERM} environment
10713 @item @code{eight-bits?} (default: @code{#f})
10714 When @code{#t}, the tty is assumed to be 8-bit clean, and parity detection is
10717 @item @code{auto-login} (default: @code{#f})
10718 When passed a login name, as a string, the specified user will be logged
10719 in automatically without prompting for their login name or password.
10721 @item @code{no-reset?} (default: @code{#f})
10722 When @code{#t}, don't reset terminal cflags (control modes).
10724 @item @code{host} (default: @code{#f})
10725 This accepts a string containing the "login_host", which will be written
10726 into the @file{/var/run/utmpx} file.
10728 @item @code{remote?} (default: @code{#f})
10729 When set to @code{#t} in conjunction with @var{host}, this will add an
10730 @code{-r} fakehost option to the command line of the login program
10731 specified in @var{login-program}.
10733 @item @code{flow-control?} (default: @code{#f})
10734 When set to @code{#t}, enable hardware (RTS/CTS) flow control.
10736 @item @code{no-issue?} (default: @code{#f})
10737 When set to @code{#t}, the contents of the @file{/etc/issue} file will
10738 not be displayed before presenting the login prompt.
10740 @item @code{init-string} (default: @code{#f})
10741 This accepts a string that will be sent to the tty or modem before
10742 sending anything else. It can be used to initialize a modem.
10744 @item @code{no-clear?} (default: @code{#f})
10745 When set to @code{#t}, agetty will not clear the screen before showing
10748 @item @code{login-program} (default: (file-append shadow "/bin/login"))
10749 This must be either a gexp denoting the name of a log-in program, or
10750 unset, in which case the default value is the @command{login} from the
10753 @item @code{local-line} (default: @code{#f})
10754 Control the CLOCAL line flag. This accepts one of three symbols as
10755 arguments, @code{'auto}, @code{'always}, or @code{'never}. If @code{#f},
10756 the default value chosen by agetty is @code{'auto}.
10758 @item @code{extract-baud?} (default: @code{#f})
10759 When set to @code{#t}, instruct agetty to try to extract the baud rate
10760 from the status messages produced by certain types of modems.
10762 @item @code{skip-login?} (default: @code{#f})
10763 When set to @code{#t}, do not prompt the user for a login name. This
10764 can be used with @var{login-program} field to use non-standard login
10767 @item @code{no-newline?} (default: @code{#f})
10768 When set to @code{#t}, do not print a newline before printing the
10769 @file{/etc/issue} file.
10771 @c Is this dangerous only when used with login-program, or always?
10772 @item @code{login-options} (default: @code{#f})
10773 This option accepts a string containing options that are passed to the
10774 login program. When used with the @var{login-program}, be aware that a
10775 malicious user could try to enter a login name containing embedded
10776 options that could be parsed by the login program.
10778 @item @code{login-pause} (default: @code{#f})
10779 When set to @code{#t}, wait for any key before showing the login prompt.
10780 This can be used in conjunction with @var{auto-login} to save memory by
10781 lazily spawning shells.
10783 @item @code{chroot} (default: @code{#f})
10784 Change root to the specified directory. This option accepts a directory
10787 @item @code{hangup?} (default: @code{#f})
10788 Use the Linux system call @code{vhangup} to do a virtual hangup of the
10789 specified terminal.
10791 @item @code{keep-baud?} (default: @code{#f})
10792 When set to @code{#t}, try to keep the existing baud rate. The baud
10793 rates from @var{baud-rate} are used when agetty receives a @key{BREAK}
10796 @item @code{timeout} (default: @code{#f})
10797 When set to an integer value, terminate if no user name could be read
10798 within @var{timeout} seconds.
10800 @item @code{detect-case?} (default: @code{#f})
10801 When set to @code{#t}, turn on support for detecting an uppercase-only
10802 terminal. This setting will detect a login name containing only
10803 uppercase letters as indicating an uppercase-only terminal and turn on
10804 some upper-to-lower case conversions. Note that this will not support
10805 Unicode characters.
10807 @item @code{wait-cr?} (default: @code{#f})
10808 When set to @code{#t}, wait for the user or modem to send a
10809 carriage-return or linefeed character before displaying
10810 @file{/etc/issue} or login prompt. This is typically used with the
10811 @var{init-string} option.
10813 @item @code{no-hints?} (default: @code{#f})
10814 When set to @code{#t}, do not print hints about Num, Caps, and Scroll
10817 @item @code{no-hostname?} (default: @code{#f})
10818 By default, the hostname is printed. When this option is set to
10819 @code{#t}, no hostname will be shown at all.
10821 @item @code{long-hostname?} (default: @code{#f})
10822 By default, the hostname is only printed until the first dot. When this
10823 option is set to @code{#t}, the fully qualified hostname by
10824 @code{gethostname} or @code{getaddrinfo} is shown.
10826 @item @code{erase-characters} (default: @code{#f})
10827 This option accepts a string of additional characters that should be
10828 interpreted as backspace when the user types their login name.
10830 @item @code{kill-characters} (default: @code{#f})
10831 This option accepts a string that should be interpreted to mean "ignore
10832 all previous characters" (also called a "kill" character) when the types
10835 @item @code{chdir} (default: @code{#f})
10836 This option accepts, as a string, a directory path that will be changed
10839 @item @code{delay} (default: @code{#f})
10840 This options accepts, as an integer, the number of seconds to sleep
10841 before opening the tty and displaying the login prompt.
10843 @item @code{nice} (default: @code{#f})
10844 This option accepts, as an integer, the nice value with which to run the
10845 @command{login} program.
10847 @item @code{extra-options} (default: @code{'()})
10848 This option provides an "escape hatch" for the user to provide arbitrary
10849 command-line arguments to @command{agetty} as a list of strings.
10854 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} kmscon-service-type @var{config}
10855 Return a service to run @uref{https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/kmscon,kmscon}
10856 according to @var{config}, a @code{<kmscon-configuration>} object, which
10857 specifies the tty to run, among other things.
10860 @deftp {Data Type} kmscon-configuration
10861 This is the data type representing the configuration of Kmscon, which
10862 implements virtual console log-in.
10866 @item @code{virtual-terminal}
10867 The name of the console this Kmscon runs on---e.g., @code{"tty1"}.
10869 @item @code{login-program} (default: @code{#~(string-append #$shadow "/bin/login")})
10870 A gexp denoting the name of the log-in program. The default log-in program is
10871 @command{login} from the Shadow tool suite.
10873 @item @code{login-arguments} (default: @code{'("-p")})
10874 A list of arguments to pass to @command{login}.
10876 @item @code{hardware-acceleration?} (default: #f)
10877 Whether to use hardware acceleration.
10879 @item @code{kmscon} (default: @var{kmscon})
10880 The Kmscon package to use.
10885 @cindex name service cache daemon
10887 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} nscd-service [@var{config}] [#:glibc glibc] @
10888 [#:name-services '()]
10889 Return a service that runs the libc name service cache daemon (nscd) with the
10890 given @var{config}---an @code{<nscd-configuration>} object. @xref{Name
10891 Service Switch}, for an example.
10894 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %nscd-default-configuration
10895 This is the default @code{<nscd-configuration>} value (see below) used
10896 by @code{nscd-service}. It uses the caches defined by
10897 @var{%nscd-default-caches}; see below.
10900 @deftp {Data Type} nscd-configuration
10901 This is the data type representing the name service cache daemon (nscd)
10906 @item @code{name-services} (default: @code{'()})
10907 List of packages denoting @dfn{name services} that must be visible to
10908 the nscd---e.g., @code{(list @var{nss-mdns})}.
10910 @item @code{glibc} (default: @var{glibc})
10911 Package object denoting the GNU C Library providing the @command{nscd}
10914 @item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/nscd.log"})
10915 Name of the nscd log file. This is where debugging output goes when
10916 @code{debug-level} is strictly positive.
10918 @item @code{debug-level} (default: @code{0})
10919 Integer denoting the debugging levels. Higher numbers mean that more
10920 debugging output is logged.
10922 @item @code{caches} (default: @var{%nscd-default-caches})
10923 List of @code{<nscd-cache>} objects denoting things to be cached; see
10929 @deftp {Data Type} nscd-cache
10930 Data type representing a cache database of nscd and its parameters.
10934 @item @code{database}
10935 This is a symbol representing the name of the database to be cached.
10936 Valid values are @code{passwd}, @code{group}, @code{hosts}, and
10937 @code{services}, which designate the corresponding NSS database
10938 (@pxref{NSS Basics,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
10940 @item @code{positive-time-to-live}
10941 @itemx @code{negative-time-to-live} (default: @code{20})
10942 A number representing the number of seconds during which a positive or
10943 negative lookup result remains in cache.
10945 @item @code{check-files?} (default: @code{#t})
10946 Whether to check for updates of the files corresponding to
10949 For instance, when @var{database} is @code{hosts}, setting this flag
10950 instructs nscd to check for updates in @file{/etc/hosts} and to take
10953 @item @code{persistent?} (default: @code{#t})
10954 Whether the cache should be stored persistently on disk.
10956 @item @code{shared?} (default: @code{#t})
10957 Whether the cache should be shared among users.
10959 @item @code{max-database-size} (default: 32@tie{}MiB)
10960 Maximum size in bytes of the database cache.
10962 @c XXX: 'suggested-size' and 'auto-propagate?' seem to be expert
10963 @c settings, so leave them out.
10968 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %nscd-default-caches
10969 List of @code{<nscd-cache>} objects used by default by
10970 @code{nscd-configuration} (see above).
10972 It enables persistent and aggressive caching of service and host name
10973 lookups. The latter provides better host name lookup performance,
10974 resilience in the face of unreliable name servers, and also better
10975 privacy---often the result of host name lookups is in local cache, so
10976 external name servers do not even need to be queried.
10979 @anchor{syslog-configuration-type}
10982 @deftp {Data Type} syslog-configuration
10983 This data type represents the configuration of the syslog daemon.
10986 @item @code{syslogd} (default: @code{#~(string-append #$inetutils "/libexec/syslogd")})
10987 The syslog daemon to use.
10989 @item @code{config-file} (default: @code{%default-syslog.conf})
10990 The syslog configuration file to use.
10995 @anchor{syslog-service}
10997 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} syslog-service @var{config}
10998 Return a service that runs a syslog daemon according to @var{config}.
11000 @xref{syslogd invocation,,, inetutils, GNU Inetutils}, for more
11001 information on the configuration file syntax.
11004 @anchor{guix-configuration-type}
11005 @deftp {Data Type} guix-configuration
11006 This data type represents the configuration of the Guix build daemon.
11007 @xref{Invoking guix-daemon}, for more information.
11010 @item @code{guix} (default: @var{guix})
11011 The Guix package to use.
11013 @item @code{build-group} (default: @code{"guixbuild"})
11014 Name of the group for build user accounts.
11016 @item @code{build-accounts} (default: @code{10})
11017 Number of build user accounts to create.
11019 @item @code{authorize-key?} (default: @code{#t})
11020 @cindex substitutes, authorization thereof
11021 Whether to authorize the substitute keys listed in
11022 @code{authorized-keys}---by default that of @code{hydra.gnu.org}
11023 (@pxref{Substitutes}).
11025 @vindex %default-authorized-guix-keys
11026 @item @code{authorized-keys} (default: @var{%default-authorized-guix-keys})
11027 The list of authorized key files for archive imports, as a list of
11028 string-valued gexps (@pxref{Invoking guix archive}). By default, it
11029 contains that of @code{hydra.gnu.org} (@pxref{Substitutes}).
11031 @item @code{use-substitutes?} (default: @code{#t})
11032 Whether to use substitutes.
11034 @item @code{substitute-urls} (default: @var{%default-substitute-urls})
11035 The list of URLs where to look for substitutes by default.
11037 @item @code{max-silent-time} (default: @code{0})
11038 @itemx @code{timeout} (default: @code{0})
11039 The number of seconds of silence and the number of seconds of activity,
11040 respectively, after which a build process times out. A value of zero
11041 disables the timeout.
11043 @item @code{log-compression} (default: @code{'bzip2})
11044 The type of compression used for build logs---one of @code{gzip},
11045 @code{bzip2}, or @code{none}.
11047 @item @code{extra-options} (default: @code{'()})
11048 List of extra command-line options for @command{guix-daemon}.
11050 @item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/guix-daemon.log"})
11051 File where @command{guix-daemon}'s standard output and standard error
11054 @item @code{http-proxy} (default: @code{#f})
11055 The HTTP proxy used for downloading fixed-output derivations and
11058 @item @code{tmpdir} (default: @code{#f})
11059 A directory path where the @command{guix-daemon} will perform builds.
11064 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} guix-service @var{config}
11065 Return a service that runs the Guix build daemon according to
11069 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} udev-service [#:udev @var{eudev} #:rules @code{'()}]
11070 Run @var{udev}, which populates the @file{/dev} directory dynamically.
11071 udev rules can be provided as a list of files through the @var{rules}
11072 variable. The procedures @var{udev-rule} and @var{file->udev-rule} from
11073 @code{(gnu services base)} simplify the creation of such rule files.
11075 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} udev-rule [@var{file-name} @var{contents}]
11076 Return a udev-rule file named @var{file-name} containing the rules
11077 defined by the @var{contents} literal.
11079 In the following example, a rule for a USB device is defined to be
11080 stored in the file @file{90-usb-thing.rules}. The rule runs a script
11081 upon detecting a USB device with a given product identifier.
11084 (define %example-udev-rule
11086 "90-usb-thing.rules"
11087 (string-append "ACTION==\"add\", SUBSYSTEM==\"usb\", "
11088 "ATTR@{product@}==\"Example\", "
11089 "RUN+=\"/path/to/script\"")))
11093 Here we show how the default @var{udev-service} can be extended with it.
11099 (modify-services %desktop-services
11100 (udev-service-type config =>
11101 (udev-configuration (inherit config)
11102 (rules (append (udev-configuration-rules config)
11103 (list %example-udev-rule))))))))
11106 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} file->udev-rule [@var{file-name} @var{file}]
11107 Return a udev file named @var{file-name} containing the rules defined
11108 within @var{file}, a file-like object.
11110 The following example showcases how we can use an existing rule file.
11113 (use-modules (guix download) ;for url-fetch
11114 (guix packages) ;for origin
11117 (define %android-udev-rules
11119 "51-android-udev.rules"
11120 (let ((version "20170910"))
11123 (uri (string-append "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M0Rf30/"
11124 "android-udev-rules/" version "/51-android.rules"))
11126 (base32 "0lmmagpyb6xsq6zcr2w1cyx9qmjqmajkvrdbhjx32gqf1d9is003"))))))
11130 Additionally, Guix package definitions can be included in @var{rules} in
11131 order to extend the udev rules with the definitions found under their
11132 @file{lib/udev/rules.d} sub-directory. In lieu of the previous
11133 @var{file->udev-rule} example, we could have used the
11134 @var{android-udev-rules} package which exists in Guix in the @code{(gnu
11135 packages android)} module.
11137 The following example shows how to use the @var{android-udev-rules}
11138 package so that the Android tool @command{adb} can detect devices
11139 without root privileges. It also details how to create the
11140 @code{adbusers} group, which is required for the proper functioning of
11141 the rules defined within the @var{android-udev-rules} package. To
11142 create such a group, we must define it both as part of the
11143 @var{supplementary-groups} of our @var{user-account} declaration, as
11144 well as in the @var{groups} field of the @var{operating-system} record.
11147 (use-modules (gnu packages android) ;for android-udev-rules
11148 (gnu system shadow) ;for user-group
11153 (users (cons (user-acount
11155 (supplementary-groups
11156 '("adbusers" ;for adb
11157 "wheel" "netdev" "audio" "video"))
11160 (groups (cons (user-group (system? #t) (name "adbusers"))
11166 (modify-services %desktop-services
11167 (udev-service-type config =>
11168 (udev-configuration (inherit config)
11169 (rules (cons* android-udev-rules
11170 (udev-configuration-rules config))))))))
11174 @defvr {Scheme Variable} urandom-seed-service-type
11175 Save some entropy in @var{%random-seed-file} to seed @file{/dev/urandom}
11176 when rebooting. It also tries to seed @file{/dev/urandom} from
11177 @file{/dev/hwrng} while booting, if @file{/dev/hwrng} exists and is
11181 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %random-seed-file
11182 This is the name of the file where some random bytes are saved by
11183 @var{urandom-seed-service} to seed @file{/dev/urandom} when rebooting.
11184 It defaults to @file{/var/lib/random-seed}.
11189 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} console-keymap-service @var{files} ...
11190 @cindex keyboard layout
11191 Return a service to load console keymaps from @var{files} using
11192 @command{loadkeys} command. Most likely, you want to load some default
11193 keymap, which can be done like this:
11196 (console-keymap-service "dvorak")
11199 Or, for example, for a Swedish keyboard, you may need to combine
11200 the following keymaps:
11202 (console-keymap-service "se-lat6" "se-fi-lat6")
11205 Also you can specify a full file name (or file names) of your keymap(s).
11206 See @code{man loadkeys} for details.
11212 @defvr {Scheme Variable} gpm-service-type
11213 This is the type of the service that runs GPM, the @dfn{general-purpose
11214 mouse daemon}, which provides mouse support to the Linux console. GPM
11215 allows users to use the mouse in the console, notably to select, copy,
11218 The value for services of this type must be a @code{gpm-configuration}
11219 (see below). This service is not part of @var{%base-services}.
11222 @deftp {Data Type} gpm-configuration
11223 Data type representing the configuration of GPM.
11226 @item @code{options} (default: @code{%default-gpm-options})
11227 Command-line options passed to @command{gpm}. The default set of
11228 options instruct @command{gpm} to listen to mouse events on
11229 @file{/dev/input/mice}. @xref{Command Line,,, gpm, gpm manual}, for
11232 @item @code{gpm} (default: @code{gpm})
11233 The GPM package to use.
11238 @anchor{guix-publish-service-type}
11239 @deffn {Scheme Variable} guix-publish-service-type
11240 This is the service type for @command{guix publish} (@pxref{Invoking
11241 guix publish}). Its value must be a @code{guix-configuration}
11242 object, as described below.
11244 This assumes that @file{/etc/guix} already contains a signing key pair as
11245 created by @command{guix archive --generate-key} (@pxref{Invoking guix
11246 archive}). If that is not the case, the service will fail to start.
11249 @deftp {Data Type} guix-publish-configuration
11250 Data type representing the configuration of the @code{guix publish}
11254 @item @code{guix} (default: @code{guix})
11255 The Guix package to use.
11257 @item @code{port} (default: @code{80})
11258 The TCP port to listen for connections.
11260 @item @code{host} (default: @code{"localhost"})
11261 The host (and thus, network interface) to listen to. Use
11262 @code{"0.0.0.0"} to listen on all the network interfaces.
11264 @item @code{compression-level} (default: @code{3})
11265 The gzip compression level at which substitutes are compressed. Use
11266 @code{0} to disable compression altogether, and @code{9} to get the best
11267 compression ratio at the expense of increased CPU usage.
11269 @item @code{nar-path} (default: @code{"nar"})
11270 The URL path at which ``nars'' can be fetched. @xref{Invoking guix
11271 publish, @code{--nar-path}}, for details.
11273 @item @code{cache} (default: @code{#f})
11274 When it is @code{#f}, disable caching and instead generate archives on
11275 demand. Otherwise, this should be the name of a directory---e.g.,
11276 @code{"/var/cache/guix/publish"}---where @command{guix publish} caches
11277 archives and meta-data ready to be sent. @xref{Invoking guix publish,
11278 @option{--cache}}, for more information on the tradeoffs involved.
11280 @item @code{workers} (default: @code{#f})
11281 When it is an integer, this is the number of worker threads used for
11282 caching; when @code{#f}, the number of processors is used.
11283 @xref{Invoking guix publish, @option{--workers}}, for more information.
11285 @item @code{ttl} (default: @code{#f})
11286 When it is an integer, this denotes the @dfn{time-to-live} in seconds
11287 of the published archives. @xref{Invoking guix publish, @option{--ttl}},
11288 for more information.
11292 @anchor{rngd-service}
11293 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} rngd-service [#:rng-tools @var{rng-tools}] @
11294 [#:device "/dev/hwrng"]
11295 Return a service that runs the @command{rngd} program from @var{rng-tools}
11296 to add @var{device} to the kernel's entropy pool. The service will fail if
11297 @var{device} does not exist.
11300 @anchor{pam-limits-service}
11301 @cindex session limits
11306 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} pam-limits-service [#:limits @code{'()}]
11308 Return a service that installs a configuration file for the
11309 @uref{http://linux-pam.org/Linux-PAM-html/sag-pam_limits.html,
11310 @code{pam_limits} module}. The procedure optionally takes a list of
11311 @code{pam-limits-entry} values, which can be used to specify
11312 @code{ulimit} limits and nice priority limits to user sessions.
11314 The following limits definition sets two hard and soft limits for all
11315 login sessions of users in the @code{realtime} group:
11318 (pam-limits-service
11320 (pam-limits-entry "@@realtime" 'both 'rtprio 99)
11321 (pam-limits-entry "@@realtime" 'both 'memlock 'unlimited)))
11324 The first entry increases the maximum realtime priority for
11325 non-privileged processes; the second entry lifts any restriction of the
11326 maximum address space that can be locked in memory. These settings are
11327 commonly used for real-time audio systems.
11330 @node Scheduled Job Execution
11331 @subsubsection Scheduled Job Execution
11335 @cindex scheduling jobs
11336 The @code{(gnu services mcron)} module provides an interface to
11337 GNU@tie{}mcron, a daemon to run jobs at scheduled times (@pxref{Top,,,
11338 mcron, GNU@tie{}mcron}). GNU@tie{}mcron is similar to the traditional
11339 Unix @command{cron} daemon; the main difference is that it is
11340 implemented in Guile Scheme, which provides a lot of flexibility when
11341 specifying the scheduling of jobs and their actions.
11343 The example below defines an operating system that runs the
11344 @command{updatedb} (@pxref{Invoking updatedb,,, find, Finding Files})
11345 and the @command{guix gc} commands (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}) daily, as
11346 well as the @command{mkid} command on behalf of an unprivileged user
11347 (@pxref{mkid invocation,,, idutils, ID Database Utilities}). It uses
11348 gexps to introduce job definitions that are passed to mcron
11349 (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
11352 (use-modules (guix) (gnu) (gnu services mcron))
11353 (use-package-modules base idutils)
11355 (define updatedb-job
11356 ;; Run 'updatedb' at 3AM every day. Here we write the
11357 ;; job's action as a Scheme procedure.
11358 #~(job '(next-hour '(3))
11360 (execl (string-append #$findutils "/bin/updatedb")
11362 "--prunepaths=/tmp /var/tmp /gnu/store"))))
11364 (define garbage-collector-job
11365 ;; Collect garbage 5 minutes after midnight every day.
11366 ;; The job's action is a shell command.
11367 #~(job "5 0 * * *" ;Vixie cron syntax
11370 (define idutils-job
11371 ;; Update the index database as user "charlie" at 12:15PM
11372 ;; and 19:15PM. This runs from the user's home directory.
11373 #~(job '(next-minute-from (next-hour '(12 19)) '(15))
11374 (string-append #$idutils "/bin/mkid src")
11379 (services (cons (mcron-service (list garbage-collector-job
11385 @xref{Guile Syntax, mcron job specifications,, mcron, GNU@tie{}mcron},
11386 for more information on mcron job specifications. Below is the
11387 reference of the mcron service.
11389 On a running system, you can use the @code{schedule} action of the service to
11390 visualize the mcron jobs that will be executed next:
11393 # herd schedule mcron
11397 The example above lists the next five tasks that will be executed, but you can
11398 also specify the number of tasks to display:
11401 # herd schedule mcron 10
11404 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} mcron-service @var{jobs} [#:mcron @var{mcron}]
11405 Return an mcron service running @var{mcron} that schedules @var{jobs}, a
11406 list of gexps denoting mcron job specifications.
11408 This is a shorthand for:
11410 (service mcron-service-type
11411 (mcron-configuration (mcron mcron) (jobs jobs)))
11415 @defvr {Scheme Variable} mcron-service-type
11416 This is the type of the @code{mcron} service, whose value is an
11417 @code{mcron-configuration} object.
11419 This service type can be the target of a service extension that provides
11420 it additional job specifications (@pxref{Service Composition}). In
11421 other words, it is possible to define services that provide additional
11425 @deftp {Data Type} mcron-configuration
11426 Data type representing the configuration of mcron.
11429 @item @code{mcron} (default: @var{mcron})
11430 The mcron package to use.
11433 This is a list of gexps (@pxref{G-Expressions}), where each gexp
11434 corresponds to an mcron job specification (@pxref{Syntax, mcron job
11435 specifications,, mcron, GNU@tie{}mcron}).
11441 @subsubsection Log Rotation
11444 @cindex log rotation
11446 Log files such as those found in @file{/var/log} tend to grow endlessly,
11447 so it's a good idea to @dfn{rotate} them once in a while---i.e., archive
11448 their contents in separate files, possibly compressed. The @code{(gnu
11449 services admin)} module provides an interface to GNU@tie{}Rot[t]log, a
11450 log rotation tool (@pxref{Top,,, rottlog, GNU Rot[t]log Manual}).
11452 The example below defines an operating system that provides log rotation
11453 with the default settings, for commonly encountered log files.
11456 (use-modules (guix) (gnu))
11457 (use-service-modules admin mcron)
11458 (use-package-modules base idutils)
11462 (services (cons (service rottlog-service-type)
11466 @defvr {Scheme Variable} rottlog-service-type
11467 This is the type of the Rottlog service, whose value is a
11468 @code{rottlog-configuration} object.
11470 Other services can extend this one with new @code{log-rotation} objects
11471 (see below), thereby augmenting the set of files to be rotated.
11473 This service type can define mcron jobs (@pxref{Scheduled Job
11474 Execution}) to run the rottlog service.
11477 @deftp {Data Type} rottlog-configuration
11478 Data type representing the configuration of rottlog.
11481 @item @code{rottlog} (default: @code{rottlog})
11482 The Rottlog package to use.
11484 @item @code{rc-file} (default: @code{(file-append rottlog "/etc/rc")})
11485 The Rottlog configuration file to use (@pxref{Mandatory RC Variables,,,
11486 rottlog, GNU Rot[t]log Manual}).
11488 @item @code{rotations} (default: @code{%default-rotations})
11489 A list of @code{log-rotation} objects as defined below.
11492 This is a list of gexps where each gexp corresponds to an mcron job
11493 specification (@pxref{Scheduled Job Execution}).
11497 @deftp {Data Type} log-rotation
11498 Data type representing the rotation of a group of log files.
11500 Taking an example from the Rottlog manual (@pxref{Period Related File
11501 Examples,,, rottlog, GNU Rot[t]log Manual}), a log rotation might be
11507 (files '("/var/log/apache/*"))
11508 (options '("storedir apache-archives"
11514 The list of fields is as follows:
11517 @item @code{frequency} (default: @code{'weekly})
11518 The log rotation frequency, a symbol.
11521 The list of files or file glob patterns to rotate.
11523 @item @code{options} (default: @code{'()})
11524 The list of rottlog options for this rotation (@pxref{Configuration
11525 parameters,,, rottlog, GNU Rot[t]lg Manual}).
11527 @item @code{post-rotate} (default: @code{#f})
11528 Either @code{#f} or a gexp to execute once the rotation has completed.
11532 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-rotations
11533 Specifies weekly rotation of @var{%rotated-files} and
11534 a couple of other files.
11537 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %rotated-files
11538 The list of syslog-controlled files to be rotated. By default it is:
11539 @code{'("/var/log/messages" "/var/log/secure")}.
11542 @node Networking Services
11543 @subsubsection Networking Services
11545 The @code{(gnu services networking)} module provides services to configure
11546 the network interface.
11548 @cindex DHCP, networking service
11549 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dhcp-client-service [#:dhcp @var{isc-dhcp}]
11550 Return a service that runs @var{dhcp}, a Dynamic Host Configuration
11551 Protocol (DHCP) client, on all the non-loopback network interfaces.
11554 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dhcpd-service-type
11555 This type defines a service that runs a DHCP daemon. To create a
11556 service of this type, you must supply a @code{<dhcpd-configuration>}.
11560 (service dhcpd-service-type
11561 (dhcpd-configuration
11562 (config-file (local-file "my-dhcpd.conf"))
11563 (interfaces '("enp0s25"))))
11567 @deftp {Data Type} dhcpd-configuration
11569 @item @code{package} (default: @code{isc-dhcp})
11570 The package that provides the DHCP daemon. This package is expected to
11571 provide the daemon at @file{sbin/dhcpd} relative to its output
11572 directory. The default package is the
11573 @uref{http://www.isc.org/products/DHCP, ISC's DHCP server}.
11574 @item @code{config-file} (default: @code{#f})
11575 The configuration file to use. This is required. It will be passed to
11576 @code{dhcpd} via its @code{-cf} option. This may be any ``file-like''
11577 object (@pxref{G-Expressions, file-like objects}). See @code{man
11578 dhcpd.conf} for details on the configuration file syntax.
11579 @item @code{version} (default: @code{"4"})
11580 The DHCP version to use. The ISC DHCP server supports the values ``4'',
11581 ``6'', and ``4o6''. These correspond to the @code{dhcpd} program
11582 options @code{-4}, @code{-6}, and @code{-4o6}. See @code{man dhcpd} for
11584 @item @code{run-directory} (default: @code{"/run/dhcpd"})
11585 The run directory to use. At service activation time, this directory
11586 will be created if it does not exist.
11587 @item @code{pid-file} (default: @code{"/run/dhcpd/dhcpd.pid"})
11588 The PID file to use. This corresponds to the @code{-pf} option of
11589 @code{dhcpd}. See @code{man dhcpd} for details.
11590 @item @code{interfaces} (default: @code{'()})
11591 The names of the network interfaces on which dhcpd should listen for
11592 broadcasts. If this list is not empty, then its elements (which must be
11593 strings) will be appended to the @code{dhcpd} invocation when starting
11594 the daemon. It may not be necessary to explicitly specify any
11595 interfaces here; see @code{man dhcpd} for details.
11599 @defvr {Scheme Variable} static-networking-service-type
11600 This is the type for statically-configured network interfaces.
11601 @c TODO Document <static-networking> data structures.
11604 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} static-networking-service @var{interface} @var{ip} @
11605 [#:netmask #f] [#:gateway #f] [#:name-servers @code{'()}] @
11606 [#:requirement @code{'(udev)}]
11607 Return a service that starts @var{interface} with address @var{ip}. If
11608 @var{netmask} is true, use it as the network mask. If @var{gateway} is true,
11609 it must be a string specifying the default network gateway. @var{requirement}
11610 can be used to declare a dependency on another service before configuring the
11613 This procedure can be called several times, one for each network
11614 interface of interest. Behind the scenes what it does is extend
11615 @code{static-networking-service-type} with additional network interfaces
11622 @cindex network management
11623 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} wicd-service [#:wicd @var{wicd}]
11624 Return a service that runs @url{https://launchpad.net/wicd,Wicd}, a network
11625 management daemon that aims to simplify wired and wireless networking.
11627 This service adds the @var{wicd} package to the global profile, providing
11628 several commands to interact with the daemon and configure networking:
11629 @command{wicd-client}, a graphical user interface, and the @command{wicd-cli}
11630 and @command{wicd-curses} user interfaces.
11633 @cindex ModemManager
11635 @defvr {Scheme Variable} modem-manager-service-type
11636 This is the service type for the
11637 @uref{https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/ModemManager, ModemManager}
11638 service. The value for this service type is a
11639 @code{modem-manager-configuration} record.
11641 This service is part of @code{%desktop-services} (@pxref{Desktop
11645 @deftp {Data Type} modem-manager-configuration
11646 Data type representing the configuration of ModemManager.
11649 @item @code{modem-manager} (default: @code{modem-manager})
11650 The ModemManager package to use.
11655 @cindex NetworkManager
11657 @defvr {Scheme Variable} network-manager-service-type
11658 This is the service type for the
11659 @uref{https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/NetworkManager, NetworkManager}
11660 service. The value for this service type is a
11661 @code{network-manager-configuration} record.
11663 This service is part of @code{%desktop-services} (@pxref{Desktop
11667 @deftp {Data Type} network-manager-configuration
11668 Data type representing the configuration of NetworkManager.
11671 @item @code{network-manager} (default: @code{network-manager})
11672 The NetworkManager package to use.
11674 @item @code{dns} (default: @code{"default"})
11675 Processing mode for DNS, which affects how NetworkManager uses the
11676 @code{resolv.conf} configuration file.
11680 NetworkManager will update @code{resolv.conf} to reflect the nameservers
11681 provided by currently active connections.
11684 NetworkManager will run @code{dnsmasq} as a local caching nameserver,
11685 using a "split DNS" configuration if you are connected to a VPN, and
11686 then update @code{resolv.conf} to point to the local nameserver.
11689 NetworkManager will not modify @code{resolv.conf}.
11692 @item @code{vpn-plugins} (default: @code{'()})
11693 This is the list of available plugins for virtual private networks
11694 (VPNs). An example of this is the @code{network-manager-openvpn}
11695 package, which allows NetworkManager to manage VPNs @i{via} OpenVPN.
11701 @deffn {Scheme Variable} connman-service-type
11702 This is the service type to run @url{https://01.org/connman,Connman},
11703 a network connection manager.
11705 Its value must be an
11706 @code{connman-configuration} record as in this example:
11709 (service connman-service-type
11710 (connman-configuration
11711 (disable-vpn? #t)))
11714 See below for details about @code{connman-configuration}.
11717 @deftp {Data Type} connman-configuration
11718 Data Type representing the configuration of connman.
11721 @item @code{connman} (default: @var{connman})
11722 The connman package to use.
11724 @item @code{disable-vpn?} (default: @code{#f})
11725 When true, enable connman's vpn plugin.
11729 @cindex WPA Supplicant
11730 @defvr {Scheme Variable} wpa-supplicant-service-type
11731 This is the service type to run @url{https://w1.fi/wpa_supplicant/,WPA
11732 supplicant}, an authentication daemon required to authenticate against
11733 encrypted WiFi or ethernet networks. It is configured to listen for
11736 The value of this service is the @code{wpa-supplicant} package to use.
11737 Thus, it can be instantiated like this:
11740 (use-modules (gnu services networking))
11742 (service wpa-supplicant-service-type)
11747 @defvr {Scheme Variable} iptables-service-type
11748 This is the service type to set up an iptables configuration. iptables is a
11749 packet filtering framework supported by the Linux kernel. This service
11750 supports configuring iptables for both IPv4 and IPv6. A simple example
11751 configuration rejecting all incoming connections except those to the ssh port
11755 (service iptables-service-type
11756 (iptables-configuration
11757 (ipv4-rules (plain-file "iptables.rules" "*filter
11761 -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT
11762 -A INPUT -j REJECT --reject-with icmp-port-unreachable
11765 (ipv6-rules (plain-file "ip6tables.rules" "*filter
11769 -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT
11770 -A INPUT -j REJECT --reject-with icmp6-port-unreachable
11776 @deftp {Data Type} iptables-configuration
11777 The data type representing the configuration of iptables.
11780 @item @code{iptables} (default: @code{iptables})
11781 The iptables package that provides @code{iptables-restore} and
11782 @code{ip6tables-restore}.
11783 @item @code{ipv4-rules} (default: @code{%iptables-accept-all-rules})
11784 The iptables rules to use. It will be passed to @code{iptables-restore}.
11785 This may be any ``file-like'' object (@pxref{G-Expressions, file-like
11787 @item @code{ipv6-rules} (default: @code{%iptables-accept-all-rules})
11788 The ip6tables rules to use. It will be passed to @code{ip6tables-restore}.
11789 This may be any ``file-like'' object (@pxref{G-Expressions, file-like
11795 @cindex real time clock
11796 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} ntp-service [#:ntp @var{ntp}] @
11797 [#:servers @var{%ntp-servers}] @
11798 [#:allow-large-adjustment? #f]
11799 Return a service that runs the daemon from @var{ntp}, the
11800 @uref{http://www.ntp.org, Network Time Protocol package}. The daemon will
11801 keep the system clock synchronized with that of @var{servers}.
11802 @var{allow-large-adjustment?} determines whether @command{ntpd} is allowed to
11803 make an initial adjustment of more than 1,000 seconds.
11806 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %ntp-servers
11807 List of host names used as the default NTP servers.
11811 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} openntpd-service-type
11812 Run the @command{ntpd}, the Network Time Protocol (NTP) daemon, as implemented
11813 by @uref{http://www.openntpd.org, OpenNTPD}. The daemon will keep the system
11814 clock synchronized with that of the given servers.
11818 openntpd-service-type
11819 (openntpd-configuration
11820 (listen-on '("127.0.0.1" "::1"))
11821 (sensor '("udcf0 correction 70000"))
11822 (constraint-from '("www.gnu.org"))
11823 (constraints-from '("https://www.google.com/"))
11824 (allow-large-adjustment? #t)))
11829 @deftp {Data Type} openntpd-configuration
11831 @item @code{openntpd} (default: @code{(file-append openntpd "/sbin/ntpd")})
11832 The openntpd executable to use.
11833 @item @code{listen-on} (default: @code{'("127.0.0.1" "::1")})
11834 A list of local IP addresses or hostnames the ntpd daemon should listen on.
11835 @item @code{query-from} (default: @code{'()})
11836 A list of local IP address the ntpd daemon should use for outgoing queries.
11837 @item @code{sensor} (default: @code{'()})
11838 Specify a list of timedelta sensor devices ntpd should use. @code{ntpd}
11839 will listen to each sensor that acutally exists and ignore non-existant ones.
11840 See @uref{https://man.openbsd.org/ntpd.conf, upstream documentation} for more
11842 @item @code{server} (default: @var{%ntp-servers})
11843 Specify a list of IP addresses or hostnames of NTP servers to synchronize to.
11844 @item @code{servers} (default: @code{'()})
11845 Specify a list of IP addresses or hostnames of NTP pools to synchronize to.
11846 @item @code{constraint-from} (default: @code{'()})
11847 @code{ntpd} can be configured to query the ‘Date’ from trusted HTTPS servers via TLS.
11848 This time information is not used for precision but acts as an authenticated
11849 constraint, thereby reducing the impact of unauthenticated NTP
11850 man-in-the-middle attacks.
11851 Specify a list of URLs, IP addresses or hostnames of HTTPS servers to provide
11853 @item @code{constraints-from} (default: @code{'()})
11854 As with constraint from, specify a list of URLs, IP addresses or hostnames of
11855 HTTPS servers to provide a constraint. Should the hostname resolve to multiple
11856 IP addresses, @code{ntpd} will calculate a median constraint from all of them.
11857 @item @code{allow-large-adjustment?} (default: @code{#f})
11858 Determines if @code{ntpd} is allowed to make an initial adjustment of more
11864 @deffn {Scheme variable} inetd-service-type
11865 This service runs the @command{inetd} (@pxref{inetd invocation,,,
11866 inetutils, GNU Inetutils}) daemon. @command{inetd} listens for
11867 connections on internet sockets, and lazily starts the specified server
11868 program when a connection is made on one of these sockets.
11870 The value of this service is an @code{inetd-configuration} object. The
11871 following example configures the @command{inetd} daemon to provide the
11872 built-in @command{echo} service, as well as an smtp service which
11873 forwards smtp traffic over ssh to a server @code{smtp-server} behind a
11874 gateway @code{hostname}:
11879 (inetd-configuration
11883 (socket-type 'stream)
11890 (socket-type 'stream)
11894 (program (file-append openssh "/bin/ssh"))
11896 '("ssh" "-qT" "-i" "/path/to/ssh_key"
11897 "-W" "smtp-server:25" "user@@hostname")))))
11900 See below for more details about @code{inetd-configuration}.
11903 @deftp {Data Type} inetd-configuration
11904 Data type representing the configuration of @command{inetd}.
11907 @item @code{program} (default: @code{(file-append inetutils "/libexec/inetd")})
11908 The @command{inetd} executable to use.
11910 @item @code{entries} (default: @code{'()})
11911 A list of @command{inetd} service entries. Each entry should be created
11912 by the @code{inetd-entry} constructor.
11916 @deftp {Data Type} inetd-entry
11917 Data type representing an entry in the @command{inetd} configuration.
11918 Each entry corresponds to a socket where @command{inetd} will listen for
11922 @item @code{node} (default: @code{#f})
11923 Optional string, a comma-separated list of local addresses
11924 @command{inetd} should use when listening for this service.
11925 @xref{Configuration file,,, inetutils, GNU Inetutils} for a complete
11926 description of all options.
11928 A string, the name must correspond to an entry in @code{/etc/services}.
11929 @item @code{socket-type}
11930 One of @code{'stream}, @code{'dgram}, @code{'raw}, @code{'rdm} or
11932 @item @code{protocol}
11933 A string, must correspond to an entry in @code{/etc/protocols}.
11934 @item @code{wait?} (default: @code{#t})
11935 Whether @command{inetd} should wait for the server to exit before
11936 listening to new service requests.
11938 A string containing the user (and, optionally, group) name of the user
11939 as whom the server should run. The group name can be specified in a
11940 suffix, separated by a colon or period, i.e. @code{"user"},
11941 @code{"user:group"} or @code{"user.group"}.
11942 @item @code{program} (default: @code{"internal"})
11943 The server program which will serve the requests, or @code{"internal"}
11944 if @command{inetd} should use a built-in service.
11945 @item @code{arguments} (default: @code{'()})
11946 A list strings or file-like objects, which are the server program's
11947 arguments, starting with the zeroth argument, i.e. the name of the
11948 program itself. For @command{inetd}'s internal services, this entry
11949 must be @code{'()} or @code{'("internal")}.
11952 @xref{Configuration file,,, inetutils, GNU Inetutils} for a more
11953 detailed discussion of each configuration field.
11957 @defvr {Scheme Variable} tor-service-type
11958 This is the type for a service that runs the @uref{https://torproject.org,
11959 Tor} anonymous networking daemon. The service is configured using a
11960 @code{<tor-configuration>} record. By default, the Tor daemon runs as the
11961 @code{tor} unprivileged user, which is a member of the @code{tor} group.
11965 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} tor-service [@var{config-file}] [#:tor @var{tor}]
11966 This procedure is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Return
11967 a service of the @code{tor-service-type} type. @var{config-file} and
11968 @var{tor} have the same meaning as in @code{<tor-configuration>}.
11971 @deftp {Data Type} tor-configuration
11973 @item @code{tor} (default: @code{tor})
11974 The package that provides the Tor daemon. This package is expected to provide
11975 the daemon at @file{bin/tor} relative to its output directory. The default
11976 package is the @uref{https://www.torproject.org, Tor Project's}
11979 @item @code{config-file} (default: @code{(plain-file "empty" "")})
11980 The configuration file to use. It will be appended to a default configuration
11981 file, and the final configuration file will be passed to @code{tor} via its
11982 @code{-f} option. This may be any ``file-like'' object (@pxref{G-Expressions,
11983 file-like objects}). See @code{man tor} for details on the configuration file
11986 @item @code{hidden-services} (default: @code{'()})
11987 The list of @code{<hidden-service>} records to use. For any hidden service
11988 you include in this list, appropriate configuration to enable the hidden
11989 service will be automatically added to the default configuration file. You
11990 may conveniently create @code{<hidden-service>} records using the
11991 @code{tor-hidden-service} procedure described below.
11993 @item @code{socks-socket-type} (default: @code{'tcp})
11994 The default socket type that Tor should use for its SOCKS socket. This must
11995 be either @code{'tcp} or @code{'unix}. If it is @code{'tcp}, then by default
11996 Tor will listen on TCP port 9050 on the loopback interface (i.e., localhost).
11997 If it is @code{'unix}, then Tor will listen on the UNIX domain socket
11998 @file{/var/run/tor/socks-sock}, which will be made writable by members of the
12001 If you want to customize the SOCKS socket in more detail, leave
12002 @code{socks-socket-type} at its default value of @code{'tcp} and use
12003 @code{config-file} to override the default by providing your own
12004 @code{SocksPort} option.
12008 @cindex hidden service
12009 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} tor-hidden-service @var{name} @var{mapping}
12010 Define a new Tor @dfn{hidden service} called @var{name} and implementing
12011 @var{mapping}. @var{mapping} is a list of port/host tuples, such as:
12014 '((22 "127.0.0.1:22")
12015 (80 "127.0.0.1:8080"))
12018 In this example, port 22 of the hidden service is mapped to local port 22, and
12019 port 80 is mapped to local port 8080.
12021 This creates a @file{/var/lib/tor/hidden-services/@var{name}} directory, where
12022 the @file{hostname} file contains the @code{.onion} host name for the hidden
12025 See @uref{https://www.torproject.org/docs/tor-hidden-service.html.en, the Tor
12026 project's documentation} for more information.
12029 The @code{(gnu services rsync)} module provides the following services:
12031 You might want an rsync daemon if you have files that you want available
12032 so anyone (or just yourself) can download existing files or upload new
12035 @deffn {Scheme Variable} rsync-service-type
12036 This is the type for the @uref{https://rsync.samba.org, rsync} rsync daemon,
12037 @command{rsync-configuration} record as in this example:
12040 (service rsync-service-type)
12043 See below for details about @code{rsync-configuration}.
12046 @deftp {Data Type} rsync-configuration
12047 Data type representing the configuration for @code{rsync-service}.
12050 @item @code{package} (default: @var{rsync})
12051 @code{rsync} package to use.
12053 @item @code{port-number} (default: @code{873})
12054 TCP port on which @command{rsync} listens for incoming connections. If port
12055 is less than @code{1024} @command{rsync} needs to be started as the
12056 @code{root} user and group.
12058 @item @code{pid-file} (default: @code{"/var/run/rsyncd/rsyncd.pid"})
12059 Name of the file where @command{rsync} writes its PID.
12061 @item @code{lock-file} (default: @code{"/var/run/rsyncd/rsyncd.lock"})
12062 Name of the file where @command{rsync} writes its lock file.
12064 @item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/rsyncd.log"})
12065 Name of the file where @command{rsync} writes its log file.
12067 @item @code{use-chroot?} (default: @var{#t})
12068 Whether to use chroot for @command{rsync} shared directory.
12070 @item @code{share-path} (default: @file{/srv/rsync})
12071 Location of the @command{rsync} shared directory.
12073 @item @code{share-comment} (default: @code{"Rsync share"})
12074 Comment of the @command{rsync} shared directory.
12076 @item @code{read-only?} (default: @var{#f})
12077 Read-write permissions to shared directory.
12079 @item @code{timeout} (default: @code{300})
12080 I/O timeout in seconds.
12082 @item @code{user} (default: @var{"root"})
12083 Owner of the @code{rsync} process.
12085 @item @code{group} (default: @var{"root"})
12086 Group of the @code{rsync} process.
12088 @item @code{uid} (default: @var{"rsyncd"})
12089 User name or user ID that file transfers to and from that module should take
12090 place as when the daemon was run as @code{root}.
12092 @item @code{gid} (default: @var{"rsyncd"})
12093 Group name or group ID that will be used when accessing the module.
12098 Furthermore, @code{(gnu services ssh)} provides the following services.
12102 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} lsh-service [#:host-key "/etc/lsh/host-key"] @
12103 [#:daemonic? #t] [#:interfaces '()] [#:port-number 22] @
12104 [#:allow-empty-passwords? #f] [#:root-login? #f] @
12105 [#:syslog-output? #t] [#:x11-forwarding? #t] @
12106 [#:tcp/ip-forwarding? #t] [#:password-authentication? #t] @
12107 [#:public-key-authentication? #t] [#:initialize? #t]
12108 Run the @command{lshd} program from @var{lsh} to listen on port @var{port-number}.
12109 @var{host-key} must designate a file containing the host key, and readable
12112 When @var{daemonic?} is true, @command{lshd} will detach from the
12113 controlling terminal and log its output to syslogd, unless one sets
12114 @var{syslog-output?} to false. Obviously, it also makes lsh-service
12115 depend on existence of syslogd service. When @var{pid-file?} is true,
12116 @command{lshd} writes its PID to the file called @var{pid-file}.
12118 When @var{initialize?} is true, automatically create the seed and host key
12119 upon service activation if they do not exist yet. This may take long and
12120 require interaction.
12122 When @var{initialize?} is false, it is up to the user to initialize the
12123 randomness generator (@pxref{lsh-make-seed,,, lsh, LSH Manual}), and to create
12124 a key pair with the private key stored in file @var{host-key} (@pxref{lshd
12125 basics,,, lsh, LSH Manual}).
12127 When @var{interfaces} is empty, lshd listens for connections on all the
12128 network interfaces; otherwise, @var{interfaces} must be a list of host names
12131 @var{allow-empty-passwords?} specifies whether to accept log-ins with empty
12132 passwords, and @var{root-login?} specifies whether to accept log-ins as
12135 The other options should be self-descriptive.
12140 @deffn {Scheme Variable} openssh-service-type
12141 This is the type for the @uref{http://www.openssh.org, OpenSSH} secure
12142 shell daemon, @command{sshd}. Its value must be an
12143 @code{openssh-configuration} record as in this example:
12146 (service openssh-service-type
12147 (openssh-configuration
12148 (x11-forwarding? #t)
12149 (permit-root-login 'without-password)
12151 `(("alice" ,(local-file "alice.pub"))
12152 ("bob" ,(local-file "bob.pub"))))))
12155 See below for details about @code{openssh-configuration}.
12157 This service can be extended with extra authorized keys, as in this
12161 (service-extension openssh-service-type
12162 (const `(("charlie"
12163 ,(local-file "charlie.pub")))))
12167 @deftp {Data Type} openssh-configuration
12168 This is the configuration record for OpenSSH's @command{sshd}.
12171 @item @code{pid-file} (default: @code{"/var/run/sshd.pid"})
12172 Name of the file where @command{sshd} writes its PID.
12174 @item @code{port-number} (default: @code{22})
12175 TCP port on which @command{sshd} listens for incoming connections.
12177 @item @code{permit-root-login} (default: @code{#f})
12178 This field determines whether and when to allow logins as root. If
12179 @code{#f}, root logins are disallowed; if @code{#t}, they are allowed.
12180 If it's the symbol @code{'without-password}, then root logins are
12181 permitted but not with password-based authentication.
12183 @item @code{allow-empty-passwords?} (default: @code{#f})
12184 When true, users with empty passwords may log in. When false, they may
12187 @item @code{password-authentication?} (default: @code{#t})
12188 When true, users may log in with their password. When false, they have
12189 other authentication methods.
12191 @item @code{public-key-authentication?} (default: @code{#t})
12192 When true, users may log in using public key authentication. When
12193 false, users have to use other authentication method.
12195 Authorized public keys are stored in @file{~/.ssh/authorized_keys}.
12196 This is used only by protocol version 2.
12198 @item @code{x11-forwarding?} (default: @code{#f})
12199 When true, forwarding of X11 graphical client connections is
12200 enabled---in other words, @command{ssh} options @option{-X} and
12201 @option{-Y} will work.
12203 @item @code{allow-agent-forwarding?} (default: @code{#t})
12204 Whether to allow agent forwarding.
12206 @item @code{allow-tcp-forwarding?} (default: @code{#t})
12207 Whether to allow TCP forwarding.
12209 @item @code{gateway-ports?} (default: @code{#f})
12210 Whether to allow gateway ports.
12212 @item @code{challenge-response-authentication?} (default: @code{#f})
12213 Specifies whether challenge response authentication is allowed (e.g. via
12216 @item @code{use-pam?} (default: @code{#t})
12217 Enables the Pluggable Authentication Module interface. If set to
12218 @code{#t}, this will enable PAM authentication using
12219 @code{challenge-response-authentication?} and
12220 @code{password-authentication?}, in addition to PAM account and session
12221 module processing for all authentication types.
12223 Because PAM challenge response authentication usually serves an
12224 equivalent role to password authentication, you should disable either
12225 @code{challenge-response-authentication?} or
12226 @code{password-authentication?}.
12228 @item @code{print-last-log?} (default: @code{#t})
12229 Specifies whether @command{sshd} should print the date and time of the
12230 last user login when a user logs in interactively.
12232 @item @code{subsystems} (default: @code{'(("sftp" "internal-sftp"))})
12233 Configures external subsystems (e.g. file transfer daemon).
12235 This is a list of two-element lists, each of which containing the
12236 subsystem name and a command (with optional arguments) to execute upon
12239 The command @command{internal-sftp} implements an in-process SFTP
12240 server. Alternately, one can specify the @command{sftp-server} command:
12242 (service openssh-service-type
12243 (openssh-configuration
12245 `(("sftp" ,(file-append openssh "/libexec/sftp-server"))))))
12248 @item @code{accepted-environment} (default: @code{'()})
12249 List of strings describing which environment variables may be exported.
12251 Each string gets on its own line. See the @code{AcceptEnv} option in
12252 @code{man sshd_config}.
12254 This example allows ssh-clients to export the @code{COLORTERM} variable.
12255 It is set by terminal emulators, which support colors. You can use it in
12256 your shell's ressource file to enable colors for the prompt and commands
12257 if this variable is set.
12260 (service openssh-service-type
12261 (openssh-configuration
12262 (accepted-environment '("COLORTERM"))))
12265 @item @code{authorized-keys} (default: @code{'()})
12266 @cindex authorized keys, SSH
12267 @cindex SSH authorized keys
12268 This is the list of authorized keys. Each element of the list is a user
12269 name followed by one or more file-like objects that represent SSH public
12273 (openssh-configuration
12275 `(("rekado" ,(local-file "rekado.pub"))
12276 ("chris" ,(local-file "chris.pub"))
12277 ("root" ,(local-file "rekado.pub") ,(local-file "chris.pub")))))
12281 registers the specified public keys for user accounts @code{rekado},
12282 @code{chris}, and @code{root}.
12284 Additional authorized keys can be specified @i{via}
12285 @code{service-extension}.
12287 Note that this does @emph{not} interfere with the use of
12288 @file{~/.ssh/authorized_keys}.
12290 @item @code{log-level} (default: @code{'info})
12291 This is a symbol specifying the logging level: @code{quiet}, @code{fatal},
12292 @code{error}, @code{info}, @code{verbose}, @code{debug}, etc. See the man
12293 page for @file{sshd_config} for the full list of level names.
12298 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dropbear-service [@var{config}]
12299 Run the @uref{https://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html,Dropbear SSH
12300 daemon} with the given @var{config}, a @code{<dropbear-configuration>}
12303 For example, to specify a Dropbear service listening on port 1234, add
12304 this call to the operating system's @code{services} field:
12307 (dropbear-service (dropbear-configuration
12308 (port-number 1234)))
12312 @deftp {Data Type} dropbear-configuration
12313 This data type represents the configuration of a Dropbear SSH daemon.
12316 @item @code{dropbear} (default: @var{dropbear})
12317 The Dropbear package to use.
12319 @item @code{port-number} (default: 22)
12320 The TCP port where the daemon waits for incoming connections.
12322 @item @code{syslog-output?} (default: @code{#t})
12323 Whether to enable syslog output.
12325 @item @code{pid-file} (default: @code{"/var/run/dropbear.pid"})
12326 File name of the daemon's PID file.
12328 @item @code{root-login?} (default: @code{#f})
12329 Whether to allow @code{root} logins.
12331 @item @code{allow-empty-passwords?} (default: @code{#f})
12332 Whether to allow empty passwords.
12334 @item @code{password-authentication?} (default: @code{#t})
12335 Whether to enable password-based authentication.
12339 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %facebook-host-aliases
12340 This variable contains a string for use in @file{/etc/hosts}
12341 (@pxref{Host Names,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}). Each
12342 line contains a entry that maps a known server name of the Facebook
12343 on-line service---e.g., @code{www.facebook.com}---to the local
12344 host---@code{127.0.0.1} or its IPv6 equivalent, @code{::1}.
12346 This variable is typically used in the @code{hosts-file} field of an
12347 @code{operating-system} declaration (@pxref{operating-system Reference,
12348 @file{/etc/hosts}}):
12351 (use-modules (gnu) (guix))
12354 (host-name "mymachine")
12357 ;; Create a /etc/hosts file with aliases for "localhost"
12358 ;; and "mymachine", as well as for Facebook servers.
12359 (plain-file "hosts"
12360 (string-append (local-host-aliases host-name)
12361 %facebook-host-aliases))))
12364 This mechanism can prevent programs running locally, such as Web
12365 browsers, from accessing Facebook.
12368 The @code{(gnu services avahi)} provides the following definition.
12370 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} avahi-service [#:avahi @var{avahi}] @
12371 [#:host-name #f] [#:publish? #t] [#:ipv4? #t] @
12372 [#:ipv6? #t] [#:wide-area? #f] @
12373 [#:domains-to-browse '()] [#:debug? #f]
12374 Return a service that runs @command{avahi-daemon}, a system-wide
12375 mDNS/DNS-SD responder that allows for service discovery and
12376 "zero-configuration" host name lookups (see @uref{http://avahi.org/}), and
12377 extends the name service cache daemon (nscd) so that it can resolve
12378 @code{.local} host names using
12379 @uref{http://0pointer.de/lennart/projects/nss-mdns/, nss-mdns}. Additionally,
12380 add the @var{avahi} package to the system profile so that commands such as
12381 @command{avahi-browse} are directly usable.
12383 If @var{host-name} is different from @code{#f}, use that as the host name to
12384 publish for this machine; otherwise, use the machine's actual host name.
12386 When @var{publish?} is true, publishing of host names and services is allowed;
12387 in particular, avahi-daemon will publish the machine's host name and IP
12388 address via mDNS on the local network.
12390 When @var{wide-area?} is true, DNS-SD over unicast DNS is enabled.
12392 Boolean values @var{ipv4?} and @var{ipv6?} determine whether to use IPv4/IPv6
12396 @deffn {Scheme Variable} openvswitch-service-type
12397 This is the type of the @uref{http://www.openvswitch.org, Open vSwitch}
12398 service, whose value should be an @code{openvswitch-configuration}
12402 @deftp {Data Type} openvswitch-configuration
12403 Data type representing the configuration of Open vSwitch, a multilayer
12404 virtual switch which is designed to enable massive network automation
12405 through programmatic extension.
12408 @item @code{package} (default: @var{openvswitch})
12409 Package object of the Open vSwitch.
12415 @subsubsection X Window
12418 @cindex X Window System
12419 @cindex login manager
12420 Support for the X Window graphical display system---specifically
12421 Xorg---is provided by the @code{(gnu services xorg)} module. Note that
12422 there is no @code{xorg-service} procedure. Instead, the X server is
12423 started by the @dfn{login manager}, by default SLiM.
12425 @cindex window manager
12426 To use X11, you must install at least one @dfn{window manager}---for
12427 example the @code{windowmaker} or @code{openbox} packages---preferably
12428 by adding it to the @code{packages} field of your operating system
12429 definition (@pxref{operating-system Reference, system-wide packages}).
12431 @defvr {Scheme Variable} slim-service-type
12432 This is the type for the SLiM graphical login manager for X11.
12434 @cindex session types (X11)
12435 @cindex X11 session types
12436 SLiM looks for @dfn{session types} described by the @file{.desktop} files in
12437 @file{/run/current-system/profile/share/xsessions} and allows users to
12438 choose a session from the log-in screen using @kbd{F1}. Packages such
12439 as @code{xfce}, @code{sawfish}, and @code{ratpoison} provide
12440 @file{.desktop} files; adding them to the system-wide set of packages
12441 automatically makes them available at the log-in screen.
12443 In addition, @file{~/.xsession} files are honored. When available,
12444 @file{~/.xsession} must be an executable that starts a window manager
12445 and/or other X clients.
12448 @deftp {Data Type} slim-configuration
12449 Data type representing the configuration of @code{slim-service-type}.
12452 @item @code{allow-empty-passwords?} (default: @code{#t})
12453 Whether to allow logins with empty passwords.
12455 @item @code{auto-login?} (default: @code{#f})
12456 @itemx @code{default-user} (default: @code{""})
12457 When @code{auto-login?} is false, SLiM presents a log-in screen.
12459 When @code{auto-login?} is true, SLiM logs in directly as
12460 @code{default-user}.
12462 @item @code{theme} (default: @code{%default-slim-theme})
12463 @itemx @code{theme-name} (default: @code{%default-slim-theme-name})
12464 The graphical theme to use and its name.
12466 @item @code{auto-login-session} (default: @code{#f})
12467 If true, this must be the name of the executable to start as the default
12468 session---e.g., @code{(file-append windowmaker "/bin/windowmaker")}.
12470 If false, a session described by one of the available @file{.desktop}
12471 files in @code{/run/current-system/profile} and @code{~/.guix-profile}
12475 You must install at least one window manager in the system profile or in
12476 your user profile. Failing to do that, if @code{auto-login-session} is
12477 false, you will be unable to log in.
12480 @item @code{startx} (default: @code{(xorg-start-command)})
12481 The command used to start the X11 graphical server.
12483 @item @code{xauth} (default: @code{xauth})
12484 The XAuth package to use.
12486 @item @code{shepherd} (default: @code{shepherd})
12487 The Shepherd package used when invoking @command{halt} and
12490 @item @code{sessreg} (default: @code{sessreg})
12491 The sessreg package used in order to register the session.
12493 @item @code{slim} (default: @code{slim})
12494 The SLiM package to use.
12498 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-theme
12499 @defvrx {Scheme Variable} %default-theme-name
12500 The default SLiM theme and its name.
12504 @deftp {Data Type} sddm-configuration
12505 This is the data type representing the sddm service configuration.
12508 @item @code{display-server} (default: "x11")
12509 Select display server to use for the greeter. Valid values are "x11"
12512 @item @code{numlock} (default: "on")
12513 Valid values are "on", "off" or "none".
12515 @item @code{halt-command} (default @code{#~(string-apppend #$shepherd "/sbin/halt")})
12516 Command to run when halting.
12518 @item @code{reboot-command} (default @code{#~(string-append #$shepherd "/sbin/reboot")})
12519 Command to run when rebooting.
12521 @item @code{theme} (default "maldives")
12522 Theme to use. Default themes provided by SDDM are "elarun" or "maldives".
12524 @item @code{themes-directory} (default "/run/current-system/profile/share/sddm/themes")
12525 Directory to look for themes.
12527 @item @code{faces-directory} (default "/run/current-system/profile/share/sddm/faces")
12528 Directory to look for faces.
12530 @item @code{default-path} (default "/run/current-system/profile/bin")
12531 Default PATH to use.
12533 @item @code{minimum-uid} (default 1000)
12534 Minimum UID to display in SDDM.
12536 @item @code{maximum-uid} (default 2000)
12537 Maximum UID to display in SDDM
12539 @item @code{remember-last-user?} (default #t)
12540 Remember last user.
12542 @item @code{remember-last-session?} (default #t)
12543 Remember last session.
12545 @item @code{hide-users} (default "")
12546 Usernames to hide from SDDM greeter.
12548 @item @code{hide-shells} (default @code{#~(string-append #$shadow "/sbin/nologin")})
12549 Users with shells listed will be hidden from the SDDM greeter.
12551 @item @code{session-command} (default @code{#~(string-append #$sddm "/share/sddm/scripts/wayland-session")})
12552 Script to run before starting a wayland session.
12554 @item @code{sessions-directory} (default "/run/current-system/profile/share/wayland-sessions")
12555 Directory to look for desktop files starting wayland sessions.
12557 @item @code{xorg-server-path} (default @code{xorg-start-command})
12558 Path to xorg-server.
12560 @item @code{xauth-path} (default @code{#~(string-append #$xauth "/bin/xauth")})
12563 @item @code{xephyr-path} (default @code{#~(string-append #$xorg-server "/bin/Xephyr")})
12566 @item @code{xdisplay-start} (default @code{#~(string-append #$sddm "/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup")})
12567 Script to run after starting xorg-server.
12569 @item @code{xdisplay-stop} (default @code{#~(string-append #$sddm "/share/sddm/scripts/Xstop")})
12570 Script to run before stopping xorg-server.
12572 @item @code{xsession-command} (default: @code{xinitrc})
12573 Script to run before starting a X session.
12575 @item @code{xsessions-directory} (default: "/run/current-system/profile/share/xsessions")
12576 Directory to look for desktop files starting X sessions.
12578 @item @code{minimum-vt} (default: 7)
12581 @item @code{xserver-arguments} (default "-nolisten tcp")
12582 Arguments to pass to xorg-server.
12584 @item @code{auto-login-user} (default "")
12585 User to use for auto-login.
12587 @item @code{auto-login-session} (default "")
12588 Desktop file to use for auto-login.
12590 @item @code{relogin?} (default #f)
12591 Relogin after logout.
12596 @cindex login manager
12598 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} sddm-service config
12599 Return a service that spawns the SDDM graphical login manager for config of
12600 type @code{<sddm-configuration>}.
12603 (sddm-service (sddm-configuration
12604 (auto-login-user "Alice")
12605 (auto-login-session "xfce.desktop")))
12609 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} xorg-start-command [#:guile] @
12610 [#:modules %default-xorg-modules] @
12611 [#:fonts %default-xorg-fonts] @
12612 [#:configuration-file (xorg-configuration-file @dots{})] @
12613 [#:xorg-server @var{xorg-server}]
12614 Return a @code{startx} script in which @var{modules}, a list of X module
12615 packages, and @var{fonts}, a list of X font directories, are available. See
12616 @code{xorg-wrapper} for more details on the arguments. The result should be
12617 used in place of @code{startx}.
12619 Usually the X server is started by a login manager.
12622 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} xorg-configuration-file @
12623 [#:modules %default-xorg-modules] @
12624 [#:fonts %default-xorg-fonts] @
12625 [#:drivers '()] [#:resolutions '()] [#:extra-config '()]
12626 Return a configuration file for the Xorg server containing search paths for
12627 all the common drivers.
12629 @var{modules} must be a list of @dfn{module packages} loaded by the Xorg
12630 server---e.g., @code{xf86-video-vesa}, @code{xf86-input-keyboard}, and so on.
12631 @var{fonts} must be a list of font directories to add to the server's
12634 @var{drivers} must be either the empty list, in which case Xorg chooses a
12635 graphics driver automatically, or a list of driver names that will be tried in
12636 this order---e.g., @code{("modesetting" "vesa")}.
12638 Likewise, when @var{resolutions} is the empty list, Xorg chooses an
12639 appropriate screen resolution; otherwise, it must be a list of
12640 resolutions---e.g., @code{((1024 768) (640 480))}.
12642 Last, @var{extra-config} is a list of strings or objects appended to the
12643 configuration file. It is used to pass extra text to be
12644 added verbatim to the configuration file.
12647 @cindex keyboard layout
12648 This procedure is especially useful to configure a different keyboard layout
12649 than the default US keymap. For instance, to use the ``bépo'' keymap by
12650 default on the display manager:
12654 "Section \"InputClass\"
12655 Identifier \"evdev keyboard catchall\"
12657 MatchIsKeyboard \"on\"
12658 Option \"xkb_layout\" \"fr\"
12659 Option \"xkb_variant\" \"bepo\"
12665 (modify-services %desktop-services
12666 (slim-service-type config =>
12667 (slim-configuration
12669 (startx (xorg-start-command
12670 #:configuration-file
12671 (xorg-configuration-file
12673 (list bepo-evdev)))))))))
12676 The @code{MatchIsKeyboard} line specifies that we only apply the configuration
12677 to keyboards. Without this line, other devices such as touchpad may not work
12678 correctly because they will be attached to the wrong driver. In this example,
12679 the user typically used @code{setxkbmap fr bepo} to set their favorite keymap
12680 once logged in. The first argument corresponds to the layout, while the second
12681 argument corresponds to the variant. The @code{xkb_variant} line can be omitted
12682 to select the default variant.
12685 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} screen-locker-service @var{package} [@var{program}]
12686 Add @var{package}, a package for a screen locker or screen saver whose
12687 command is @var{program}, to the set of setuid programs and add a PAM entry
12688 for it. For example:
12691 (screen-locker-service xlockmore "xlock")
12694 makes the good ol' XlockMore usable.
12698 @node Printing Services
12699 @subsubsection Printing Services
12701 @cindex printer support with CUPS
12702 The @code{(gnu services cups)} module provides a Guix service definition
12703 for the CUPS printing service. To add printer support to a GuixSD
12704 system, add a @code{cups-service} to the operating system definition:
12706 @deffn {Scheme Variable} cups-service-type
12707 The service type for the CUPS print server. Its value should be a valid
12708 CUPS configuration (see below). To use the default settings, simply
12711 (service cups-service-type)
12715 The CUPS configuration controls the basic things about your CUPS
12716 installation: what interfaces it listens on, what to do if a print job
12717 fails, how much logging to do, and so on. To actually add a printer,
12718 you have to visit the @url{http://localhost:631} URL, or use a tool such
12719 as GNOME's printer configuration services. By default, configuring a
12720 CUPS service will generate a self-signed certificate if needed, for
12721 secure connections to the print server.
12723 Suppose you want to enable the Web interface of CUPS and also add
12724 support for Epson printers @i{via} the @code{escpr} package and for HP
12725 printers @i{via} the @code{hplip-minimal} package. You can do that directly,
12726 like this (you need to use the @code{(gnu packages cups)} module):
12729 (service cups-service-type
12730 (cups-configuration
12731 (web-interface? #t)
12733 (list cups-filters escpr hplip-minimal))))
12736 Note: If you wish to use the Qt5 based GUI which comes with the hplip
12737 package then it is suggested that you install the @code{hplip} package,
12738 either in your OS configuration file or as your user.
12740 The available configuration parameters follow. Each parameter
12741 definition is preceded by its type; for example, @samp{string-list foo}
12742 indicates that the @code{foo} parameter should be specified as a list of
12743 strings. There is also a way to specify the configuration as a string,
12744 if you have an old @code{cupsd.conf} file that you want to port over
12745 from some other system; see the end for more details.
12747 @c The following documentation was initially generated by
12748 @c (generate-documentation) in (gnu services cups). Manually maintained
12749 @c documentation is better, so we shouldn't hesitate to edit below as
12750 @c needed. However if the change you want to make to this documentation
12751 @c can be done in an automated way, it's probably easier to change
12752 @c (generate-documentation) than to make it below and have to deal with
12753 @c the churn as CUPS updates.
12756 Available @code{cups-configuration} fields are:
12758 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} package cups
12762 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} package-list extensions
12763 Drivers and other extensions to the CUPS package.
12766 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} files-configuration files-configuration
12767 Configuration of where to write logs, what directories to use for print
12768 spools, and related privileged configuration parameters.
12770 Available @code{files-configuration} fields are:
12772 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} log-location access-log
12773 Defines the access log filename. Specifying a blank filename disables
12774 access log generation. The value @code{stderr} causes log entries to be
12775 sent to the standard error file when the scheduler is running in the
12776 foreground, or to the system log daemon when run in the background. The
12777 value @code{syslog} causes log entries to be sent to the system log
12778 daemon. The server name may be included in filenames using the string
12779 @code{%s}, as in @code{/var/log/cups/%s-access_log}.
12781 Defaults to @samp{"/var/log/cups/access_log"}.
12784 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} file-name cache-dir
12785 Where CUPS should cache data.
12787 Defaults to @samp{"/var/cache/cups"}.
12790 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} string config-file-perm
12791 Specifies the permissions for all configuration files that the scheduler
12794 Note that the permissions for the printers.conf file are currently
12795 masked to only allow access from the scheduler user (typically root).
12796 This is done because printer device URIs sometimes contain sensitive
12797 authentication information that should not be generally known on the
12798 system. There is no way to disable this security feature.
12800 Defaults to @samp{"0640"}.
12803 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} log-location error-log
12804 Defines the error log filename. Specifying a blank filename disables
12805 access log generation. The value @code{stderr} causes log entries to be
12806 sent to the standard error file when the scheduler is running in the
12807 foreground, or to the system log daemon when run in the background. The
12808 value @code{syslog} causes log entries to be sent to the system log
12809 daemon. The server name may be included in filenames using the string
12810 @code{%s}, as in @code{/var/log/cups/%s-error_log}.
12812 Defaults to @samp{"/var/log/cups/error_log"}.
12815 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} string fatal-errors
12816 Specifies which errors are fatal, causing the scheduler to exit. The
12821 No errors are fatal.
12824 All of the errors below are fatal.
12827 Browsing initialization errors are fatal, for example failed connections
12828 to the DNS-SD daemon.
12831 Configuration file syntax errors are fatal.
12834 Listen or Port errors are fatal, except for IPv6 failures on the
12835 loopback or @code{any} addresses.
12838 Log file creation or write errors are fatal.
12841 Bad startup file permissions are fatal, for example shared TLS
12842 certificate and key files with world-read permissions.
12845 Defaults to @samp{"all -browse"}.
12848 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} boolean file-device?
12849 Specifies whether the file pseudo-device can be used for new printer
12850 queues. The URI @uref{file:///dev/null} is always allowed.
12852 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
12855 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} string group
12856 Specifies the group name or ID that will be used when executing external
12859 Defaults to @samp{"lp"}.
12862 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} string log-file-perm
12863 Specifies the permissions for all log files that the scheduler writes.
12865 Defaults to @samp{"0644"}.
12868 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} log-location page-log
12869 Defines the page log filename. Specifying a blank filename disables
12870 access log generation. The value @code{stderr} causes log entries to be
12871 sent to the standard error file when the scheduler is running in the
12872 foreground, or to the system log daemon when run in the background. The
12873 value @code{syslog} causes log entries to be sent to the system log
12874 daemon. The server name may be included in filenames using the string
12875 @code{%s}, as in @code{/var/log/cups/%s-page_log}.
12877 Defaults to @samp{"/var/log/cups/page_log"}.
12880 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} string remote-root
12881 Specifies the username that is associated with unauthenticated accesses
12882 by clients claiming to be the root user. The default is @code{remroot}.
12884 Defaults to @samp{"remroot"}.
12887 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} file-name request-root
12888 Specifies the directory that contains print jobs and other HTTP request
12891 Defaults to @samp{"/var/spool/cups"}.
12894 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} sandboxing sandboxing
12895 Specifies the level of security sandboxing that is applied to print
12896 filters, backends, and other child processes of the scheduler; either
12897 @code{relaxed} or @code{strict}. This directive is currently only
12898 used/supported on macOS.
12900 Defaults to @samp{strict}.
12903 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} file-name server-keychain
12904 Specifies the location of TLS certificates and private keys. CUPS will
12905 look for public and private keys in this directory: a @code{.crt} files
12906 for PEM-encoded certificates and corresponding @code{.key} files for
12907 PEM-encoded private keys.
12909 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/cups/ssl"}.
12912 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} file-name server-root
12913 Specifies the directory containing the server configuration files.
12915 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/cups"}.
12918 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} boolean sync-on-close?
12919 Specifies whether the scheduler calls fsync(2) after writing
12920 configuration or state files.
12922 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
12925 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list system-group
12926 Specifies the group(s) to use for @code{@@SYSTEM} group authentication.
12929 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} file-name temp-dir
12930 Specifies the directory where temporary files are stored.
12932 Defaults to @samp{"/var/spool/cups/tmp"}.
12935 @deftypevr {@code{files-configuration} parameter} string user
12936 Specifies the user name or ID that is used when running external
12939 Defaults to @samp{"lp"}.
12943 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} access-log-level access-log-level
12944 Specifies the logging level for the AccessLog file. The @code{config}
12945 level logs when printers and classes are added, deleted, or modified and
12946 when configuration files are accessed or updated. The @code{actions}
12947 level logs when print jobs are submitted, held, released, modified, or
12948 canceled, and any of the conditions for @code{config}. The @code{all}
12949 level logs all requests.
12951 Defaults to @samp{actions}.
12954 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean auto-purge-jobs?
12955 Specifies whether to purge job history data automatically when it is no
12956 longer required for quotas.
12958 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
12961 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} browse-local-protocols browse-local-protocols
12962 Specifies which protocols to use for local printer sharing.
12964 Defaults to @samp{dnssd}.
12967 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean browse-web-if?
12968 Specifies whether the CUPS web interface is advertised.
12970 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
12973 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean browsing?
12974 Specifies whether shared printers are advertised.
12976 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
12979 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string classification
12980 Specifies the security classification of the server. Any valid banner
12981 name can be used, including "classified", "confidential", "secret",
12982 "topsecret", and "unclassified", or the banner can be omitted to disable
12983 secure printing functions.
12985 Defaults to @samp{""}.
12988 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean classify-override?
12989 Specifies whether users may override the classification (cover page) of
12990 individual print jobs using the @code{job-sheets} option.
12992 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
12995 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} default-auth-type default-auth-type
12996 Specifies the default type of authentication to use.
12998 Defaults to @samp{Basic}.
13001 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} default-encryption default-encryption
13002 Specifies whether encryption will be used for authenticated requests.
13004 Defaults to @samp{Required}.
13007 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string default-language
13008 Specifies the default language to use for text and web content.
13010 Defaults to @samp{"en"}.
13013 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string default-paper-size
13014 Specifies the default paper size for new print queues. @samp{"Auto"}
13015 uses a locale-specific default, while @samp{"None"} specifies there is
13016 no default paper size. Specific size names are typically
13017 @samp{"Letter"} or @samp{"A4"}.
13019 Defaults to @samp{"Auto"}.
13022 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string default-policy
13023 Specifies the default access policy to use.
13025 Defaults to @samp{"default"}.
13028 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean default-shared?
13029 Specifies whether local printers are shared by default.
13031 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
13034 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer dirty-clean-interval
13035 Specifies the delay for updating of configuration and state files, in
13036 seconds. A value of 0 causes the update to happen as soon as possible,
13037 typically within a few milliseconds.
13039 Defaults to @samp{30}.
13042 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} error-policy error-policy
13043 Specifies what to do when an error occurs. Possible values are
13044 @code{abort-job}, which will discard the failed print job;
13045 @code{retry-job}, which will retry the job at a later time;
13046 @code{retry-this-job}, which retries the failed job immediately; and
13047 @code{stop-printer}, which stops the printer.
13049 Defaults to @samp{stop-printer}.
13052 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer filter-limit
13053 Specifies the maximum cost of filters that are run concurrently, which
13054 can be used to minimize disk, memory, and CPU resource problems. A
13055 limit of 0 disables filter limiting. An average print to a
13056 non-PostScript printer needs a filter limit of about 200. A PostScript
13057 printer needs about half that (100). Setting the limit below these
13058 thresholds will effectively limit the scheduler to printing a single job
13061 Defaults to @samp{0}.
13064 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer filter-nice
13065 Specifies the scheduling priority of filters that are run to print a
13066 job. The nice value ranges from 0, the highest priority, to 19, the
13069 Defaults to @samp{0}.
13072 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} host-name-lookups host-name-lookups
13073 Specifies whether to do reverse lookups on connecting clients. The
13074 @code{double} setting causes @code{cupsd} to verify that the hostname
13075 resolved from the address matches one of the addresses returned for that
13076 hostname. Double lookups also prevent clients with unregistered
13077 addresses from connecting to your server. Only set this option to
13078 @code{#t} or @code{double} if absolutely required.
13080 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
13083 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer job-kill-delay
13084 Specifies the number of seconds to wait before killing the filters and
13085 backend associated with a canceled or held job.
13087 Defaults to @samp{30}.
13090 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer job-retry-interval
13091 Specifies the interval between retries of jobs in seconds. This is
13092 typically used for fax queues but can also be used with normal print
13093 queues whose error policy is @code{retry-job} or
13094 @code{retry-current-job}.
13096 Defaults to @samp{30}.
13099 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer job-retry-limit
13100 Specifies the number of retries that are done for jobs. This is
13101 typically used for fax queues but can also be used with normal print
13102 queues whose error policy is @code{retry-job} or
13103 @code{retry-current-job}.
13105 Defaults to @samp{5}.
13108 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean keep-alive?
13109 Specifies whether to support HTTP keep-alive connections.
13111 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
13114 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer keep-alive-timeout
13115 Specifies how long an idle client connection remains open, in seconds.
13117 Defaults to @samp{30}.
13120 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer limit-request-body
13121 Specifies the maximum size of print files, IPP requests, and HTML form
13122 data. A limit of 0 disables the limit check.
13124 Defaults to @samp{0}.
13127 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} multiline-string-list listen
13128 Listens on the specified interfaces for connections. Valid values are
13129 of the form @var{address}:@var{port}, where @var{address} is either an
13130 IPv6 address enclosed in brackets, an IPv4 address, or @code{*} to
13131 indicate all addresses. Values can also be file names of local UNIX
13132 domain sockets. The Listen directive is similar to the Port directive
13133 but allows you to restrict access to specific interfaces or networks.
13136 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer listen-back-log
13137 Specifies the number of pending connections that will be allowed. This
13138 normally only affects very busy servers that have reached the MaxClients
13139 limit, but can also be triggered by large numbers of simultaneous
13140 connections. When the limit is reached, the operating system will
13141 refuse additional connections until the scheduler can accept the pending
13144 Defaults to @samp{128}.
13147 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} location-access-control-list location-access-controls
13148 Specifies a set of additional access controls.
13150 Available @code{location-access-controls} fields are:
13152 @deftypevr {@code{location-access-controls} parameter} file-name path
13153 Specifies the URI path to which the access control applies.
13156 @deftypevr {@code{location-access-controls} parameter} access-control-list access-controls
13157 Access controls for all access to this path, in the same format as the
13158 @code{access-controls} of @code{operation-access-control}.
13160 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13163 @deftypevr {@code{location-access-controls} parameter} method-access-control-list method-access-controls
13164 Access controls for method-specific access to this path.
13166 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13168 Available @code{method-access-controls} fields are:
13170 @deftypevr {@code{method-access-controls} parameter} boolean reverse?
13171 If @code{#t}, apply access controls to all methods except the listed
13172 methods. Otherwise apply to only the listed methods.
13174 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
13177 @deftypevr {@code{method-access-controls} parameter} method-list methods
13178 Methods to which this access control applies.
13180 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13183 @deftypevr {@code{method-access-controls} parameter} access-control-list access-controls
13184 Access control directives, as a list of strings. Each string should be
13185 one directive, such as "Order allow,deny".
13187 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13192 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer log-debug-history
13193 Specifies the number of debugging messages that are retained for logging
13194 if an error occurs in a print job. Debug messages are logged regardless
13195 of the LogLevel setting.
13197 Defaults to @samp{100}.
13200 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} log-level log-level
13201 Specifies the level of logging for the ErrorLog file. The value
13202 @code{none} stops all logging while @code{debug2} logs everything.
13204 Defaults to @samp{info}.
13207 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} log-time-format log-time-format
13208 Specifies the format of the date and time in the log files. The value
13209 @code{standard} logs whole seconds while @code{usecs} logs microseconds.
13211 Defaults to @samp{standard}.
13214 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-clients
13215 Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous clients that are allowed by
13218 Defaults to @samp{100}.
13221 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-clients-per-host
13222 Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous clients that are allowed
13223 from a single address.
13225 Defaults to @samp{100}.
13228 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-copies
13229 Specifies the maximum number of copies that a user can print of each
13232 Defaults to @samp{9999}.
13235 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-hold-time
13236 Specifies the maximum time a job may remain in the @code{indefinite}
13237 hold state before it is canceled. A value of 0 disables cancellation of
13240 Defaults to @samp{0}.
13243 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-jobs
13244 Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous jobs that are allowed. Set
13245 to 0 to allow an unlimited number of jobs.
13247 Defaults to @samp{500}.
13250 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-jobs-per-printer
13251 Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous jobs that are allowed per
13252 printer. A value of 0 allows up to MaxJobs jobs per printer.
13254 Defaults to @samp{0}.
13257 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-jobs-per-user
13258 Specifies the maximum number of simultaneous jobs that are allowed per
13259 user. A value of 0 allows up to MaxJobs jobs per user.
13261 Defaults to @samp{0}.
13264 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-job-time
13265 Specifies the maximum time a job may take to print before it is
13266 canceled, in seconds. Set to 0 to disable cancellation of "stuck" jobs.
13268 Defaults to @samp{10800}.
13271 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-log-size
13272 Specifies the maximum size of the log files before they are rotated, in
13273 bytes. The value 0 disables log rotation.
13275 Defaults to @samp{1048576}.
13278 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer multiple-operation-timeout
13279 Specifies the maximum amount of time to allow between files in a
13280 multiple file print job, in seconds.
13282 Defaults to @samp{300}.
13285 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string page-log-format
13286 Specifies the format of PageLog lines. Sequences beginning with percent
13287 (@samp{%}) characters are replaced with the corresponding information,
13288 while all other characters are copied literally. The following percent
13289 sequences are recognized:
13293 insert a single percent character
13296 insert the value of the specified IPP attribute
13299 insert the number of copies for the current page
13302 insert the current page number
13305 insert the current date and time in common log format
13311 insert the printer name
13314 insert the username
13317 A value of the empty string disables page logging. The string @code{%p
13318 %u %j %T %P %C %@{job-billing@} %@{job-originating-host-name@}
13319 %@{job-name@} %@{media@} %@{sides@}} creates a page log with the
13322 Defaults to @samp{""}.
13325 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} environment-variables environment-variables
13326 Passes the specified environment variable(s) to child processes; a list
13329 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13332 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} policy-configuration-list policies
13333 Specifies named access control policies.
13335 Available @code{policy-configuration} fields are:
13337 @deftypevr {@code{policy-configuration} parameter} string name
13338 Name of the policy.
13341 @deftypevr {@code{policy-configuration} parameter} string job-private-access
13342 Specifies an access list for a job's private values. @code{@@ACL} maps
13343 to the printer's requesting-user-name-allowed or
13344 requesting-user-name-denied values. @code{@@OWNER} maps to the job's
13345 owner. @code{@@SYSTEM} maps to the groups listed for the
13346 @code{system-group} field of the @code{files-config} configuration,
13347 which is reified into the @code{cups-files.conf(5)} file. Other
13348 possible elements of the access list include specific user names, and
13349 @code{@@@var{group}} to indicate members of a specific group. The
13350 access list may also be simply @code{all} or @code{default}.
13352 Defaults to @samp{"@@OWNER @@SYSTEM"}.
13355 @deftypevr {@code{policy-configuration} parameter} string job-private-values
13356 Specifies the list of job values to make private, or @code{all},
13357 @code{default}, or @code{none}.
13359 Defaults to @samp{"job-name job-originating-host-name
13360 job-originating-user-name phone"}.
13363 @deftypevr {@code{policy-configuration} parameter} string subscription-private-access
13364 Specifies an access list for a subscription's private values.
13365 @code{@@ACL} maps to the printer's requesting-user-name-allowed or
13366 requesting-user-name-denied values. @code{@@OWNER} maps to the job's
13367 owner. @code{@@SYSTEM} maps to the groups listed for the
13368 @code{system-group} field of the @code{files-config} configuration,
13369 which is reified into the @code{cups-files.conf(5)} file. Other
13370 possible elements of the access list include specific user names, and
13371 @code{@@@var{group}} to indicate members of a specific group. The
13372 access list may also be simply @code{all} or @code{default}.
13374 Defaults to @samp{"@@OWNER @@SYSTEM"}.
13377 @deftypevr {@code{policy-configuration} parameter} string subscription-private-values
13378 Specifies the list of job values to make private, or @code{all},
13379 @code{default}, or @code{none}.
13381 Defaults to @samp{"notify-events notify-pull-method notify-recipient-uri
13382 notify-subscriber-user-name notify-user-data"}.
13385 @deftypevr {@code{policy-configuration} parameter} operation-access-control-list access-controls
13386 Access control by IPP operation.
13388 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13392 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean-or-non-negative-integer preserve-job-files
13393 Specifies whether job files (documents) are preserved after a job is
13394 printed. If a numeric value is specified, job files are preserved for
13395 the indicated number of seconds after printing. Otherwise a boolean
13396 value applies indefinitely.
13398 Defaults to @samp{86400}.
13401 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean-or-non-negative-integer preserve-job-history
13402 Specifies whether the job history is preserved after a job is printed.
13403 If a numeric value is specified, the job history is preserved for the
13404 indicated number of seconds after printing. If @code{#t}, the job
13405 history is preserved until the MaxJobs limit is reached.
13407 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
13410 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer reload-timeout
13411 Specifies the amount of time to wait for job completion before
13412 restarting the scheduler.
13414 Defaults to @samp{30}.
13417 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string rip-cache
13418 Specifies the maximum amount of memory to use when converting documents
13419 into bitmaps for a printer.
13421 Defaults to @samp{"128m"}.
13424 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string server-admin
13425 Specifies the email address of the server administrator.
13427 Defaults to @samp{"root@@localhost.localdomain"}.
13430 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} host-name-list-or-* server-alias
13431 The ServerAlias directive is used for HTTP Host header validation when
13432 clients connect to the scheduler from external interfaces. Using the
13433 special name @code{*} can expose your system to known browser-based DNS
13434 rebinding attacks, even when accessing sites through a firewall. If the
13435 auto-discovery of alternate names does not work, we recommend listing
13436 each alternate name with a ServerAlias directive instead of using
13439 Defaults to @samp{*}.
13442 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string server-name
13443 Specifies the fully-qualified host name of the server.
13445 Defaults to @samp{"localhost"}.
13448 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} server-tokens server-tokens
13449 Specifies what information is included in the Server header of HTTP
13450 responses. @code{None} disables the Server header. @code{ProductOnly}
13451 reports @code{CUPS}. @code{Major} reports @code{CUPS 2}. @code{Minor}
13452 reports @code{CUPS 2.0}. @code{Minimal} reports @code{CUPS 2.0.0}.
13453 @code{OS} reports @code{CUPS 2.0.0 (@var{uname})} where @var{uname} is
13454 the output of the @code{uname} command. @code{Full} reports @code{CUPS
13455 2.0.0 (@var{uname}) IPP/2.0}.
13457 Defaults to @samp{Minimal}.
13460 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} string set-env
13461 Set the specified environment variable to be passed to child processes.
13463 Defaults to @samp{"variable value"}.
13466 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} multiline-string-list ssl-listen
13467 Listens on the specified interfaces for encrypted connections. Valid
13468 values are of the form @var{address}:@var{port}, where @var{address} is
13469 either an IPv6 address enclosed in brackets, an IPv4 address, or
13470 @code{*} to indicate all addresses.
13472 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13475 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} ssl-options ssl-options
13476 Sets encryption options. By default, CUPS only supports encryption
13477 using TLS v1.0 or higher using known secure cipher suites. The
13478 @code{AllowRC4} option enables the 128-bit RC4 cipher suites, which are
13479 required for some older clients that do not implement newer ones. The
13480 @code{AllowSSL3} option enables SSL v3.0, which is required for some
13481 older clients that do not support TLS v1.0.
13483 Defaults to @samp{()}.
13486 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean strict-conformance?
13487 Specifies whether the scheduler requires clients to strictly adhere to
13488 the IPP specifications.
13490 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
13493 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer timeout
13494 Specifies the HTTP request timeout, in seconds.
13496 Defaults to @samp{300}.
13500 @deftypevr {@code{cups-configuration} parameter} boolean web-interface?
13501 Specifies whether the web interface is enabled.
13503 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
13506 At this point you're probably thinking ``oh dear, Guix manual, I like
13507 you but you can stop already with the configuration options''. Indeed.
13508 However, one more point: it could be that you have an existing
13509 @code{cupsd.conf} that you want to use. In that case, you can pass an
13510 @code{opaque-cups-configuration} as the configuration of a
13511 @code{cups-service-type}.
13513 Available @code{opaque-cups-configuration} fields are:
13515 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-cups-configuration} parameter} package cups
13519 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-cups-configuration} parameter} string cupsd.conf
13520 The contents of the @code{cupsd.conf}, as a string.
13523 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-cups-configuration} parameter} string cups-files.conf
13524 The contents of the @code{cups-files.conf} file, as a string.
13527 For example, if your @code{cupsd.conf} and @code{cups-files.conf} are in
13528 strings of the same name, you could instantiate a CUPS service like
13532 (service cups-service-type
13533 (opaque-cups-configuration
13534 (cupsd.conf cupsd.conf)
13535 (cups-files.conf cups-files.conf)))
13539 @node Desktop Services
13540 @subsubsection Desktop Services
13542 The @code{(gnu services desktop)} module provides services that are
13543 usually useful in the context of a ``desktop'' setup---that is, on a
13544 machine running a graphical display server, possibly with graphical user
13545 interfaces, etc. It also defines services that provide specific desktop
13546 environments like GNOME, XFCE or MATE.
13548 To simplify things, the module defines a variable containing the set of
13549 services that users typically expect on a machine with a graphical
13550 environment and networking:
13552 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %desktop-services
13553 This is a list of services that builds upon @var{%base-services} and
13554 adds or adjusts services for a typical ``desktop'' setup.
13556 In particular, it adds a graphical login manager (@pxref{X Window,
13557 @code{slim-service}}), screen lockers, a network management tool
13558 (@pxref{Networking Services, @code{network-manager-service-type}}), energy and color
13559 management services, the @code{elogind} login and seat manager, the
13560 Polkit privilege service, the GeoClue location service, the
13561 AccountsService daemon that allows authorized users change system
13562 passwords, an NTP client (@pxref{Networking Services}), the Avahi
13563 daemon, and has the name service switch service configured to be able to
13564 use @code{nss-mdns} (@pxref{Name Service Switch, mDNS}).
13567 The @var{%desktop-services} variable can be used as the @code{services}
13568 field of an @code{operating-system} declaration (@pxref{operating-system
13569 Reference, @code{services}}).
13571 Additionally, the @code{gnome-desktop-service},
13572 @code{xfce-desktop-service}, @code{mate-desktop-service} and
13573 @code{enlightenment-desktop-service-type} procedures can add GNOME, XFCE, MATE
13574 and/or Enlightenment to a system. To ``add GNOME'' means that system-level
13575 services like the backlight adjustment helpers and the power management
13576 utilities are added to the system, extending @code{polkit} and @code{dbus}
13577 appropriately, allowing GNOME to operate with elevated privileges on a
13578 limited number of special-purpose system interfaces. Additionally,
13579 adding a service made by @code{gnome-desktop-service} adds the GNOME
13580 metapackage to the system profile. Likewise, adding the XFCE service
13581 not only adds the @code{xfce} metapackage to the system profile, but it
13582 also gives the Thunar file manager the ability to open a ``root-mode''
13583 file management window, if the user authenticates using the
13584 administrator's password via the standard polkit graphical interface.
13585 To ``add MATE'' means that @code{polkit} and @code{dbus} are extended
13586 appropriately, allowing MATE to operate with elevated privileges on a
13587 limited number of special-purpose system interfaces. Additionally,
13588 adding a service made by @code{mate-desktop-service} adds the MATE
13589 metapackage to the system profile. ``Adding ENLIGHTENMENT'' means that
13590 @code{dbus} is extended appropriately, and several of Enlightenment's binaries
13591 are set as setuid, allowing Enlightenment's screen locker and other
13592 functionality to work as expetected.
13594 The desktop environments in Guix use the Xorg display server by
13595 default. If you'd like to use the newer display server protocol
13596 called Wayland, you need to use the @code{sddm-service} instead of the
13597 @code{slim-service} for the graphical login manager. You should then
13598 select the ``GNOME (Wayland)'' session in SDDM. Alternatively you can
13599 also try starting GNOME on Wayland manually from a TTY with the
13600 command ``XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland exec dbus-run-session
13601 gnome-session``. Currently only GNOME has support for Wayland.
13603 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} gnome-desktop-service
13604 Return a service that adds the @code{gnome} package to the system
13605 profile, and extends polkit with the actions from
13606 @code{gnome-settings-daemon}.
13609 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} xfce-desktop-service
13610 Return a service that adds the @code{xfce} package to the system profile,
13611 and extends polkit with the ability for @code{thunar} to manipulate the
13612 file system as root from within a user session, after the user has
13613 authenticated with the administrator's password.
13616 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} mate-desktop-service
13617 Return a service that adds the @code{mate} package to the system
13618 profile, and extends polkit with the actions from
13619 @code{mate-settings-daemon}.
13622 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} enlightenment-desktop-service-type
13623 Return a service that adds the @code{enlightenment} package to the system
13624 profile, and extends dbus with actions from @code{efl}.
13627 @deftp {Data Type} enlightenment-desktop-service-configuration
13629 @item @code{enlightenment} (default @code{enlightenment})
13630 The enlightenment package to use.
13634 Because the GNOME, XFCE and MATE desktop services pull in so many packages,
13635 the default @code{%desktop-services} variable doesn't include any of
13636 them by default. To add GNOME, XFCE or MATE, just @code{cons} them onto
13637 @code{%desktop-services} in the @code{services} field of your
13638 @code{operating-system}:
13641 (use-modules (gnu))
13642 (use-service-modules desktop)
13645 ;; cons* adds items to the list given as its last argument.
13646 (services (cons* (gnome-desktop-service)
13647 (xfce-desktop-service)
13648 %desktop-services))
13652 These desktop environments will then be available as options in the
13653 graphical login window.
13655 The actual service definitions included in @code{%desktop-services} and
13656 provided by @code{(gnu services dbus)} and @code{(gnu services desktop)}
13657 are described below.
13659 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dbus-service [#:dbus @var{dbus}] [#:services '()]
13660 Return a service that runs the ``system bus'', using @var{dbus}, with
13661 support for @var{services}.
13663 @uref{http://dbus.freedesktop.org/, D-Bus} is an inter-process communication
13664 facility. Its system bus is used to allow system services to communicate
13665 and to be notified of system-wide events.
13667 @var{services} must be a list of packages that provide an
13668 @file{etc/dbus-1/system.d} directory containing additional D-Bus configuration
13669 and policy files. For example, to allow avahi-daemon to use the system bus,
13670 @var{services} must be equal to @code{(list avahi)}.
13673 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} elogind-service [#:config @var{config}]
13674 Return a service that runs the @code{elogind} login and
13675 seat management daemon. @uref{https://github.com/elogind/elogind,
13676 Elogind} exposes a D-Bus interface that can be used to know which users
13677 are logged in, know what kind of sessions they have open, suspend the
13678 system, inhibit system suspend, reboot the system, and other tasks.
13680 Elogind handles most system-level power events for a computer, for
13681 example suspending the system when a lid is closed, or shutting it down
13682 when the power button is pressed.
13684 The @var{config} keyword argument specifies the configuration for
13685 elogind, and should be the result of an @code{(elogind-configuration
13686 (@var{parameter} @var{value})...)} invocation. Available parameters and
13687 their default values are:
13690 @item kill-user-processes?
13692 @item kill-only-users
13694 @item kill-exclude-users
13696 @item inhibit-delay-max-seconds
13698 @item handle-power-key
13700 @item handle-suspend-key
13702 @item handle-hibernate-key
13704 @item handle-lid-switch
13706 @item handle-lid-switch-docked
13708 @item power-key-ignore-inhibited?
13710 @item suspend-key-ignore-inhibited?
13712 @item hibernate-key-ignore-inhibited?
13714 @item lid-switch-ignore-inhibited?
13716 @item holdoff-timeout-seconds
13720 @item idle-action-seconds
13722 @item runtime-directory-size-percent
13724 @item runtime-directory-size
13728 @item suspend-state
13729 @code{("mem" "standby" "freeze")}
13732 @item hibernate-state
13734 @item hibernate-mode
13735 @code{("platform" "shutdown")}
13736 @item hybrid-sleep-state
13738 @item hybrid-sleep-mode
13739 @code{("suspend" "platform" "shutdown")}
13743 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} accountsservice-service @
13744 [#:accountsservice @var{accountsservice}]
13745 Return a service that runs AccountsService, a system service that can
13746 list available accounts, change their passwords, and so on.
13747 AccountsService integrates with PolicyKit to enable unprivileged users
13748 to acquire the capability to modify their system configuration.
13749 @uref{https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/AccountsService/, the
13750 accountsservice web site} for more information.
13752 The @var{accountsservice} keyword argument is the @code{accountsservice}
13753 package to expose as a service.
13756 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} polkit-service @
13757 [#:polkit @var{polkit}]
13758 Return a service that runs the
13759 @uref{http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/polkit/, Polkit privilege
13760 management service}, which allows system administrators to grant access to
13761 privileged operations in a structured way. By querying the Polkit service, a
13762 privileged system component can know when it should grant additional
13763 capabilities to ordinary users. For example, an ordinary user can be granted
13764 the capability to suspend the system if the user is logged in locally.
13767 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} upower-service [#:upower @var{upower}] @
13768 [#:watts-up-pro? #f] @
13769 [#:poll-batteries? #t] @
13770 [#:ignore-lid? #f] @
13771 [#:use-percentage-for-policy? #f] @
13772 [#:percentage-low 10] @
13773 [#:percentage-critical 3] @
13774 [#:percentage-action 2] @
13775 [#:time-low 1200] @
13776 [#:time-critical 300] @
13777 [#:time-action 120] @
13778 [#:critical-power-action 'hybrid-sleep]
13779 Return a service that runs @uref{http://upower.freedesktop.org/,
13780 @command{upowerd}}, a system-wide monitor for power consumption and battery
13781 levels, with the given configuration settings. It implements the
13782 @code{org.freedesktop.UPower} D-Bus interface, and is notably used by
13786 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} udisks-service [#:udisks @var{udisks}]
13787 Return a service for @uref{http://udisks.freedesktop.org/docs/latest/,
13788 UDisks}, a @dfn{disk management} daemon that provides user interfaces with
13789 notifications and ways to mount/unmount disks. Programs that talk to UDisks
13790 include the @command{udisksctl} command, part of UDisks, and GNOME Disks.
13793 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} colord-service [#:colord @var{colord}]
13794 Return a service that runs @command{colord}, a system service with a D-Bus
13795 interface to manage the color profiles of input and output devices such as
13796 screens and scanners. It is notably used by the GNOME Color Manager graphical
13797 tool. See @uref{http://www.freedesktop.org/software/colord/, the colord web
13798 site} for more information.
13801 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} geoclue-application name [#:allowed? #t] [#:system? #f] [#:users '()]
13802 Return a configuration allowing an application to access GeoClue
13803 location data. @var{name} is the Desktop ID of the application, without
13804 the @code{.desktop} part. If @var{allowed?} is true, the application
13805 will have access to location information by default. The boolean
13806 @var{system?} value indicates whether an application is a system component
13807 or not. Finally @var{users} is a list of UIDs of all users for which
13808 this application is allowed location info access. An empty users list
13809 means that all users are allowed.
13812 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %standard-geoclue-applications
13813 The standard list of well-known GeoClue application configurations,
13814 granting authority to the GNOME date-and-time utility to ask for the
13815 current location in order to set the time zone, and allowing the
13816 IceCat and Epiphany web browsers to request location information.
13817 IceCat and Epiphany both query the user before allowing a web page to
13818 know the user's location.
13821 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} geoclue-service [#:colord @var{colord}] @
13822 [#:whitelist '()] @
13823 [#:wifi-geolocation-url "https://location.services.mozilla.com/v1/geolocate?key=geoclue"] @
13824 [#:submit-data? #f]
13825 [#:wifi-submission-url "https://location.services.mozilla.com/v1/submit?key=geoclue"] @
13826 [#:submission-nick "geoclue"] @
13827 [#:applications %standard-geoclue-applications]
13828 Return a service that runs the GeoClue location service. This service
13829 provides a D-Bus interface to allow applications to request access to a
13830 user's physical location, and optionally to add information to online
13831 location databases. See
13832 @uref{https://wiki.freedesktop.org/www/Software/GeoClue/, the GeoClue
13833 web site} for more information.
13836 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} bluetooth-service [#:bluez @var{bluez}] @
13837 [@w{#:auto-enable? #f}]
13838 Return a service that runs the @command{bluetoothd} daemon, which
13839 manages all the Bluetooth devices and provides a number of D-Bus
13840 interfaces. When AUTO-ENABLE? is true, the bluetooth controller is
13841 powered automatically at boot, which can be useful when using a
13842 bluetooth keyboard or mouse.
13844 Users need to be in the @code{lp} group to access the D-Bus service.
13847 @node Sound Services
13848 @subsubsection Sound Services
13850 @cindex sound support
13852 @cindex PulseAudio, sound support
13854 The @code{(gnu services sound)} module provides a service to configure the
13855 Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) system, which making PulseAudio the
13856 preferred ALSA output driver.
13858 @deffn {Scheme Variable} alsa-service-type
13859 This is the type for the @uref{https://alsa-project.org/, Advanced Linux Sound
13860 Architecture} (ALSA) system, which generates the @file{/etc/asound.conf}
13861 configuration file. The value for this type is a @command{alsa-configuration}
13862 record as in this example:
13865 (service alsa-service-type)
13868 See below for details about @code{alsa-configuration}.
13871 @deftp {Data Type} alsa-configuration
13872 Data type representing the configuration for @code{alsa-service}.
13875 @item @code{alsa-plugins} (default: @var{alsa-plugins})
13876 @code{alsa-plugins} package to use.
13878 @item @code{pulseaudio?} (default: @var{#t})
13879 Whether ALSA applications should transparently be made to use the
13880 @uref{http://www.pulseaudio.org/, PulseAudio} sound server.
13882 Using PulseAudio allows you to run several sound-producing applications
13883 at the same time and to individual control them @i{via}
13884 @command{pavucontrol}, among other things.
13886 @item @code{extra-options} (default: @var{""})
13887 String to append to the @file{/etc/asound.conf} file.
13892 Individual users who want to override the system configuration of ALSA can do
13893 it with the @file{~/.asoundrc} file:
13896 # In guix, we have to specify the absolute path for plugins.
13898 lib "/home/alice/.guix-profile/lib/alsa-lib/libasound_module_pcm_jack.so"
13901 # Routing ALSA to jack:
13902 # <http://jackaudio.org/faq/routing_alsa.html>.
13906 0 system:playback_1
13907 1 system:playback_2
13924 See @uref{https://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Asoundrc} for the
13928 @node Database Services
13929 @subsubsection Database Services
13933 The @code{(gnu services databases)} module provides the following services.
13935 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} postgresql-service [#:postgresql postgresql] @
13936 [#:config-file] [#:data-directory ``/var/lib/postgresql/data''] @
13937 [#:port 5432] [#:locale ``en_US.utf8'']
13938 Return a service that runs @var{postgresql}, the PostgreSQL database
13941 The PostgreSQL daemon loads its runtime configuration from @var{config-file},
13942 creates a database cluster with @var{locale} as the default
13943 locale, stored in @var{data-directory}. It then listens on @var{port}.
13946 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} mysql-service [#:config (mysql-configuration)]
13947 Return a service that runs @command{mysqld}, the MySQL or MariaDB
13950 The optional @var{config} argument specifies the configuration for
13951 @command{mysqld}, which should be a @code{<mysql-configuration>} object.
13954 @deftp {Data Type} mysql-configuration
13955 Data type representing the configuration of @var{mysql-service}.
13958 @item @code{mysql} (default: @var{mariadb})
13959 Package object of the MySQL database server, can be either @var{mariadb}
13962 For MySQL, a temporary root password will be displayed at activation time.
13963 For MariaDB, the root password is empty.
13965 @item @code{port} (default: @code{3306})
13966 TCP port on which the database server listens for incoming connections.
13970 @defvr {Scheme Variable} memcached-service-type
13971 This is the service type for the @uref{https://memcached.org/,
13972 Memcached} service, which provides a distributed in memory cache. The
13973 value for the service type is a @code{memcached-configuration} object.
13977 (service memcached-service-type)
13980 @deftp {Data Type} memcached-configuration
13981 Data type representing the configuration of memcached.
13984 @item @code{memcached} (default: @code{memcached})
13985 The Memcached package to use.
13987 @item @code{interfaces} (default: @code{'("0.0.0.0")})
13988 Network interfaces on which to listen.
13990 @item @code{tcp-port} (default: @code{11211})
13991 Port on which to accept connections on,
13993 @item @code{udp-port} (default: @code{11211})
13994 Port on which to accept UDP connections on, a value of 0 will disable
13995 listening on a UDP socket.
13997 @item @code{additional-options} (default: @code{'()})
13998 Additional command line options to pass to @code{memcached}.
14002 @defvr {Scheme Variable} mongodb-service-type
14003 This is the service type for @uref{https://www.mongodb.com/, MongoDB}.
14004 The value for the service type is a @code{mongodb-configuration} object.
14008 (service mongodb-service-type)
14011 @deftp {Data Type} mongodb-configuration
14012 Data type representing the configuration of mongodb.
14015 @item @code{mongodb} (default: @code{mongodb})
14016 The MongoDB package to use.
14018 @item @code{config-file} (default: @code{%default-mongodb-configuration-file})
14019 The configuration file for MongoDB.
14021 @item @code{data-directory} (default: @code{"/var/lib/mongodb"})
14022 This value is used to create the directory, so that it exists and is
14023 owned by the mongodb user. It should match the data-directory which
14024 MongoDB is configured to use through the configuration file.
14028 @defvr {Scheme Variable} redis-service-type
14029 This is the service type for the @uref{https://redis.io/, Redis}
14030 key/value store, whose value is a @code{redis-configuration} object.
14033 @deftp {Data Type} redis-configuration
14034 Data type representing the configuration of redis.
14037 @item @code{redis} (default: @code{redis})
14038 The Redis package to use.
14040 @item @code{bind} (default: @code{"127.0.0.1"})
14041 Network interface on which to listen.
14043 @item @code{port} (default: @code{6379})
14044 Port on which to accept connections on, a value of 0 will disable
14045 listening on a TCP socket.
14047 @item @code{working-directory} (default: @code{"/var/lib/redis"})
14048 Directory in which to store the database and related files.
14052 @node Mail Services
14053 @subsubsection Mail Services
14057 The @code{(gnu services mail)} module provides Guix service definitions
14058 for email services: IMAP, POP3, and LMTP servers, as well as mail
14059 transport agents (MTAs). Lots of acronyms! These services are detailed
14060 in the subsections below.
14062 @subsubheading Dovecot Service
14064 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dovecot-service [#:config (dovecot-configuration)]
14065 Return a service that runs the Dovecot IMAP/POP3/LMTP mail server.
14068 By default, Dovecot does not need much configuration; the default
14069 configuration object created by @code{(dovecot-configuration)} will
14070 suffice if your mail is delivered to @code{~/Maildir}. A self-signed
14071 certificate will be generated for TLS-protected connections, though
14072 Dovecot will also listen on cleartext ports by default. There are a
14073 number of options, though, which mail administrators might need to change,
14074 and as is the case with other services, Guix allows the system
14075 administrator to specify these parameters via a uniform Scheme interface.
14077 For example, to specify that mail is located at @code{maildir~/.mail},
14078 one would instantiate the Dovecot service like this:
14081 (dovecot-service #:config
14082 (dovecot-configuration
14083 (mail-location "maildir:~/.mail")))
14086 The available configuration parameters follow. Each parameter
14087 definition is preceded by its type; for example, @samp{string-list foo}
14088 indicates that the @code{foo} parameter should be specified as a list of
14089 strings. There is also a way to specify the configuration as a string,
14090 if you have an old @code{dovecot.conf} file that you want to port over
14091 from some other system; see the end for more details.
14093 @c The following documentation was initially generated by
14094 @c (generate-documentation) in (gnu services mail). Manually maintained
14095 @c documentation is better, so we shouldn't hesitate to edit below as
14096 @c needed. However if the change you want to make to this documentation
14097 @c can be done in an automated way, it's probably easier to change
14098 @c (generate-documentation) than to make it below and have to deal with
14099 @c the churn as dovecot updates.
14101 Available @code{dovecot-configuration} fields are:
14103 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} package dovecot
14104 The dovecot package.
14107 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} comma-separated-string-list listen
14108 A list of IPs or hosts where to listen for connections. @samp{*}
14109 listens on all IPv4 interfaces, @samp{::} listens on all IPv6
14110 interfaces. If you want to specify non-default ports or anything more
14111 complex, customize the address and port fields of the
14112 @samp{inet-listener} of the specific services you are interested in.
14115 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} protocol-configuration-list protocols
14116 List of protocols we want to serve. Available protocols include
14117 @samp{imap}, @samp{pop3}, and @samp{lmtp}.
14119 Available @code{protocol-configuration} fields are:
14121 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} string name
14122 The name of the protocol.
14125 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} string auth-socket-path
14126 UNIX socket path to the master authentication server to find users.
14127 This is used by imap (for shared users) and lda.
14128 It defaults to @samp{"/var/run/dovecot/auth-userdb"}.
14131 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mail-plugins
14132 Space separated list of plugins to load.
14135 @deftypevr {@code{protocol-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-max-userip-connections
14136 Maximum number of IMAP connections allowed for a user from each IP
14137 address. NOTE: The username is compared case-sensitively.
14138 Defaults to @samp{10}.
14143 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} service-configuration-list services
14144 List of services to enable. Available services include @samp{imap},
14145 @samp{imap-login}, @samp{pop3}, @samp{pop3-login}, @samp{auth}, and
14148 Available @code{service-configuration} fields are:
14150 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} string kind
14151 The service kind. Valid values include @code{director},
14152 @code{imap-login}, @code{pop3-login}, @code{lmtp}, @code{imap},
14153 @code{pop3}, @code{auth}, @code{auth-worker}, @code{dict},
14154 @code{tcpwrap}, @code{quota-warning}, or anything else.
14157 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} listener-configuration-list listeners
14158 Listeners for the service. A listener is either a
14159 @code{unix-listener-configuration}, a @code{fifo-listener-configuration}, or
14160 an @code{inet-listener-configuration}.
14161 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14163 Available @code{unix-listener-configuration} fields are:
14165 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} string path
14166 Path to the file, relative to @code{base-dir} field. This is also used as
14170 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} string mode
14171 The access mode for the socket.
14172 Defaults to @samp{"0600"}.
14175 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} string user
14176 The user to own the socket.
14177 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14180 @deftypevr {@code{unix-listener-configuration} parameter} string group
14181 The group to own the socket.
14182 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14186 Available @code{fifo-listener-configuration} fields are:
14188 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} string path
14189 Path to the file, relative to @code{base-dir} field. This is also used as
14193 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} string mode
14194 The access mode for the socket.
14195 Defaults to @samp{"0600"}.
14198 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} string user
14199 The user to own the socket.
14200 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14203 @deftypevr {@code{fifo-listener-configuration} parameter} string group
14204 The group to own the socket.
14205 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14209 Available @code{inet-listener-configuration} fields are:
14211 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} string protocol
14212 The protocol to listen for.
14215 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} string address
14216 The address on which to listen, or empty for all addresses.
14217 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14220 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer port
14221 The port on which to listen.
14224 @deftypevr {@code{inet-listener-configuration} parameter} boolean ssl?
14225 Whether to use SSL for this service; @samp{yes}, @samp{no}, or
14227 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
14232 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer service-count
14233 Number of connections to handle before starting a new process.
14234 Typically the only useful values are 0 (unlimited) or 1. 1 is more
14235 secure, but 0 is faster. <doc/wiki/LoginProcess.txt>.
14236 Defaults to @samp{1}.
14239 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer process-min-avail
14240 Number of processes to always keep waiting for more connections.
14241 Defaults to @samp{0}.
14244 @deftypevr {@code{service-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer vsz-limit
14245 If you set @samp{service-count 0}, you probably need to grow
14247 Defaults to @samp{256000000}.
14252 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} dict-configuration dict
14253 Dict configuration, as created by the @code{dict-configuration}
14256 Available @code{dict-configuration} fields are:
14258 @deftypevr {@code{dict-configuration} parameter} free-form-fields entries
14259 A list of key-value pairs that this dict should hold.
14260 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14265 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} passdb-configuration-list passdbs
14266 A list of passdb configurations, each one created by the
14267 @code{passdb-configuration} constructor.
14269 Available @code{passdb-configuration} fields are:
14271 @deftypevr {@code{passdb-configuration} parameter} string driver
14272 The driver that the passdb should use. Valid values include
14273 @samp{pam}, @samp{passwd}, @samp{shadow}, @samp{bsdauth}, and
14275 Defaults to @samp{"pam"}.
14278 @deftypevr {@code{passdb-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list args
14279 Space separated list of arguments to the passdb driver.
14280 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14285 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} userdb-configuration-list userdbs
14286 List of userdb configurations, each one created by the
14287 @code{userdb-configuration} constructor.
14289 Available @code{userdb-configuration} fields are:
14291 @deftypevr {@code{userdb-configuration} parameter} string driver
14292 The driver that the userdb should use. Valid values include
14293 @samp{passwd} and @samp{static}.
14294 Defaults to @samp{"passwd"}.
14297 @deftypevr {@code{userdb-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list args
14298 Space separated list of arguments to the userdb driver.
14299 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14302 @deftypevr {@code{userdb-configuration} parameter} free-form-args override-fields
14303 Override fields from passwd.
14304 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14309 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} plugin-configuration plugin-configuration
14310 Plug-in configuration, created by the @code{plugin-configuration}
14314 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} list-of-namespace-configuration namespaces
14315 List of namespaces. Each item in the list is created by the
14316 @code{namespace-configuration} constructor.
14318 Available @code{namespace-configuration} fields are:
14320 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string name
14321 Name for this namespace.
14324 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string type
14325 Namespace type: @samp{private}, @samp{shared} or @samp{public}.
14326 Defaults to @samp{"private"}.
14329 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string separator
14330 Hierarchy separator to use. You should use the same separator for
14331 all namespaces or some clients get confused. @samp{/} is usually a good
14332 one. The default however depends on the underlying mail storage
14334 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14337 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string prefix
14338 Prefix required to access this namespace. This needs to be
14339 different for all namespaces. For example @samp{Public/}.
14340 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14343 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} string location
14344 Physical location of the mailbox. This is in the same format as
14345 mail_location, which is also the default for it.
14346 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14349 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean inbox?
14350 There can be only one INBOX, and this setting defines which
14352 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14355 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean hidden?
14356 If namespace is hidden, it's not advertised to clients via NAMESPACE
14357 extension. You'll most likely also want to set @samp{list? #f}. This is mostly
14358 useful when converting from another server with different namespaces
14359 which you want to deprecate but still keep working. For example you can
14360 create hidden namespaces with prefixes @samp{~/mail/}, @samp{~%u/mail/}
14362 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14365 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean list?
14366 Show the mailboxes under this namespace with the LIST command. This
14367 makes the namespace visible for clients that do not support the NAMESPACE
14368 extension. The special @code{children} value lists child mailboxes, but
14369 hides the namespace prefix.
14370 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
14373 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} boolean subscriptions?
14374 Namespace handles its own subscriptions. If set to @code{#f}, the
14375 parent namespace handles them. The empty prefix should always have this
14377 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
14380 @deftypevr {@code{namespace-configuration} parameter} mailbox-configuration-list mailboxes
14381 List of predefined mailboxes in this namespace.
14382 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14384 Available @code{mailbox-configuration} fields are:
14386 @deftypevr {@code{mailbox-configuration} parameter} string name
14387 Name for this mailbox.
14390 @deftypevr {@code{mailbox-configuration} parameter} string auto
14391 @samp{create} will automatically create this mailbox.
14392 @samp{subscribe} will both create and subscribe to the mailbox.
14393 Defaults to @samp{"no"}.
14396 @deftypevr {@code{mailbox-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list special-use
14397 List of IMAP @code{SPECIAL-USE} attributes as specified by RFC 6154.
14398 Valid values are @code{\All}, @code{\Archive}, @code{\Drafts},
14399 @code{\Flagged}, @code{\Junk}, @code{\Sent}, and @code{\Trash}.
14400 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14407 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name base-dir
14408 Base directory where to store runtime data.
14409 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/dovecot/"}.
14412 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string login-greeting
14413 Greeting message for clients.
14414 Defaults to @samp{"Dovecot ready."}.
14417 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list login-trusted-networks
14418 List of trusted network ranges. Connections from these IPs are
14419 allowed to override their IP addresses and ports (for logging and for
14420 authentication checks). @samp{disable-plaintext-auth} is also ignored
14421 for these networks. Typically you would specify your IMAP proxy servers
14423 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14426 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list login-access-sockets
14427 List of login access check sockets (e.g. tcpwrap).
14428 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14431 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean verbose-proctitle?
14432 Show more verbose process titles (in ps). Currently shows user name
14433 and IP address. Useful for seeing who is actually using the IMAP
14434 processes (e.g. shared mailboxes or if the same uid is used for multiple
14436 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14439 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean shutdown-clients?
14440 Should all processes be killed when Dovecot master process shuts down.
14441 Setting this to @code{#f} means that Dovecot can be upgraded without
14442 forcing existing client connections to close (although that could also
14443 be a problem if the upgrade is e.g. due to a security fix).
14444 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
14447 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer doveadm-worker-count
14448 If non-zero, run mail commands via this many connections to doveadm
14449 server, instead of running them directly in the same process.
14450 Defaults to @samp{0}.
14453 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string doveadm-socket-path
14454 UNIX socket or host:port used for connecting to doveadm server.
14455 Defaults to @samp{"doveadm-server"}.
14458 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list import-environment
14459 List of environment variables that are preserved on Dovecot startup
14460 and passed down to all of its child processes. You can also give
14461 key=value pairs to always set specific settings.
14464 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean disable-plaintext-auth?
14465 Disable LOGIN command and all other plaintext authentications unless
14466 SSL/TLS is used (LOGINDISABLED capability). Note that if the remote IP
14467 matches the local IP (i.e. you're connecting from the same computer),
14468 the connection is considered secure and plaintext authentication is
14469 allowed. See also ssl=required setting.
14470 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
14473 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer auth-cache-size
14474 Authentication cache size (e.g. @samp{#e10e6}). 0 means it's disabled.
14475 Note that bsdauth, PAM and vpopmail require @samp{cache-key} to be set
14476 for caching to be used.
14477 Defaults to @samp{0}.
14480 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-cache-ttl
14481 Time to live for cached data. After TTL expires the cached record
14482 is no longer used, *except* if the main database lookup returns internal
14483 failure. We also try to handle password changes automatically: If
14484 user's previous authentication was successful, but this one wasn't, the
14485 cache isn't used. For now this works only with plaintext
14487 Defaults to @samp{"1 hour"}.
14490 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-cache-negative-ttl
14491 TTL for negative hits (user not found, password mismatch).
14492 0 disables caching them completely.
14493 Defaults to @samp{"1 hour"}.
14496 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list auth-realms
14497 List of realms for SASL authentication mechanisms that need them.
14498 You can leave it empty if you don't want to support multiple realms.
14499 Many clients simply use the first one listed here, so keep the default
14501 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14504 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-default-realm
14505 Default realm/domain to use if none was specified. This is used for
14506 both SASL realms and appending @@domain to username in plaintext
14508 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14511 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-username-chars
14512 List of allowed characters in username. If the user-given username
14513 contains a character not listed in here, the login automatically fails.
14514 This is just an extra check to make sure user can't exploit any
14515 potential quote escaping vulnerabilities with SQL/LDAP databases. If
14516 you want to allow all characters, set this value to empty.
14517 Defaults to @samp{"abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ01234567890.-_@@"}.
14520 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-username-translation
14521 Username character translations before it's looked up from
14522 databases. The value contains series of from -> to characters. For
14523 example @samp{#@@/@@} means that @samp{#} and @samp{/} characters are
14524 translated to @samp{@@}.
14525 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14528 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-username-format
14529 Username formatting before it's looked up from databases. You can
14530 use the standard variables here, e.g. %Lu would lowercase the username,
14531 %n would drop away the domain if it was given, or @samp{%n-AT-%d} would
14532 change the @samp{@@} into @samp{-AT-}. This translation is done after
14533 @samp{auth-username-translation} changes.
14534 Defaults to @samp{"%Lu"}.
14537 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-master-user-separator
14538 If you want to allow master users to log in by specifying the master
14539 username within the normal username string (i.e. not using SASL
14540 mechanism's support for it), you can specify the separator character
14541 here. The format is then <username><separator><master username>.
14542 UW-IMAP uses @samp{*} as the separator, so that could be a good
14544 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14547 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-anonymous-username
14548 Username to use for users logging in with ANONYMOUS SASL
14550 Defaults to @samp{"anonymous"}.
14553 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer auth-worker-max-count
14554 Maximum number of dovecot-auth worker processes. They're used to
14555 execute blocking passdb and userdb queries (e.g. MySQL and PAM).
14556 They're automatically created and destroyed as needed.
14557 Defaults to @samp{30}.
14560 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-gssapi-hostname
14561 Host name to use in GSSAPI principal names. The default is to use
14562 the name returned by gethostname(). Use @samp{$ALL} (with quotes) to
14563 allow all keytab entries.
14564 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14567 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-krb5-keytab
14568 Kerberos keytab to use for the GSSAPI mechanism. Will use the
14569 system default (usually @file{/etc/krb5.keytab}) if not specified. You may
14570 need to change the auth service to run as root to be able to read this
14572 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14575 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-use-winbind?
14576 Do NTLM and GSS-SPNEGO authentication using Samba's winbind daemon
14577 and @samp{ntlm-auth} helper.
14578 <doc/wiki/Authentication/Mechanisms/Winbind.txt>.
14579 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14582 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name auth-winbind-helper-path
14583 Path for Samba's @samp{ntlm-auth} helper binary.
14584 Defaults to @samp{"/usr/bin/ntlm_auth"}.
14587 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string auth-failure-delay
14588 Time to delay before replying to failed authentications.
14589 Defaults to @samp{"2 secs"}.
14592 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-ssl-require-client-cert?
14593 Require a valid SSL client certificate or the authentication
14595 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14598 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-ssl-username-from-cert?
14599 Take the username from client's SSL certificate, using
14600 @code{X509_NAME_get_text_by_NID()} which returns the subject's DN's
14602 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14605 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list auth-mechanisms
14606 List of wanted authentication mechanisms. Supported mechanisms are:
14607 @samp{plain}, @samp{login}, @samp{digest-md5}, @samp{cram-md5},
14608 @samp{ntlm}, @samp{rpa}, @samp{apop}, @samp{anonymous}, @samp{gssapi},
14609 @samp{otp}, @samp{skey}, and @samp{gss-spnego}. NOTE: See also
14610 @samp{disable-plaintext-auth} setting.
14613 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list director-servers
14614 List of IPs or hostnames to all director servers, including ourself.
14615 Ports can be specified as ip:port. The default port is the same as what
14616 director service's @samp{inet-listener} is using.
14617 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14620 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list director-mail-servers
14621 List of IPs or hostnames to all backend mail servers. Ranges are
14622 allowed too, like 10.0.0.10-10.0.0.30.
14623 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14626 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string director-user-expire
14627 How long to redirect users to a specific server after it no longer
14628 has any connections.
14629 Defaults to @samp{"15 min"}.
14632 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string director-username-hash
14633 How the username is translated before being hashed. Useful values
14634 include %Ln if user can log in with or without @@domain, %Ld if mailboxes
14635 are shared within domain.
14636 Defaults to @samp{"%Lu"}.
14639 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string log-path
14640 Log file to use for error messages. @samp{syslog} logs to syslog,
14641 @samp{/dev/stderr} logs to stderr.
14642 Defaults to @samp{"syslog"}.
14645 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string info-log-path
14646 Log file to use for informational messages. Defaults to
14648 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14651 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string debug-log-path
14652 Log file to use for debug messages. Defaults to
14653 @samp{info-log-path}.
14654 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14657 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string syslog-facility
14658 Syslog facility to use if you're logging to syslog. Usually if you
14659 don't want to use @samp{mail}, you'll use local0..local7. Also other
14660 standard facilities are supported.
14661 Defaults to @samp{"mail"}.
14664 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-verbose?
14665 Log unsuccessful authentication attempts and the reasons why they
14667 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14670 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-verbose-passwords?
14671 In case of password mismatches, log the attempted password. Valid
14672 values are no, plain and sha1. sha1 can be useful for detecting brute
14673 force password attempts vs. user simply trying the same password over
14674 and over again. You can also truncate the value to n chars by appending
14675 ":n" (e.g. sha1:6).
14676 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14679 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-debug?
14680 Even more verbose logging for debugging purposes. Shows for example
14682 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14685 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean auth-debug-passwords?
14686 In case of password mismatches, log the passwords and used scheme so
14687 the problem can be debugged. Enabling this also enables
14689 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14692 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-debug?
14693 Enable mail process debugging. This can help you figure out why
14694 Dovecot isn't finding your mails.
14695 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14698 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean verbose-ssl?
14699 Show protocol level SSL errors.
14700 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14703 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string log-timestamp
14704 Prefix for each line written to log file. % codes are in
14705 strftime(3) format.
14706 Defaults to @samp{"\"%b %d %H:%M:%S \""}.
14709 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list login-log-format-elements
14710 List of elements we want to log. The elements which have a
14711 non-empty variable value are joined together to form a comma-separated
14715 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string login-log-format
14716 Login log format. %s contains @samp{login-log-format-elements}
14717 string, %$ contains the data we want to log.
14718 Defaults to @samp{"%$: %s"}.
14721 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-log-prefix
14722 Log prefix for mail processes. See doc/wiki/Variables.txt for list
14723 of possible variables you can use.
14724 Defaults to @samp{"\"%s(%u)<%@{pid@}><%@{session@}>: \""}.
14727 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string deliver-log-format
14728 Format to use for logging mail deliveries. You can use variables:
14731 Delivery status message (e.g. @samp{saved to INBOX})
14743 Defaults to @samp{"msgid=%m: %$"}.
14746 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-location
14747 Location for users' mailboxes. The default is empty, which means
14748 that Dovecot tries to find the mailboxes automatically. This won't work
14749 if the user doesn't yet have any mail, so you should explicitly tell
14750 Dovecot the full location.
14752 If you're using mbox, giving a path to the INBOX
14753 file (e.g. /var/mail/%u) isn't enough. You'll also need to tell Dovecot
14754 where the other mailboxes are kept. This is called the "root mail
14755 directory", and it must be the first path given in the
14756 @samp{mail-location} setting.
14758 There are a few special variables you can use, eg.:
14764 user part in user@@domain, same as %u if there's no domain
14766 domain part in user@@domain, empty if there's no domain
14771 See doc/wiki/Variables.txt for full list. Some examples:
14773 @item maildir:~/Maildir
14774 @item mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/mail/%u
14775 @item mbox:/var/mail/%d/%1n/%n:INDEX=/var/indexes/%d/%1n/%
14777 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14780 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-uid
14781 System user and group used to access mails. If you use multiple,
14782 userdb can override these by returning uid or gid fields. You can use
14783 either numbers or names. <doc/wiki/UserIds.txt>.
14784 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14787 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-gid
14789 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14792 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-privileged-group
14793 Group to enable temporarily for privileged operations. Currently
14794 this is used only with INBOX when either its initial creation or
14795 dotlocking fails. Typically this is set to "mail" to give access to
14797 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14800 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-access-groups
14801 Grant access to these supplementary groups for mail processes.
14802 Typically these are used to set up access to shared mailboxes. Note
14803 that it may be dangerous to set these if users can create
14804 symlinks (e.g. if "mail" group is set here, ln -s /var/mail ~/mail/var
14805 could allow a user to delete others' mailboxes, or ln -s
14806 /secret/shared/box ~/mail/mybox would allow reading it).
14807 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14810 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-full-filesystem-access?
14811 Allow full file system access to clients. There's no access checks
14812 other than what the operating system does for the active UID/GID. It
14813 works with both maildir and mboxes, allowing you to prefix mailboxes
14814 names with e.g. /path/ or ~user/.
14815 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14818 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mmap-disable?
14819 Don't use mmap() at all. This is required if you store indexes to
14820 shared file systems (NFS or clustered file system).
14821 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14824 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean dotlock-use-excl?
14825 Rely on @samp{O_EXCL} to work when creating dotlock files. NFS
14826 supports @samp{O_EXCL} since version 3, so this should be safe to use
14827 nowadays by default.
14828 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
14831 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-fsync
14832 When to use fsync() or fdatasync() calls:
14835 Whenever necessary to avoid losing important data
14837 Useful with e.g. NFS when write()s are delayed
14839 Never use it (best performance, but crashes can lose data).
14841 Defaults to @samp{"optimized"}.
14844 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-nfs-storage?
14845 Mail storage exists in NFS. Set this to yes to make Dovecot flush
14846 NFS caches whenever needed. If you're using only a single mail server
14848 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14851 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-nfs-index?
14852 Mail index files also exist in NFS. Setting this to yes requires
14853 @samp{mmap-disable? #t} and @samp{fsync-disable? #f}.
14854 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14857 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string lock-method
14858 Locking method for index files. Alternatives are fcntl, flock and
14859 dotlock. Dotlocking uses some tricks which may create more disk I/O
14860 than other locking methods. NFS users: flock doesn't work, remember to
14861 change @samp{mmap-disable}.
14862 Defaults to @samp{"fcntl"}.
14865 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name mail-temp-dir
14866 Directory in which LDA/LMTP temporarily stores incoming mails >128
14868 Defaults to @samp{"/tmp"}.
14871 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer first-valid-uid
14872 Valid UID range for users. This is mostly to make sure that users can't
14873 log in as daemons or other system users. Note that denying root logins is
14874 hardcoded to dovecot binary and can't be done even if @samp{first-valid-uid}
14876 Defaults to @samp{500}.
14879 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer last-valid-uid
14881 Defaults to @samp{0}.
14884 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer first-valid-gid
14885 Valid GID range for users. Users having non-valid GID as primary group ID
14886 aren't allowed to log in. If user belongs to supplementary groups with
14887 non-valid GIDs, those groups are not set.
14888 Defaults to @samp{1}.
14891 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer last-valid-gid
14893 Defaults to @samp{0}.
14896 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-max-keyword-length
14897 Maximum allowed length for mail keyword name. It's only forced when
14898 trying to create new keywords.
14899 Defaults to @samp{50}.
14902 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} colon-separated-file-name-list valid-chroot-dirs
14903 List of directories under which chrooting is allowed for mail
14904 processes (i.e. /var/mail will allow chrooting to /var/mail/foo/bar
14905 too). This setting doesn't affect @samp{login-chroot}
14906 @samp{mail-chroot} or auth chroot settings. If this setting is empty,
14907 "/./" in home dirs are ignored. WARNING: Never add directories here
14908 which local users can modify, that may lead to root exploit. Usually
14909 this should be done only if you don't allow shell access for users.
14910 <doc/wiki/Chrooting.txt>.
14911 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14914 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-chroot
14915 Default chroot directory for mail processes. This can be overridden
14916 for specific users in user database by giving /./ in user's home
14917 directory (e.g. /home/./user chroots into /home). Note that usually
14918 there is no real need to do chrooting, Dovecot doesn't allow users to
14919 access files outside their mail directory anyway. If your home
14920 directories are prefixed with the chroot directory, append "/." to
14921 @samp{mail-chroot}. <doc/wiki/Chrooting.txt>.
14922 Defaults to @samp{""}.
14925 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name auth-socket-path
14926 UNIX socket path to master authentication server to find users.
14927 This is used by imap (for shared users) and lda.
14928 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/dovecot/auth-userdb"}.
14931 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name mail-plugin-dir
14932 Directory where to look up mail plugins.
14933 Defaults to @samp{"/usr/lib/dovecot"}.
14936 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mail-plugins
14937 List of plugins to load for all services. Plugins specific to IMAP,
14938 LDA, etc. are added to this list in their own .conf files.
14939 Defaults to @samp{()}.
14942 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-cache-min-mail-count
14943 The minimum number of mails in a mailbox before updates are done to
14944 cache file. This allows optimizing Dovecot's behavior to do less disk
14945 writes at the cost of more disk reads.
14946 Defaults to @samp{0}.
14949 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mailbox-idle-check-interval
14950 When IDLE command is running, mailbox is checked once in a while to
14951 see if there are any new mails or other changes. This setting defines
14952 the minimum time to wait between those checks. Dovecot can also use
14953 dnotify, inotify and kqueue to find out immediately when changes
14955 Defaults to @samp{"30 secs"}.
14958 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mail-save-crlf?
14959 Save mails with CR+LF instead of plain LF. This makes sending those
14960 mails take less CPU, especially with sendfile() syscall with Linux and
14961 FreeBSD. But it also creates a bit more disk I/O which may just make it
14962 slower. Also note that if other software reads the mboxes/maildirs,
14963 they may handle the extra CRs wrong and cause problems.
14964 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14967 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean maildir-stat-dirs?
14968 By default LIST command returns all entries in maildir beginning
14969 with a dot. Enabling this option makes Dovecot return only entries
14970 which are directories. This is done by stat()ing each entry, so it
14971 causes more disk I/O.
14972 (For systems setting struct @samp{dirent->d_type} this check is free
14973 and it's done always regardless of this setting).
14974 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14977 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean maildir-copy-with-hardlinks?
14978 When copying a message, do it with hard links whenever possible.
14979 This makes the performance much better, and it's unlikely to have any
14981 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
14984 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean maildir-very-dirty-syncs?
14985 Assume Dovecot is the only MUA accessing Maildir: Scan cur/
14986 directory only when its mtime changes unexpectedly or when we can't find
14987 the mail otherwise.
14988 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
14991 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mbox-read-locks
14992 Which locking methods to use for locking mbox. There are four
14997 Create <mailbox>.lock file. This is the oldest and most NFS-safe
14998 solution. If you want to use /var/mail/ like directory, the users will
14999 need write access to that directory.
15001 Same as dotlock, but if it fails because of permissions or because there
15002 isn't enough disk space, just skip it.
15004 Use this if possible. Works with NFS too if lockd is used.
15006 May not exist in all systems. Doesn't work with NFS.
15008 May not exist in all systems. Doesn't work with NFS.
15011 You can use multiple locking methods; if you do the order they're declared
15012 in is important to avoid deadlocks if other MTAs/MUAs are using multiple
15013 locking methods as well. Some operating systems don't allow using some of
15014 them simultaneously.
15017 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list mbox-write-locks
15021 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mbox-lock-timeout
15022 Maximum time to wait for lock (all of them) before aborting.
15023 Defaults to @samp{"5 mins"}.
15026 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mbox-dotlock-change-timeout
15027 If dotlock exists but the mailbox isn't modified in any way,
15028 override the lock file after this much time.
15029 Defaults to @samp{"2 mins"}.
15032 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mbox-dirty-syncs?
15033 When mbox changes unexpectedly we have to fully read it to find out
15034 what changed. If the mbox is large this can take a long time. Since
15035 the change is usually just a newly appended mail, it'd be faster to
15036 simply read the new mails. If this setting is enabled, Dovecot does
15037 this but still safely fallbacks to re-reading the whole mbox file
15038 whenever something in mbox isn't how it's expected to be. The only real
15039 downside to this setting is that if some other MUA changes message
15040 flags, Dovecot doesn't notice it immediately. Note that a full sync is
15041 done with SELECT, EXAMINE, EXPUNGE and CHECK commands.
15042 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
15045 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mbox-very-dirty-syncs?
15046 Like @samp{mbox-dirty-syncs}, but don't do full syncs even with SELECT,
15047 EXAMINE, EXPUNGE or CHECK commands. If this is set,
15048 @samp{mbox-dirty-syncs} is ignored.
15049 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15052 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mbox-lazy-writes?
15053 Delay writing mbox headers until doing a full write sync (EXPUNGE
15054 and CHECK commands and when closing the mailbox). This is especially
15055 useful for POP3 where clients often delete all mails. The downside is
15056 that our changes aren't immediately visible to other MUAs.
15057 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
15060 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mbox-min-index-size
15061 If mbox size is smaller than this (e.g. 100k), don't write index
15062 files. If an index file already exists it's still read, just not
15064 Defaults to @samp{0}.
15067 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mdbox-rotate-size
15068 Maximum dbox file size until it's rotated.
15069 Defaults to @samp{10000000}.
15072 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mdbox-rotate-interval
15073 Maximum dbox file age until it's rotated. Typically in days. Day
15074 begins from midnight, so 1d = today, 2d = yesterday, etc. 0 = check
15076 Defaults to @samp{"1d"}.
15079 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean mdbox-preallocate-space?
15080 When creating new mdbox files, immediately preallocate their size to
15081 @samp{mdbox-rotate-size}. This setting currently works only in Linux
15082 with some file systems (ext4, xfs).
15083 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15086 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-attachment-dir
15087 sdbox and mdbox support saving mail attachments to external files,
15088 which also allows single instance storage for them. Other backends
15089 don't support this for now.
15091 WARNING: This feature hasn't been tested much yet. Use at your own risk.
15093 Directory root where to store mail attachments. Disabled, if empty.
15094 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15097 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer mail-attachment-min-size
15098 Attachments smaller than this aren't saved externally. It's also
15099 possible to write a plugin to disable saving specific attachments
15101 Defaults to @samp{128000}.
15104 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-attachment-fs
15105 File system backend to use for saving attachments:
15108 No SiS done by Dovecot (but this might help FS's own deduplication)
15110 SiS with immediate byte-by-byte comparison during saving
15111 @item sis-queue posix
15112 SiS with delayed comparison and deduplication.
15114 Defaults to @samp{"sis posix"}.
15117 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string mail-attachment-hash
15118 Hash format to use in attachment filenames. You can add any text and
15119 variables: @code{%@{md4@}}, @code{%@{md5@}}, @code{%@{sha1@}},
15120 @code{%@{sha256@}}, @code{%@{sha512@}}, @code{%@{size@}}. Variables can be
15121 truncated, e.g. @code{%@{sha256:80@}} returns only first 80 bits.
15122 Defaults to @samp{"%@{sha1@}"}.
15125 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer default-process-limit
15127 Defaults to @samp{100}.
15130 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer default-client-limit
15132 Defaults to @samp{1000}.
15135 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer default-vsz-limit
15136 Default VSZ (virtual memory size) limit for service processes.
15137 This is mainly intended to catch and kill processes that leak memory
15138 before they eat up everything.
15139 Defaults to @samp{256000000}.
15142 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string default-login-user
15143 Login user is internally used by login processes. This is the most
15144 untrusted user in Dovecot system. It shouldn't have access to anything
15146 Defaults to @samp{"dovenull"}.
15149 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string default-internal-user
15150 Internal user is used by unprivileged processes. It should be
15151 separate from login user, so that login processes can't disturb other
15153 Defaults to @samp{"dovecot"}.
15156 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl?
15157 SSL/TLS support: yes, no, required. <doc/wiki/SSL.txt>.
15158 Defaults to @samp{"required"}.
15161 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-cert
15162 PEM encoded X.509 SSL/TLS certificate (public key).
15163 Defaults to @samp{"</etc/dovecot/default.pem"}.
15166 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-key
15167 PEM encoded SSL/TLS private key. The key is opened before
15168 dropping root privileges, so keep the key file unreadable by anyone but
15170 Defaults to @samp{"</etc/dovecot/private/default.pem"}.
15173 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-key-password
15174 If key file is password protected, give the password here.
15175 Alternatively give it when starting dovecot with -p parameter. Since
15176 this file is often world-readable, you may want to place this setting
15177 instead to a different.
15178 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15181 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-ca
15182 PEM encoded trusted certificate authority. Set this only if you
15183 intend to use @samp{ssl-verify-client-cert? #t}. The file should
15184 contain the CA certificate(s) followed by the matching
15185 CRL(s). (e.g. @samp{ssl-ca </etc/ssl/certs/ca.pem}).
15186 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15189 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean ssl-require-crl?
15190 Require that CRL check succeeds for client certificates.
15191 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
15194 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean ssl-verify-client-cert?
15195 Request client to send a certificate. If you also want to require
15196 it, set @samp{auth-ssl-require-client-cert? #t} in auth section.
15197 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15200 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-cert-username-field
15201 Which field from certificate to use for username. commonName and
15202 x500UniqueIdentifier are the usual choices. You'll also need to set
15203 @samp{auth-ssl-username-from-cert? #t}.
15204 Defaults to @samp{"commonName"}.
15207 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-min-protocol
15208 Minimum SSL protocol version to accept.
15209 Defaults to @samp{"TLSv1"}.
15212 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-cipher-list
15213 SSL ciphers to use.
15214 Defaults to @samp{"ALL:!kRSA:!SRP:!kDHd:!DSS:!aNULL:!eNULL:!EXPORT:!DES:!3DES:!MD5:!PSK:!RC4:!ADH:!LOW@@STRENGTH"}.
15217 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string ssl-crypto-device
15218 SSL crypto device to use, for valid values run "openssl engine".
15219 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15222 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string postmaster-address
15223 Address to use when sending rejection mails.
15224 %d expands to recipient domain.
15225 Defaults to @samp{"postmaster@@%d"}.
15228 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string hostname
15229 Hostname to use in various parts of sent mails (e.g. in Message-Id)
15230 and in LMTP replies. Default is the system's real hostname@@domain.
15231 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15234 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean quota-full-tempfail?
15235 If user is over quota, return with temporary failure instead of
15237 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15240 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} file-name sendmail-path
15241 Binary to use for sending mails.
15242 Defaults to @samp{"/usr/sbin/sendmail"}.
15245 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string submission-host
15246 If non-empty, send mails via this SMTP host[:port] instead of
15248 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15251 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string rejection-subject
15252 Subject: header to use for rejection mails. You can use the same
15253 variables as for @samp{rejection-reason} below.
15254 Defaults to @samp{"Rejected: %s"}.
15257 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string rejection-reason
15258 Human readable error message for rejection mails. You can use
15271 Defaults to @samp{"Your message to <%t> was automatically rejected:%n%r"}.
15274 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string recipient-delimiter
15275 Delimiter character between local-part and detail in email
15277 Defaults to @samp{"+"}.
15280 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string lda-original-recipient-header
15281 Header where the original recipient address (SMTP's RCPT TO:
15282 address) is taken from if not available elsewhere. With dovecot-lda -a
15283 parameter overrides this. A commonly used header for this is
15285 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15288 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean lda-mailbox-autocreate?
15289 Should saving a mail to a nonexistent mailbox automatically create
15291 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15294 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} boolean lda-mailbox-autosubscribe?
15295 Should automatically created mailboxes be also automatically
15297 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15300 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer imap-max-line-length
15301 Maximum IMAP command line length. Some clients generate very long
15302 command lines with huge mailboxes, so you may need to raise this if you
15303 get "Too long argument" or "IMAP command line too large" errors
15305 Defaults to @samp{64000}.
15308 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-logout-format
15309 IMAP logout format string:
15312 total number of bytes read from client
15314 total number of bytes sent to client.
15316 See @file{doc/wiki/Variables.txt} for a list of all the variables you can use.
15317 Defaults to @samp{"in=%i out=%o deleted=%@{deleted@} expunged=%@{expunged@} trashed=%@{trashed@} hdr_count=%@{fetch_hdr_count@} hdr_bytes=%@{fetch_hdr_bytes@} body_count=%@{fetch_body_count@} body_bytes=%@{fetch_body_bytes@}"}.
15320 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-capability
15321 Override the IMAP CAPABILITY response. If the value begins with '+',
15322 add the given capabilities on top of the defaults (e.g. +XFOO XBAR).
15323 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15326 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-idle-notify-interval
15327 How long to wait between "OK Still here" notifications when client
15329 Defaults to @samp{"2 mins"}.
15332 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-id-send
15333 ID field names and values to send to clients. Using * as the value
15334 makes Dovecot use the default value. The following fields have default
15335 values currently: name, version, os, os-version, support-url,
15337 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15340 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-id-log
15341 ID fields sent by client to log. * means everything.
15342 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15345 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list imap-client-workarounds
15346 Workarounds for various client bugs:
15349 @item delay-newmail
15350 Send EXISTS/RECENT new mail notifications only when replying to NOOP and
15351 CHECK commands. Some clients ignore them otherwise, for example OSX
15352 Mail (<v2.1). Outlook Express breaks more badly though, without this it
15353 may show user "Message no longer in server" errors. Note that OE6
15354 still breaks even with this workaround if synchronization is set to
15357 @item tb-extra-mailbox-sep
15358 Thunderbird gets somehow confused with LAYOUT=fs (mbox and dbox) and
15359 adds extra @samp{/} suffixes to mailbox names. This option causes Dovecot to
15360 ignore the extra @samp{/} instead of treating it as invalid mailbox name.
15362 @item tb-lsub-flags
15363 Show \Noselect flags for LSUB replies with LAYOUT=fs (e.g. mbox).
15364 This makes Thunderbird realize they aren't selectable and show them
15365 greyed out, instead of only later giving "not selectable" popup error.
15367 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15370 @deftypevr {@code{dovecot-configuration} parameter} string imap-urlauth-host
15371 Host allowed in URLAUTH URLs sent by client. "*" allows all.
15372 Defaults to @samp{""}.
15376 Whew! Lots of configuration options. The nice thing about it though is
15377 that GuixSD has a complete interface to Dovecot's configuration
15378 language. This allows not only a nice way to declare configurations,
15379 but also offers reflective capabilities as well: users can write code to
15380 inspect and transform configurations from within Scheme.
15382 However, it could be that you just want to get a @code{dovecot.conf} up
15383 and running. In that case, you can pass an
15384 @code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} as the @code{#:config} parameter to
15385 @code{dovecot-service}. As its name indicates, an opaque configuration
15386 does not have easy reflective capabilities.
15388 Available @code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} fields are:
15390 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} parameter} package dovecot
15391 The dovecot package.
15394 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-dovecot-configuration} parameter} string string
15395 The contents of the @code{dovecot.conf}, as a string.
15398 For example, if your @code{dovecot.conf} is just the empty string, you
15399 could instantiate a dovecot service like this:
15402 (dovecot-service #:config
15403 (opaque-dovecot-configuration
15407 @subsubheading OpenSMTPD Service
15409 @deffn {Scheme Variable} opensmtpd-service-type
15410 This is the type of the @uref{https://www.opensmtpd.org, OpenSMTPD}
15411 service, whose value should be an @code{opensmtpd-configuration} object
15412 as in this example:
15415 (service opensmtpd-service-type
15416 (opensmtpd-configuration
15417 (config-file (local-file "./my-smtpd.conf"))))
15421 @deftp {Data Type} opensmtpd-configuration
15422 Data type representing the configuration of opensmtpd.
15425 @item @code{package} (default: @var{opensmtpd})
15426 Package object of the OpenSMTPD SMTP server.
15428 @item @code{config-file} (default: @var{%default-opensmtpd-file})
15429 File-like object of the OpenSMTPD configuration file to use. By default
15430 it listens on the loopback network interface, and allows for mail from
15431 users and daemons on the local machine, as well as permitting email to
15432 remote servers. Run @command{man smtpd.conf} for more information.
15437 @subsubheading Exim Service
15439 @cindex mail transfer agent (MTA)
15440 @cindex MTA (mail transfer agent)
15443 @deffn {Scheme Variable} exim-service-type
15444 This is the type of the @uref{https://exim.org, Exim} mail transfer
15445 agent (MTA), whose value should be an @code{exim-configuration} object
15446 as in this example:
15449 (service exim-service-type
15450 (exim-configuration
15451 (config-file (local-file "./my-exim.conf"))))
15455 In order to use an @code{exim-service-type} service you must also have a
15456 @code{mail-aliases-service-type} service present in your
15457 @code{operating-system} (even if it has no aliases).
15459 @deftp {Data Type} exim-configuration
15460 Data type representing the configuration of exim.
15463 @item @code{package} (default: @var{exim})
15464 Package object of the Exim server.
15466 @item @code{config-file} (default: @code{#f})
15467 File-like object of the Exim configuration file to use. If its value is
15468 @code{#f} then use the default configuration file from the package
15469 provided in @code{package}. The resulting configuration file is loaded
15470 after setting the @code{exim_user} and @code{exim_group} configuration
15476 @subsubheading Mail Aliases Service
15478 @cindex email aliases
15479 @cindex aliases, for email addresses
15481 @deffn {Scheme Variable} mail-aliases-service-type
15482 This is the type of the service which provides @code{/etc/aliases},
15483 specifying how to deliver mail to users on this system.
15486 (service mail-aliases-service-type
15487 '(("postmaster" "bob")
15488 ("bob" "bob@@example.com" "bob@@example2.com")))
15492 The configuration for a @code{mail-aliases-service-type} service is an
15493 association list denoting how to deliver mail that comes to this
15494 system. Each entry is of the form @code{(alias addresses ...)}, with
15495 @code{alias} specifying the local alias and @code{addresses} specifying
15496 where to deliver this user's mail.
15498 The aliases aren't required to exist as users on the local system. In
15499 the above example, there doesn't need to be a @code{postmaster} entry in
15500 the @code{operating-system}'s @code{user-accounts} in order to deliver
15501 the @code{postmaster} mail to @code{bob} (which subsequently would
15502 deliver mail to @code{bob@@example.com} and @code{bob@@example2.com}).
15504 @node Messaging Services
15505 @subsubsection Messaging Services
15510 The @code{(gnu services messaging)} module provides Guix service
15511 definitions for messaging services: currently only Prosody is supported.
15513 @subsubheading Prosody Service
15515 @deffn {Scheme Variable} prosody-service-type
15516 This is the type for the @uref{https://prosody.im, Prosody XMPP
15517 communication server}. Its value must be a @code{prosody-configuration}
15518 record as in this example:
15521 (service prosody-service-type
15522 (prosody-configuration
15523 (modules-enabled (cons "groups" "mam" %default-modules-enabled))
15526 (int-component-configuration
15527 (hostname "conference.example.net")
15529 (mod-muc (mod-muc-configuration)))))
15532 (virtualhost-configuration
15533 (domain "example.net"))))))
15536 See below for details about @code{prosody-configuration}.
15540 By default, Prosody does not need much configuration. Only one
15541 @code{virtualhosts} field is needed: it specifies the domain you wish
15544 You can perform various sanity checks on the generated configuration
15545 with the @code{prosodyctl check} command.
15547 Prosodyctl will also help you to import certificates from the
15548 @code{letsencrypt} directory so that the @code{prosody} user can access
15549 them. See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/letsencrypt}.
15552 prosodyctl --root cert import /etc/letsencrypt/live
15555 The available configuration parameters follow. Each parameter
15556 definition is preceded by its type; for example, @samp{string-list foo}
15557 indicates that the @code{foo} parameter should be specified as a list of
15558 strings. Types starting with @code{maybe-} denote parameters that won't
15559 show up in @code{prosody.cfg.lua} when their value is @code{'disabled}.
15561 There is also a way to specify the configuration as a string, if you
15562 have an old @code{prosody.cfg.lua} file that you want to port over from
15563 some other system; see the end for more details.
15565 The @code{file-object} type designates either a file-like object
15566 (@pxref{G-Expressions, file-like objects}) or a file name.
15568 @c The following documentation was initially generated by
15569 @c (generate-documentation) in (gnu services messaging). Manually maintained
15570 @c documentation is better, so we shouldn't hesitate to edit below as
15571 @c needed. However if the change you want to make to this documentation
15572 @c can be done in an automated way, it's probably easier to change
15573 @c (generate-documentation) than to make it below and have to deal with
15574 @c the churn as Prosody updates.
15576 Available @code{prosody-configuration} fields are:
15578 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} package prosody
15579 The Prosody package.
15582 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} file-name data-path
15583 Location of the Prosody data storage directory. See
15584 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/configure}.
15585 Defaults to @samp{"/var/lib/prosody"}.
15588 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} file-object-list plugin-paths
15589 Additional plugin directories. They are searched in all the specified
15590 paths in order. See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/plugins_directory}.
15591 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15594 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} file-name certificates
15595 Every virtual host and component needs a certificate so that clients and
15596 servers can securely verify its identity. Prosody will automatically load
15597 certificates/keys from the directory specified here.
15598 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/prosody/certs"}.
15601 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} string-list admins
15602 This is a list of accounts that are admins for the server. Note that you
15603 must create the accounts separately. See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/admins} and
15604 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/creating_accounts}.
15605 Example: @code{(admins '("user1@@example.com" "user2@@example.net"))}
15606 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15609 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} boolean use-libevent?
15610 Enable use of libevent for better performance under high load. See
15611 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/libevent}.
15612 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15615 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} module-list modules-enabled
15616 This is the list of modules Prosody will load on startup. It looks for
15617 @code{mod_modulename.lua} in the plugins folder, so make sure that exists too.
15618 Documentation on modules can be found at:
15619 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules}.
15620 Defaults to @samp{("roster" "saslauth" "tls" "dialback" "disco" "carbons" "private" "blocklist" "vcard" "version" "uptime" "time" "ping" "pep" "register" "admin_adhoc")}.
15623 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} string-list modules-disabled
15624 @samp{"offline"}, @samp{"c2s"} and @samp{"s2s"} are auto-loaded, but
15625 should you want to disable them then add them to this list.
15626 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15629 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} file-object groups-file
15630 Path to a text file where the shared groups are defined. If this path is
15631 empty then @samp{mod_groups} does nothing. See
15632 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_groups}.
15633 Defaults to @samp{"/var/lib/prosody/sharedgroups.txt"}.
15636 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} boolean allow-registration?
15637 Disable account creation by default, for security. See
15638 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/creating_accounts}.
15639 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15642 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} maybe-ssl-configuration ssl
15643 These are the SSL/TLS-related settings. Most of them are disabled so to
15644 use Prosody's defaults. If you do not completely understand these options, do
15645 not add them to your config, it is easy to lower the security of your server
15646 using them. See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/advanced_ssl_config}.
15648 Available @code{ssl-configuration} fields are:
15650 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-string protocol
15651 This determines what handshake to use.
15654 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-file-name key
15655 Path to your private key file.
15658 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-file-name certificate
15659 Path to your certificate file.
15662 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} file-object capath
15663 Path to directory containing root certificates that you wish Prosody to
15664 trust when verifying the certificates of remote servers.
15665 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/ssl/certs"}.
15668 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-file-object cafile
15669 Path to a file containing root certificates that you wish Prosody to trust.
15670 Similar to @code{capath} but with all certificates concatenated together.
15673 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-string-list verify
15674 A list of verification options (these mostly map to OpenSSL's
15675 @code{set_verify()} flags).
15678 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-string-list options
15679 A list of general options relating to SSL/TLS. These map to OpenSSL's
15680 @code{set_options()}. For a full list of options available in LuaSec, see the
15684 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer depth
15685 How long a chain of certificate authorities to check when looking for a
15686 trusted root certificate.
15689 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-string ciphers
15690 An OpenSSL cipher string. This selects what ciphers Prosody will offer to
15691 clients, and in what order.
15694 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-file-name dhparam
15695 A path to a file containing parameters for Diffie-Hellman key exchange. You
15696 can create such a file with:
15697 @code{openssl dhparam -out /etc/prosody/certs/dh-2048.pem 2048}
15700 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-string curve
15701 Curve for Elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman. Prosody's default is
15702 @samp{"secp384r1"}.
15705 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-string-list verifyext
15706 A list of "extra" verification options.
15709 @deftypevr {@code{ssl-configuration} parameter} maybe-string password
15710 Password for encrypted private keys.
15715 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} boolean c2s-require-encryption?
15716 Whether to force all client-to-server connections to be encrypted or not.
15717 See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_tls}.
15718 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15721 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} string-list disable-sasl-mechanisms
15722 Set of mechanisms that will never be offered. See
15723 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_saslauth}.
15724 Defaults to @samp{("DIGEST-MD5")}.
15727 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} boolean s2s-require-encryption?
15728 Whether to force all server-to-server connections to be encrypted or not.
15729 See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_tls}.
15730 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15733 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} boolean s2s-secure-auth?
15734 Whether to require encryption and certificate authentication. This
15735 provides ideal security, but requires servers you communicate with to support
15736 encryption AND present valid, trusted certificates. See
15737 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/s2s#security}.
15738 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15741 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} string-list s2s-insecure-domains
15742 Many servers don't support encryption or have invalid or self-signed
15743 certificates. You can list domains here that will not be required to
15744 authenticate using certificates. They will be authenticated using DNS. See
15745 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/s2s#security}.
15746 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15749 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} string-list s2s-secure-domains
15750 Even if you leave @code{s2s-secure-auth?} disabled, you can still require
15751 valid certificates for some domains by specifying a list here. See
15752 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/s2s#security}.
15753 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15756 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} string authentication
15757 Select the authentication backend to use. The default provider stores
15758 passwords in plaintext and uses Prosody's configured data storage to store the
15759 authentication data. If you do not trust your server please see
15760 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_auth_internal_hashed} for information
15761 about using the hashed backend. See also
15762 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/authentication}
15763 Defaults to @samp{"internal_plain"}.
15766 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} maybe-string log
15767 Set logging options. Advanced logging configuration is not yet supported
15768 by the GuixSD Prosody Service. See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/logging}.
15769 Defaults to @samp{"*syslog"}.
15772 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} file-name pidfile
15773 File to write pid in. See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_posix}.
15774 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/prosody/prosody.pid"}.
15777 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer http-max-content-size
15778 Maximum allowed size of the HTTP body (in bytes).
15781 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} maybe-string http-external-url
15782 Some modules expose their own URL in various ways. This URL is built
15783 from the protocol, host and port used. If Prosody sits behind a proxy, the
15784 public URL will be @code{http-external-url} instead. See
15785 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/http#external_url}.
15788 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} virtualhost-configuration-list virtualhosts
15789 A host in Prosody is a domain on which user accounts can be created. For
15790 example if you want your users to have addresses like
15791 @samp{"john.smith@@example.com"} then you need to add a host
15792 @samp{"example.com"}. All options in this list will apply only to this host.
15794 Note: the name "virtual" host is used in configuration to avoid confusion with
15795 the actual physical host that Prosody is installed on. A single Prosody
15796 instance can serve many domains, each one defined as a VirtualHost entry in
15797 Prosody's configuration. Conversely a server that hosts a single domain would
15798 have just one VirtualHost entry.
15800 See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/configure#virtual_host_settings}.
15802 Available @code{virtualhost-configuration} fields are:
15804 all these @code{prosody-configuration} fields: @code{admins}, @code{use-libevent?}, @code{modules-enabled}, @code{modules-disabled}, @code{groups-file}, @code{allow-registration?}, @code{ssl}, @code{c2s-require-encryption?}, @code{disable-sasl-mechanisms}, @code{s2s-require-encryption?}, @code{s2s-secure-auth?}, @code{s2s-insecure-domains}, @code{s2s-secure-domains}, @code{authentication}, @code{log}, @code{http-max-content-size}, @code{http-external-url}, @code{raw-content}, plus:
15805 @deftypevr {@code{virtualhost-configuration} parameter} string domain
15806 Domain you wish Prosody to serve.
15811 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} int-component-configuration-list int-components
15812 Components are extra services on a server which are available to clients,
15813 usually on a subdomain of the main server (such as
15814 @samp{"mycomponent.example.com"}). Example components might be chatroom
15815 servers, user directories, or gateways to other protocols.
15817 Internal components are implemented with Prosody-specific plugins. To add an
15818 internal component, you simply fill the hostname field, and the plugin you wish
15819 to use for the component.
15821 See @url{https://prosody.im/doc/components}.
15822 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15824 Available @code{int-component-configuration} fields are:
15826 all these @code{prosody-configuration} fields: @code{admins}, @code{use-libevent?}, @code{modules-enabled}, @code{modules-disabled}, @code{groups-file}, @code{allow-registration?}, @code{ssl}, @code{c2s-require-encryption?}, @code{disable-sasl-mechanisms}, @code{s2s-require-encryption?}, @code{s2s-secure-auth?}, @code{s2s-insecure-domains}, @code{s2s-secure-domains}, @code{authentication}, @code{log}, @code{http-max-content-size}, @code{http-external-url}, @code{raw-content}, plus:
15827 @deftypevr {@code{int-component-configuration} parameter} string hostname
15828 Hostname of the component.
15831 @deftypevr {@code{int-component-configuration} parameter} string plugin
15832 Plugin you wish to use for the component.
15835 @deftypevr {@code{int-component-configuration} parameter} maybe-mod-muc-configuration mod-muc
15836 Multi-user chat (MUC) is Prosody's module for allowing you to create
15837 hosted chatrooms/conferences for XMPP users.
15839 General information on setting up and using multi-user chatrooms can be found
15840 in the "Chatrooms" documentation (@url{https://prosody.im/doc/chatrooms}),
15841 which you should read if you are new to XMPP chatrooms.
15843 See also @url{https://prosody.im/doc/modules/mod_muc}.
15845 Available @code{mod-muc-configuration} fields are:
15847 @deftypevr {@code{mod-muc-configuration} parameter} string name
15848 The name to return in service discovery responses.
15849 Defaults to @samp{"Prosody Chatrooms"}.
15852 @deftypevr {@code{mod-muc-configuration} parameter} string-or-boolean restrict-room-creation
15853 If @samp{#t}, this will only allow admins to create new chatrooms.
15854 Otherwise anyone can create a room. The value @samp{"local"} restricts room
15855 creation to users on the service's parent domain. E.g. @samp{user@@example.com}
15856 can create rooms on @samp{rooms.example.com}. The value @samp{"admin"}
15857 restricts to service administrators only.
15858 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
15861 @deftypevr {@code{mod-muc-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-history-messages
15862 Maximum number of history messages that will be sent to the member that has
15863 just joined the room.
15864 Defaults to @samp{20}.
15871 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} ext-component-configuration-list ext-components
15872 External components use XEP-0114, which most standalone components
15873 support. To add an external component, you simply fill the hostname field. See
15874 @url{https://prosody.im/doc/components}.
15875 Defaults to @samp{()}.
15877 Available @code{ext-component-configuration} fields are:
15879 all these @code{prosody-configuration} fields: @code{admins}, @code{use-libevent?}, @code{modules-enabled}, @code{modules-disabled}, @code{groups-file}, @code{allow-registration?}, @code{ssl}, @code{c2s-require-encryption?}, @code{disable-sasl-mechanisms}, @code{s2s-require-encryption?}, @code{s2s-secure-auth?}, @code{s2s-insecure-domains}, @code{s2s-secure-domains}, @code{authentication}, @code{log}, @code{http-max-content-size}, @code{http-external-url}, @code{raw-content}, plus:
15880 @deftypevr {@code{ext-component-configuration} parameter} string component-secret
15881 Password which the component will use to log in.
15884 @deftypevr {@code{ext-component-configuration} parameter} string hostname
15885 Hostname of the component.
15890 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer-list component-ports
15891 Port(s) Prosody listens on for component connections.
15892 Defaults to @samp{(5347)}.
15895 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} string component-interface
15896 Interface Prosody listens on for component connections.
15897 Defaults to @samp{"127.0.0.1"}.
15900 @deftypevr {@code{prosody-configuration} parameter} maybe-raw-content raw-content
15901 Raw content that will be added to the configuration file.
15904 It could be that you just want to get a @code{prosody.cfg.lua}
15905 up and running. In that case, you can pass an
15906 @code{opaque-prosody-configuration} record as the value of
15907 @code{prosody-service-type}. As its name indicates, an opaque configuration
15908 does not have easy reflective capabilities.
15909 Available @code{opaque-prosody-configuration} fields are:
15911 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-prosody-configuration} parameter} package prosody
15912 The prosody package.
15915 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-prosody-configuration} parameter} string prosody.cfg.lua
15916 The contents of the @code{prosody.cfg.lua} to use.
15919 For example, if your @code{prosody.cfg.lua} is just the empty
15920 string, you could instantiate a prosody service like this:
15923 (service prosody-service-type
15924 (opaque-prosody-configuration
15925 (prosody.cfg.lua "")))
15928 @c end of Prosody auto-generated documentation
15930 @subsubheading BitlBee Service
15932 @cindex IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
15933 @cindex IRC gateway
15934 @url{http://bitlbee.org,BitlBee} is a gateway that provides an IRC
15935 interface to a variety of messaging protocols such as XMPP.
15937 @defvr {Scheme Variable} bitlbee-service-type
15938 This is the service type for the @url{http://bitlbee.org,BitlBee} IRC
15939 gateway daemon. Its value is a @code{bitlbee-configuration} (see
15942 To have BitlBee listen on port 6667 on localhost, add this line to your
15946 (service bitlbee-service-type)
15950 @deftp {Data Type} bitlbee-configuration
15951 This is the configuration for BitlBee, with the following fields:
15954 @item @code{interface} (default: @code{"127.0.0.1"})
15955 @itemx @code{port} (default: @code{6667})
15956 Listen on the network interface corresponding to the IP address
15957 specified in @var{interface}, on @var{port}.
15959 When @var{interface} is @code{127.0.0.1}, only local clients can
15960 connect; when it is @code{0.0.0.0}, connections can come from any
15961 networking interface.
15963 @item @code{package} (default: @code{bitlbee})
15964 The BitlBee package to use.
15966 @item @code{plugins} (default: @code{'()})
15967 List of plugin packages to use---e.g., @code{bitlbee-discord}.
15969 @item @code{extra-settings} (default: @code{""})
15970 Configuration snippet added as-is to the BitlBee configuration file.
15975 @node Telephony Services
15976 @subsubsection Telephony Services
15978 @cindex Murmur (VoIP server)
15979 @cindex VoIP server
15980 This section describes how to set up and run a Murmur server. Murmur is
15981 the server of the @uref{https://mumble.info, Mumble} voice-over-IP
15984 @deftp {Data Type} murmur-configuration
15985 The service type for the Murmur server. An example configuration can
15989 (service murmur-service-type
15990 (murmur-configuration
15992 "Welcome to this Mumble server running on GuixSD!")
15993 (cert-required? #t) ;disallow text password logins
15994 (ssl-cert "/etc/letsencrypt/live/mumble.example.com/fullchain.pem")
15995 (ssl-key "/etc/letsencrypt/live/mumble.example.com/privkey.pem")))
15998 After reconfiguring your system, you can manually set the murmur @code{SuperUser}
15999 password with the command that is printed during the activation phase.
16001 It is recommended to register a normal Mumble user account
16002 and grant it admin or moderator rights.
16003 You can use the @code{mumble} client to
16004 login as new normal user, register yourself, and log out.
16005 For the next step login with the name @code{SuperUser} use
16006 the @code{SuperUser} password that you set previously,
16007 and grant your newly registered mumble user administrator or moderator
16008 rights and create some channels.
16010 Available @code{murmur-configuration} fields are:
16013 @item @code{package} (default: @code{mumble})
16014 Package that contains @code{bin/murmurd}.
16016 @item @code{user} (default: @code{"murmur"})
16017 User who will run the Murmur server.
16019 @item @code{group} (default: @code{"murmur"})
16020 Group of the user who will run the murmur server.
16022 @item @code{port} (default: @code{64738})
16023 Port on which the server will listen.
16025 @item @code{welcome-text} (default: @code{""})
16026 Welcome text sent to clients when they connect.
16028 @item @code{server-password} (default: @code{""})
16029 Password the clients have to enter in order to connect.
16031 @item @code{max-users} (default: @code{100})
16032 Maximum of users that can be connected to the server at once.
16034 @item @code{max-user-bandwidth} (default: @code{#f})
16035 Maximum voice traffic a user can send per second.
16037 @item @code{database-file} (default: @code{"/var/lib/murmur/db.sqlite"})
16038 File name of the sqlite database.
16039 The service's user will become the owner of the directory.
16041 @item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/murmur/murmur.log"})
16042 File name of the log file.
16043 The service's user will become the owner of the directory.
16045 @item @code{autoban-attempts} (default: @code{10})
16046 Maximum number of logins a user can make in @code{autoban-timeframe}
16047 without getting auto banned for @code{autoban-time}.
16049 @item @code{autoban-timeframe} (default: @code{120})
16050 Timeframe for autoban in seconds.
16052 @item @code{autoban-time} (default: @code{300})
16053 Amount of time in seconds for which a client gets banned
16054 when violating the autoban limits.
16056 @item @code{opus-threshold} (default: @code{100})
16057 Percentage of clients that need to support opus
16058 before switching over to opus audio codec.
16060 @item @code{channel-nesting-limit} (default: @code{10})
16061 How deep channels can be nested at maximum.
16063 @item @code{channelname-regex} (default: @code{#f})
16064 A string in from of a Qt regular expression that channel names must conform to.
16066 @item @code{username-regex} (default: @code{#f})
16067 A string in from of a Qt regular expression that user names must conform to.
16069 @item @code{text-message-length} (default: @code{5000})
16070 Maximum size in bytes that a user can send in one text chat message.
16072 @item @code{image-message-length} (default: @code{(* 128 1024)})
16073 Maximum size in bytes that a user can send in one image message.
16075 @item @code{cert-required?} (default: @code{#f})
16076 If it is set to @code{#t} clients that use weak password authentification
16077 will not be accepted. Users must have completed the certificate wizard to join.
16079 @item @code{remember-channel?} (defualt @code{#f})
16080 Should murmur remember the last channel each user was in when they disconnected
16081 and put them into the remembered channel when they rejoin.
16083 @item @code{allow-html?} (default: @code{#f})
16084 Should html be allowed in text messages, user comments, and channel descriptions.
16086 @item @code{allow-ping?} (default: @code{#f})
16087 Setting to true exposes the current user count, the maximum user count, and
16088 the server's maximum bandwidth per client to unauthenticated users. In the
16089 Mumble client, this information is shown in the Connect dialog.
16091 Disabling this setting will prevent public listing of the server.
16093 @item @code{bonjour?} (default: @code{#f})
16094 Should the server advertise itself in the local network through the bonjour protocol.
16096 @item @code{send-version?} (default: @code{#f})
16097 Should the murmur server version be exposed in ping requests.
16099 @item @code{log-days} (default: @code{31})
16100 Murmur also stores logs in the database, which are accessible via RPC.
16101 The default is 31 days of months, but you can set this setting to 0 to keep logs forever,
16102 or -1 to disable logging to the database.
16104 @item @code{obfuscate-ips?} (default @code{#t})
16105 Should logged ips be obfuscated to protect the privacy of users.
16107 @item @code{ssl-cert} (default: @code{#f})
16108 File name of the SSL/TLS certificate used for encrypted connections.
16111 (ssl-cert "/etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem")
16113 @item @code{ssl-key} (default: @code{#f})
16114 Filepath to the ssl private key used for encrypted connections.
16116 (ssl-key "/etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem")
16119 @item @code{ssl-dh-params} (default: @code{#f})
16120 File name of a PEM-encoded file with Diffie-Hellman parameters
16121 for the SSL/TLS encryption. Alternatively you set it to
16122 @code{"@@ffdhe2048"}, @code{"@@ffdhe3072"}, @code{"@@ffdhe4096"}, @code{"@@ffdhe6144"}
16123 or @code{"@@ffdhe8192"} to use bundled parameters from RFC 7919.
16125 @item @code{ssl-ciphers} (default: @code{#f})
16126 The @code{ssl-ciphers} option chooses the cipher suites to make available for use
16129 This option is specified using
16130 @uref{https://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ciphers.html#CIPHER-LIST-FORMAT,
16131 OpenSSL cipher list notation}.
16133 It is recommended that you try your cipher string using 'openssl ciphers <string>'
16134 before setting it here, to get a feel for which cipher suites you will get.
16135 After setting this option, it is recommend that you inspect your Murmur log
16136 to ensure that Murmur is using the cipher suites that you expected it to.
16138 Note: Changing this option may impact the backwards compatibility of your
16139 Murmur server, and can remove the ability for older Mumble clients to be able
16142 @item @code{public-registration} (default: @code{#f})
16143 Must be a @code{<murmur-public-registration-configuration>} record or @code{#f}.
16145 You can optionally register your server in the public server list that the
16146 @code{mumble} client shows on startup.
16147 You cannot register your server if you have set a @code{server-password},
16148 or set @code{allow-ping} to @code{#f}.
16150 It might take a few hours until it shows up in the public list.
16152 @item @code{file} (default: @code{#f})
16153 Optional alternative override for this configuration.
16157 @deftp {Data Type} murmur-public-registration-configuration
16158 Configuration for public registration of a murmur service.
16162 This is a display name for your server. Not to be confused with the hostname.
16164 @item @code{password}
16165 A password to identify your registration.
16166 Subsequent updates will need the same password. Don't lose your password.
16169 This should be a @code{http://} or @code{https://} link to your web
16172 @item @code{hostname} (default: @code{#f})
16173 By default your server will be listed by its IP address.
16174 If it is set your server will be linked by this host name instead.
16180 @node Monitoring Services
16181 @subsubsection Monitoring Services
16183 @subsubheading Tailon Service
16185 @uref{https://tailon.readthedocs.io/, Tailon} is a web application for
16186 viewing and searching log files.
16188 The following example will configure the service with default values.
16189 By default, Tailon can be accessed on port 8080 (@code{http://localhost:8080}).
16192 (service tailon-service-type)
16195 The following example customises more of the Tailon configuration,
16196 adding @command{sed} to the list of allowed commands.
16199 (service tailon-service-type
16200 (tailon-configuration
16202 (tailon-configuration-file
16203 (allowed-commands '("tail" "grep" "awk" "sed"))))))
16207 @deftp {Data Type} tailon-configuration
16208 Data type representing the configuration of Tailon.
16209 This type has the following parameters:
16212 @item @code{config-file} (default: @code{(tailon-configuration-file)})
16213 The configuration file to use for Tailon. This can be set to a
16214 @dfn{tailon-configuration-file} record value, or any gexp
16215 (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
16217 For example, to instead use a local file, the @code{local-file} function
16221 (service tailon-service-type
16222 (tailon-configuration
16223 (config-file (local-file "./my-tailon.conf"))))
16226 @item @code{package} (default: @code{tailon})
16227 The tailon package to use.
16232 @deftp {Data Type} tailon-configuration-file
16233 Data type representing the configuration options for Tailon.
16234 This type has the following parameters:
16237 @item @code{files} (default: @code{(list "/var/log")})
16238 List of files to display. The list can include strings for a single file
16239 or directory, or a list, where the first item is the name of a
16240 subsection, and the remaining items are the files or directories in that
16243 @item @code{bind} (default: @code{"localhost:8080"})
16244 Address and port to which Tailon should bind on.
16246 @item @code{relative-root} (default: @code{#f})
16247 URL path to use for Tailon, set to @code{#f} to not use a path.
16249 @item @code{allow-transfers?} (default: @code{#t})
16250 Allow downloading the log files in the web interface.
16252 @item @code{follow-names?} (default: @code{#t})
16253 Allow tailing of not-yet existent files.
16255 @item @code{tail-lines} (default: @code{200})
16256 Number of lines to read initially from each file.
16258 @item @code{allowed-commands} (default: @code{(list "tail" "grep" "awk")})
16259 Commands to allow running. By default, @code{sed} is disabled.
16261 @item @code{debug?} (default: @code{#f})
16262 Set @code{debug?} to @code{#t} to show debug messages.
16264 @item @code{wrap-lines} (default: @code{#t})
16265 Initial line wrapping state in the web interface. Set to @code{#t} to
16266 initially wrap lines (the default), or to @code{#f} to initially not
16269 @item @code{http-auth} (default: @code{#f})
16270 HTTP authentication type to use. Set to @code{#f} to disable
16271 authentication (the default). Supported values are @code{"digest"} or
16274 @item @code{users} (default: @code{#f})
16275 If HTTP authentication is enabled (see @code{http-auth}), access will be
16276 restricted to the credentials provided here. To configure users, use a
16277 list of pairs, where the first element of the pair is the username, and
16278 the 2nd element of the pair is the password.
16281 (tailon-configuration-file
16282 (http-auth "basic")
16283 (users '(("user1" . "password1")
16284 ("user2" . "password2"))))
16291 @subsubheading Darkstat Service
16293 Darkstat is a packet sniffer that captures network traffic, calculates
16294 statistics about usage, and serves reports over HTTP.
16296 @defvar {Scheme Variable} darkstat-service-type
16297 This is the service type for the
16298 @uref{https://unix4lyfe.org/darkstat/, darkstat}
16299 service, its value must be a @code{darkstat-configuration} record as in
16303 (service darkstat-service-type
16304 (darkstat-configuration
16305 (interface "eno1")))
16309 @deftp {Data Type} darkstat-configuration
16310 Data type representing the configuration of @command{darkstat}.
16313 @item @code{package} (default: @code{darkstat})
16314 The darkstat package to use.
16316 @item @code{interface}
16317 Capture traffic on the specified network interface.
16319 @item @code{port} (default: @code{"667"})
16320 Bind the web interface to the specified port.
16322 @item @code{bind-address} (default: @code{"127.0.0.1"})
16323 Bind the web interface to the specified address.
16325 @item @code{base} (default: @code{"/"})
16326 Specify the path of the base URL. This can be useful if
16327 @command{darkstat} is accessed via a reverse proxy.
16332 @subsubheading Prometheus Node Exporter Service
16334 @cindex prometheus-node-exporter
16335 The Prometheus ``node exporter'' makes hardware and operating system statistics
16336 provided by the Linux kernel available for the Prometheus monitoring system.
16337 This service should be deployed on all physical nodes and virtual machines,
16338 where monitoring these statistics is desirable.
16340 @defvar {Scheme variable} prometheus-node-exporter-service-type
16341 This is the service type for the
16342 @uref{https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/, prometheus-node-exporter}
16343 service, its value must be a @code{prometheus-node-exporter-configuration}
16344 record as in this example:
16347 (service prometheus-node-exporter-service-type
16348 (prometheus-node-exporter-configuration
16349 (web-listen-address ":9100")))
16353 @deftp {Data Type} prometheus-node-exporter-configuration
16354 Data type representing the configuration of @command{node_exporter}.
16357 @item @code{package} (default: @code{go-github-com-prometheus-node-exporter})
16358 The prometheus-node-exporter package to use.
16360 @item @code{web-listen-address} (default: @code{":9100"})
16361 Bind the web interface to the specified address.
16366 @node Kerberos Services
16367 @subsubsection Kerberos Services
16370 The @code{(gnu services kerberos)} module provides services relating to
16371 the authentication protocol @dfn{Kerberos}.
16373 @subsubheading Krb5 Service
16375 Programs using a Kerberos client library normally
16376 expect a configuration file in @file{/etc/krb5.conf}.
16377 This service generates such a file from a definition provided in the
16378 operating system declaration.
16379 It does not cause any daemon to be started.
16381 No ``keytab'' files are provided by this service---you must explicitly create them.
16382 This service is known to work with the MIT client library, @code{mit-krb5}.
16383 Other implementations have not been tested.
16385 @defvr {Scheme Variable} krb5-service-type
16386 A service type for Kerberos 5 clients.
16390 Here is an example of its use:
16392 (service krb5-service-type
16393 (krb5-configuration
16394 (default-realm "EXAMPLE.COM")
16395 (allow-weak-crypto? #t)
16398 (name "EXAMPLE.COM")
16399 (admin-server "groucho.example.com")
16400 (kdc "karl.example.com"))
16403 (admin-server "kerb-admin.argrx.edu")
16404 (kdc "keys.argrx.edu"))))))
16408 This example provides a Kerberos@tie{}5 client configuration which:
16410 @item Recognizes two realms, @i{viz:} ``EXAMPLE.COM'' and ``ARGRX.EDU'', both
16411 of which have distinct administration servers and key distribution centers;
16412 @item Will default to the realm ``EXAMPLE.COM'' if the realm is not explicitly
16413 specified by clients;
16414 @item Accepts services which only support encryption types known to be weak.
16417 The @code{krb5-realm} and @code{krb5-configuration} types have many fields.
16418 Only the most commonly used ones are described here.
16419 For a full list, and more detailed explanation of each, see the MIT
16420 @uref{http://web.mit.edu/kerberos/krb5-devel/doc/admin/conf_files/krb5_conf.html,,krb5.conf}
16424 @deftp {Data Type} krb5-realm
16425 @cindex realm, kerberos
16428 This field is a string identifying the name of the realm.
16429 A common convention is to use the fully qualified DNS name of your organization,
16430 converted to upper case.
16432 @item @code{admin-server}
16433 This field is a string identifying the host where the administration server is
16437 This field is a string identifying the key distribution center
16442 @deftp {Data Type} krb5-configuration
16445 @item @code{allow-weak-crypto?} (default: @code{#f})
16446 If this flag is @code{#t} then services which only offer encryption algorithms
16447 known to be weak will be accepted.
16449 @item @code{default-realm} (default: @code{#f})
16450 This field should be a string identifying the default Kerberos
16451 realm for the client.
16452 You should set this field to the name of your Kerberos realm.
16453 If this value is @code{#f}
16454 then a realm must be specified with every Kerberos principal when invoking programs
16455 such as @command{kinit}.
16457 @item @code{realms}
16458 This should be a non-empty list of @code{krb5-realm} objects, which clients may
16460 Normally, one of them will have a @code{name} field matching the @code{default-realm}
16466 @subsubheading PAM krb5 Service
16469 The @code{pam-krb5} service allows for login authentication and password
16470 management via Kerberos.
16471 You will need this service if you want PAM enabled applications to authenticate
16472 users using Kerberos.
16474 @defvr {Scheme Variable} pam-krb5-service-type
16475 A service type for the Kerberos 5 PAM module.
16478 @deftp {Data Type} pam-krb5-configuration
16479 Data type representing the configuration of the Kerberos 5 PAM module
16480 This type has the following parameters:
16482 @item @code{pam-krb5} (default: @code{pam-krb5})
16483 The pam-krb5 package to use.
16485 @item @code{minimum-uid} (default: @code{1000})
16486 The smallest user ID for which Kerberos authentications should be attempted.
16487 Local accounts with lower values will silently fail to authenticate.
16493 @subsubsection Web Services
16498 The @code{(gnu services web)} module provides the Apache HTTP Server,
16499 the nginx web server, and also a fastcgi wrapper daemon.
16501 @subsubheading Apache HTTP Server
16503 @deffn {Scheme Variable} httpd-service-type
16504 Service type for the @uref{https://httpd.apache.org/,Apache HTTP} server
16505 (@dfn{httpd}). The value for this service type is a
16506 @code{https-configuration} record.
16508 A simple example configuration is given below.
16511 (service httpd-service-type
16512 (httpd-configuration
16515 (server-name "www.example.com")
16516 (document-root "/srv/http/www.example.com")))))
16519 Other services can also extend the @code{httpd-service-type} to add to
16523 (simple-service 'my-extra-server httpd-service-type
16527 (list (string-append
16528 "ServerName "www.example.com
16529 DocumentRoot \"/srv/http/www.example.com\"")))))
16533 The details for the @code{httpd-configuration}, @code{httpd-module},
16534 @code{httpd-config-file} and @code{httpd-virtualhost} record types are
16537 @deffn {Data Type} httpd-configuration
16538 This data type represents the configuration for the httpd service.
16541 @item @code{package} (default: @code{httpd})
16542 The httpd package to use.
16544 @item @code{pid-file} (default: @code{"/var/run/httpd"})
16545 The pid file used by the shepherd-service.
16547 @item @code{config} (default: @code{(httpd-config-file)})
16548 The configuration file to use with the httpd service. The default value
16549 is a @code{httpd-config-file} record, but this can also be a different
16550 G-expression that generates a file, for example a @code{plain-file}. A
16551 file outside of the store can also be specified through a string.
16556 @deffn {Data Type} httpd-module
16557 This data type represents a module for the httpd service.
16561 The name of the module.
16564 The file for the module. This can be relative to the httpd package being
16565 used, the absolute location of a file, or a G-expression for a file
16566 within the store, for example @code{(file-append mod-wsgi
16567 "/modules/mod_wsgi.so")}.
16572 @deffn {Data Type} httpd-config-file
16573 This data type represents a configuration file for the httpd service.
16576 @item @code{modules} (default: @code{%default-httpd-modules})
16577 The modules to load. Additional modules can be added here, or loaded by
16578 additional configuration.
16580 @item @code{server-root} (default: @code{httpd})
16581 The @code{ServerRoot} in the configuration file, defaults to the httpd
16582 package. Directives including @code{Include} and @code{LoadModule} are
16583 taken as relative to the server root.
16585 @item @code{server-name} (default: @code{#f})
16586 The @code{ServerName} in the configuration file, used to specify the
16587 request scheme, hostname and port that the server uses to identify
16590 This doesn't need to be set in the server config, and can be specifyed
16591 in virtual hosts. The default is @code{#f} to not specify a
16594 @item @code{document-root} (default: @code{"/srv/http"})
16595 The @code{DocumentRoot} from which files will be served.
16597 @item @code{listen} (default: @code{'("80")})
16598 The list of values for the @code{Listen} directives in the config
16599 file. The value should be a list of strings, when each string can
16600 specify the port number to listen on, and optionally the IP address and
16603 @item @code{pid-file} (default: @code{"/var/run/httpd"})
16604 The @code{PidFile} to use. This should match the @code{pid-file} set in
16605 the @code{httpd-configuration} so that the Shepherd service is
16606 configured correctly.
16608 @item @code{error-log} (default: @code{"/var/log/httpd/error_log"})
16609 The @code{ErrorLog} to which the server will log errors.
16611 @item @code{user} (default: @code{"httpd"})
16612 The @code{User} which the server will answer requests as.
16614 @item @code{group} (default: @code{"httpd"})
16615 The @code{Group} which the server will answer requests as.
16617 @item @code{extra-config} (default: @code{(list "TypesConfig etc/httpd/mime.types")})
16618 A flat list of strings and G-expressions which will be added to the end
16619 of the configuration file.
16621 Any values which the service is extended with will be appended to this
16627 @deffn {Data Type} httpd-virtualhost
16628 This data type represents a virtualhost configuration block for the httpd service.
16630 These should be added to the extra-config for the httpd-service.
16633 (simple-service 'my-extra-server httpd-service-type
16637 (list (string-append
16638 "ServerName "www.example.com
16639 DocumentRoot \"/srv/http/www.example.com\"")))))
16643 @item @code{addresses-and-ports}
16644 The addresses and ports for the @code{VirtualHost} directive.
16646 @item @code{contents}
16647 The contents of the @code{VirtualHost} directive, this should be a list
16648 of strings and G-expressions.
16653 @subsubheading NGINX
16655 @deffn {Scheme Variable} nginx-service-type
16656 Service type for the @uref{https://nginx.org/,NGinx} web server. The
16657 value for this service type is a @code{<nginx-configuration>} record.
16659 A simple example configuration is given below.
16662 (service nginx-service-type
16663 (nginx-configuration
16665 (list (nginx-server-configuration
16666 (server-name '("www.example.com"))
16667 (root "/srv/http/www.example.com"))))))
16670 In addition to adding server blocks to the service configuration
16671 directly, this service can be extended by other services to add server
16672 blocks, as in this example:
16675 (simple-service 'my-extra-server nginx-service-type
16676 (list (nginx-server-configuration
16677 (root "/srv/http/extra-website")
16678 (try-files (list "$uri" "$uri/index.html")))))
16682 At startup, @command{nginx} has not yet read its configuration file, so
16683 it uses a default file to log error messages. If it fails to load its
16684 configuration file, that is where error messages are logged. After the
16685 configuration file is loaded, the default error log file changes as per
16686 configuration. In our case, startup error messages can be found in
16687 @file{/var/run/nginx/logs/error.log}, and after configuration in
16688 @file{/var/log/nginx/error.log}. The second location can be changed
16689 with the @var{log-directory} configuration option.
16691 @deffn {Data Type} nginx-configuration
16692 This data type represents the configuration for NGinx. Some
16693 configuration can be done through this and the other provided record
16694 types, or alternatively, a config file can be provided.
16697 @item @code{nginx} (default: @code{nginx})
16698 The nginx package to use.
16700 @item @code{log-directory} (default: @code{"/var/log/nginx"})
16701 The directory to which NGinx will write log files.
16703 @item @code{run-directory} (default: @code{"/var/run/nginx"})
16704 The directory in which NGinx will create a pid file, and write temporary
16707 @item @code{server-blocks} (default: @code{'()})
16708 A list of @dfn{server blocks} to create in the generated configuration
16709 file, the elements should be of type
16710 @code{<nginx-server-configuration>}.
16712 The following example would setup NGinx to serve @code{www.example.com}
16713 from the @code{/srv/http/www.example.com} directory, without using
16716 (service nginx-service-type
16717 (nginx-configuration
16719 (list (nginx-server-configuration
16720 (server-name '("www.example.com"))
16721 (root "/srv/http/www.example.com"))))))
16724 @item @code{upstream-blocks} (default: @code{'()})
16725 A list of @dfn{upstream blocks} to create in the generated configuration
16726 file, the elements should be of type
16727 @code{<nginx-upstream-configuration>}.
16729 Configuring upstreams through the @code{upstream-blocks} can be useful
16730 when combined with @code{locations} in the
16731 @code{<nginx-server-configuration>} records. The following example
16732 creates a server configuration with one location configuration, that
16733 will proxy requests to a upstream configuration, which will handle
16734 requests with two servers.
16739 (nginx-configuration
16741 (list (nginx-server-configuration
16742 (server-name '("www.example.com"))
16743 (root "/srv/http/www.example.com")
16746 (nginx-location-configuration
16748 (body '("proxy_pass http://server-proxy;"))))))))
16750 (list (nginx-upstream-configuration
16751 (name "server-proxy")
16752 (servers (list "server1.example.com"
16753 "server2.example.com")))))))
16756 @item @code{file} (default: @code{#f})
16757 If a configuration @var{file} is provided, this will be used, rather than
16758 generating a configuration file from the provided @code{log-directory},
16759 @code{run-directory}, @code{server-blocks} and @code{upstream-blocks}. For
16760 proper operation, these arguments should match what is in @var{file} to ensure
16761 that the directories are created when the service is activated.
16763 This can be useful if you have an existing configuration file, or it's
16764 not possible to do what is required through the other parts of the
16765 nginx-configuration record.
16767 @item @code{server-names-hash-bucket-size} (default: @code{#f})
16768 Bucket size for the server names hash tables, defaults to @code{#f} to
16769 use the size of the processors cache line.
16771 @item @code{server-names-hash-bucket-max-size} (default: @code{#f})
16772 Maximum bucket size for the server names hash tables.
16774 @item @code{extra-content} (default: @code{""})
16775 Extra content for the @code{http} block. Should be string or a string
16776 valued G-expression.
16781 @deftp {Data Type} nginx-server-configuration
16782 Data type representing the configuration of an nginx server block.
16783 This type has the following parameters:
16786 @item @code{listen} (default: @code{'("80" "443 ssl")})
16787 Each @code{listen} directive sets the address and port for IP, or the
16788 path for a UNIX-domain socket on which the server will accept requests.
16789 Both address and port, or only address or only port can be specified.
16790 An address may also be a hostname, for example:
16793 '("127.0.0.1:8000" "127.0.0.1" "8000" "*:8000" "localhost:8000")
16796 @item @code{server-name} (default: @code{(list 'default)})
16797 A list of server names this server represents. @code{'default} represents the
16798 default server for connections matching no other server.
16800 @item @code{root} (default: @code{"/srv/http"})
16801 Root of the website nginx will serve.
16803 @item @code{locations} (default: @code{'()})
16804 A list of @dfn{nginx-location-configuration} or
16805 @dfn{nginx-named-location-configuration} records to use within this
16808 @item @code{index} (default: @code{(list "index.html")})
16809 Index files to look for when clients ask for a directory. If it cannot be found,
16810 Nginx will send the list of files in the directory.
16812 @item @code{try-files} (default: @code{'()})
16813 A list of files whose existence is checked in the specified order.
16814 @code{nginx} will use the first file it finds to process the request.
16816 @item @code{ssl-certificate} (default: @code{#f})
16817 Where to find the certificate for secure connections. Set it to @code{#f} if
16818 you don't have a certificate or you don't want to use HTTPS.
16820 @item @code{ssl-certificate-key} (default: @code{#f})
16821 Where to find the private key for secure connections. Set it to @code{#f} if
16822 you don't have a key or you don't want to use HTTPS.
16824 @item @code{server-tokens?} (default: @code{#f})
16825 Whether the server should add its configuration to response.
16827 @item @code{raw-content} (default: @code{'()})
16828 A list of raw lines added to the server block.
16833 @deftp {Data Type} nginx-upstream-configuration
16834 Data type representing the configuration of an nginx @code{upstream}
16835 block. This type has the following parameters:
16839 Name for this group of servers.
16841 @item @code{servers}
16842 Specify the addresses of the servers in the group. The address can be
16843 specified as a IP address (e.g. @samp{127.0.0.1}), domain name
16844 (e.g. @samp{backend1.example.com}) or a path to a UNIX socket using the
16845 prefix @samp{unix:}. For addresses using an IP address or domain name,
16846 the default port is 80, and a different port can be specified
16852 @deftp {Data Type} nginx-location-configuration
16853 Data type representing the configuration of an nginx @code{location}
16854 block. This type has the following parameters:
16858 URI which this location block matches.
16860 @anchor{nginx-location-configuration body}
16862 Body of the location block, specified as a list of strings. This can contain
16864 configuration directives. For example, to pass requests to a upstream
16865 server group defined using an @code{nginx-upstream-configuration} block,
16866 the following directive would be specified in the body @samp{(list "proxy_pass
16867 http://upstream-name;")}.
16872 @deftp {Data Type} nginx-named-location-configuration
16873 Data type representing the configuration of an nginx named location
16874 block. Named location blocks are used for request redirection, and not
16875 used for regular request processing. This type has the following
16880 Name to identify this location block.
16883 @xref{nginx-location-configuration body}, as the body for named location
16884 blocks can be used in a similar way to the
16885 @code{nginx-location-configuration body}. One restriction is that the
16886 body of a named location block cannot contain location blocks.
16891 @subsubheading Varnish Cache
16893 Varnish is a fast cache server that sits in between web applications
16894 and end users. It proxies requests from clients and caches the
16895 accessed URLs such that multiple requests for the same resource only
16896 creates one request to the back-end.
16898 @defvr {Scheme Variable} varnish-service-type
16899 Service type for the Varnish daemon.
16902 @deftp {Data Type} varnish-configuration
16903 Data type representing the @code{varnish} service configuration.
16904 This type has the following parameters:
16907 @item @code{package} (default: @code{varnish})
16908 The Varnish package to use.
16910 @item @code{name} (default: @code{"default"})
16911 A name for this Varnish instance. Varnish will create a directory in
16912 @file{/var/varnish/} with this name and keep temporary files there. If
16913 the name starts with a forward slash, it is interpreted as an absolute
16916 Pass the @code{-n} argument to other Varnish programs to connect to the
16917 named instance, e.g. @command{varnishncsa -n default}.
16919 @item @code{backend} (default: @code{"localhost:8080"})
16920 The backend to use. This option has no effect if @code{vcl} is set.
16922 @item @code{vcl} (default: #f)
16923 The @dfn{VCL} (Varnish Configuration Language) program to run. If this
16924 is @code{#f}, Varnish will proxy @code{backend} using the default
16925 configuration. Otherwise this must be a file-like object with valid
16928 @c Varnish does not support HTTPS, so keep this URL to avoid confusion.
16929 For example, to mirror @url{http://www.gnu.org,www.gnu.org} with VCL you
16930 can do something along these lines:
16933 (define %gnu-mirror
16937 backend gnu @{ .host = "www.gnu.org"; @}"))
16941 (services (cons (service varnish-service-type
16942 (varnish-configuration
16944 (vcl %gnu-mirror)))
16948 The configuration of an already running Varnish instance can be inspected
16949 and changed using the @command{varnishadm} program.
16951 Consult the @url{https://varnish-cache.org/docs/,Varnish User Guide} and
16952 @url{https://book.varnish-software.com/4.0/,Varnish Book} for
16953 comprehensive documentation on Varnish and its configuration language.
16955 @item @code{listen} (default: @code{'("localhost:80")})
16956 List of addresses Varnish will listen on.
16958 @item @code{storage} (default: @code{'("malloc,128m")})
16959 List of storage backends that will be available in VCL.
16961 @item @code{parameters} (default: @code{'()})
16962 List of run-time parameters in the form @code{'(("parameter" . "value"))}.
16964 @item @code{extra-options} (default: @code{'()})
16965 Additional arguments to pass to the @command{varnishd} process.
16970 @subsubheading FastCGI
16973 FastCGI is an interface between the front-end and the back-end of a web
16974 service. It is a somewhat legacy facility; new web services should
16975 generally just talk HTTP between the front-end and the back-end.
16976 However there are a number of back-end services such as PHP or the
16977 optimized HTTP Git repository access that use FastCGI, so we have
16978 support for it in Guix.
16980 To use FastCGI, you configure the front-end web server (e.g., nginx) to
16981 dispatch some subset of its requests to the fastcgi backend, which
16982 listens on a local TCP or UNIX socket. There is an intermediary
16983 @code{fcgiwrap} program that sits between the actual backend process and
16984 the web server. The front-end indicates which backend program to run,
16985 passing that information to the @code{fcgiwrap} process.
16987 @defvr {Scheme Variable} fcgiwrap-service-type
16988 A service type for the @code{fcgiwrap} FastCGI proxy.
16991 @deftp {Data Type} fcgiwrap-configuration
16992 Data type representing the configuration of the @code{fcgiwrap} serice.
16993 This type has the following parameters:
16995 @item @code{package} (default: @code{fcgiwrap})
16996 The fcgiwrap package to use.
16998 @item @code{socket} (default: @code{tcp:127.0.0.1:9000})
16999 The socket on which the @code{fcgiwrap} process should listen, as a
17000 string. Valid @var{socket} values include
17001 @code{unix:@var{/path/to/unix/socket}},
17002 @code{tcp:@var{dot.ted.qu.ad}:@var{port}} and
17003 @code{tcp6:[@var{ipv6_addr}]:port}.
17005 @item @code{user} (default: @code{fcgiwrap})
17006 @itemx @code{group} (default: @code{fcgiwrap})
17007 The user and group names, as strings, under which to run the
17008 @code{fcgiwrap} process. The @code{fastcgi} service will ensure that if
17009 the user asks for the specific user or group names @code{fcgiwrap} that
17010 the corresponding user and/or group is present on the system.
17012 It is possible to configure a FastCGI-backed web service to pass HTTP
17013 authentication information from the front-end to the back-end, and to
17014 allow @code{fcgiwrap} to run the back-end process as a corresponding
17015 local user. To enable this capability on the back-end., run
17016 @code{fcgiwrap} as the @code{root} user and group. Note that this
17017 capability also has to be configured on the front-end as well.
17022 PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager) is an alternative PHP FastCGI implementation
17023 with some additional features useful for sites of any size.
17025 These features include:
17027 @item Adaptive process spawning
17028 @item Basic statistics (similar to Apache's mod_status)
17029 @item Advanced process management with graceful stop/start
17030 @item Ability to start workers with different uid/gid/chroot/environment
17031 and different php.ini (replaces safe_mode)
17032 @item Stdout & stderr logging
17033 @item Emergency restart in case of accidental opcode cache destruction
17034 @item Accelerated upload support
17035 @item Support for a "slowlog"
17036 @item Enhancements to FastCGI, such as fastcgi_finish_request() -
17037 a special function to finish request & flush all data while continuing to do
17038 something time-consuming (video converting, stats processing, etc.)
17042 @defvr {Scheme Variable} php-fpm-service-type
17043 A Service type for @code{php-fpm}.
17046 @deftp {Data Type} php-fpm-configuration
17047 Data Type for php-fpm service configuration.
17049 @item @code{php} (default: @code{php})
17050 The php package to use.
17051 @item @code{socket} (default: @code{(string-append "/var/run/php" (version-major (package-version php)) "-fpm.sock")})
17052 The address on which to accept FastCGI requests. Valid syntaxes are:
17054 @item @code{"ip.add.re.ss:port"}
17055 Listen on a TCP socket to a specific address on a specific port.
17056 @item @code{"port"}
17057 Listen on a TCP socket to all addresses on a specific port.
17058 @item @code{"/path/to/unix/socket"}
17059 Listen on a unix socket.
17062 @item @code{user} (default: @code{php-fpm})
17063 User who will own the php worker processes.
17064 @item @code{group} (default: @code{php-fpm})
17065 Group of the worker processes.
17066 @item @code{socket-user} (default: @code{php-fpm})
17067 User who can speak to the php-fpm socket.
17068 @item @code{socket-group} (default: @code{php-fpm})
17069 Group that can speak to the php-fpm socket.
17070 @item @code{pid-file} (default: @code{(string-append "/var/run/php" (version-major (package-version php)) "-fpm.pid")})
17071 The process id of the php-fpm process is written to this file
17072 once the service has started.
17073 @item @code{log-file} (default: @code{(string-append "/var/log/php" (version-major (package-version php)) "-fpm.log")})
17074 Log for the php-fpm master process.
17075 @item @code{process-manager} (default: @code{(php-fpm-dynamic-process-manager-configuration)})
17076 Detailed settings for the php-fpm process manager.
17079 @item @code{<php-fpm-dynamic-process-manager-configuration>}
17080 @item @code{<php-fpm-static-process-manager-configuration>}
17081 @item @code{<php-fpm-on-demand-process-manager-configuration>}
17083 @item @code{display-errors} (default @code{#f})
17084 Determines whether php errors and warning should be sent to clients
17085 and displayed in their browsers.
17086 This is useful for local php development, but a security risk for public sites,
17087 as error messages can reveal passwords and personal data.
17088 @item @code{workers-logfile} (default @code{(string-append "/var/log/php" (version-major (package-version php)) "-fpm.www.log")})
17089 This file will log the @code{stderr} outputs of php worker processes.
17090 Can be set to @code{#f} to disable logging.
17091 @item @code{file} (default @code{#f})
17092 An optional override of the whole configuration.
17093 You can use the @code{mixed-text-file} function or an absolute filepath for it.
17097 @deftp {Data type} php-fpm-dynamic-process-manager-configuration
17098 Data Type for the @code{dynamic} php-fpm process manager. With the
17099 @code{dynamic} process manager, spare worker processes are kept around
17100 based on it's configured limits.
17102 @item @code{max-children} (default: @code{5})
17103 Maximum of worker processes.
17104 @item @code{start-servers} (default: @code{2})
17105 How many worker processes should be started on start-up.
17106 @item @code{min-spare-servers} (default: @code{1})
17107 How many spare worker processes should be kept around at minimum.
17108 @item @code{max-spare-servers} (default: @code{3})
17109 How many spare worker processes should be kept around at maximum.
17113 @deftp {Data type} php-fpm-static-process-manager-configuration
17114 Data Type for the @code{static} php-fpm process manager. With the
17115 @code{static} process manager, an unchanging number of worker processes
17118 @item @code{max-children} (default: @code{5})
17119 Maximum of worker processes.
17123 @deftp {Data type} php-fpm-on-demand-process-manager-configuration
17124 Data Type for the @code{on-demand} php-fpm process manager. With the
17125 @code{on-demand} process manager, worker processes are only created as
17128 @item @code{max-children} (default: @code{5})
17129 Maximum of worker processes.
17130 @item @code{process-idle-timeout} (default: @code{10})
17131 The time in seconds after which a process with no requests is killed.
17136 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} nginx-php-fpm-location @
17137 [#:nginx-package nginx] @
17138 [socket (string-append "/var/run/php" @
17139 (version-major (package-version php)) @
17141 A helper function to quickly add php to an @code{nginx-server-configuration}.
17144 A simple services setup for nginx with php can look like this:
17146 (services (cons* (dhcp-client-service)
17147 (service php-fpm-service-type)
17148 (service nginx-service-type
17149 (nginx-server-configuration
17150 (server-name '("example.com"))
17151 (root "/srv/http/")
17153 (list (nginx-php-location)))
17155 (ssl-certificate #f)
17156 (ssl-certificate-key #f)))
17160 @cindex cat-avatar-generator
17161 The cat avatar generator is a simple service to demonstrate the use of php-fpm
17162 in @code{Nginx}. It is used to generate cat avatar from a seed, for instance
17163 the hash of a user's email address.
17165 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} cat-avatar-generator-serice @
17166 [#:cache-dir "/var/cache/cat-avatar-generator"] @
17167 [#:package cat-avatar-generator] @
17168 [#:configuration (nginx-server-configuration)]
17169 Returns an nginx-server-configuration that inherits @code{configuration}. It
17170 extends the nginx configuration to add a server block that serves @code{package},
17171 a version of cat-avatar-generator. During execution, cat-avatar-generator will
17172 be able to use @code{cache-dir} as its cache directory.
17175 A simple setup for cat-avatar-generator can look like this:
17177 (services (cons* (cat-avatar-generator-service
17179 (nginx-server-configuration
17180 (server-name '("example.com"))))
17185 @subsubheading Hpcguix-web
17187 @cindex hpcguix-web
17188 The @uref{hpcguix-web, https://github.com/UMCUGenetics/hpcguix-web/}
17189 program is a customizable web interface to browse Guix packages,
17190 initially designed for users of high-performance computing (HPC)
17193 @defvr {Scheme Variable} hpcguix-web-service-type
17194 The service type for @code{hpcguix-web}.
17197 @deftp {Data Type} hpcguix-web-configuration
17198 Data type for the hpcguix-web service configuration.
17202 A gexp (@pxref{G-Expressions}) specifying the hpcguix-web service
17203 configuration. The main items available in this spec are:
17206 @item @code{title-prefix} (default: @code{"hpcguix | "})
17207 The page title prefix.
17209 @item @code{guix-command} (default: @code{"guix"})
17210 The @command{guix} command.
17212 @item @code{package-filter-proc} (default: @code{(const #t)})
17213 A procedure specifying how to filter packages that are displayed.
17215 @item @code{package-page-extension-proc} (default: @code{(const '())})
17216 Extension package for @code{hpcguix-web}.
17218 @item @code{menu} (default: @code{'()})
17219 Additional entry in page @code{menu}.
17221 @item @code{channels} (default: @code{%default-channels})
17222 List of channels from which the package list is built (@pxref{Channels}).
17224 @item @code{package-list-expiration} (default: @code{(* 12 3600)})
17225 The expiration time, in seconds, after which the package list is rebuilt from
17226 the latest instances of the given channels.
17229 See the hpcguix-web repository for a
17230 @uref{https://github.com/UMCUGenetics/hpcguix-web/blob/master/hpcweb-configuration.scm,
17233 @item @code{package} (default: @code{hpcguix-web})
17234 The hpcguix-web package to use.
17238 A typical hpcguix-web service declaration looks like this:
17241 (service hpcguix-web-service-type
17242 (hpcguix-web-configuration
17244 #~(define site-config
17245 (hpcweb-configuration
17246 (title-prefix "Guix-HPC - ")
17247 (menu '(("/about" "ABOUT"))))))))
17251 The hpcguix-web service periodically updates the package list it publishes by
17252 pulling channels from Git. To that end, it needs to access X.509 certificates
17253 so that it can authenticate Git servers when communicating over HTTPS, and it
17254 assumes that @file{/etc/ssl/certs} contains those certificates.
17256 Thus, make sure to add @code{nss-certs} or another certificate package to the
17257 @code{packages} field of your configuration. @ref{X.509 Certificates}, for
17258 more information on X.509 certificates.
17261 @node Certificate Services
17262 @subsubsection Certificate Services
17265 @cindex HTTP, HTTPS
17266 @cindex Let's Encrypt
17267 @cindex TLS certificates
17268 The @code{(gnu services certbot)} module provides a service to
17269 automatically obtain a valid TLS certificate from the Let's Encrypt
17270 certificate authority. These certificates can then be used to serve
17271 content securely over HTTPS or other TLS-based protocols, with the
17272 knowledge that the client will be able to verify the server's
17275 @url{https://letsencrypt.org/, Let's Encrypt} provides the
17276 @code{certbot} tool to automate the certification process. This tool
17277 first securely generates a key on the server. It then makes a request
17278 to the Let's Encrypt certificate authority (CA) to sign the key. The CA
17279 checks that the request originates from the host in question by using a
17280 challenge-response protocol, requiring the server to provide its
17281 response over HTTP. If that protocol completes successfully, the CA
17282 signs the key, resulting in a certificate. That certificate is valid
17283 for a limited period of time, and therefore to continue to provide TLS
17284 services, the server needs to periodically ask the CA to renew its
17287 The certbot service automates this process: the initial key
17288 generation, the initial certification request to the Let's Encrypt
17289 service, the web server challenge/response integration, writing the
17290 certificate to disk, the automated periodic renewals, and the deployment
17291 tasks associated with the renewal (e.g. reloading services, copying keys
17292 with different permissions).
17294 Certbot is run twice a day, at a random minute within the hour. It
17295 won't do anything until your certificates are due for renewal or
17296 revoked, but running it regularly would give your service a chance of
17297 staying online in case a Let's Encrypt-initiated revocation happened for
17300 By using this service, you agree to the ACME Subscriber Agreement, which
17301 can be found there:
17302 @url{https://acme-v01.api.letsencrypt.org/directory}.
17304 @defvr {Scheme Variable} certbot-service-type
17305 A service type for the @code{certbot} Let's Encrypt client. Its value
17306 must be a @code{certbot-configuration} record as in this example:
17309 (define %nginx-deploy-hook
17311 "nginx-deploy-hook"
17312 #~(let ((pid (call-with-input-file "/var/run/nginx/pid" read)))
17313 (kill pid SIGHUP))))
17315 (service certbot-service-type
17316 (certbot-configuration
17317 (email "foo@@example.net")
17320 (certificate-configuration
17321 (domains '("example.net" "www.example.net"))
17322 (deploy-hook %nginx-deploy-hook))
17323 (certificate-configuration
17324 (domains '("bar.example.net")))))))
17327 See below for details about @code{certbot-configuration}.
17330 @deftp {Data Type} certbot-configuration
17331 Data type representing the configuration of the @code{certbot} service.
17332 This type has the following parameters:
17335 @item @code{package} (default: @code{certbot})
17336 The certbot package to use.
17338 @item @code{webroot} (default: @code{/var/www})
17339 The directory from which to serve the Let's Encrypt challenge/response
17342 @item @code{certificates} (default: @code{()})
17343 A list of @code{certificates-configuration}s for which to generate
17344 certificates and request signatures. Each certificate has a @code{name}
17345 and several @code{domains}.
17348 Mandatory email used for registration, recovery contact, and important
17349 account notifications.
17351 @item @code{rsa-key-size} (default: @code{2048})
17352 Size of the RSA key.
17354 @item @code{default-location} (default: @i{see below})
17355 The default @code{nginx-location-configuration}. Because @code{certbot}
17356 needs to be able to serve challenges and responses, it needs to be able
17357 to run a web server. It does so by extending the @code{nginx} web
17358 service with an @code{nginx-server-configuration} listening on the
17359 @var{domains} on port 80, and which has a
17360 @code{nginx-location-configuration} for the @code{/.well-known/} URI
17361 path subspace used by Let's Encrypt. @xref{Web Services}, for more on
17362 these nginx configuration data types.
17364 Requests to other URL paths will be matched by the
17365 @code{default-location}, which if present is added to all
17366 @code{nginx-server-configuration}s.
17368 By default, the @code{default-location} will issue a redirect from
17369 @code{http://@var{domain}/...} to @code{https://@var{domain}/...}, leaving
17370 you to define what to serve on your site via @code{https}.
17372 Pass @code{#f} to not issue a default location.
17376 @deftp {Data Type} certificate-configuration
17377 Data type representing the configuration of a certificate.
17378 This type has the following parameters:
17381 @item @code{name} (default: @i{see below})
17382 This name is used by Certbot for housekeeping and in file paths; it
17383 doesn't affect the content of the certificate itself. To see
17384 certificate names, run @code{certbot certificates}.
17386 Its default is the first provided domain.
17388 @item @code{domains} (default: @code{()})
17389 The first domain provided will be the subject CN of the certificate, and
17390 all domains will be Subject Alternative Names on the certificate.
17392 @item @code{deploy-hook} (default: @code{#f})
17393 Command to be run in a shell once for each successfully issued
17394 certificate. For this command, the shell variable
17395 @code{$RENEWED_LINEAGE} will point to the config live subdirectory (for
17396 example, @samp{"/etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com"}) containing the new
17397 certificates and keys; the shell variable @code{$RENEWED_DOMAINS} will
17398 contain a space-delimited list of renewed certificate domains (for
17399 example, @samp{"example.com www.example.com"}.
17404 For each @code{certificate-configuration}, the certificate is saved to
17405 @code{/etc/letsencrypt/live/@var{name}/fullchain.pem} and the key is
17406 saved to @code{/etc/letsencrypt/live/@var{name}/privkey.pem}.
17408 @subsubsection DNS Services
17409 @cindex DNS (domain name system)
17410 @cindex domain name system (DNS)
17412 The @code{(gnu services dns)} module provides services related to the
17413 @dfn{domain name system} (DNS). It provides a server service for hosting
17414 an @emph{authoritative} DNS server for multiple zones, slave or master.
17415 This service uses @uref{https://www.knot-dns.cz/, Knot DNS}. And also a
17416 caching and forwarding DNS server for the LAN, which uses
17417 @uref{http://www.thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html, dnsmasq}.
17419 @subsubheading Knot Service
17421 An example configuration of an authoritative server for two zones, one master
17425 (define-zone-entries example.org.zone
17426 ;; Name TTL Class Type Data
17427 ("@@" "" "IN" "A" "127.0.0.1")
17428 ("@@" "" "IN" "NS" "ns")
17429 ("ns" "" "IN" "A" "127.0.0.1"))
17431 (define master-zone
17432 (knot-zone-configuration
17433 (domain "example.org")
17435 (origin "example.org")
17436 (entries example.org.zone)))))
17439 (knot-zone-configuration
17440 (domain "plop.org")
17441 (dnssec-policy "default")
17442 (master (list "plop-master"))))
17444 (define plop-master
17445 (knot-remote-configuration
17447 (address (list "208.76.58.171"))))
17451 (services (cons* (service knot-service-type
17452 (knot-configuration
17453 (remotes (list plop-master))
17454 (zones (list master-zone slave-zone))))
17459 @deffn {Scheme Variable} knot-service-type
17460 This is the type for the Knot DNS server.
17462 Knot DNS is an authoritative DNS server, meaning that it can serve multiple
17463 zones, that is to say domain names you would buy from a registrar. This server
17464 is not a resolver, meaning that it can only resolve names for which it is
17465 authoritative. This server can be configured to serve zones as a master server
17466 or a slave server as a per-zone basis. Slave zones will get their data from
17467 masters, and will serve it as an authoritative server. From the point of view
17468 of a resolver, there is no difference between master and slave.
17470 The following data types are used to configure the Knot DNS server:
17473 @deftp {Data Type} knot-key-configuration
17474 Data type representing a key.
17475 This type has the following parameters:
17478 @item @code{id} (default: @code{""})
17479 An identifier for other configuration fields to refer to this key. IDs must
17480 be unique and must not be empty.
17482 @item @code{algorithm} (default: @code{#f})
17483 The algorithm to use. Choose between @code{#f}, @code{'hmac-md5},
17484 @code{'hmac-sha1}, @code{'hmac-sha224}, @code{'hmac-sha256}, @code{'hmac-sha384}
17485 and @code{'hmac-sha512}.
17487 @item @code{secret} (default: @code{""})
17488 The secret key itself.
17493 @deftp {Data Type} knot-acl-configuration
17494 Data type representing an Access Control List (ACL) configuration.
17495 This type has the following parameters:
17498 @item @code{id} (default: @code{""})
17499 An identifier for ether configuration fields to refer to this key. IDs must be
17500 unique and must not be empty.
17502 @item @code{address} (default: @code{'()})
17503 An ordered list of IP addresses, network subnets, or network ranges represented
17504 with strings. The query must match one of them. Empty value means that
17505 address match is not required.
17507 @item @code{key} (default: @code{'()})
17508 An ordered list of references to keys represented with strings. The string
17509 must match a key ID defined in a @code{knot-key-configuration}. No key means
17510 that a key is not require to match that ACL.
17512 @item @code{action} (default: @code{'()})
17513 An ordered list of actions that are permitted or forbidden by this ACL. Possible
17514 values are lists of zero or more elements from @code{'transfer}, @code{'notify}
17515 and @code{'update}.
17517 @item @code{deny?} (default: @code{#f})
17518 When true, the ACL defines restrictions. Listed actions are forbidden. When
17519 false, listed actions are allowed.
17524 @deftp {Data Type} zone-entry
17525 Data type represnting a record entry in a zone file.
17526 This type has the following parameters:
17529 @item @code{name} (default: @code{"@@"})
17530 The name of the record. @code{"@@"} refers to the origin of the zone. Names
17531 are relative to the origin of the zone. For example, in the @code{example.org}
17532 zone, @code{"ns.example.org"} actually refers to @code{ns.example.org.example.org}.
17533 Names ending with a dot are absolute, which means that @code{"ns.example.org."}
17534 refers to @code{ns.example.org}.
17536 @item @code{ttl} (default: @code{""})
17537 The Time-To-Live (TTL) of this record. If not set, the default TTL is used.
17539 @item @code{class} (default: @code{"IN"})
17540 The class of the record. Knot currently supports only @code{"IN"} and
17541 partially @code{"CH"}.
17543 @item @code{type} (default: @code{"A"})
17544 The type of the record. Common types include A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6
17545 address), NS (Name Server) and MX (Mail eXchange). Many other types are
17548 @item @code{data} (default: @code{""})
17549 The data contained in the record. For instance an IP address associated with
17550 an A record, or a domain name associated with an NS record. Remember that
17551 domain names are relative to the origin unless they end with a dot.
17556 @deftp {Data Type} zone-file
17557 Data type representing the content of a zone file.
17558 This type has the following parameters:
17561 @item @code{entries} (default: @code{'()})
17562 The list of entries. The SOA record is taken care of, so you don't need to
17563 put it in the list of entries. This list should probably contain an entry
17564 for your primary authoritative DNS server. Other than using a list of entries
17565 directly, you can use @code{define-zone-entries} to define a object containing
17566 the list of entries more easily, that you can later pass to the @code{entries}
17567 field of the @code{zone-file}.
17569 @item @code{origin} (default: @code{""})
17570 The name of your zone. This parameter cannot be empty.
17572 @item @code{ns} (default: @code{"ns"})
17573 The domain of your primary authoritative DNS server. The name is relative to
17574 the origin, unless it ends with a dot. It is mandatory that this primary
17575 DNS server corresponds to an NS record in the zone and that it is associated
17576 to an IP address in the list of entries.
17578 @item @code{mail} (default: @code{"hostmaster"})
17579 An email address people can contact you at, as the owner of the zone. This
17580 is translated as @code{<mail>@@<origin>}.
17582 @item @code{serial} (default: @code{1})
17583 The serial number of the zone. As this is used to keep track of changes by
17584 both slaves and resolvers, it is mandatory that it @emph{never} decreases.
17585 Always increment it when you make a change in your zone.
17587 @item @code{refresh} (default: @code{(* 2 24 3600)})
17588 The frequency at which slaves will do a zone transfer. This value is a number
17589 of seconds. It can be computed by multiplications or with
17590 @code{(string->duration)}.
17592 @item @code{retry} (default: @code{(* 15 60)})
17593 The period after which a slave will retry to contact its master when it fails
17594 to do so a first time.
17596 @item @code{expiry} (default: @code{(* 14 24 3600)})
17597 Default TTL of records. Existing records are considered correct for at most
17598 this amount of time. After this period, resolvers will invalidate their cache
17599 and check again that it still exists.
17601 @item @code{nx} (default: @code{3600})
17602 Default TTL of inexistant records. This delay is usually short because you want
17603 your new domains to reach everyone quickly.
17608 @deftp {Data Type} knot-remote-configuration
17609 Data type representing a remote configuration.
17610 This type has the following parameters:
17613 @item @code{id} (default: @code{""})
17614 An identifier for other configuration fields to refer to this remote. IDs must
17615 be unique and must not be empty.
17617 @item @code{address} (default: @code{'()})
17618 An ordered list of destination IP addresses. Addresses are tried in sequence.
17619 An optional port can be given with the @@ separator. For instance:
17620 @code{(list "1.2.3.4" "2.3.4.5@@53")}. Default port is 53.
17622 @item @code{via} (default: @code{'()})
17623 An ordered list of source IP addresses. An empty list will have Knot choose
17624 an appropriate source IP. An optional port can be given with the @@ separator.
17625 The default is to choose at random.
17627 @item @code{key} (default: @code{#f})
17628 A reference to a key, that is a string containing the identifier of a key
17629 defined in a @code{knot-key-configuration} field.
17634 @deftp {Data Type} knot-keystore-configuration
17635 Data type representing a keystore to hold dnssec keys.
17636 This type has the following parameters:
17639 @item @code{id} (default: @code{""})
17640 The id of the keystore. It must not be empty.
17642 @item @code{backend} (default: @code{'pem})
17643 The backend to store the keys in. Can be @code{'pem} or @code{'pkcs11}.
17645 @item @code{config} (default: @code{"/var/lib/knot/keys/keys"})
17646 The configuration string of the backend. An example for the PKCS#11 is:
17647 @code{"pkcs11:token=knot;pin-value=1234 /gnu/store/.../lib/pkcs11/libsofthsm2.so"}.
17648 For the pem backend, the string reprensents a path in the file system.
17653 @deftp {Data Type} knot-policy-configuration
17654 Data type representing a dnssec policy. Knot DNS is able to automatically
17655 sign your zones. It can either generate and manage your keys automatically or
17656 use keys that you generate.
17658 Dnssec is usually implemented using two keys: a Key Signing Key (KSK) that is
17659 used to sign the second, and a Zone Signing Key (ZSK) that is used to sign the
17660 zone. In order to be trusted, the KSK needs to be present in the parent zone
17661 (usually a top-level domain). If your registrar supports dnssec, you will
17662 have to send them your KSK's hash so they can add a DS record in their zone.
17663 This is not automated and need to be done each time you change your KSK.
17665 The policy also defines the lifetime of keys. Usually, ZSK can be changed
17666 easily and use weaker cryptographic functions (they use lower parameters) in
17667 order to sign records quickly, so they are changed often. The KSK however
17668 requires manual interaction with the registrar, so they are changed less often
17669 and use stronger parameters because they sign only one record.
17671 This type has the following parameters:
17674 @item @code{id} (default: @code{""})
17675 The id of the policy. It must not be empty.
17677 @item @code{keystore} (default: @code{"default"})
17678 A reference to a keystore, that is a string containing the identifier of a
17679 keystore defined in a @code{knot-keystore-configuration} field. The
17680 @code{"default"} identifier means the default keystore (a kasp database that
17681 was setup by this service).
17683 @item @code{manual?} (default: @code{#f})
17684 Whether the key management is manual or automatic.
17686 @item @code{single-type-signing?} (default: @code{#f})
17687 When @code{#t}, use the Single-Type Signing Scheme.
17689 @item @code{algorithm} (default: @code{"ecdsap256sha256"})
17690 An algorithm of signing keys and issued signatures.
17692 @item @code{ksk-size} (default: @code{256})
17693 The length of the KSK. Note that this value is correct for the default
17694 algorithm, but would be unsecure for other algorithms.
17696 @item @code{zsk-size} (default: @code{256})
17697 The length of the ZSK. Note that this value is correct for the default
17698 algorithm, but would be unsecure for other algorithms.
17700 @item @code{dnskey-ttl} (default: @code{'default})
17701 The TTL value for DNSKEY records added into zone apex. The special
17702 @code{'default} value means same as the zone SOA TTL.
17704 @item @code{zsk-lifetime} (default: @code{(* 30 24 3600)})
17705 The period between ZSK publication and the next rollover initiation.
17707 @item @code{propagation-delay} (default: @code{(* 24 3600)})
17708 An extra delay added for each key rollover step. This value should be high
17709 enough to cover propagation of data from the master server to all slaves.
17711 @item @code{rrsig-lifetime} (default: @code{(* 14 24 3600)})
17712 A validity period of newly issued signatures.
17714 @item @code{rrsig-refresh} (default: @code{(* 7 24 3600)})
17715 A period how long before a signature expiration the signature will be refreshed.
17717 @item @code{nsec3?} (default: @code{#f})
17718 When @code{#t}, NSEC3 will be used instead of NSEC.
17720 @item @code{nsec3-iterations} (default: @code{5})
17721 The number of additional times the hashing is performed.
17723 @item @code{nsec3-salt-length} (default: @code{8})
17724 The length of a salt field in octets, which is appended to the original owner
17725 name before hashing.
17727 @item @code{nsec3-salt-lifetime} (default: @code{(* 30 24 3600)})
17728 The validity period of newly issued salt field.
17733 @deftp {Data Type} knot-zone-configuration
17734 Data type representing a zone served by Knot.
17735 This type has the following parameters:
17738 @item @code{domain} (default: @code{""})
17739 The domain served by this configuration. It must not be empty.
17741 @item @code{file} (default: @code{""})
17742 The file where this zone is saved. This parameter is ignored by master zones.
17743 Empty means default location that depends on the domain name.
17745 @item @code{zone} (default: @code{(zone-file)})
17746 The content of the zone file. This parameter is ignored by slave zones. It
17747 must contain a zone-file record.
17749 @item @code{master} (default: @code{'()})
17750 A list of master remotes. When empty, this zone is a master. When set, this
17751 zone is a slave. This is a list of remotes identifiers.
17753 @item @code{ddns-master} (default: @code{#f})
17754 The main master. When empty, it defaults to the first master in the list of
17757 @item @code{notify} (default: @code{'()})
17758 A list of slave remote identifiers.
17760 @item @code{acl} (default: @code{'()})
17761 A list of acl identifiers.
17763 @item @code{semantic-checks?} (default: @code{#f})
17764 When set, this adds more semantic checks to the zone.
17766 @item @code{disable-any?} (default: @code{#f})
17767 When set, this forbids queries of the ANY type.
17769 @item @code{zonefile-sync} (default: @code{0})
17770 The delay between a modification in memory and on disk. 0 means immediate
17773 @item @code{serial-policy} (default: @code{'increment})
17774 A policy between @code{'increment} and @code{'unixtime}.
17779 @deftp {Data Type} knot-configuration
17780 Data type representing the Knot configuration.
17781 This type has the following parameters:
17784 @item @code{knot} (default: @code{knot})
17787 @item @code{run-directory} (default: @code{"/var/run/knot"})
17788 The run directory. This directory will be used for pid file and sockets.
17790 @item @code{listen-v4} (default: @code{"0.0.0.0"})
17791 An ip address on which to listen.
17793 @item @code{listen-v6} (default: @code{"::"})
17794 An ip address on which to listen.
17796 @item @code{listen-port} (default: @code{53})
17797 A port on which to listen.
17799 @item @code{keys} (default: @code{'()})
17800 The list of knot-key-configuration used by this configuration.
17802 @item @code{acls} (default: @code{'()})
17803 The list of knot-acl-configuration used by this configuration.
17805 @item @code{remotes} (default: @code{'()})
17806 The list of knot-remote-configuration used by this configuration.
17808 @item @code{zones} (default: @code{'()})
17809 The list of knot-zone-configuration used by this configuration.
17814 @subsubheading Dnsmasq Service
17816 @deffn {Scheme Variable} dnsmasq-service-type
17817 This is the type of the dnsmasq service, whose value should be an
17818 @code{dnsmasq-configuration} object as in this example:
17821 (service dnsmasq-service-type
17822 (dnsmasq-configuration
17824 (servers '("192.168.1.1"))))
17828 @deftp {Data Type} dnsmasq-configuration
17829 Data type representing the configuration of dnsmasq.
17832 @item @code{package} (default: @var{dnsmasq})
17833 Package object of the dnsmasq server.
17835 @item @code{no-hosts?} (default: @code{#f})
17836 When true, don't read the hostnames in /etc/hosts.
17838 @item @code{port} (default: @code{53})
17839 The port to listen on. Setting this to zero completely disables DNS
17840 responses, leaving only DHCP and/or TFTP functions.
17842 @item @code{local-service?} (default: @code{#t})
17843 Accept DNS queries only from hosts whose address is on a local subnet,
17844 ie a subnet for which an interface exists on the server.
17846 @item @code{listen-addresses} (default: @code{'()})
17847 Listen on the given IP addresses.
17849 @item @code{resolv-file} (default: @code{"/etc/resolv.conf"})
17850 The file to read the IP address of the upstream nameservers from.
17852 @item @code{no-resolv?} (default: @code{#f})
17853 When true, don't read @var{resolv-file}.
17855 @item @code{servers} (default: @code{'()})
17856 Specify IP address of upstream servers directly.
17858 @item @code{cache-size} (default: @code{150})
17859 Set the size of dnsmasq's cache. Setting the cache size to zero
17862 @item @code{negative-cache?} (default: @code{#t})
17863 When false, disable negative caching.
17868 @subsubheading ddclient Service
17871 The ddclient service described below runs the ddclient daemon, which takes
17872 care of automatically updating DNS entries for service providers such as
17873 @uref{https://dyn.com/dns/, Dyn}.
17875 The following example show instantiates the service with its default
17879 (service ddclient-service-type)
17882 Note that ddclient needs to access credentials that are stored in a
17883 @dfn{secret file}, by default @file{/etc/ddclient/secrets} (see
17884 @code{secret-file} below.) You are expected to create this file manually, in
17885 an ``out-of-band'' fashion (you @emph{could} make this file part of the
17886 service configuration, for instance by using @code{plain-file}, but it will be
17887 world-readable @i{via} @file{/gnu/store}.) See the examples in the
17888 @file{share/ddclient} directory of the @code{ddclient} package.
17890 @c %start of fragment
17892 Available @code{ddclient-configuration} fields are:
17894 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} package ddclient
17895 The ddclient package.
17899 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} integer daemon
17900 The period after which ddclient will retry to check IP and domain name.
17902 Defaults to @samp{300}.
17906 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} boolean syslog
17907 Use syslog for the output.
17909 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
17913 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} string mail
17916 Defaults to @samp{"root"}.
17920 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} string mail-failure
17921 Mail failed update to user.
17923 Defaults to @samp{"root"}.
17927 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} string pid
17928 The ddclient PID file.
17930 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/ddclient/ddclient.pid"}.
17934 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} boolean ssl
17935 Enable SSL support.
17937 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
17941 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} string user
17942 Specifies the user name or ID that is used when running ddclient
17945 Defaults to @samp{"ddclient"}.
17949 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} string group
17950 Group of the user who will run the ddclient program.
17952 Defaults to @samp{"ddclient"}.
17956 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} string secret-file
17957 Secret file which will be appended to @file{ddclient.conf} file. This
17958 file contains credentials for use by ddclient. You are expected to
17959 create it manually.
17961 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/ddclient/secrets.conf"}.
17965 @deftypevr {@code{ddclient-configuration} parameter} list extra-options
17966 Extra options will be appended to @file{ddclient.conf} file.
17968 Defaults to @samp{()}.
17973 @c %end of fragment
17977 @subsubsection VPN Services
17978 @cindex VPN (virtual private network)
17979 @cindex virtual private network (VPN)
17981 The @code{(gnu services vpn)} module provides services related to
17982 @dfn{virtual private networks} (VPNs). It provides a @emph{client} service for
17983 your machine to connect to a VPN, and a @emph{servire} service for your machine
17984 to host a VPN. Both services use @uref{https://openvpn.net/, OpenVPN}.
17986 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} openvpn-client-service @
17987 [#:config (openvpn-client-configuration)]
17989 Return a service that runs @command{openvpn}, a VPN daemon, as a client.
17992 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} openvpn-server-service @
17993 [#:config (openvpn-server-configuration)]
17995 Return a service that runs @command{openvpn}, a VPN daemon, as a server.
17997 Both can be run simultaneously.
18000 @c %automatically generated documentation
18002 Available @code{openvpn-client-configuration} fields are:
18004 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} package openvpn
18005 The OpenVPN package.
18009 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} string pid-file
18010 The OpenVPN pid file.
18012 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/openvpn/openvpn.pid"}.
18016 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} proto proto
18017 The protocol (UDP or TCP) used to open a channel between clients and
18020 Defaults to @samp{udp}.
18024 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} dev dev
18025 The device type used to represent the VPN connection.
18027 Defaults to @samp{tun}.
18031 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} string ca
18032 The certificate authority to check connections against.
18034 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/ca.crt"}.
18038 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} string cert
18039 The certificate of the machine the daemon is running on. It should be
18040 signed by the authority given in @code{ca}.
18042 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/client.crt"}.
18046 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} string key
18047 The key of the machine the daemon is running on. It must be the key whose
18048 certificate is @code{cert}.
18050 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/client.key"}.
18054 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} boolean comp-lzo?
18055 Whether to use the lzo compression algorithm.
18057 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18061 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} boolean persist-key?
18062 Don't re-read key files across SIGUSR1 or --ping-restart.
18064 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18068 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} boolean persist-tun?
18069 Don't close and reopen TUN/TAP device or run up/down scripts across
18070 SIGUSR1 or --ping-restart restarts.
18072 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18076 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} number verbosity
18079 Defaults to @samp{3}.
18083 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} tls-auth-client tls-auth
18084 Add an additional layer of HMAC authentication on top of the TLS control
18085 channel to protect against DoS attacks.
18087 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18091 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} key-usage verify-key-usage?
18092 Whether to check the server certificate has server usage extension.
18094 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18098 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} bind bind?
18099 Bind to a specific local port number.
18101 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18105 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} resolv-retry resolv-retry?
18106 Retry resolving server address.
18108 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18112 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-client-configuration} parameter} openvpn-remote-list remote
18113 A list of remote servers to connect to.
18115 Defaults to @samp{()}.
18117 Available @code{openvpn-remote-configuration} fields are:
18119 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-remote-configuration} parameter} string name
18122 Defaults to @samp{"my-server"}.
18126 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-remote-configuration} parameter} number port
18127 Port number the server listens to.
18129 Defaults to @samp{1194}.
18134 @c %end of automatic openvpn-client documentation
18136 @c %automatically generated documentation
18138 Available @code{openvpn-server-configuration} fields are:
18140 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} package openvpn
18141 The OpenVPN package.
18145 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} string pid-file
18146 The OpenVPN pid file.
18148 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/openvpn/openvpn.pid"}.
18152 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} proto proto
18153 The protocol (UDP or TCP) used to open a channel between clients and
18156 Defaults to @samp{udp}.
18160 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} dev dev
18161 The device type used to represent the VPN connection.
18163 Defaults to @samp{tun}.
18167 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} string ca
18168 The certificate authority to check connections against.
18170 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/ca.crt"}.
18174 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} string cert
18175 The certificate of the machine the daemon is running on. It should be
18176 signed by the authority given in @code{ca}.
18178 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/client.crt"}.
18182 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} string key
18183 The key of the machine the daemon is running on. It must be the key whose
18184 certificate is @code{cert}.
18186 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/client.key"}.
18190 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} boolean comp-lzo?
18191 Whether to use the lzo compression algorithm.
18193 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18197 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} boolean persist-key?
18198 Don't re-read key files across SIGUSR1 or --ping-restart.
18200 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18204 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} boolean persist-tun?
18205 Don't close and reopen TUN/TAP device or run up/down scripts across
18206 SIGUSR1 or --ping-restart restarts.
18208 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18212 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} number verbosity
18215 Defaults to @samp{3}.
18219 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} tls-auth-server tls-auth
18220 Add an additional layer of HMAC authentication on top of the TLS control
18221 channel to protect against DoS attacks.
18223 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18227 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} number port
18228 Specifies the port number on which the server listens.
18230 Defaults to @samp{1194}.
18234 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} ip-mask server
18235 An ip and mask specifying the subnet inside the virtual network.
18237 Defaults to @samp{"10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0"}.
18241 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} cidr6 server-ipv6
18242 A CIDR notation specifying the IPv6 subnet inside the virtual network.
18244 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18248 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} string dh
18249 The Diffie-Hellman parameters file.
18251 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/dh2048.pem"}.
18255 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} string ifconfig-pool-persist
18256 The file that records client IPs.
18258 Defaults to @samp{"/etc/openvpn/ipp.txt"}.
18262 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} gateway redirect-gateway?
18263 When true, the server will act as a gateway for its clients.
18265 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18269 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} boolean client-to-client?
18270 When true, clients are allowed to talk to each other inside the VPN.
18272 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18276 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} keepalive keepalive
18277 Causes ping-like messages to be sent back and forth over the link so
18278 that each side knows when the other side has gone down. @code{keepalive}
18279 requires a pair. The first element is the period of the ping sending,
18280 and the second element is the timeout before considering the other side
18285 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} number max-clients
18286 The maximum number of clients.
18288 Defaults to @samp{100}.
18292 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} string status
18293 The status file. This file shows a small report on current connection.
18294 It is truncated and rewritten every minute.
18296 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/openvpn/status"}.
18300 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-server-configuration} parameter} openvpn-ccd-list client-config-dir
18301 The list of configuration for some clients.
18303 Defaults to @samp{()}.
18305 Available @code{openvpn-ccd-configuration} fields are:
18307 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-ccd-configuration} parameter} string name
18310 Defaults to @samp{"client"}.
18314 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-ccd-configuration} parameter} ip-mask iroute
18317 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18321 @deftypevr {@code{openvpn-ccd-configuration} parameter} ip-mask ifconfig-push
18324 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18331 @c %end of automatic openvpn-server documentation
18334 @node Network File System
18335 @subsubsection Network File System
18338 The @code{(gnu services nfs)} module provides the following services,
18339 which are most commonly used in relation to mounting or exporting
18340 directory trees as @dfn{network file systems} (NFS).
18342 @subsubheading RPC Bind Service
18345 The RPC Bind service provides a facility to map program numbers into
18346 universal addresses.
18347 Many NFS related services use this facility. Hence it is automatically
18348 started when a dependent service starts.
18350 @defvr {Scheme Variable} rpcbind-service-type
18351 A service type for the RPC portmapper daemon.
18355 @deftp {Data Type} rpcbind-configuration
18356 Data type representing the configuration of the RPC Bind Service.
18357 This type has the following parameters:
18359 @item @code{rpcbind} (default: @code{rpcbind})
18360 The rpcbind package to use.
18362 @item @code{warm-start?} (default: @code{#t})
18363 If this parameter is @code{#t}, then the daemon will read a
18364 state file on startup thus reloading state information saved by a previous
18370 @subsubheading Pipefs Pseudo File System
18374 The pipefs file system is used to transfer NFS related data
18375 between the kernel and user space programs.
18377 @defvr {Scheme Variable} pipefs-service-type
18378 A service type for the pipefs pseudo file system.
18381 @deftp {Data Type} pipefs-configuration
18382 Data type representing the configuration of the pipefs pseudo file system service.
18383 This type has the following parameters:
18385 @item @code{mount-point} (default: @code{"/var/lib/nfs/rpc_pipefs"})
18386 The directory to which the file system is to be attached.
18391 @subsubheading GSS Daemon Service
18394 @cindex global security system
18396 The @dfn{global security system} (GSS) daemon provides strong security for RPC
18398 Before exchanging RPC requests an RPC client must establish a security
18399 context. Typically this is done using the Kerberos command @command{kinit}
18400 or automatically at login time using PAM services (@pxref{Kerberos Services}).
18402 @defvr {Scheme Variable} gss-service-type
18403 A service type for the Global Security System (GSS) daemon.
18406 @deftp {Data Type} gss-configuration
18407 Data type representing the configuration of the GSS daemon service.
18408 This type has the following parameters:
18410 @item @code{nfs-utils} (default: @code{nfs-utils})
18411 The package in which the @command{rpc.gssd} command is to be found.
18413 @item @code{pipefs-directory} (default: @code{"/var/lib/nfs/rpc_pipefs"})
18414 The directory where the pipefs file system is mounted.
18420 @subsubheading IDMAP Daemon Service
18422 @cindex name mapper
18424 The idmap daemon service provides mapping between user IDs and user names.
18425 Typically it is required in order to access file systems mounted via NFSv4.
18427 @defvr {Scheme Variable} idmap-service-type
18428 A service type for the Identity Mapper (IDMAP) daemon.
18431 @deftp {Data Type} idmap-configuration
18432 Data type representing the configuration of the IDMAP daemon service.
18433 This type has the following parameters:
18435 @item @code{nfs-utils} (default: @code{nfs-utils})
18436 The package in which the @command{rpc.idmapd} command is to be found.
18438 @item @code{pipefs-directory} (default: @code{"/var/lib/nfs/rpc_pipefs"})
18439 The directory where the pipefs file system is mounted.
18441 @item @code{domain} (default: @code{#f})
18442 The local NFSv4 domain name.
18443 This must be a string or @code{#f}.
18444 If it is @code{#f} then the daemon will use the host's fully qualified domain name.
18449 @node Continuous Integration
18450 @subsubsection Continuous Integration
18452 @cindex continuous integration
18453 @uref{https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/guix/guix-cuirass.git, Cuirass} is a
18454 continuous integration tool for Guix. It can be used both for development and
18455 for providing substitutes to others (@pxref{Substitutes}).
18457 The @code{(gnu services cuirass)} module provides the following service.
18459 @defvr {Scheme Procedure} cuirass-service-type
18460 The type of the Cuirass service. Its value must be a
18461 @code{cuirass-configuration} object, as described below.
18464 To add build jobs, you have to set the @code{specifications} field of the
18465 configuration. Here is an example of a service that polls the Guix repository
18466 and builds the packages from a manifest. Some of the packages are defined in
18467 the @code{"custom-packages"} input, which is the equivalent of
18468 @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH}.
18471 (define %cuirass-specs
18473 '((#:name . "my-manifest")
18474 (#:load-path-inputs . ("guix"))
18475 (#:package-path-inputs . ("custom-packages"))
18476 (#:proc-input . "guix")
18477 (#:proc-file . "build-aux/cuirass/gnu-system.scm")
18478 (#:proc . cuirass-jobs)
18479 (#:proc-args . ((subset . "manifests")
18480 (systems . ("x86_64-linux"))
18481 (manifests . (("config" . "guix/manifest.scm")))))
18482 (#:inputs . (((#:name . "guix")
18483 (#:url . "git://git.savannah.gnu.org/guix.git")
18484 (#:load-path . ".")
18485 (#:branch . "master")
18486 (#:no-compile? . #t))
18487 ((#:name . "config")
18488 (#:url . "git://git.example.org/config.git")
18489 (#:load-path . ".")
18490 (#:branch . "master")
18491 (#:no-compile? . #t))
18492 ((#:name . "custom-packages")
18493 (#:url . "git://git.example.org/custom-packages.git")
18494 (#:load-path . ".")
18495 (#:branch . "master")
18496 (#:no-compile? . #t)))))))
18498 (service cuirass-service-type
18499 (cuirass-configuration
18500 (specifications %cuirass-specs)))
18503 While information related to build jobs is located directly in the
18504 specifications, global settings for the @command{cuirass} process are
18505 accessible in other @code{cuirass-configuration} fields.
18507 @deftp {Data Type} cuirass-configuration
18508 Data type representing the configuration of Cuirass.
18511 @item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/cuirass.log"})
18512 Location of the log file.
18514 @item @code{cache-directory} (default: @code{"/var/cache/cuirass"})
18515 Location of the repository cache.
18517 @item @code{user} (default: @code{"cuirass"})
18518 Owner of the @code{cuirass} process.
18520 @item @code{group} (default: @code{"cuirass"})
18521 Owner's group of the @code{cuirass} process.
18523 @item @code{interval} (default: @code{60})
18524 Number of seconds between the poll of the repositories followed by the
18527 @item @code{database} (default: @code{"/var/lib/cuirass/cuirass.db"})
18528 Location of sqlite database which contains the build results and previously
18529 added specifications.
18531 @item @code{port} (default: @code{8081})
18532 Port number used by the HTTP server.
18534 @item --listen=@var{host}
18535 Listen on the network interface for @var{host}. The default is to
18536 accept connections from localhost.
18538 @item @code{specifications} (default: @code{#~'()})
18539 A gexp (@pxref{G-Expressions}) that evaluates to a list of specifications,
18540 where a specification is an association list
18541 (@pxref{Associations Lists,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}) whose
18542 keys are keywords (@code{#:keyword-example}) as shown in the example
18545 @item @code{use-substitutes?} (default: @code{#f})
18546 This allows using substitutes to avoid building every dependencies of a job
18549 @item @code{one-shot?} (default: @code{#f})
18550 Only evaluate specifications and build derivations once.
18552 @item @code{fallback?} (default: @code{#f})
18553 When substituting a pre-built binary fails, fall back to building
18556 @item @code{cuirass} (default: @code{cuirass})
18557 The Cuirass package to use.
18561 @node Power Management Services
18562 @subsubsection Power Management Services
18565 @cindex power management with TLP
18566 @subsubheading TLP daemon
18568 The @code{(gnu services pm)} module provides a Guix service definition
18569 for the Linux power management tool TLP.
18571 TLP enables various powersaving modes in userspace and kernel.
18572 Contrary to @code{upower-service}, it is not a passive,
18573 monitoring tool, as it will apply custom settings each time a new power
18574 source is detected. More information can be found at
18575 @uref{http://linrunner.de/en/tlp/tlp.html, TLP home page}.
18577 @deffn {Scheme Variable} tlp-service-type
18578 The service type for the TLP tool. Its value should be a valid
18579 TLP configuration (see below). To use the default settings, simply
18582 (service tlp-service-type)
18586 By default TLP does not need much configuration but most TLP parameters
18587 can be tweaked using @code{tlp-configuration}.
18589 Each parameter definition is preceded by its type; for example,
18590 @samp{boolean foo} indicates that the @code{foo} parameter
18591 should be specified as a boolean. Types starting with
18592 @code{maybe-} denote parameters that won't show up in TLP config file
18593 when their value is @code{'disabled}.
18595 @c The following documentation was initially generated by
18596 @c (generate-tlp-documentation) in (gnu services pm). Manually maintained
18597 @c documentation is better, so we shouldn't hesitate to edit below as
18598 @c needed. However if the change you want to make to this documentation
18599 @c can be done in an automated way, it's probably easier to change
18600 @c (generate-documentation) than to make it below and have to deal with
18601 @c the churn as TLP updates.
18603 Available @code{tlp-configuration} fields are:
18605 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} package tlp
18610 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean tlp-enable?
18611 Set to true if you wish to enable TLP.
18613 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18617 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string tlp-default-mode
18618 Default mode when no power supply can be detected. Alternatives are AC
18621 Defaults to @samp{"AC"}.
18625 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer disk-idle-secs-on-ac
18626 Number of seconds Linux kernel has to wait after the disk goes idle,
18627 before syncing on AC.
18629 Defaults to @samp{0}.
18633 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer disk-idle-secs-on-bat
18634 Same as @code{disk-idle-ac} but on BAT mode.
18636 Defaults to @samp{2}.
18640 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-lost-work-secs-on-ac
18641 Dirty pages flushing periodicity, expressed in seconds.
18643 Defaults to @samp{15}.
18647 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer max-lost-work-secs-on-bat
18648 Same as @code{max-lost-work-secs-on-ac} but on BAT mode.
18650 Defaults to @samp{60}.
18654 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-space-separated-string-list cpu-scaling-governor-on-ac
18655 CPU frequency scaling governor on AC mode. With intel_pstate driver,
18656 alternatives are powersave and performance. With acpi-cpufreq driver,
18657 alternatives are ondemand, powersave, performance and conservative.
18659 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18663 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-space-separated-string-list cpu-scaling-governor-on-bat
18664 Same as @code{cpu-scaling-governor-on-ac} but on BAT mode.
18666 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18670 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-scaling-min-freq-on-ac
18671 Set the min available frequency for the scaling governor on AC.
18673 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18677 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-scaling-max-freq-on-ac
18678 Set the max available frequency for the scaling governor on AC.
18680 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18684 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-scaling-min-freq-on-bat
18685 Set the min available frequency for the scaling governor on BAT.
18687 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18691 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-scaling-max-freq-on-bat
18692 Set the max available frequency for the scaling governor on BAT.
18694 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18698 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-min-perf-on-ac
18699 Limit the min P-state to control the power dissipation of the CPU, in AC
18700 mode. Values are stated as a percentage of the available performance.
18702 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18706 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-max-perf-on-ac
18707 Limit the max P-state to control the power dissipation of the CPU, in AC
18708 mode. Values are stated as a percentage of the available performance.
18710 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18714 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-min-perf-on-bat
18715 Same as @code{cpu-min-perf-on-ac} on BAT mode.
18717 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18721 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-non-negative-integer cpu-max-perf-on-bat
18722 Same as @code{cpu-max-perf-on-ac} on BAT mode.
18724 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18728 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-boolean cpu-boost-on-ac?
18729 Enable CPU turbo boost feature on AC mode.
18731 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18735 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-boolean cpu-boost-on-bat?
18736 Same as @code{cpu-boost-on-ac?} on BAT mode.
18738 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18742 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean sched-powersave-on-ac?
18743 Allow Linux kernel to minimize the number of CPU cores/hyper-threads
18744 used under light load conditions.
18746 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18750 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean sched-powersave-on-bat?
18751 Same as @code{sched-powersave-on-ac?} but on BAT mode.
18753 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18757 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean nmi-watchdog?
18758 Enable Linux kernel NMI watchdog.
18760 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18764 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-string phc-controls
18765 For Linux kernels with PHC patch applied, change CPU voltages. An
18766 example value would be @samp{"F:V F:V F:V F:V"}.
18768 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18772 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string energy-perf-policy-on-ac
18773 Set CPU performance versus energy saving policy on AC. Alternatives are
18774 performance, normal, powersave.
18776 Defaults to @samp{"performance"}.
18780 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string energy-perf-policy-on-bat
18781 Same as @code{energy-perf-policy-ac} but on BAT mode.
18783 Defaults to @samp{"powersave"}.
18787 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list disks-devices
18792 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list disk-apm-level-on-ac
18793 Hard disk advanced power management level.
18797 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list disk-apm-level-on-bat
18798 Same as @code{disk-apm-bat} but on BAT mode.
18802 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-space-separated-string-list disk-spindown-timeout-on-ac
18803 Hard disk spin down timeout. One value has to be specified for each
18804 declared hard disk.
18806 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18810 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-space-separated-string-list disk-spindown-timeout-on-bat
18811 Same as @code{disk-spindown-timeout-on-ac} but on BAT mode.
18813 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18817 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-space-separated-string-list disk-iosched
18818 Select IO scheduler for disk devices. One value has to be specified for
18819 each declared hard disk. Example alternatives are cfq, deadline and
18822 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18826 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string sata-linkpwr-on-ac
18827 SATA aggressive link power management (ALPM) level. Alternatives are
18828 min_power, medium_power, max_performance.
18830 Defaults to @samp{"max_performance"}.
18834 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string sata-linkpwr-on-bat
18835 Same as @code{sata-linkpwr-ac} but on BAT mode.
18837 Defaults to @samp{"min_power"}.
18841 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-string sata-linkpwr-blacklist
18842 Exclude specified SATA host devices for link power management.
18844 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18848 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-on-off-boolean ahci-runtime-pm-on-ac?
18849 Enable Runtime Power Management for AHCI controller and disks on AC
18852 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18856 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-on-off-boolean ahci-runtime-pm-on-bat?
18857 Same as @code{ahci-runtime-pm-on-ac} on BAT mode.
18859 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
18863 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer ahci-runtime-pm-timeout
18864 Seconds of inactivity before disk is suspended.
18866 Defaults to @samp{15}.
18870 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string pcie-aspm-on-ac
18871 PCI Express Active State Power Management level. Alternatives are
18872 default, performance, powersave.
18874 Defaults to @samp{"performance"}.
18878 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string pcie-aspm-on-bat
18879 Same as @code{pcie-aspm-ac} but on BAT mode.
18881 Defaults to @samp{"powersave"}.
18885 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string radeon-power-profile-on-ac
18886 Radeon graphics clock speed level. Alternatives are low, mid, high,
18889 Defaults to @samp{"high"}.
18893 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string radeon-power-profile-on-bat
18894 Same as @code{radeon-power-ac} but on BAT mode.
18896 Defaults to @samp{"low"}.
18900 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string radeon-dpm-state-on-ac
18901 Radeon dynamic power management method (DPM). Alternatives are battery,
18904 Defaults to @samp{"performance"}.
18908 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string radeon-dpm-state-on-bat
18909 Same as @code{radeon-dpm-state-ac} but on BAT mode.
18911 Defaults to @samp{"battery"}.
18915 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string radeon-dpm-perf-level-on-ac
18916 Radeon DPM performance level. Alternatives are auto, low, high.
18918 Defaults to @samp{"auto"}.
18922 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string radeon-dpm-perf-level-on-bat
18923 Same as @code{radeon-dpm-perf-ac} but on BAT mode.
18925 Defaults to @samp{"auto"}.
18929 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} on-off-boolean wifi-pwr-on-ac?
18930 Wifi power saving mode.
18932 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18936 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} on-off-boolean wifi-pwr-on-bat?
18937 Same as @code{wifi-power-ac?} but on BAT mode.
18939 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18943 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} y-n-boolean wol-disable?
18944 Disable wake on LAN.
18946 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18950 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer sound-power-save-on-ac
18951 Timeout duration in seconds before activating audio power saving on
18952 Intel HDA and AC97 devices. A value of 0 disables power saving.
18954 Defaults to @samp{0}.
18958 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} non-negative-integer sound-power-save-on-bat
18959 Same as @code{sound-powersave-ac} but on BAT mode.
18961 Defaults to @samp{1}.
18965 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} y-n-boolean sound-power-save-controller?
18966 Disable controller in powersaving mode on Intel HDA devices.
18968 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
18972 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean bay-poweroff-on-bat?
18973 Enable optical drive in UltraBay/MediaBay on BAT mode. Drive can be
18974 powered on again by releasing (and reinserting) the eject lever or by
18975 pressing the disc eject button on newer models.
18977 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
18981 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string bay-device
18982 Name of the optical drive device to power off.
18984 Defaults to @samp{"sr0"}.
18988 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string runtime-pm-on-ac
18989 Runtime Power Management for PCI(e) bus devices. Alternatives are on
18992 Defaults to @samp{"on"}.
18996 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} string runtime-pm-on-bat
18997 Same as @code{runtime-pm-ac} but on BAT mode.
18999 Defaults to @samp{"auto"}.
19003 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean runtime-pm-all?
19004 Runtime Power Management for all PCI(e) bus devices, except blacklisted
19007 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
19011 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-space-separated-string-list runtime-pm-blacklist
19012 Exclude specified PCI(e) device addresses from Runtime Power Management.
19014 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
19018 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} space-separated-string-list runtime-pm-driver-blacklist
19019 Exclude PCI(e) devices assigned to the specified drivers from Runtime
19024 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean usb-autosuspend?
19025 Enable USB autosuspend feature.
19027 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
19031 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-string usb-blacklist
19032 Exclude specified devices from USB autosuspend.
19034 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
19038 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean usb-blacklist-wwan?
19039 Exclude WWAN devices from USB autosuspend.
19041 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
19045 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-string usb-whitelist
19046 Include specified devices into USB autosuspend, even if they are already
19047 excluded by the driver or via @code{usb-blacklist-wwan?}.
19049 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
19053 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} maybe-boolean usb-autosuspend-disable-on-shutdown?
19054 Enable USB autosuspend before shutdown.
19056 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
19060 @deftypevr {@code{tlp-configuration} parameter} boolean restore-device-state-on-startup?
19061 Restore radio device state (bluetooth, wifi, wwan) from previous
19062 shutdown on system startup.
19064 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
19069 @cindex CPU frequency scaling with thermald
19070 @subsubheading Thermald daemon
19072 The @code{(gnu services pm)} module provides an interface to
19073 thermald, a CPU frequency scaling service which helps prevent overheating.
19075 @defvr {Scheme Variable} thermald-service-type
19076 This is the service type for
19077 @uref{https://01.org/linux-thermal-daemon/, thermald}, the Linux
19078 Thermal Daemon, which is responsible for controlling the thermal state
19079 of processors and preventing overheating.
19082 @deftp {Data Type} thermald-configuration
19083 Data type representing the configuration of @code{thermald-service-type}.
19086 @item @code{ignore-cpuid-check?} (default: @code{#f})
19087 Ignore cpuid check for supported CPU models.
19089 @item @code{thermald} (default: @var{thermald})
19090 Package object of thermald.
19095 @node Audio Services
19096 @subsubsection Audio Services
19098 The @code{(gnu services audio)} module provides a service to start MPD
19099 (the Music Player Daemon).
19102 @subsubheading Music Player Daemon
19104 The Music Player Daemon (MPD) is a service that can play music while
19105 being controlled from the local machine or over the network by a variety
19108 The following example shows how one might run @code{mpd} as user
19109 @code{"bob"} on port @code{6666}. It uses pulseaudio for output.
19112 (service mpd-service-type
19118 @defvr {Scheme Variable} mpd-service-type
19119 The service type for @command{mpd}
19122 @deftp {Data Type} mpd-configuration
19123 Data type representing the configuration of @command{mpd}.
19126 @item @code{user} (default: @code{"mpd"})
19127 The user to run mpd as.
19129 @item @code{music-dir} (default: @code{"~/Music"})
19130 The directory to scan for music files.
19132 @item @code{playlist-dir} (default: @code{"~/.mpd/playlists"})
19133 The directory to store playlists.
19135 @item @code{port} (default: @code{"6600"})
19136 The port to run mpd on.
19138 @item @code{address} (default: @code{"any"})
19139 The address that mpd will bind to. To use a Unix domain socket,
19140 an absolute path can be specified here.
19145 @node Virtualization Services
19146 @subsubsection Virtualization services
19148 The @code{(gnu services virtualization)} module provides services for
19149 the libvirt and virtlog daemons, as well as other virtualization-related
19152 @subsubheading Libvirt daemon
19153 @code{libvirtd} is the server side daemon component of the libvirt
19154 virtualization management system. This daemon runs on host servers
19155 and performs required management tasks for virtualized guests.
19157 @deffn {Scheme Variable} libvirt-service-type
19158 This is the type of the @uref{https://libvirt.org, libvirt daemon}.
19159 Its value must be a @code{libvirt-configuration}.
19162 (service libvirt-service-type
19163 (libvirt-configuration
19164 (unix-sock-group "libvirt")
19165 (tls-port "16555")))
19169 @c Auto-generated with (generate-libvirt-documentation)
19170 Available @code{libvirt-configuration} fields are:
19172 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} package libvirt
19177 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} boolean listen-tls?
19178 Flag listening for secure TLS connections on the public TCP/IP port.
19179 must set @code{listen} for this to have any effect.
19181 It is necessary to setup a CA and issue server certificates before using
19184 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
19188 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} boolean listen-tcp?
19189 Listen for unencrypted TCP connections on the public TCP/IP port. must
19190 set @code{listen} for this to have any effect.
19192 Using the TCP socket requires SASL authentication by default. Only SASL
19193 mechanisms which support data encryption are allowed. This is
19194 DIGEST_MD5 and GSSAPI (Kerberos5)
19196 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
19200 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string tls-port
19201 Port for accepting secure TLS connections This can be a port number, or
19204 Defaults to @samp{"16514"}.
19208 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string tcp-port
19209 Port for accepting insecure TCP connections This can be a port number,
19212 Defaults to @samp{"16509"}.
19216 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string listen-addr
19217 IP address or hostname used for client connections.
19219 Defaults to @samp{"0.0.0.0"}.
19223 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} boolean mdns-adv?
19224 Flag toggling mDNS advertisement of the libvirt service.
19226 Alternatively can disable for all services on a host by stopping the
19229 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
19233 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string mdns-name
19234 Default mDNS advertisement name. This must be unique on the immediate
19237 Defaults to @samp{"Virtualization Host <hostname>"}.
19241 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string unix-sock-group
19242 UNIX domain socket group ownership. This can be used to allow a
19243 'trusted' set of users access to management capabilities without
19246 Defaults to @samp{"root"}.
19250 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string unix-sock-ro-perms
19251 UNIX socket permissions for the R/O socket. This is used for monitoring
19254 Defaults to @samp{"0777"}.
19258 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string unix-sock-rw-perms
19259 UNIX socket permissions for the R/W socket. Default allows only root.
19260 If PolicyKit is enabled on the socket, the default will change to allow
19261 everyone (eg, 0777)
19263 Defaults to @samp{"0770"}.
19267 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string unix-sock-admin-perms
19268 UNIX socket permissions for the admin socket. Default allows only owner
19269 (root), do not change it unless you are sure to whom you are exposing
19272 Defaults to @samp{"0777"}.
19276 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string unix-sock-dir
19277 The directory in which sockets will be found/created.
19279 Defaults to @samp{"/var/run/libvirt"}.
19283 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string auth-unix-ro
19284 Authentication scheme for UNIX read-only sockets. By default socket
19285 permissions allow anyone to connect
19287 Defaults to @samp{"polkit"}.
19291 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string auth-unix-rw
19292 Authentication scheme for UNIX read-write sockets. By default socket
19293 permissions only allow root. If PolicyKit support was compiled into
19294 libvirt, the default will be to use 'polkit' auth.
19296 Defaults to @samp{"polkit"}.
19300 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string auth-tcp
19301 Authentication scheme for TCP sockets. If you don't enable SASL, then
19302 all TCP traffic is cleartext. Don't do this outside of a dev/test
19305 Defaults to @samp{"sasl"}.
19309 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string auth-tls
19310 Authentication scheme for TLS sockets. TLS sockets already have
19311 encryption provided by the TLS layer, and limited authentication is done
19314 It is possible to make use of any SASL authentication mechanism as well,
19315 by using 'sasl' for this option
19317 Defaults to @samp{"none"}.
19321 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} optional-list access-drivers
19322 API access control scheme.
19324 By default an authenticated user is allowed access to all APIs. Access
19325 drivers can place restrictions on this.
19327 Defaults to @samp{()}.
19331 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string key-file
19332 Server key file path. If set to an empty string, then no private key is
19335 Defaults to @samp{""}.
19339 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string cert-file
19340 Server key file path. If set to an empty string, then no certificate is
19343 Defaults to @samp{""}.
19347 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string ca-file
19348 Server key file path. If set to an empty string, then no CA certificate
19351 Defaults to @samp{""}.
19355 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string crl-file
19356 Certificate revocation list path. If set to an empty string, then no
19359 Defaults to @samp{""}.
19363 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} boolean tls-no-sanity-cert
19364 Disable verification of our own server certificates.
19366 When libvirtd starts it performs some sanity checks against its own
19369 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
19373 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} boolean tls-no-verify-cert
19374 Disable verification of client certificates.
19376 Client certificate verification is the primary authentication mechanism.
19377 Any client which does not present a certificate signed by the CA will be
19380 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
19384 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} optional-list tls-allowed-dn-list
19385 Whitelist of allowed x509 Distinguished Name.
19387 Defaults to @samp{()}.
19391 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} optional-list sasl-allowed-usernames
19392 Whitelist of allowed SASL usernames. The format for username depends on
19393 the SASL authentication mechanism.
19395 Defaults to @samp{()}.
19399 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string tls-priority
19400 Override the compile time default TLS priority string. The default is
19401 usually "NORMAL" unless overridden at build time. Only set this is it
19402 is desired for libvirt to deviate from the global default settings.
19404 Defaults to @samp{"NORMAL"}.
19408 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer max-clients
19409 Maximum number of concurrent client connections to allow over all
19412 Defaults to @samp{5000}.
19416 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer max-queued-clients
19417 Maximum length of queue of connections waiting to be accepted by the
19418 daemon. Note, that some protocols supporting retransmission may obey
19419 this so that a later reattempt at connection succeeds.
19421 Defaults to @samp{1000}.
19425 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer max-anonymous-clients
19426 Maximum length of queue of accepted but not yet authenticated clients.
19427 Set this to zero to turn this feature off
19429 Defaults to @samp{20}.
19433 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer min-workers
19434 Number of workers to start up initially.
19436 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19440 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer max-workers
19441 Maximum number of worker threads.
19443 If the number of active clients exceeds @code{min-workers}, then more
19444 threads are spawned, up to max_workers limit. Typically you'd want
19445 max_workers to equal maximum number of clients allowed.
19447 Defaults to @samp{20}.
19451 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer prio-workers
19452 Number of priority workers. If all workers from above pool are stuck,
19453 some calls marked as high priority (notably domainDestroy) can be
19454 executed in this pool.
19456 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19460 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer max-requests
19461 Total global limit on concurrent RPC calls.
19463 Defaults to @samp{20}.
19467 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer max-client-requests
19468 Limit on concurrent requests from a single client connection. To avoid
19469 one client monopolizing the server this should be a small fraction of
19470 the global max_requests and max_workers parameter.
19472 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19476 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer admin-min-workers
19477 Same as @code{min-workers} but for the admin interface.
19479 Defaults to @samp{1}.
19483 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer admin-max-workers
19484 Same as @code{max-workers} but for the admin interface.
19486 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19490 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer admin-max-clients
19491 Same as @code{max-clients} but for the admin interface.
19493 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19497 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer admin-max-queued-clients
19498 Same as @code{max-queued-clients} but for the admin interface.
19500 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19504 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer admin-max-client-requests
19505 Same as @code{max-client-requests} but for the admin interface.
19507 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19511 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer log-level
19512 Logging level. 4 errors, 3 warnings, 2 information, 1 debug.
19514 Defaults to @samp{3}.
19518 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string log-filters
19521 A filter allows to select a different logging level for a given category
19522 of logs The format for a filter is one of:
19533 where @code{name} is a string which is matched against the category
19534 given in the @code{VIR_LOG_INIT()} at the top of each libvirt source
19535 file, e.g., "remote", "qemu", or "util.json" (the name in the filter can
19536 be a substring of the full category name, in order to match multiple
19537 similar categories), the optional "+" prefix tells libvirt to log stack
19538 trace for each message matching name, and @code{x} is the minimal level
19539 where matching messages should be logged:
19556 Multiple filters can be defined in a single filters statement, they just
19557 need to be separated by spaces.
19559 Defaults to @samp{"3:remote 4:event"}.
19563 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string log-outputs
19566 An output is one of the places to save logging information The format
19567 for an output can be:
19571 output goes to stderr
19573 @item x:syslog:name
19574 use syslog for the output and use the given name as the ident
19576 @item x:file:file_path
19577 output to a file, with the given filepath
19580 output to journald logging system
19584 In all case the x prefix is the minimal level, acting as a filter
19601 Multiple outputs can be defined, they just need to be separated by
19604 Defaults to @samp{"3:stderr"}.
19608 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer audit-level
19609 Allows usage of the auditing subsystem to be altered
19613 0: disable all auditing
19616 1: enable auditing, only if enabled on host
19619 2: enable auditing, and exit if disabled on host.
19623 Defaults to @samp{1}.
19627 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} boolean audit-logging
19628 Send audit messages via libvirt logging infrastructure.
19630 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
19634 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} optional-string host-uuid
19635 Host UUID. UUID must not have all digits be the same.
19637 Defaults to @samp{""}.
19641 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} string host-uuid-source
19642 Source to read host UUID.
19646 @code{smbios}: fetch the UUID from @code{dmidecode -s system-uuid}
19649 @code{machine-id}: fetch the UUID from @code{/etc/machine-id}
19653 If @code{dmidecode} does not provide a valid UUID a temporary UUID will
19656 Defaults to @samp{"smbios"}.
19660 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer keepalive-interval
19661 A keepalive message is sent to a client after @code{keepalive_interval}
19662 seconds of inactivity to check if the client is still responding. If
19663 set to -1, libvirtd will never send keepalive requests; however clients
19664 can still send them and the daemon will send responses.
19666 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19670 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer keepalive-count
19671 Maximum number of keepalive messages that are allowed to be sent to the
19672 client without getting any response before the connection is considered
19675 In other words, the connection is automatically closed approximately
19676 after @code{keepalive_interval * (keepalive_count + 1)} seconds since
19677 the last message received from the client. When @code{keepalive-count}
19678 is set to 0, connections will be automatically closed after
19679 @code{keepalive-interval} seconds of inactivity without sending any
19680 keepalive messages.
19682 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19686 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer admin-keepalive-interval
19687 Same as above but for admin interface.
19689 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19693 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer admin-keepalive-count
19694 Same as above but for admin interface.
19696 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19700 @deftypevr {@code{libvirt-configuration} parameter} integer ovs-timeout
19701 Timeout for Open vSwitch calls.
19703 The @code{ovs-vsctl} utility is used for the configuration and its
19704 timeout option is set by default to 5 seconds to avoid potential
19705 infinite waits blocking libvirt.
19707 Defaults to @samp{5}.
19711 @c %end of autogenerated docs
19713 @subsubheading Virtlog daemon
19714 The virtlogd service is a server side daemon component of libvirt that is
19715 used to manage logs from virtual machine consoles.
19717 This daemon is not used directly by libvirt client applications, rather it
19718 is called on their behalf by @code{libvirtd}. By maintaining the logs in a
19719 standalone daemon, the main @code{libvirtd} daemon can be restarted without
19720 risk of losing logs. The @code{virtlogd} daemon has the ability to re-exec()
19721 itself upon receiving @code{SIGUSR1}, to allow live upgrades without downtime.
19723 @deffn {Scheme Variable} virtlog-service-type
19724 This is the type of the virtlog daemon.
19725 Its value must be a @code{virtlog-configuration}.
19728 (service virtlog-service-type
19729 (virtlog-configuration
19730 (max-clients 1000)))
19734 @deftypevr {@code{virtlog-configuration} parameter} integer log-level
19735 Logging level. 4 errors, 3 warnings, 2 information, 1 debug.
19737 Defaults to @samp{3}.
19741 @deftypevr {@code{virtlog-configuration} parameter} string log-filters
19744 A filter allows to select a different logging level for a given category
19745 of logs The format for a filter is one of:
19756 where @code{name} is a string which is matched against the category
19757 given in the @code{VIR_LOG_INIT()} at the top of each libvirt source
19758 file, e.g., "remote", "qemu", or "util.json" (the name in the filter can
19759 be a substring of the full category name, in order to match multiple
19760 similar categories), the optional "+" prefix tells libvirt to log stack
19761 trace for each message matching name, and @code{x} is the minimal level
19762 where matching messages should be logged:
19779 Multiple filters can be defined in a single filters statement, they just
19780 need to be separated by spaces.
19782 Defaults to @samp{"3:remote 4:event"}.
19786 @deftypevr {@code{virtlog-configuration} parameter} string log-outputs
19789 An output is one of the places to save logging information The format
19790 for an output can be:
19794 output goes to stderr
19796 @item x:syslog:name
19797 use syslog for the output and use the given name as the ident
19799 @item x:file:file_path
19800 output to a file, with the given filepath
19803 output to journald logging system
19807 In all case the x prefix is the minimal level, acting as a filter
19824 Multiple outputs can be defined, they just need to be separated by
19827 Defaults to @samp{"3:stderr"}.
19831 @deftypevr {@code{virtlog-configuration} parameter} integer max-clients
19832 Maximum number of concurrent client connections to allow over all
19835 Defaults to @samp{1024}.
19839 @deftypevr {@code{virtlog-configuration} parameter} integer max-size
19840 Maximum file size before rolling over.
19842 Defaults to @samp{2MB}
19846 @deftypevr {@code{virtlog-configuration} parameter} integer max-backups
19847 Maximum number of backup files to keep.
19849 Defaults to @samp{3}
19853 @subsubheading Transparent Emulation with QEMU
19856 @cindex @code{binfmt_misc}
19857 @code{qemu-binfmt-service-type} provides support for transparent
19858 emulation of program binaries built for different architectures---e.g.,
19859 it allows you to transparently execute an ARMv7 program on an x86_64
19860 machine. It achieves this by combining the @uref{https://www.qemu.org,
19861 QEMU} emulator and the @code{binfmt_misc} feature of the kernel Linux.
19863 @defvr {Scheme Variable} qemu-binfmt-service-type
19864 This is the type of the QEMU/binfmt service for transparent emulation.
19865 Its value must be a @code{qemu-binfmt-configuration} object, which
19866 specifies the QEMU package to use as well as the architecture we want to
19870 (service qemu-binfmt-service-type
19871 (qemu-binfmt-configuration
19872 (platforms (lookup-qemu-platforms "arm" "aarch64" "ppc"))))
19875 In this example, we enable transparent emulation for the ARM and aarch64
19876 platforms. Running @code{herd stop qemu-binfmt} turns it off, and
19877 running @code{herd start qemu-binfmt} turns it back on (@pxref{Invoking
19878 herd, the @command{herd} command,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}).
19881 @deftp {Data Type} qemu-binfmt-configuration
19882 This is the configuration for the @code{qemu-binfmt} service.
19885 @item @code{platforms} (default: @code{'()})
19886 The list of emulated QEMU platforms. Each item must be a @dfn{platform
19887 object} as returned by @code{lookup-qemu-platforms} (see below).
19889 @item @code{guix-support?} (default: @code{#f})
19890 When it is true, QEMU and all its dependencies are added to the build
19891 environment of @command{guix-daemon} (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon,
19892 @code{--chroot-directory} option}). This allows the @code{binfmt_misc}
19893 handlers to be used within the build environment, which in turn means
19894 that you can transparently build programs for another architecture.
19896 For example, let's suppose you're on an x86_64 machine and you have this
19900 (service qemu-binfmt-service-type
19901 (qemu-binfmt-configuration
19902 (platforms (lookup-qemu-platforms "arm"))
19903 (guix-support? #t)))
19909 guix build -s armhf-linux inkscape
19913 and it will build Inkscape for ARMv7 @emph{as if it were a native
19914 build}, transparently using QEMU to emulate the ARMv7 CPU. Pretty handy
19915 if you'd like to test a package build for an architecture you don't have
19918 @item @code{qemu} (default: @code{qemu})
19919 The QEMU package to use.
19923 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} lookup-qemu-platforms @var{platforms}@dots{}
19924 Return the list of QEMU platform objects corresponding to
19925 @var{platforms}@dots{}. @var{platforms} must be a list of strings
19926 corresponding to platform names, such as @code{"arm"}, @code{"sparc"},
19927 @code{"mips64el"}, and so on.
19930 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} qemu-platform? @var{obj}
19931 Return true if @var{obj} is a platform object.
19934 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} qemu-platform-name @var{platform}
19935 Return the name of @var{platform}---a string such as @code{"arm"}.
19938 @node Version Control Services
19939 @subsubsection Version Control Services
19941 The @code{(gnu services version-control)} module provides a service to
19942 allow remote access to local Git repositories. There are three options:
19943 the @code{git-daemon-service}, which provides access to repositories via
19944 the @code{git://} unsecured TCP-based protocol, extending the
19945 @code{nginx} web server to proxy some requests to
19946 @code{git-http-backend}, or providing a web interface with
19947 @code{cgit-service-type}.
19949 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} git-daemon-service [#:config (git-daemon-configuration)]
19951 Return a service that runs @command{git daemon}, a simple TCP server to
19952 expose repositories over the Git protocol for anonymous access.
19954 The optional @var{config} argument should be a
19955 @code{<git-daemon-configuration>} object, by default it allows read-only
19956 access to exported@footnote{By creating the magic file
19957 "git-daemon-export-ok" in the repository directory.} repositories under
19962 @deftp {Data Type} git-daemon-configuration
19963 Data type representing the configuration for @code{git-daemon-service}.
19966 @item @code{package} (default: @var{git})
19967 Package object of the Git distributed version control system.
19969 @item @code{export-all?} (default: @var{#f})
19970 Whether to allow access for all Git repositories, even if they do not
19971 have the @file{git-daemon-export-ok} file.
19973 @item @code{base-path} (default: @file{/srv/git})
19974 Whether to remap all the path requests as relative to the given path.
19975 If you run git daemon with @var{(base-path "/srv/git")} on example.com,
19976 then if you later try to pull @code{git://example.com/hello.git}, git
19977 daemon will interpret the path as @code{/srv/git/hello.git}.
19979 @item @code{user-path} (default: @var{#f})
19980 Whether to allow @code{~user} notation to be used in requests. When
19981 specified with empty string, requests to @code{git://host/~alice/foo} is
19982 taken as a request to access @code{foo} repository in the home directory
19983 of user @code{alice}. If @var{(user-path "path")} is specified, the
19984 same request is taken as a request to access @code{path/foo} repository
19985 in the home directory of user @code{alice}.
19987 @item @code{listen} (default: @var{'()})
19988 Whether to listen on specific IP addresses or hostnames, defaults to
19991 @item @code{port} (default: @var{#f})
19992 Whether to listen on an alternative port, which defaults to 9418.
19994 @item @code{whitelist} (default: @var{'()})
19995 If not empty, only allow access to this list of directories.
19997 @item @code{extra-options} (default: @var{'()})
19998 Extra options will be passed to @code{git daemon}, please run
19999 @command{man git-daemon} for more information.
20004 The @code{git://} protocol lacks authentication. When you pull from a
20005 repository fetched via @code{git://}, you don't know that the data you
20006 receive was modified is really coming from the specified host, and you
20007 have your connection is subject to eavesdropping. It's better to use an
20008 authenticated and encrypted transport, such as @code{https}. Although Git allows you
20009 to serve repositories using unsophisticated file-based web servers,
20010 there is a faster protocol implemented by the @code{git-http-backend}
20011 program. This program is the back-end of a proper Git web service. It
20012 is designed to sit behind a FastCGI proxy. @xref{Web Services}, for more
20013 on running the necessary @code{fcgiwrap} daemon.
20015 Guix has a separate configuration data type for serving Git repositories
20018 @deftp {Data Type} git-http-configuration
20019 Data type representing the configuration for @code{git-http-service}.
20022 @item @code{package} (default: @var{git})
20023 Package object of the Git distributed version control system.
20025 @item @code{git-root} (default: @file{/srv/git})
20026 Directory containing the Git repositories to expose to the world.
20028 @item @code{export-all?} (default: @var{#f})
20029 Whether to expose access for all Git repositories in @var{git-root},
20030 even if they do not have the @file{git-daemon-export-ok} file.
20032 @item @code{uri-path} (default: @file{/git/})
20033 Path prefix for Git access. With the default @code{/git/} prefix, this
20034 will map @code{http://@var{server}/git/@var{repo}.git} to
20035 @code{/srv/git/@var{repo}.git}. Requests whose URI paths do not begin
20036 with this prefix are not passed on to this Git instance.
20038 @item @code{fcgiwrap-socket} (default: @code{127.0.0.1:9000})
20039 The socket on which the @code{fcgiwrap} daemon is listening. @xref{Web
20044 There is no @code{git-http-service-type}, currently; instead you can
20045 create an @code{nginx-location-configuration} from a
20046 @code{git-http-configuration} and then add that location to a web
20049 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} git-http-nginx-location-configuration @
20050 [config=(git-http-configuration)]
20051 Compute an @code{nginx-location-configuration} that corresponds to the
20052 given Git http configuration. An example nginx service definition to
20053 serve the default @file{/srv/git} over HTTPS might be:
20056 (service nginx-service-type
20057 (nginx-configuration
20060 (nginx-server-configuration
20061 (listen '("443 ssl"))
20062 (server-name "git.my-host.org")
20064 "/etc/letsencrypt/live/git.my-host.org/fullchain.pem")
20065 (ssl-certificate-key
20066 "/etc/letsencrypt/live/git.my-host.org/privkey.pem")
20069 (git-http-nginx-location-configuration
20070 (git-http-configuration (uri-path "/"))))))))))
20073 This example assumes that you are using Let's Encrypt to get your TLS
20074 certificate. @xref{Certificate Services}. The default @code{certbot}
20075 service will redirect all HTTP traffic on @code{git.my-host.org} to
20076 HTTPS. You will also need to add an @code{fcgiwrap} proxy to your
20077 system services. @xref{Web Services}.
20080 @subsubheading Cgit Service
20082 @cindex Cgit service
20083 @cindex Git, web interface
20084 @uref{https://git.zx2c4.com/cgit/, Cgit} is a web frontend for Git
20085 repositories written in C.
20087 The following example will configure the service with default values.
20088 By default, Cgit can be accessed on port 80 (@code{http://localhost:80}).
20091 (service cgit-service-type)
20094 The @code{file-object} type designates either a file-like object
20095 (@pxref{G-Expressions, file-like objects}) or a string.
20097 @c %start of fragment
20099 Available @code{cgit-configuration} fields are:
20101 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} package package
20106 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} nginx-server-configuration-list nginx
20107 NGINX configuration.
20111 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object about-filter
20112 Specifies a command which will be invoked to format the content of about
20113 pages (both top-level and for each repository).
20115 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20119 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string agefile
20120 Specifies a path, relative to each repository path, which can be used to
20121 specify the date and time of the youngest commit in the repository.
20123 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20127 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object auth-filter
20128 Specifies a command that will be invoked for authenticating repository
20131 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20135 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string branch-sort
20136 Flag which, when set to @samp{age}, enables date ordering in the branch
20137 ref list, and when set @samp{name} enables ordering by branch name.
20139 Defaults to @samp{"name"}.
20143 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string cache-root
20144 Path used to store the cgit cache entries.
20146 Defaults to @samp{"/var/cache/cgit"}.
20150 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-static-ttl
20151 Number which specifies the time-to-live, in minutes, for the cached
20152 version of repository pages accessed with a fixed SHA1.
20154 Defaults to @samp{-1}.
20158 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-dynamic-ttl
20159 Number which specifies the time-to-live, in minutes, for the cached
20160 version of repository pages accessed without a fixed SHA1.
20162 Defaults to @samp{5}.
20166 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-repo-ttl
20167 Number which specifies the time-to-live, in minutes, for the cached
20168 version of the repository summary page.
20170 Defaults to @samp{5}.
20174 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-root-ttl
20175 Number which specifies the time-to-live, in minutes, for the cached
20176 version of the repository index page.
20178 Defaults to @samp{5}.
20182 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-scanrc-ttl
20183 Number which specifies the time-to-live, in minutes, for the result of
20184 scanning a path for Git repositories.
20186 Defaults to @samp{15}.
20190 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-about-ttl
20191 Number which specifies the time-to-live, in minutes, for the cached
20192 version of the repository about page.
20194 Defaults to @samp{15}.
20198 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-snapshot-ttl
20199 Number which specifies the time-to-live, in minutes, for the cached
20200 version of snapshots.
20202 Defaults to @samp{5}.
20206 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer cache-size
20207 The maximum number of entries in the cgit cache. When set to @samp{0},
20208 caching is disabled.
20210 Defaults to @samp{0}.
20214 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean case-sensitive-sort?
20215 Sort items in the repo list case sensitively.
20217 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
20221 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} list clone-prefix
20222 List of common prefixes which, when combined with a repository URL,
20223 generates valid clone URLs for the repository.
20225 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20229 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} list clone-url
20230 List of @code{clone-url} templates.
20232 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20236 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object commit-filter
20237 Command which will be invoked to format commit messages.
20239 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20243 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string commit-sort
20244 Flag which, when set to @samp{date}, enables strict date ordering in the
20245 commit log, and when set to @samp{topo} enables strict topological
20248 Defaults to @samp{"git log"}.
20252 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object css
20253 URL which specifies the css document to include in all cgit pages.
20255 Defaults to @samp{"/share/cgit/cgit.css"}.
20259 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object email-filter
20260 Specifies a command which will be invoked to format names and email
20261 address of committers, authors, and taggers, as represented in various
20262 places throughout the cgit interface.
20264 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20268 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean embedded?
20269 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit generate a HTML
20270 fragment suitable for embedding in other HTML pages.
20272 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20276 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-commit-graph?
20277 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit print an ASCII-art
20278 commit history graph to the left of the commit messages in the
20279 repository log page.
20281 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20285 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-filter-overrides?
20286 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, allows all filter settings to be
20287 overridden in repository-specific cgitrc files.
20289 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20293 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-follow-links?
20294 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, allows users to follow a file in the
20297 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20301 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-http-clone?
20302 If set to @samp{#t}, cgit will act as an dumb HTTP endpoint for Git
20305 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
20309 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-index-links?
20310 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit generate extra links
20311 "summary", "commit", "tree" for each repo in the repository index.
20313 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20317 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-index-owner?
20318 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit display the owner of
20319 each repo in the repository index.
20321 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
20325 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-log-filecount?
20326 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit print the number of
20327 modified files for each commit on the repository log page.
20329 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20333 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-log-linecount?
20334 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit print the number of
20335 added and removed lines for each commit on the repository log page.
20337 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20341 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-remote-branches?
20342 Flag which, when set to @code{#t}, will make cgit display remote
20343 branches in the summary and refs views.
20345 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20349 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-subject-links?
20350 Flag which, when set to @code{1}, will make cgit use the subject of the
20351 parent commit as link text when generating links to parent commits in
20354 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20358 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-html-serving?
20359 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit use the subject of the
20360 parent commit as link text when generating links to parent commits in
20363 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20367 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-tree-linenumbers?
20368 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit generate linenumber
20369 links for plaintext blobs printed in the tree view.
20371 Defaults to @samp{#t}.
20375 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean enable-git-config?
20376 Flag which, when set to @samp{#f}, will allow cgit to use Git config to
20377 set any repo specific settings.
20379 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20383 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object favicon
20384 URL used as link to a shortcut icon for cgit.
20386 Defaults to @samp{"/favicon.ico"}.
20390 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string footer
20391 The content of the file specified with this option will be included
20392 verbatim at the bottom of all pages (i.e. it replaces the standard
20393 "generated by..." message).
20395 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20399 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string head-include
20400 The content of the file specified with this option will be included
20401 verbatim in the HTML HEAD section on all pages.
20403 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20407 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string header
20408 The content of the file specified with this option will be included
20409 verbatim at the top of all pages.
20411 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20415 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object include
20416 Name of a configfile to include before the rest of the current config-
20419 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20423 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string index-header
20424 The content of the file specified with this option will be included
20425 verbatim above the repository index.
20427 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20431 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string index-info
20432 The content of the file specified with this option will be included
20433 verbatim below the heading on the repository index page.
20435 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20439 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean local-time?
20440 Flag which, if set to @samp{#t}, makes cgit print commit and tag times
20441 in the servers timezone.
20443 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20447 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object logo
20448 URL which specifies the source of an image which will be used as a logo
20451 Defaults to @samp{"/share/cgit/cgit.png"}.
20455 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string logo-link
20456 URL loaded when clicking on the cgit logo image.
20458 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20462 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object owner-filter
20463 Command which will be invoked to format the Owner column of the main
20466 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20470 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer max-atom-items
20471 Number of items to display in atom feeds view.
20473 Defaults to @samp{10}.
20477 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer max-commit-count
20478 Number of entries to list per page in "log" view.
20480 Defaults to @samp{50}.
20484 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer max-message-length
20485 Number of commit message characters to display in "log" view.
20487 Defaults to @samp{80}.
20491 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer max-repo-count
20492 Specifies the number of entries to list per page on the repository index
20495 Defaults to @samp{50}.
20499 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer max-repodesc-length
20500 Specifies the maximum number of repo description characters to display
20501 on the repository index page.
20503 Defaults to @samp{80}.
20507 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer max-blob-size
20508 Specifies the maximum size of a blob to display HTML for in KBytes.
20510 Defaults to @samp{0}.
20514 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string max-stats
20515 Maximum statistics period. Valid values are @samp{week},@samp{month},
20516 @samp{quarter} and @samp{year}.
20518 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20522 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} mimetype-alist mimetype
20523 Mimetype for the specified filename extension.
20525 Defaults to @samp{((gif "image/gif") (html "text/html") (jpg
20526 "image/jpeg") (jpeg "image/jpeg") (pdf "application/pdf") (png
20527 "image/png") (svg "image/svg+xml"))}.
20531 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object mimetype-file
20532 Specifies the file to use for automatic mimetype lookup.
20534 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20538 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string module-link
20539 Text which will be used as the formatstring for a hyperlink when a
20540 submodule is printed in a directory listing.
20542 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20546 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean nocache?
20547 If set to the value @samp{#t} caching will be disabled.
20549 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20553 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean noplainemail?
20554 If set to @samp{#t} showing full author email addresses will be
20557 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20561 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean noheader?
20562 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, will make cgit omit the standard
20563 header on all pages.
20565 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20569 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} project-list project-list
20570 A list of subdirectories inside of @code{repository-directory}, relative
20571 to it, that should loaded as Git repositories. An empty list means that
20572 all subdirectories will be loaded.
20574 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20578 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object readme
20579 Text which will be used as default value for @code{cgit-repo-readme}.
20581 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20585 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean remove-suffix?
20586 If set to @code{#t} and @code{repository-directory} is enabled, if any
20587 repositories are found with a suffix of @code{.git}, this suffix will be
20588 removed for the URL and name.
20590 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20594 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer renamelimit
20595 Maximum number of files to consider when detecting renames.
20597 Defaults to @samp{-1}.
20601 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string repository-sort
20602 The way in which repositories in each section are sorted.
20604 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20608 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} robots-list robots
20609 Text used as content for the @code{robots} meta-tag.
20611 Defaults to @samp{("noindex" "nofollow")}.
20615 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string root-desc
20616 Text printed below the heading on the repository index page.
20618 Defaults to @samp{"a fast webinterface for the git dscm"}.
20622 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string root-readme
20623 The content of the file specified with this option will be included
20624 verbatim below thef "about" link on the repository index page.
20626 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20630 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string root-title
20631 Text printed as heading on the repository index page.
20633 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20637 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean scan-hidden-path
20638 If set to @samp{#t} and repository-directory is enabled,
20639 repository-directory will recurse into directories whose name starts
20640 with a period. Otherwise, repository-directory will stay away from such
20641 directories, considered as "hidden". Note that this does not apply to
20642 the ".git" directory in non-bare repos.
20644 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20648 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} list snapshots
20649 Text which specifies the default set of snapshot formats that cgit
20650 generates links for.
20652 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20656 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} repository-directory repository-directory
20657 Name of the directory to scan for repositories (represents
20660 Defaults to @samp{"/srv/git"}.
20664 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string section
20665 The name of the current repository section - all repositories defined
20666 after this option will inherit the current section name.
20668 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20672 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string section-sort
20673 Flag which, when set to @samp{1}, will sort the sections on the
20674 repository listing by name.
20676 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20680 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer section-from-path
20681 A number which, if defined prior to repository-directory, specifies how
20682 many path elements from each repo path to use as a default section name.
20684 Defaults to @samp{0}.
20688 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} boolean side-by-side-diffs?
20689 If set to @samp{#t} shows side-by-side diffs instead of unidiffs per
20692 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20696 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} file-object source-filter
20697 Specifies a command which will be invoked to format plaintext blobs in
20700 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20704 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer summary-branches
20705 Specifies the number of branches to display in the repository "summary"
20708 Defaults to @samp{10}.
20712 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer summary-log
20713 Specifies the number of log entries to display in the repository
20716 Defaults to @samp{10}.
20720 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} integer summary-tags
20721 Specifies the number of tags to display in the repository "summary"
20724 Defaults to @samp{10}.
20728 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string strict-export
20729 Filename which, if specified, needs to be present within the repository
20730 for cgit to allow access to that repository.
20732 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20736 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} string virtual-root
20737 URL which, if specified, will be used as root for all cgit links.
20739 Defaults to @samp{"/"}.
20743 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} repository-cgit-configuration-list repositories
20744 A list of @dfn{cgit-repo} records to use with config.
20746 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20748 Available @code{repository-cgit-configuration} fields are:
20750 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-list snapshots
20751 A mask of snapshot formats for this repo that cgit generates links for,
20752 restricted by the global @code{snapshots} setting.
20754 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20758 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-file-object source-filter
20759 Override the default @code{source-filter}.
20761 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20765 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string url
20766 The relative URL used to access the repository.
20768 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20772 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-file-object about-filter
20773 Override the default @code{about-filter}.
20775 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20779 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string branch-sort
20780 Flag which, when set to @samp{age}, enables date ordering in the branch
20781 ref list, and when set to @samp{name} enables ordering by branch name.
20783 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20787 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-list clone-url
20788 A list of URLs which can be used to clone repo.
20790 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20794 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-file-object commit-filter
20795 Override the default @code{commit-filter}.
20797 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20801 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string commit-sort
20802 Flag which, when set to @samp{date}, enables strict date ordering in the
20803 commit log, and when set to @samp{topo} enables strict topological
20806 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20810 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string defbranch
20811 The name of the default branch for this repository. If no such branch
20812 exists in the repository, the first branch name (when sorted) is used as
20813 default instead. By default branch pointed to by HEAD, or "master" if
20814 there is no suitable HEAD.
20816 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20820 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string desc
20821 The value to show as repository description.
20823 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20827 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string homepage
20828 The value to show as repository homepage.
20830 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20834 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-file-object email-filter
20835 Override the default @code{email-filter}.
20837 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20841 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} maybe-repo-boolean enable-commit-graph?
20842 A flag which can be used to disable the global setting
20843 @code{enable-commit-graph?}.
20845 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
20849 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} maybe-repo-boolean enable-log-filecount?
20850 A flag which can be used to disable the global setting
20851 @code{enable-log-filecount?}.
20853 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
20857 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} maybe-repo-boolean enable-log-linecount?
20858 A flag which can be used to disable the global setting
20859 @code{enable-log-linecount?}.
20861 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
20865 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} maybe-repo-boolean enable-remote-branches?
20866 Flag which, when set to @code{#t}, will make cgit display remote
20867 branches in the summary and refs views.
20869 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
20873 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} maybe-repo-boolean enable-subject-links?
20874 A flag which can be used to override the global setting
20875 @code{enable-subject-links?}.
20877 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
20881 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} maybe-repo-boolean enable-html-serving?
20882 A flag which can be used to override the global setting
20883 @code{enable-html-serving?}.
20885 Defaults to @samp{disabled}.
20889 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-boolean hide?
20890 Flag which, when set to @code{#t}, hides the repository from the
20893 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20897 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-boolean ignore?
20898 Flag which, when set to @samp{#t}, ignores the repository.
20900 Defaults to @samp{#f}.
20904 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-file-object logo
20905 URL which specifies the source of an image which will be used as a logo
20906 on this repo’s pages.
20908 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20912 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string logo-link
20913 URL loaded when clicking on the cgit logo image.
20915 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20919 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-file-object owner-filter
20920 Override the default @code{owner-filter}.
20922 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20926 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string module-link
20927 Text which will be used as the formatstring for a hyperlink when a
20928 submodule is printed in a directory listing. The arguments for the
20929 formatstring are the path and SHA1 of the submodule commit.
20931 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20935 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} module-link-path module-link-path
20936 Text which will be used as the formatstring for a hyperlink when a
20937 submodule with the specified subdirectory path is printed in a directory
20940 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20944 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string max-stats
20945 Override the default maximum statistics period.
20947 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20951 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string name
20952 The value to show as repository name.
20954 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20958 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string owner
20959 A value used to identify the owner of the repository.
20961 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20965 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string path
20966 An absolute path to the repository directory.
20968 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20972 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string readme
20973 A path (relative to repo) which specifies a file to include verbatim as
20974 the "About" page for this repo.
20976 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20980 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-string section
20981 The name of the current repository section - all repositories defined
20982 after this option will inherit the current section name.
20984 Defaults to @samp{""}.
20988 @deftypevr {@code{repository-cgit-configuration} parameter} repo-list extra-options
20989 Extra options will be appended to cgitrc file.
20991 Defaults to @samp{()}.
20997 @deftypevr {@code{cgit-configuration} parameter} list extra-options
20998 Extra options will be appended to cgitrc file.
21000 Defaults to @samp{()}.
21005 @c %end of fragment
21007 However, it could be that you just want to get a @code{cgitrc} up and
21008 running. In that case, you can pass an @code{opaque-cgit-configuration}
21009 as a record to @code{cgit-service-type}. As its name indicates, an
21010 opaque configuration does not have easy reflective capabilities.
21012 Available @code{opaque-cgit-configuration} fields are:
21014 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-cgit-configuration} parameter} package cgit
21018 @deftypevr {@code{opaque-cgit-configuration} parameter} string string
21019 The contents of the @code{cgitrc}, as a string.
21022 For example, if your @code{cgitrc} is just the empty string, you
21023 could instantiate a cgit service like this:
21026 (service cgit-service-type
21027 (opaque-cgit-configuration
21032 @node Game Services
21033 @subsubsection Game Services
21035 @subsubheading The Battle for Wesnoth Service
21037 @uref{https://wesnoth.org, The Battle for Wesnoth} is a fantasy, turn
21038 based tactical strategy game, with several single player campaigns, and
21039 multiplayer games (both networked and local).
21041 @defvar {Scheme Variable} wesnothd-service-type
21042 Service type for the wesnothd service. Its value must be a
21043 @code{wesnothd-configuration} object. To run wesnothd in the default
21044 configuration, instantiate it as:
21047 (service wesnothd-service-type)
21051 @deftp {Data Type} wesnothd-configuration
21052 Data type representing the configuration of @command{wesnothd}.
21055 @item @code{package} (default: @code{wesnoth-server})
21056 The wesnoth server package to use.
21058 @item @code{port} (default: @code{15000})
21059 The port to bind the server to.
21063 @node Miscellaneous Services
21064 @subsubsection Miscellaneous Services
21066 @cindex fingerprint
21067 @subsubheading Fingerprint Service
21069 The @code{(gnu services fingerprint)} module provides a DBus service to
21070 read and identify fingerprints via a fingerprint sensor.
21072 @defvr {Scheme Variable} fprintd-service-type
21073 The service type for @command{fprintd}, which provides the fingerprint
21074 reading capability.
21077 (service fprintd-service-type)
21082 @subsubheading System Control Service
21084 The @code{(gnu services sysctl)} provides a service to configure kernel
21085 parameters at boot.
21087 @defvr {Scheme Variable} sysctl-service-type
21088 The service type for @command{sysctl}, which modifies kernel parameters
21089 under @file{/proc/sys/}. To enable IPv4 forwarding, it can be
21093 (service sysctl-service-type
21094 (sysctl-configuration
21095 (settings '(("net.ipv4.ip_forward" . "1")))))
21099 @deftp {Data Type} sysctl-configuration
21100 The data type representing the configuration of @command{sysctl}.
21103 @item @code{sysctl} (default: @code{(file-append procps "/sbin/sysctl"})
21104 The @command{sysctl} executable to use.
21106 @item @code{settings} (default: @code{'()})
21107 An association list specifies kernel parameters and their values.
21112 @subsubheading PC/SC Smart Card Daemon Service
21114 The @code{(gnu services security-token)} module provides the following service
21115 to run @command{pcscd}, the PC/SC Smart Card Daemon. @command{pcscd} is the
21116 daemon program for pcsc-lite and the MuscleCard framework. It is a resource
21117 manager that coordinates communications with smart card readers, smart cards
21118 and cryptographic tokens that are connected to the system.
21120 @defvr {Scheme Variable} pcscd-service-type
21121 Service type for the @command{pcscd} service. Its value must be a
21122 @code{pcscd-configuration} object. To run pcscd in the default
21123 configuration, instantiate it as:
21126 (service pcscd-service-type)
21130 @deftp {Data Type} pcscd-configuration
21131 The data type representing the configuration of @command{pcscd}.
21134 @item @code{pcsc-lite} (default: @code{pcsc-lite})
21135 The pcsc-lite package that provides pcscd.
21136 @item @code{usb-drivers} (default: @code{(list ccid)})
21137 List of packages that provide USB drivers to pcscd. Drivers are expected to be
21138 under @file{pcsc/drivers} in the store directory of the package.
21143 @subsubheading Lirc Service
21145 The @code{(gnu services lirc)} module provides the following service.
21147 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} lirc-service [#:lirc lirc] @
21148 [#:device #f] [#:driver #f] [#:config-file #f] @
21149 [#:extra-options '()]
21150 Return a service that runs @url{http://www.lirc.org,LIRC}, a daemon that
21151 decodes infrared signals from remote controls.
21153 Optionally, @var{device}, @var{driver} and @var{config-file}
21154 (configuration file name) may be specified. See @command{lircd} manual
21157 Finally, @var{extra-options} is a list of additional command-line options
21158 passed to @command{lircd}.
21162 @subsubheading Spice Service
21164 The @code{(gnu services spice)} module provides the following service.
21166 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} spice-vdagent-service [#:spice-vdagent]
21167 Returns a service that runs @url{http://www.spice-space.org,VDAGENT}, a daemon
21168 that enables sharing the clipboard with a vm and setting the guest display
21169 resolution when the graphical console window resizes.
21172 @subsubsection Dictionary Services
21174 The @code{(gnu services dict)} module provides the following service:
21176 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} dicod-service [#:config (dicod-configuration)]
21177 Return a service that runs the @command{dicod} daemon, an implementation
21178 of DICT server (@pxref{Dicod,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
21180 The optional @var{config} argument specifies the configuration for
21181 @command{dicod}, which should be a @code{<dicod-configuration>} object, by
21182 default it serves the GNU Collaborative International Dictonary of English.
21184 You can add @command{open localhost} to your @file{~/.dico} file to make
21185 @code{localhost} the default server for @command{dico} client
21186 (@pxref{Initialization File,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
21189 @deftp {Data Type} dicod-configuration
21190 Data type representing the configuration of dicod.
21193 @item @code{dico} (default: @var{dico})
21194 Package object of the GNU Dico dictionary server.
21196 @item @code{interfaces} (default: @var{'("localhost")})
21197 This is the list of IP addresses and ports and possibly socket file
21198 names to listen to (@pxref{Server Settings, @code{listen} directive,,
21199 dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
21201 @item @code{handlers} (default: @var{'()})
21202 List of @code{<dicod-handler>} objects denoting handlers (module instances).
21204 @item @code{databases} (default: @var{(list %dicod-database:gcide)})
21205 List of @code{<dicod-database>} objects denoting dictionaries to be served.
21209 @deftp {Data Type} dicod-handler
21210 Data type representing a dictionary handler (module instance).
21214 Name of the handler (module instance).
21216 @item @code{module} (default: @var{#f})
21217 Name of the dicod module of the handler (instance). If it is @code{#f},
21218 the module has the same name as the handler.
21219 (@pxref{Modules,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
21221 @item @code{options}
21222 List of strings or gexps representing the arguments for the module handler
21226 @deftp {Data Type} dicod-database
21227 Data type representing a dictionary database.
21231 Name of the database, will be used in DICT commands.
21233 @item @code{handler}
21234 Name of the dicod handler (module instance) used by this database
21235 (@pxref{Handlers,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
21237 @item @code{complex?} (default: @var{#f})
21238 Whether the database configuration complex. The complex configuration
21239 will need a corresponding @code{<dicod-handler>} object, otherwise not.
21241 @item @code{options}
21242 List of strings or gexps representing the arguments for the database
21243 (@pxref{Databases,,, dico, GNU Dico Manual}).
21247 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %dicod-database:gcide
21248 A @code{<dicod-database>} object serving the GNU Collaborative International
21249 Dictionary of English using the @code{gcide} package.
21252 The following is an example @code{dicod-service} configuration.
21255 (dicod-service #:config
21256 (dicod-configuration
21257 (handlers (list (dicod-handler
21261 (list #~(string-append "dbdir=" #$wordnet))))))
21262 (databases (list (dicod-database
21265 (handler "wordnet")
21266 (options '("database=wn")))
21267 %dicod-database:gcide))))
21270 @node Setuid Programs
21271 @subsection Setuid Programs
21273 @cindex setuid programs
21274 Some programs need to run with ``root'' privileges, even when they are
21275 launched by unprivileged users. A notorious example is the
21276 @command{passwd} program, which users can run to change their
21277 password, and which needs to access the @file{/etc/passwd} and
21278 @file{/etc/shadow} files---something normally restricted to root, for
21279 obvious security reasons. To address that, these executables are
21280 @dfn{setuid-root}, meaning that they always run with root privileges
21281 (@pxref{How Change Persona,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual},
21282 for more info about the setuid mechanism.)
21284 The store itself @emph{cannot} contain setuid programs: that would be a
21285 security issue since any user on the system can write derivations that
21286 populate the store (@pxref{The Store}). Thus, a different mechanism is
21287 used: instead of changing the setuid bit directly on files that are in
21288 the store, we let the system administrator @emph{declare} which programs
21289 should be setuid root.
21291 The @code{setuid-programs} field of an @code{operating-system}
21292 declaration contains a list of G-expressions denoting the names of
21293 programs to be setuid-root (@pxref{Using the Configuration System}).
21294 For instance, the @command{passwd} program, which is part of the Shadow
21295 package, can be designated by this G-expression (@pxref{G-Expressions}):
21298 #~(string-append #$shadow "/bin/passwd")
21301 A default set of setuid programs is defined by the
21302 @code{%setuid-programs} variable of the @code{(gnu system)} module.
21304 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %setuid-programs
21305 A list of G-expressions denoting common programs that are setuid-root.
21307 The list includes commands such as @command{passwd}, @command{ping},
21308 @command{su}, and @command{sudo}.
21311 Under the hood, the actual setuid programs are created in the
21312 @file{/run/setuid-programs} directory at system activation time. The
21313 files in this directory refer to the ``real'' binaries, which are in the
21316 @node X.509 Certificates
21317 @subsection X.509 Certificates
21319 @cindex HTTPS, certificates
21320 @cindex X.509 certificates
21322 Web servers available over HTTPS (that is, HTTP over the transport-layer
21323 security mechanism, TLS) send client programs an @dfn{X.509 certificate}
21324 that the client can then use to @emph{authenticate} the server. To do
21325 that, clients verify that the server's certificate is signed by a
21326 so-called @dfn{certificate authority} (CA). But to verify the CA's
21327 signature, clients must have first acquired the CA's certificate.
21329 Web browsers such as GNU@tie{}IceCat include their own set of CA
21330 certificates, such that they are able to verify CA signatures
21333 However, most other programs that can talk HTTPS---@command{wget},
21334 @command{git}, @command{w3m}, etc.---need to be told where CA
21335 certificates can be found.
21337 @cindex @code{nss-certs}
21338 In GuixSD, this is done by adding a package that provides certificates
21339 to the @code{packages} field of the @code{operating-system} declaration
21340 (@pxref{operating-system Reference}). GuixSD includes one such package,
21341 @code{nss-certs}, which is a set of CA certificates provided as part of
21342 Mozilla's Network Security Services.
21344 Note that it is @emph{not} part of @var{%base-packages}, so you need to
21345 explicitly add it. The @file{/etc/ssl/certs} directory, which is where
21346 most applications and libraries look for certificates by default, points
21347 to the certificates installed globally.
21349 Unprivileged users, including users of Guix on a foreign distro,
21350 can also install their own certificate package in
21351 their profile. A number of environment variables need to be defined so
21352 that applications and libraries know where to find them. Namely, the
21353 OpenSSL library honors the @code{SSL_CERT_DIR} and @code{SSL_CERT_FILE}
21354 variables. Some applications add their own environment variables; for
21355 instance, the Git version control system honors the certificate bundle
21356 pointed to by the @code{GIT_SSL_CAINFO} environment variable. Thus, you
21357 would typically run something like:
21360 $ guix package -i nss-certs
21361 $ export SSL_CERT_DIR="$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/ssl/certs"
21362 $ export SSL_CERT_FILE="$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt"
21363 $ export GIT_SSL_CAINFO="$SSL_CERT_FILE"
21366 As another example, R requires the @code{CURL_CA_BUNDLE} environment
21367 variable to point to a certificate bundle, so you would have to run
21368 something like this:
21371 $ guix package -i nss-certs
21372 $ export CURL_CA_BUNDLE="$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt"
21375 For other applications you may want to look up the required environment
21376 variable in the relevant documentation.
21379 @node Name Service Switch
21380 @subsection Name Service Switch
21382 @cindex name service switch
21384 The @code{(gnu system nss)} module provides bindings to the
21385 configuration file of the libc @dfn{name service switch} or @dfn{NSS}
21386 (@pxref{NSS Configuration File,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference
21387 Manual}). In a nutshell, the NSS is a mechanism that allows libc to be
21388 extended with new ``name'' lookup methods for system databases, which
21389 includes host names, service names, user accounts, and more (@pxref{Name
21390 Service Switch, System Databases and Name Service Switch,, libc, The GNU
21391 C Library Reference Manual}).
21393 The NSS configuration specifies, for each system database, which lookup
21394 method is to be used, and how the various methods are chained
21395 together---for instance, under which circumstances NSS should try the
21396 next method in the list. The NSS configuration is given in the
21397 @code{name-service-switch} field of @code{operating-system} declarations
21398 (@pxref{operating-system Reference, @code{name-service-switch}}).
21401 @cindex .local, host name lookup
21402 As an example, the declaration below configures the NSS to use the
21403 @uref{http://0pointer.de/lennart/projects/nss-mdns/, @code{nss-mdns}
21404 back-end}, which supports host name lookups over multicast DNS (mDNS)
21405 for host names ending in @code{.local}:
21408 (name-service-switch
21409 (hosts (list %files ;first, check /etc/hosts
21411 ;; If the above did not succeed, try
21412 ;; with 'mdns_minimal'.
21414 (name "mdns_minimal")
21416 ;; 'mdns_minimal' is authoritative for
21417 ;; '.local'. When it returns "not found",
21418 ;; no need to try the next methods.
21419 (reaction (lookup-specification
21420 (not-found => return))))
21422 ;; Then fall back to DNS.
21426 ;; Finally, try with the "full" 'mdns'.
21431 Do not worry: the @code{%mdns-host-lookup-nss} variable (see below)
21432 contains this configuration, so you will not have to type it if all you
21433 want is to have @code{.local} host lookup working.
21435 Note that, in this case, in addition to setting the
21436 @code{name-service-switch} of the @code{operating-system} declaration,
21437 you also need to use @code{avahi-service} (@pxref{Networking Services,
21438 @code{avahi-service}}), or @var{%desktop-services}, which includes it
21439 (@pxref{Desktop Services}). Doing this makes @code{nss-mdns} accessible
21440 to the name service cache daemon (@pxref{Base Services,
21441 @code{nscd-service}}).
21443 For convenience, the following variables provide typical NSS
21446 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-nss
21447 This is the default name service switch configuration, a
21448 @code{name-service-switch} object.
21451 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %mdns-host-lookup-nss
21452 This is the name service switch configuration with support for host name
21453 lookup over multicast DNS (mDNS) for host names ending in @code{.local}.
21456 The reference for name service switch configuration is given below. It
21457 is a direct mapping of the configuration file format of the C library , so
21458 please refer to the C library manual for more information (@pxref{NSS
21459 Configuration File,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
21460 Compared to the configuration file format of libc NSS, it has the advantage
21461 not only of adding this warm parenthetic feel that we like, but also
21462 static checks: you will know about syntax errors and typos as soon as you
21463 run @command{guix system}.
21465 @deftp {Data Type} name-service-switch
21467 This is the data type representation the configuration of libc's name
21468 service switch (NSS). Each field below represents one of the supported
21485 The system databases handled by the NSS. Each of these fields must be a
21486 list of @code{<name-service>} objects (see below).
21490 @deftp {Data Type} name-service
21492 This is the data type representing an actual name service and the
21493 associated lookup action.
21497 A string denoting the name service (@pxref{Services in the NSS
21498 configuration,,, libc, The GNU C Library Reference Manual}).
21500 Note that name services listed here must be visible to nscd. This is
21501 achieved by passing the @code{#:name-services} argument to
21502 @code{nscd-service} the list of packages providing the needed name
21503 services (@pxref{Base Services, @code{nscd-service}}).
21506 An action specified using the @code{lookup-specification} macro
21507 (@pxref{Actions in the NSS configuration,,, libc, The GNU C Library
21508 Reference Manual}). For example:
21511 (lookup-specification (unavailable => continue)
21512 (success => return))
21517 @node Initial RAM Disk
21518 @subsection Initial RAM Disk
21521 @cindex initial RAM disk
21522 For bootstrapping purposes, the Linux-Libre kernel is passed an
21523 @dfn{initial RAM disk}, or @dfn{initrd}. An initrd contains a temporary
21524 root file system as well as an initialization script. The latter is
21525 responsible for mounting the real root file system, and for loading any
21526 kernel modules that may be needed to achieve that.
21528 The @code{initrd-modules} field of an @code{operating-system}
21529 declaration allows you to specify Linux-libre kernel modules that must
21530 be available in the initrd. In particular, this is where you would list
21531 modules needed to actually drive the hard disk where your root partition
21532 is---although the default value of @code{initrd-modules} should cover
21533 most use cases. For example, assuming you need the @code{megaraid_sas}
21534 module in addition to the default modules to be able to access your root
21535 file system, you would write:
21540 (initrd-modules (cons "megaraid_sas" %base-initrd-modules)))
21543 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %base-initrd-modules
21544 This is the list of kernel modules included in the initrd by default.
21547 Furthermore, if you need lower-level customization, the @code{initrd}
21548 field of an @code{operating-system} declaration allows
21549 you to specify which initrd you would like to use. The @code{(gnu
21550 system linux-initrd)} module provides three ways to build an initrd: the
21551 high-level @code{base-initrd} procedure and the low-level
21552 @code{raw-initrd} and @code{expression->initrd} procedures.
21554 The @code{base-initrd} procedure is intended to cover most common uses.
21555 For example, if you want to add a bunch of kernel modules to be loaded
21556 at boot time, you can define the @code{initrd} field of the operating
21557 system declaration like this:
21560 (initrd (lambda (file-systems . rest)
21561 ;; Create a standard initrd but set up networking
21562 ;; with the parameters QEMU expects by default.
21563 (apply base-initrd file-systems
21564 #:qemu-networking? #t
21568 The @code{base-initrd} procedure also handles common use cases that
21569 involves using the system as a QEMU guest, or as a ``live'' system with
21570 volatile root file system.
21572 The @code{base-initrd} procedure is built from @code{raw-initrd} procedure.
21573 Unlike @code{base-initrd}, @code{raw-initrd} doesn't do anything high-level,
21574 such as trying to guess which kernel modules and packages should be included
21575 to the initrd. An example use of @code{raw-initrd} is when a user has
21576 a custom Linux kernel configuration and default kernel modules included by
21577 @code{base-initrd} are not available.
21579 The initial RAM disk produced by @code{base-initrd} or @code{raw-initrd}
21580 honors several options passed on the Linux kernel command line
21581 (that is, arguments passed @i{via} the @code{linux} command of GRUB, or the
21582 @code{-append} option of QEMU), notably:
21585 @item --load=@var{boot}
21586 Tell the initial RAM disk to load @var{boot}, a file containing a Scheme
21587 program, once it has mounted the root file system.
21589 GuixSD uses this option to yield control to a boot program that runs the
21590 service activation programs and then spawns the GNU@tie{}Shepherd, the
21591 initialization system.
21593 @item --root=@var{root}
21594 Mount @var{root} as the root file system. @var{root} can be a
21595 device name like @code{/dev/sda1}, a file system label, or a file system
21598 @item --system=@var{system}
21599 Have @file{/run/booted-system} and @file{/run/current-system} point to
21602 @item modprobe.blacklist=@var{modules}@dots{}
21603 @cindex module, black-listing
21604 @cindex black list, of kernel modules
21605 Instruct the initial RAM disk as well as the @command{modprobe} command
21606 (from the kmod package) to refuse to load @var{modules}. @var{modules}
21607 must be a comma-separated list of module names---e.g.,
21608 @code{usbkbd,9pnet}.
21611 Start a read-eval-print loop (REPL) from the initial RAM disk before it
21612 tries to load kernel modules and to mount the root file system. Our
21613 marketing team calls it @dfn{boot-to-Guile}. The Schemer in you will
21614 love it. @xref{Using Guile Interactively,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference
21615 Manual}, for more information on Guile's REPL.
21619 Now that you know all the features that initial RAM disks produced by
21620 @code{base-initrd} and @code{raw-initrd} provide,
21621 here is how to use it and customize it further.
21624 @cindex initial RAM disk
21625 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} raw-initrd @var{file-systems} @
21626 [#:linux-modules '()] [#:mapped-devices '()] @
21627 [#:helper-packages '()] [#:qemu-networking? #f] [#:volatile-root? #f]
21628 Return a monadic derivation that builds a raw initrd. @var{file-systems} is
21629 a list of file systems to be mounted by the initrd, possibly in addition to
21630 the root file system specified on the kernel command line via @code{--root}.
21631 @var{linux-modules} is a list of kernel modules to be loaded at boot time.
21632 @var{mapped-devices} is a list of device mappings to realize before
21633 @var{file-systems} are mounted (@pxref{Mapped Devices}).
21634 @var{helper-packages} is a list of packages to be copied in the initrd. It may
21635 include @code{e2fsck/static} or other packages needed by the initrd to check
21636 the root file system.
21638 When @var{qemu-networking?} is true, set up networking with the standard QEMU
21639 parameters. When @var{virtio?} is true, load additional modules so that the
21640 initrd can be used as a QEMU guest with para-virtualized I/O drivers.
21642 When @var{volatile-root?} is true, the root file system is writable but any changes
21646 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} base-initrd @var{file-systems} @
21647 [#:mapped-devices '()] [#:qemu-networking? #f] [#:volatile-root? #f]@
21648 [#:linux-modules '()]
21649 Return a monadic derivation that builds a generic initrd, with kernel
21650 modules taken from @var{linux}. @var{file-systems} is a list of file-systems to be
21651 mounted by the initrd, possibly in addition to the root file system specified
21652 on the kernel command line via @code{--root}. @var{mapped-devices} is a list of device
21653 mappings to realize before @var{file-systems} are mounted.
21655 @var{qemu-networking?} and @var{volatile-root?} behaves as in @code{raw-initrd}.
21657 The initrd is automatically populated with all the kernel modules necessary
21658 for @var{file-systems} and for the given options. Additional kernel
21659 modules can be listed in @var{linux-modules}. They will be added to the initrd, and
21660 loaded at boot time in the order in which they appear.
21663 Needless to say, the initrds we produce and use embed a
21664 statically-linked Guile, and the initialization program is a Guile
21665 program. That gives a lot of flexibility. The
21666 @code{expression->initrd} procedure builds such an initrd, given the
21667 program to run in that initrd.
21669 @deffn {Monadic Procedure} expression->initrd @var{exp} @
21670 [#:guile %guile-static-stripped] [#:name "guile-initrd"]
21671 Return a derivation that builds a Linux initrd (a gzipped cpio archive)
21672 containing @var{guile} and that evaluates @var{exp}, a G-expression,
21673 upon booting. All the derivations referenced by @var{exp} are
21674 automatically copied to the initrd.
21677 @node Bootloader Configuration
21678 @subsection Bootloader Configuration
21681 @cindex boot loader
21683 The operating system supports multiple bootloaders. The bootloader is
21684 configured using @code{bootloader-configuration} declaration. All the
21685 fields of this structure are bootloader agnostic except for one field,
21686 @code{bootloader} that indicates the bootloader to be configured and
21689 Some of the bootloaders do not honor every field of
21690 @code{bootloader-configuration}. For instance, the extlinux
21691 bootloader does not support themes and thus ignores the @code{theme}
21694 @deftp {Data Type} bootloader-configuration
21695 The type of a bootloader configuration declaration.
21699 @item @code{bootloader}
21700 @cindex EFI, bootloader
21701 @cindex UEFI, bootloader
21702 @cindex BIOS, bootloader
21703 The bootloader to use, as a @code{bootloader} object. For now
21704 @code{grub-bootloader}, @code{grub-efi-bootloader},
21705 @code{extlinux-bootloader} and @code{u-boot-bootloader} are supported.
21707 @vindex grub-efi-bootloader
21708 @code{grub-efi-bootloader} allows to boot on modern systems using the
21709 @dfn{Unified Extensible Firmware Interface} (UEFI). This is what you should
21710 use if the installation image contains a @file{/sys/firmware/efi} directory
21711 when you boot it on your system.
21713 @vindex grub-bootloader
21714 @code{grub-bootloader} allows you to boot in particular Intel-based machines
21715 in ``legacy'' BIOS mode.
21717 @cindex ARM, bootloaders
21718 @cindex AArch64, bootloaders
21719 Available bootloaders are described in @code{(gnu bootloader @dots{})}
21720 modules. In particular, @code{(gnu bootloader u-boot)} contains definitions
21721 of bootloaders for a wide range of ARM and AArch64 systems, using the
21722 @uref{http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot/, U-Boot bootloader}.
21724 @item @code{target}
21725 This is a string denoting the target onto which to install the
21728 The interpretation depends on the bootloader in question. For
21729 @code{grub-bootloader}, for example, it should be a device name understood by
21730 the bootloader @command{installer} command, such as @code{/dev/sda} or
21731 @code{(hd0)} (@pxref{Invoking grub-install,,, grub, GNU GRUB Manual}). For
21732 @code{grub-efi-bootloader}, it should be the mount point of the EFI file
21733 system, usually @file{/boot/efi}.
21735 @item @code{menu-entries} (default: @code{()})
21736 A possibly empty list of @code{menu-entry} objects (see below), denoting
21737 entries to appear in the bootloader menu, in addition to the current
21738 system entry and the entry pointing to previous system generations.
21740 @item @code{default-entry} (default: @code{0})
21741 The index of the default boot menu entry. Index 0 is for the entry of the
21744 @item @code{timeout} (default: @code{5})
21745 The number of seconds to wait for keyboard input before booting. Set to
21746 0 to boot immediately, and to -1 to wait indefinitely.
21748 @item @code{theme} (default: @var{#f})
21749 The bootloader theme object describing the theme to use. If no theme
21750 is provided, some bootloaders might use a default theme, that's true
21753 @item @code{terminal-outputs} (default: @code{'gfxterm})
21754 The output terminals used for the bootloader boot menu, as a list of
21755 symbols. GRUB accepts the values: @code{console}, @code{serial},
21756 @code{serial_@{0-3@}}, @code{gfxterm}, @code{vga_text},
21757 @code{mda_text}, @code{morse}, and @code{pkmodem}. This field
21758 corresponds to the GRUB variable @code{GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT} (@pxref{Simple
21759 configuration,,, grub,GNU GRUB manual}).
21761 @item @code{terminal-inputs} (default: @code{'()})
21762 The input terminals used for the bootloader boot menu, as a list of
21763 symbols. For GRUB, the default is the native platform terminal as
21764 determined at run-time. GRUB accepts the values: @code{console},
21765 @code{serial}, @code{serial_@{0-3@}}, @code{at_keyboard}, and
21766 @code{usb_keyboard}. This field corresponds to the GRUB variable
21767 @code{GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT} (@pxref{Simple configuration,,, grub,GNU GRUB
21770 @item @code{serial-unit} (default: @code{#f})
21771 The serial unit used by the bootloader, as an integer from 0 to 3.
21772 For GRUB, it is chosen at run-time; currently GRUB chooses 0, which
21773 corresponds to COM1 (@pxref{Serial terminal,,, grub,GNU GRUB manual}).
21775 @item @code{serial-speed} (default: @code{#f})
21776 The speed of the serial interface, as an integer. For GRUB, the
21777 default value is chosen at run-time; currently GRUB chooses
21778 9600@tie{}bps (@pxref{Serial terminal,,, grub,GNU GRUB manual}).
21785 Should you want to list additional boot menu entries @i{via} the
21786 @code{menu-entries} field above, you will need to create them with the
21787 @code{menu-entry} form. For example, imagine you want to be able to
21788 boot another distro (hard to imagine!), you can define a menu entry
21793 (label "The Other Distro")
21794 (linux "/boot/old/vmlinux-2.6.32")
21795 (linux-arguments '("root=/dev/sda2"))
21796 (initrd "/boot/old/initrd"))
21801 @deftp {Data Type} menu-entry
21802 The type of an entry in the bootloader menu.
21807 The label to show in the menu---e.g., @code{"GNU"}.
21810 The Linux kernel image to boot, for example:
21813 (file-append linux-libre "/bzImage")
21816 For GRUB, it is also possible to specify a device explicitly in the
21817 file path using GRUB's device naming convention (@pxref{Naming
21818 convention,,, grub, GNU GRUB manual}), for example:
21821 "(hd0,msdos1)/boot/vmlinuz"
21824 If the device is specified explicitly as above, then the @code{device}
21825 field is ignored entirely.
21827 @item @code{linux-arguments} (default: @code{()})
21828 The list of extra Linux kernel command-line arguments---e.g.,
21829 @code{("console=ttyS0")}.
21831 @item @code{initrd}
21832 A G-Expression or string denoting the file name of the initial RAM disk
21833 to use (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
21834 @item @code{device} (default: @code{#f})
21835 The device where the kernel and initrd are to be found---i.e., for GRUB,
21836 @dfn{root} for this menu entry (@pxref{root,,, grub, GNU GRUB manual}).
21838 This may be a file system label (a string), a file system UUID (a
21839 bytevector, @pxref{File Systems}), or @code{#f}, in which case
21840 the bootloader will search the device containing the file specified by
21841 the @code{linux} field (@pxref{search,,, grub, GNU GRUB manual}). It
21842 must @emph{not} be an OS device name such as @file{/dev/sda1}.
21847 @c FIXME: Write documentation once it's stable.
21848 Fow now only GRUB has theme support. GRUB themes are created using
21849 the @code{grub-theme} form, which is not documented yet.
21851 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %default-theme
21852 This is the default GRUB theme used by the operating system if no
21853 @code{theme} field is specified in @code{bootloader-configuration}
21856 It comes with a fancy background image displaying the GNU and Guix
21861 @node Invoking guix system
21862 @subsection Invoking @code{guix system}
21864 Once you have written an operating system declaration as seen in the
21865 previous section, it can be @dfn{instantiated} using the @command{guix
21866 system} command. The synopsis is:
21869 guix system @var{options}@dots{} @var{action} @var{file}
21872 @var{file} must be the name of a file containing an
21873 @code{operating-system} declaration. @var{action} specifies how the
21874 operating system is instantiated. Currently the following values are
21879 Display available service type definitions that match the given regular
21880 expressions, sorted by relevance:
21883 $ guix system search console font
21884 name: console-fonts
21885 location: gnu/services/base.scm:729:2
21886 extends: shepherd-root
21887 description: Install the given fonts on the specified ttys (fonts are
21888 + per virtual console on GNU/Linux). The value of this service is a list
21889 + of tty/font pairs like:
21891 + '(("tty1" . "LatGrkCyr-8x16"))
21895 location: gnu/services/base.scm:1048:2
21896 extends: shepherd-root
21897 description: Provide console login using the `mingetty' program.
21901 location: gnu/services/base.scm:775:2
21903 description: Provide a console log-in service as specified by its
21904 + configuration value, a `login-configuration' object.
21910 As for @command{guix package --search}, the result is written in
21911 @code{recutils} format, which makes it easy to filter the output
21912 (@pxref{Top, GNU recutils databases,, recutils, GNU recutils manual}).
21915 Build the operating system described in @var{file}, activate it, and
21916 switch to it@footnote{This action (and the related actions
21917 @code{switch-generation} and @code{roll-back}) are usable only on
21918 systems already running GuixSD.}.
21920 This effects all the configuration specified in @var{file}: user
21921 accounts, system services, global package list, setuid programs, etc.
21922 The command starts system services specified in @var{file} that are not
21923 currently running; if a service is currently running this command will
21924 arrange for it to be upgraded the next time it is stopped (eg. by
21925 @code{herd stop X} or @code{herd restart X}).
21927 This command creates a new generation whose number is one greater than
21928 the current generation (as reported by @command{guix system
21929 list-generations}). If that generation already exists, it will be
21930 overwritten. This behavior mirrors that of @command{guix package}
21931 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
21933 It also adds a bootloader menu entry for the new OS configuration,
21934 ---unless @option{--no-bootloader} is passed. For GRUB, it moves
21935 entries for older configurations to a submenu, allowing you to choose
21936 an older system generation at boot time should you need it.
21939 @c The paragraph below refers to the problem discussed at
21940 @c <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2014-08/msg00057.html>.
21941 It is highly recommended to run @command{guix pull} once before you run
21942 @command{guix system reconfigure} for the first time (@pxref{Invoking
21943 guix pull}). Failing to do that you would see an older version of Guix
21944 once @command{reconfigure} has completed.
21947 @item switch-generation
21948 @cindex generations
21949 Switch to an existing system generation. This action atomically
21950 switches the system profile to the specified system generation. It
21951 also rearranges the system's existing bootloader menu entries. It
21952 makes the menu entry for the specified system generation the default,
21953 and it moves the entries for the other generatiors to a submenu, if
21954 supported by the bootloader being used. The next time the system
21955 boots, it will use the specified system generation.
21957 The bootloader itself is not being reinstalled when using this
21958 command. Thus, the installed bootloader is used with an updated
21959 configuration file.
21961 The target generation can be specified explicitly by its generation
21962 number. For example, the following invocation would switch to system
21966 guix system switch-generation 7
21969 The target generation can also be specified relative to the current
21970 generation with the form @code{+N} or @code{-N}, where @code{+3} means
21971 ``3 generations ahead of the current generation,'' and @code{-1} means
21972 ``1 generation prior to the current generation.'' When specifying a
21973 negative value such as @code{-1}, you must precede it with @code{--} to
21974 prevent it from being parsed as an option. For example:
21977 guix system switch-generation -- -1
21980 Currently, the effect of invoking this action is @emph{only} to switch
21981 the system profile to an existing generation and rearrange the
21982 bootloader menu entries. To actually start using the target system
21983 generation, you must reboot after running this action. In the future,
21984 it will be updated to do the same things as @command{reconfigure},
21985 like activating and deactivating services.
21987 This action will fail if the specified generation does not exist.
21990 @cindex rolling back
21991 Switch to the preceding system generation. The next time the system
21992 boots, it will use the preceding system generation. This is the inverse
21993 of @command{reconfigure}, and it is exactly the same as invoking
21994 @command{switch-generation} with an argument of @code{-1}.
21996 Currently, as with @command{switch-generation}, you must reboot after
21997 running this action to actually start using the preceding system
22001 Build the derivation of the operating system, which includes all the
22002 configuration files and programs needed to boot and run the system.
22003 This action does not actually install anything.
22006 Populate the given directory with all the files necessary to run the
22007 operating system specified in @var{file}. This is useful for first-time
22008 installations of GuixSD. For instance:
22011 guix system init my-os-config.scm /mnt
22014 copies to @file{/mnt} all the store items required by the configuration
22015 specified in @file{my-os-config.scm}. This includes configuration
22016 files, packages, and so on. It also creates other essential files
22017 needed for the system to operate correctly---e.g., the @file{/etc},
22018 @file{/var}, and @file{/run} directories, and the @file{/bin/sh} file.
22020 This command also installs bootloader on the target specified in
22021 @file{my-os-config}, unless the @option{--no-bootloader} option was
22025 @cindex virtual machine
22027 @anchor{guix system vm}
22028 Build a virtual machine that contains the operating system declared in
22029 @var{file}, and return a script to run that virtual machine (VM).
22030 Arguments given to the script are passed to QEMU as in the example
22031 below, which enables networking and requests 1@tie{}GiB of RAM for the
22035 $ /gnu/store/@dots{}-run-vm.sh -m 1024 -net user
22038 The VM shares its store with the host system.
22040 Additional file systems can be shared between the host and the VM using
22041 the @code{--share} and @code{--expose} command-line options: the former
22042 specifies a directory to be shared with write access, while the latter
22043 provides read-only access to the shared directory.
22045 The example below creates a VM in which the user's home directory is
22046 accessible read-only, and where the @file{/exchange} directory is a
22047 read-write mapping of @file{$HOME/tmp} on the host:
22050 guix system vm my-config.scm \
22051 --expose=$HOME --share=$HOME/tmp=/exchange
22054 On GNU/Linux, the default is to boot directly to the kernel; this has
22055 the advantage of requiring only a very tiny root disk image since the
22056 store of the host can then be mounted.
22058 The @code{--full-boot} option forces a complete boot sequence, starting
22059 with the bootloader. This requires more disk space since a root image
22060 containing at least the kernel, initrd, and bootloader data files must
22061 be created. The @code{--image-size} option can be used to specify the
22064 @cindex System images, creation in various formats
22065 @cindex Creating system images in various formats
22068 @itemx docker-image
22069 Return a virtual machine, disk image, or Docker image of the operating
22070 system declared in @var{file} that stands alone. By default,
22071 @command{guix system} estimates the size of the image needed to store
22072 the system, but you can use the @option{--image-size} option to specify
22073 a value. Docker images are built to contain exactly what they need, so
22074 the @option{--image-size} option is ignored in the case of
22075 @code{docker-image}.
22077 You can specify the root file system type by using the
22078 @option{--file-system-type} option. It defaults to @code{ext4}.
22080 When using @code{vm-image}, the returned image is in qcow2 format, which
22081 the QEMU emulator can efficiently use. @xref{Running GuixSD in a VM},
22082 for more information on how to run the image in a virtual machine.
22084 When using @code{disk-image}, a raw disk image is produced; it can be
22085 copied as is to a USB stick, for instance. Assuming @code{/dev/sdc} is
22086 the device corresponding to a USB stick, one can copy the image to it
22087 using the following command:
22090 # dd if=$(guix system disk-image my-os.scm) of=/dev/sdc
22093 When using @code{docker-image}, a Docker image is produced. Guix builds
22094 the image from scratch, not from a pre-existing Docker base image. As a
22095 result, it contains @emph{exactly} what you define in the operating
22096 system configuration file. You can then load the image and launch a
22097 Docker container using commands like the following:
22100 image_id="$(docker load < guixsd-docker-image.tar.gz)"
22101 docker run -e GUIX_NEW_SYSTEM=/var/guix/profiles/system \\
22102 --entrypoint /var/guix/profiles/system/profile/bin/guile \\
22103 $image_id /var/guix/profiles/system/boot
22106 This command starts a new Docker container from the specified image. It
22107 will boot the GuixSD system in the usual manner, which means it will
22108 start any services you have defined in the operating system
22109 configuration. Depending on what you run in the Docker container, it
22110 may be necessary to give the container additional permissions. For
22111 example, if you intend to build software using Guix inside of the Docker
22112 container, you may need to pass the @option{--privileged} option to
22116 Return a script to run the operating system declared in @var{file}
22117 within a container. Containers are a set of lightweight isolation
22118 mechanisms provided by the kernel Linux-libre. Containers are
22119 substantially less resource-demanding than full virtual machines since
22120 the kernel, shared objects, and other resources can be shared with the
22121 host system; this also means they provide thinner isolation.
22123 Currently, the script must be run as root in order to support more than
22124 a single user and group. The container shares its store with the host
22127 As with the @code{vm} action (@pxref{guix system vm}), additional file
22128 systems to be shared between the host and container can be specified
22129 using the @option{--share} and @option{--expose} options:
22132 guix system container my-config.scm \
22133 --expose=$HOME --share=$HOME/tmp=/exchange
22137 This option requires Linux-libre 3.19 or newer.
22142 @var{options} can contain any of the common build options (@pxref{Common
22143 Build Options}). In addition, @var{options} can contain one of the
22147 @item --expression=@var{expr}
22148 @itemx -e @var{expr}
22149 Consider the operating-system @var{expr} evaluates to.
22150 This is an alternative to specifying a file which evaluates to an
22152 This is used to generate the GuixSD installer @pxref{Building the
22153 Installation Image}).
22155 @item --system=@var{system}
22156 @itemx -s @var{system}
22157 Attempt to build for @var{system} instead of the host system type.
22158 This works as per @command{guix build} (@pxref{Invoking guix build}).
22162 Return the derivation file name of the given operating system without
22165 @item --file-system-type=@var{type}
22166 @itemx -t @var{type}
22167 For the @code{disk-image} action, create a file system of the given
22168 @var{type} on the image.
22170 When this option is omitted, @command{guix system} uses @code{ext4}.
22172 @cindex ISO-9660 format
22173 @cindex CD image format
22174 @cindex DVD image format
22175 @code{--file-system-type=iso9660} produces an ISO-9660 image, suitable
22176 for burning on CDs and DVDs.
22178 @item --image-size=@var{size}
22179 For the @code{vm-image} and @code{disk-image} actions, create an image
22180 of the given @var{size}. @var{size} may be a number of bytes, or it may
22181 include a unit as a suffix (@pxref{Block size, size specifications,,
22182 coreutils, GNU Coreutils}).
22184 When this option is omitted, @command{guix system} computes an estimate
22185 of the image size as a function of the size of the system declared in
22188 @item --root=@var{file}
22189 @itemx -r @var{file}
22190 Make @var{file} a symlink to the result, and register it as a garbage
22193 @item --skip-checks
22194 Skip pre-installation safety checks.
22196 By default, @command{guix system init} and @command{guix system
22197 reconfigure} perform safety checks: they make sure the file systems that
22198 appear in the @code{operating-system} declaration actually exist
22199 (@pxref{File Systems}), and that any Linux kernel modules that may be
22200 needed at boot time are listed in @code{initrd-modules} (@pxref{Initial
22201 RAM Disk}). Passing this option skips these tests altogether.
22203 @item --on-error=@var{strategy}
22204 Apply @var{strategy} when an error occurs when reading @var{file}.
22205 @var{strategy} may be one of the following:
22208 @item nothing-special
22209 Report the error concisely and exit. This is the default strategy.
22212 Likewise, but also display a backtrace.
22215 Report the error and enter Guile's debugger. From there, you can run
22216 commands such as @code{,bt} to get a backtrace, @code{,locals} to
22217 display local variable values, and more generally inspect the state of the
22218 program. @xref{Debug Commands,,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}, for
22219 a list of available debugging commands.
22224 All the actions above, except @code{build} and @code{init},
22225 can use KVM support in the Linux-libre kernel. Specifically, if the
22226 machine has hardware virtualization support, the corresponding
22227 KVM kernel module should be loaded, and the @file{/dev/kvm} device node
22228 must exist and be readable and writable by the user and by the
22229 build users of the daemon (@pxref{Build Environment Setup}).
22232 Once you have built, configured, re-configured, and re-re-configured
22233 your GuixSD installation, you may find it useful to list the operating
22234 system generations available on disk---and that you can choose from the
22235 bootloader boot menu:
22239 @item list-generations
22240 List a summary of each generation of the operating system available on
22241 disk, in a human-readable way. This is similar to the
22242 @option{--list-generations} option of @command{guix package}
22243 (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
22245 Optionally, one can specify a pattern, with the same syntax that is used
22246 in @command{guix package --list-generations}, to restrict the list of
22247 generations displayed. For instance, the following command displays
22248 generations that are up to 10 days old:
22251 $ guix system list-generations 10d
22256 The @command{guix system} command has even more to offer! The following
22257 sub-commands allow you to visualize how your system services relate to
22260 @anchor{system-extension-graph}
22263 @item extension-graph
22264 Emit in Dot/Graphviz format to standard output the @dfn{service
22265 extension graph} of the operating system defined in @var{file}
22266 (@pxref{Service Composition}, for more information on service
22272 $ guix system extension-graph @var{file} | dot -Tpdf > services.pdf
22275 produces a PDF file showing the extension relations among services.
22277 @anchor{system-shepherd-graph}
22278 @item shepherd-graph
22279 Emit in Dot/Graphviz format to standard output the @dfn{dependency
22280 graph} of shepherd services of the operating system defined in
22281 @var{file}. @xref{Shepherd Services}, for more information and for an
22286 @node Running GuixSD in a VM
22287 @subsection Running GuixSD in a Virtual Machine
22289 @cindex virtual machine
22290 To run GuixSD in a virtual machine (VM), one can either use the
22291 pre-built GuixSD VM image distributed at
22292 @indicateurl{https://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/guix/guixsd-vm-image-@value{VERSION}.@var{system}.xz}
22293 , or build their own virtual machine image using @command{guix system
22294 vm-image} (@pxref{Invoking guix system}). The returned image is in
22295 qcow2 format, which the @uref{http://qemu.org/, QEMU emulator} can
22299 If you built your own image, you must copy it out of the store
22300 (@pxref{The Store}) and give yourself permission to write to the copy
22301 before you can use it. When invoking QEMU, you must choose a system
22302 emulator that is suitable for your hardware platform. Here is a minimal
22303 QEMU invocation that will boot the result of @command{guix system
22304 vm-image} on x86_64 hardware:
22307 $ qemu-system-x86_64 \
22308 -net user -net nic,model=virtio \
22309 -enable-kvm -m 256 /tmp/qemu-image
22312 Here is what each of these options means:
22315 @item qemu-system-x86_64
22316 This specifies the hardware platform to emulate. This should match the
22320 Enable the unprivileged user-mode network stack. The guest OS can
22321 access the host but not vice versa. This is the simplest way to get the
22324 @item -net nic,model=virtio
22325 You must create a network interface of a given model. If you do not
22326 create a NIC, the boot will fail. Assuming your hardware platform is
22327 x86_64, you can get a list of available NIC models by running
22328 @command{qemu-system-x86_64 -net nic,model=help}.
22331 If your system has hardware virtualization extensions, enabling the
22332 virtual machine support (KVM) of the Linux kernel will make things run
22336 RAM available to the guest OS, in mebibytes. Defaults to 128@tie{}MiB,
22337 which may be insufficient for some operations.
22339 @item /tmp/qemu-image
22340 The file name of the qcow2 image.
22343 The default @command{run-vm.sh} script that is returned by an invocation of
22344 @command{guix system vm} does not add a @command{-net user} flag by default.
22345 To get network access from within the vm add the @code{(dhcp-client-service)}
22346 to your system definition and start the VM using
22347 @command{`guix system vm config.scm` -net user}. An important caveat of using
22348 @command{-net user} for networking is that @command{ping} will not work, because
22349 it uses the ICMP protocol. You'll have to use a different command to check for
22350 network connectivity, for example @command{guix download}.
22352 @subsubsection Connecting Through SSH
22356 To enable SSH inside a VM you need to add a SSH server like @code{(dropbear-service)}
22357 or @code{(lsh-service)} to your VM. The @code{(lsh-service}) doesn't currently
22358 boot unsupervised. It requires you to type some characters to initialize the
22359 randomness generator. In addition you need to forward the SSH port, 22 by
22360 default, to the host. You can do this with
22363 `guix system vm config.scm` -net user,hostfwd=tcp::10022-:22
22366 To connect to the VM you can run
22369 ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p 10022
22372 The @command{-p} tells @command{ssh} the port you want to connect to.
22373 @command{-o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null} prevents @command{ssh} from complaining
22374 every time you modify your @command{config.scm} file and the
22375 @command{-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no} prevents you from having to allow a
22376 connection to an unknown host every time you connect.
22378 @subsubsection Using @command{virt-viewer} with Spice
22380 As an alternative to the default @command{qemu} graphical client you can
22381 use the @command{remote-viewer} from the @command{virt-viewer} package. To
22382 connect pass the @command{-spice port=5930,disable-ticketing} flag to
22383 @command{qemu}. See previous section for further information on how to do this.
22385 Spice also allows you to do some nice stuff like share your clipboard with your
22386 VM. To enable that you'll also have to pass the following flags to @command{qemu}:
22389 -device virtio-serial-pci,id=virtio-serial0,max_ports=16,bus=pci.0,addr=0x5
22390 -chardev spicevmc,name=vdagent,id=vdagent
22391 -device virtserialport,nr=1,bus=virtio-serial0.0,chardev=vdagent,
22392 name=com.redhat.spice.0
22395 You'll also need to add the @pxref{Miscellaneous Services, Spice service}.
22397 @node Defining Services
22398 @subsection Defining Services
22400 The previous sections show the available services and how one can combine
22401 them in an @code{operating-system} declaration. But how do we define
22402 them in the first place? And what is a service anyway?
22405 * Service Composition:: The model for composing services.
22406 * Service Types and Services:: Types and services.
22407 * Service Reference:: API reference.
22408 * Shepherd Services:: A particular type of service.
22411 @node Service Composition
22412 @subsubsection Service Composition
22416 Here we define a @dfn{service} as, broadly, something that extends the
22417 functionality of the operating system. Often a service is a process---a
22418 @dfn{daemon}---started when the system boots: a secure shell server, a
22419 Web server, the Guix build daemon, etc. Sometimes a service is a daemon
22420 whose execution can be triggered by another daemon---e.g., an FTP server
22421 started by @command{inetd} or a D-Bus service activated by
22422 @command{dbus-daemon}. Occasionally, a service does not map to a
22423 daemon. For instance, the ``account'' service collects user accounts
22424 and makes sure they exist when the system runs; the ``udev'' service
22425 collects device management rules and makes them available to the eudev
22426 daemon; the @file{/etc} service populates the @file{/etc} directory
22429 @cindex service extensions
22430 GuixSD services are connected by @dfn{extensions}. For instance, the
22431 secure shell service @emph{extends} the Shepherd---the GuixSD
22432 initialization system, running as PID@tie{}1---by giving it the command
22433 lines to start and stop the secure shell daemon (@pxref{Networking
22434 Services, @code{lsh-service}}); the UPower service extends the D-Bus
22435 service by passing it its @file{.service} specification, and extends the
22436 udev service by passing it device management rules (@pxref{Desktop
22437 Services, @code{upower-service}}); the Guix daemon service extends the
22438 Shepherd by passing it the command lines to start and stop the daemon,
22439 and extends the account service by passing it a list of required build
22440 user accounts (@pxref{Base Services}).
22442 All in all, services and their ``extends'' relations form a directed
22443 acyclic graph (DAG). If we represent services as boxes and extensions
22444 as arrows, a typical system might provide something like this:
22446 @image{images/service-graph,,5in,Typical service extension graph.}
22448 @cindex system service
22449 At the bottom, we see the @dfn{system service}, which produces the
22450 directory containing everything to run and boot the system, as returned
22451 by the @command{guix system build} command. @xref{Service Reference},
22452 to learn about the other service types shown here.
22453 @xref{system-extension-graph, the @command{guix system extension-graph}
22454 command}, for information on how to generate this representation for a
22455 particular operating system definition.
22457 @cindex service types
22458 Technically, developers can define @dfn{service types} to express these
22459 relations. There can be any number of services of a given type on the
22460 system---for instance, a system running two instances of the GNU secure
22461 shell server (lsh) has two instances of @var{lsh-service-type}, with
22462 different parameters.
22464 The following section describes the programming interface for service
22465 types and services.
22467 @node Service Types and Services
22468 @subsubsection Service Types and Services
22470 A @dfn{service type} is a node in the DAG described above. Let us start
22471 with a simple example, the service type for the Guix build daemon
22472 (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}):
22475 (define guix-service-type
22479 (list (service-extension shepherd-root-service-type guix-shepherd-service)
22480 (service-extension account-service-type guix-accounts)
22481 (service-extension activation-service-type guix-activation)))
22482 (default-value (guix-configuration))))
22486 It defines three things:
22490 A name, whose sole purpose is to make inspection and debugging easier.
22493 A list of @dfn{service extensions}, where each extension designates the
22494 target service type and a procedure that, given the parameters of the
22495 service, returns a list of objects to extend the service of that type.
22497 Every service type has at least one service extension. The only
22498 exception is the @dfn{boot service type}, which is the ultimate service.
22501 Optionally, a default value for instances of this type.
22504 In this example, @var{guix-service-type} extends three services:
22507 @item shepherd-root-service-type
22508 The @var{guix-shepherd-service} procedure defines how the Shepherd
22509 service is extended. Namely, it returns a @code{<shepherd-service>}
22510 object that defines how @command{guix-daemon} is started and stopped
22511 (@pxref{Shepherd Services}).
22513 @item account-service-type
22514 This extension for this service is computed by @var{guix-accounts},
22515 which returns a list of @code{user-group} and @code{user-account}
22516 objects representing the build user accounts (@pxref{Invoking
22519 @item activation-service-type
22520 Here @var{guix-activation} is a procedure that returns a gexp, which is
22521 a code snippet to run at ``activation time''---e.g., when the service is
22525 A service of this type is instantiated like this:
22528 (service guix-service-type
22529 (guix-configuration
22531 (use-substitutes? #f)))
22534 The second argument to the @code{service} form is a value representing
22535 the parameters of this specific service instance.
22536 @xref{guix-configuration-type, @code{guix-configuration}}, for
22537 information about the @code{guix-configuration} data type. When the
22538 value is omitted, the default value specified by
22539 @code{guix-service-type} is used:
22542 (service guix-service-type)
22545 @var{guix-service-type} is quite simple because it extends other
22546 services but is not extensible itself.
22548 @c @subsubsubsection Extensible Service Types
22550 The service type for an @emph{extensible} service looks like this:
22553 (define udev-service-type
22554 (service-type (name 'udev)
22556 (list (service-extension shepherd-root-service-type
22557 udev-shepherd-service)))
22559 (compose concatenate) ;concatenate the list of rules
22560 (extend (lambda (config rules)
22562 (($ <udev-configuration> udev initial-rules)
22563 (udev-configuration
22564 (udev udev) ;the udev package to use
22565 (rules (append initial-rules rules)))))))))
22568 This is the service type for the
22569 @uref{https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Eudev, eudev device
22570 management daemon}. Compared to the previous example, in addition to an
22571 extension of @var{shepherd-root-service-type}, we see two new fields:
22575 This is the procedure to @dfn{compose} the list of extensions to
22576 services of this type.
22578 Services can extend the udev service by passing it lists of rules; we
22579 compose those extensions simply by concatenating them.
22582 This procedure defines how the value of the service is @dfn{extended} with
22583 the composition of the extensions.
22585 Udev extensions are composed into a list of rules, but the udev service
22586 value is itself a @code{<udev-configuration>} record. So here, we
22587 extend that record by appending the list of rules it contains to the
22588 list of contributed rules.
22591 This is a string giving an overview of the service type. The string can
22592 contain Texinfo markup (@pxref{Overview,,, texinfo, GNU Texinfo}). The
22593 @command{guix system search} command searches these strings and displays
22594 them (@pxref{Invoking guix system}).
22597 There can be only one instance of an extensible service type such as
22598 @var{udev-service-type}. If there were more, the
22599 @code{service-extension} specifications would be ambiguous.
22601 Still here? The next section provides a reference of the programming
22602 interface for services.
22604 @node Service Reference
22605 @subsubsection Service Reference
22607 We have seen an overview of service types (@pxref{Service Types and
22608 Services}). This section provides a reference on how to manipulate
22609 services and service types. This interface is provided by the
22610 @code{(gnu services)} module.
22612 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service @var{type} [@var{value}]
22613 Return a new service of @var{type}, a @code{<service-type>} object (see
22614 below.) @var{value} can be any object; it represents the parameters of
22615 this particular service instance.
22617 When @var{value} is omitted, the default value specified by @var{type}
22618 is used; if @var{type} does not specify a default value, an error is
22621 For instance, this:
22624 (service openssh-service-type)
22628 is equivalent to this:
22631 (service openssh-service-type
22632 (openssh-configuration))
22635 In both cases the result is an instance of @code{openssh-service-type}
22636 with the default configuration.
22639 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service? @var{obj}
22640 Return true if @var{obj} is a service.
22643 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-kind @var{service}
22644 Return the type of @var{service}---i.e., a @code{<service-type>} object.
22647 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-value @var{service}
22648 Return the value associated with @var{service}. It represents its
22652 Here is an example of how a service is created and manipulated:
22656 (service nginx-service-type
22657 (nginx-configuration
22659 (log-directory log-directory)
22660 (run-directory run-directory)
22661 (file config-file))))
22666 (eq? (service-kind s) nginx-service-type)
22670 The @code{modify-services} form provides a handy way to change the
22671 parameters of some of the services of a list such as
22672 @var{%base-services} (@pxref{Base Services, @code{%base-services}}). It
22673 evaluates to a list of services. Of course, you could always use
22674 standard list combinators such as @code{map} and @code{fold} to do that
22675 (@pxref{SRFI-1, List Library,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual});
22676 @code{modify-services} simply provides a more concise form for this
22679 @deffn {Scheme Syntax} modify-services @var{services} @
22680 (@var{type} @var{variable} => @var{body}) @dots{}
22682 Modify the services listed in @var{services} according to the given
22683 clauses. Each clause has the form:
22686 (@var{type} @var{variable} => @var{body})
22689 where @var{type} is a service type---e.g.,
22690 @code{guix-service-type}---and @var{variable} is an identifier that is
22691 bound within the @var{body} to the service parameters---e.g., a
22692 @code{guix-configuration} instance---of the original service of that
22695 The @var{body} should evaluate to the new service parameters, which will
22696 be used to configure the new service. This new service will replace the
22697 original in the resulting list. Because a service's service parameters
22698 are created using @code{define-record-type*}, you can write a succinct
22699 @var{body} that evaluates to the new service parameters by using the
22700 @code{inherit} feature that @code{define-record-type*} provides.
22702 @xref{Using the Configuration System}, for example usage.
22706 Next comes the programming interface for service types. This is
22707 something you want to know when writing new service definitions, but not
22708 necessarily when simply looking for ways to customize your
22709 @code{operating-system} declaration.
22711 @deftp {Data Type} service-type
22712 @cindex service type
22713 This is the representation of a @dfn{service type} (@pxref{Service Types
22718 This is a symbol, used only to simplify inspection and debugging.
22720 @item @code{extensions}
22721 A non-empty list of @code{<service-extension>} objects (see below).
22723 @item @code{compose} (default: @code{#f})
22724 If this is @code{#f}, then the service type denotes services that cannot
22725 be extended---i.e., services that do not receive ``values'' from other
22728 Otherwise, it must be a one-argument procedure. The procedure is called
22729 by @code{fold-services} and is passed a list of values collected from
22730 extensions. It may return any single value.
22732 @item @code{extend} (default: @code{#f})
22733 If this is @code{#f}, services of this type cannot be extended.
22735 Otherwise, it must be a two-argument procedure: @code{fold-services}
22736 calls it, passing it the initial value of the service as the first
22737 argument and the result of applying @code{compose} to the extension
22738 values as the second argument. It must return a value that is a valid
22739 parameter value for the service instance.
22742 @xref{Service Types and Services}, for examples.
22745 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-extension @var{target-type} @
22747 Return a new extension for services of type @var{target-type}.
22748 @var{compute} must be a one-argument procedure: @code{fold-services}
22749 calls it, passing it the value associated with the service that provides
22750 the extension; it must return a valid value for the target service.
22753 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} service-extension? @var{obj}
22754 Return true if @var{obj} is a service extension.
22757 Occasionally, you might want to simply extend an existing service. This
22758 involves creating a new service type and specifying the extension of
22759 interest, which can be verbose; the @code{simple-service} procedure
22760 provides a shorthand for this.
22762 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} simple-service @var{name} @var{target} @var{value}
22763 Return a service that extends @var{target} with @var{value}. This works
22764 by creating a singleton service type @var{name}, of which the returned
22765 service is an instance.
22767 For example, this extends mcron (@pxref{Scheduled Job Execution}) with
22771 (simple-service 'my-mcron-job mcron-service-type
22772 #~(job '(next-hour (3)) "guix gc -F 2G"))
22776 At the core of the service abstraction lies the @code{fold-services}
22777 procedure, which is responsible for ``compiling'' a list of services
22778 down to a single directory that contains everything needed to boot and
22779 run the system---the directory shown by the @command{guix system build}
22780 command (@pxref{Invoking guix system}). In essence, it propagates
22781 service extensions down the service graph, updating each node parameters
22782 on the way, until it reaches the root node.
22784 @deffn {Scheme Procedure} fold-services @var{services} @
22785 [#:target-type @var{system-service-type}]
22786 Fold @var{services} by propagating their extensions down to the root of
22787 type @var{target-type}; return the root service adjusted accordingly.
22790 Lastly, the @code{(gnu services)} module also defines several essential
22791 service types, some of which are listed below.
22793 @defvr {Scheme Variable} system-service-type
22794 This is the root of the service graph. It produces the system directory
22795 as returned by the @command{guix system build} command.
22798 @defvr {Scheme Variable} boot-service-type
22799 The type of the ``boot service'', which produces the @dfn{boot script}.
22800 The boot script is what the initial RAM disk runs when booting.
22803 @defvr {Scheme Variable} etc-service-type
22804 The type of the @file{/etc} service. This service is used to create
22805 files under @file{/etc} and can be extended by
22806 passing it name/file tuples such as:
22809 (list `("issue" ,(plain-file "issue" "Welcome!\n")))
22812 In this example, the effect would be to add an @file{/etc/issue} file
22813 pointing to the given file.
22816 @defvr {Scheme Variable} setuid-program-service-type
22817 Type for the ``setuid-program service''. This service collects lists of
22818 executable file names, passed as gexps, and adds them to the set of
22819 setuid-root programs on the system (@pxref{Setuid Programs}).
22822 @defvr {Scheme Variable} profile-service-type
22823 Type of the service that populates the @dfn{system profile}---i.e., the
22824 programs under @file{/run/current-system/profile}. Other services can
22825 extend it by passing it lists of packages to add to the system profile.
22829 @node Shepherd Services
22830 @subsubsection Shepherd Services
22832 @cindex shepherd services
22834 @cindex init system
22835 The @code{(gnu services shepherd)} module provides a way to define
22836 services managed by the GNU@tie{}Shepherd, which is the GuixSD
22837 initialization system---the first process that is started when the
22838 system boots, also known as PID@tie{}1
22839 (@pxref{Introduction,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}).
22841 Services in the Shepherd can depend on each other. For instance, the
22842 SSH daemon may need to be started after the syslog daemon has been
22843 started, which in turn can only happen once all the file systems have
22844 been mounted. The simple operating system defined earlier (@pxref{Using
22845 the Configuration System}) results in a service graph like this:
22847 @image{images/shepherd-graph,,5in,Typical shepherd service graph.}
22849 You can actually generate such a graph for any operating system
22850 definition using the @command{guix system shepherd-graph} command
22851 (@pxref{system-shepherd-graph, @command{guix system shepherd-graph}}).
22853 The @var{%shepherd-root-service} is a service object representing
22854 PID@tie{}1, of type @var{shepherd-root-service-type}; it can be extended
22855 by passing it lists of @code{<shepherd-service>} objects.
22857 @deftp {Data Type} shepherd-service
22858 The data type representing a service managed by the Shepherd.
22861 @item @code{provision}
22862 This is a list of symbols denoting what the service provides.
22864 These are the names that may be passed to @command{herd start},
22865 @command{herd status}, and similar commands (@pxref{Invoking herd,,,
22866 shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}). @xref{Slots of services, the
22867 @code{provides} slot,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}, for details.
22869 @item @code{requirements} (default: @code{'()})
22870 List of symbols denoting the Shepherd services this one depends on.
22872 @item @code{respawn?} (default: @code{#t})
22873 Whether to restart the service when it stops, for instance when the
22874 underlying process dies.
22877 @itemx @code{stop} (default: @code{#~(const #f)})
22878 The @code{start} and @code{stop} fields refer to the Shepherd's
22879 facilities to start and stop processes (@pxref{Service De- and
22880 Constructors,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}). They are given as
22881 G-expressions that get expanded in the Shepherd configuration file
22882 (@pxref{G-Expressions}).
22884 @item @code{actions} (default: @code{'()})
22885 @cindex actions, of Shepherd services
22886 This is a list of @code{shepherd-action} objects (see below) defining
22887 @dfn{actions} supported by the service, in addition to the standard
22888 @code{start} and @code{stop} actions. Actions listed here become available as
22889 @command{herd} sub-commands:
22892 herd @var{action} @var{service} [@var{arguments}@dots{}]
22895 @item @code{documentation}
22896 A documentation string, as shown when running:
22899 herd doc @var{service-name}
22902 where @var{service-name} is one of the symbols in @var{provision}
22903 (@pxref{Invoking herd,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}).
22905 @item @code{modules} (default: @var{%default-modules})
22906 This is the list of modules that must be in scope when @code{start} and
22907 @code{stop} are evaluated.
22912 @deftp {Data Type} shepherd-action
22913 This is the data type that defines additional actions implemented by a
22914 Shepherd service (see above).
22918 Symbol naming the action.
22920 @item documentation
22921 This is a documentation string for the action. It can be viewed by running:
22924 herd doc @var{service} action @var{action}
22928 This should be a gexp that evaluates to a procedure of at least one argument,
22929 which is the ``running value'' of the service (@pxref{Slots of services,,,
22930 shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}).
22933 The following example defines an action called @code{say-hello} that kindly
22939 (documentation "Say hi!")
22940 (procedure #~(lambda (running . args)
22941 (format #t "Hello, friend! arguments: ~s\n"
22946 Assuming this action is added to the @code{example} service, then you can do:
22949 # herd say-hello example
22950 Hello, friend! arguments: ()
22951 # herd say-hello example a b c
22952 Hello, friend! arguments: ("a" "b" "c")
22955 This, as you can see, is a fairly sophisticated way to say hello.
22956 @xref{Service Convenience,,, shepherd, The GNU Shepherd Manual}, for more
22960 @defvr {Scheme Variable} shepherd-root-service-type
22961 The service type for the Shepherd ``root service''---i.e., PID@tie{}1.
22963 This is the service type that extensions target when they want to create
22964 shepherd services (@pxref{Service Types and Services}, for an example).
22965 Each extension must pass a list of @code{<shepherd-service>}.
22968 @defvr {Scheme Variable} %shepherd-root-service
22969 This service represents PID@tie{}1.
22973 @node Documentation
22974 @section Documentation
22976 @cindex documentation, searching for
22977 @cindex searching for documentation
22978 @cindex Info, documentation format
22980 @cindex manual pages
22981 In most cases packages installed with Guix come with documentation.
22982 There are two main documentation formats: ``Info'', a browseable
22983 hypertext format used for GNU software, and ``manual pages'' (or ``man
22984 pages''), the linear documentation format traditionally found on Unix.
22985 Info manuals are accessed with the @command{info} command or with Emacs,
22986 and man pages are accessed using @command{man}.
22988 You can look for documentation of software installed on your system by
22989 keyword. For example, the following command searches for information
22990 about ``TLS'' in Info manuals:
22994 "(emacs)Network Security" -- STARTTLS
22995 "(emacs)Network Security" -- TLS
22996 "(gnutls)Core TLS API" -- gnutls_certificate_set_verify_flags
22997 "(gnutls)Core TLS API" -- gnutls_certificate_set_verify_function
23002 The command below searches for the same keyword in man pages:
23006 SSL (7) - OpenSSL SSL/TLS library
23007 certtool (1) - GnuTLS certificate tool
23011 These searches are purely local to your computer so you have the
23012 guarantee that documentation you find corresponds to what you have
23013 actually installed, you can access it off-line, and your privacy is
23016 Once you have these results, you can view the relevant documentation by
23020 $ info "(gnutls)Core TLS API"
23030 Info manuals contain sections and indices as well as hyperlinks like
23031 those found in Web pages. The @command{info} reader (@pxref{Top, Info
23032 reader,, info-stnd, Stand-alone GNU Info}) and its Emacs counterpart
23033 (@pxref{Misc Help,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}) provide intuitive key
23034 bindings to navigate manuals. @xref{Getting Started,,, info, Info: An
23035 Introduction}, for an introduction to Info navigation.
23037 @node Installing Debugging Files
23038 @section Installing Debugging Files
23040 @cindex debugging files
23041 Program binaries, as produced by the GCC compilers for instance, are
23042 typically written in the ELF format, with a section containing
23043 @dfn{debugging information}. Debugging information is what allows the
23044 debugger, GDB, to map binary code to source code; it is required to
23045 debug a compiled program in good conditions.
23047 The problem with debugging information is that is takes up a fair amount
23048 of disk space. For example, debugging information for the GNU C Library
23049 weighs in at more than 60 MiB. Thus, as a user, keeping all the
23050 debugging info of all the installed programs is usually not an option.
23051 Yet, space savings should not come at the cost of an impediment to
23052 debugging---especially in the GNU system, which should make it easier
23053 for users to exert their computing freedom (@pxref{GNU Distribution}).
23055 Thankfully, the GNU Binary Utilities (Binutils) and GDB provide a
23056 mechanism that allows users to get the best of both worlds: debugging
23057 information can be stripped from the binaries and stored in separate
23058 files. GDB is then able to load debugging information from those files,
23059 when they are available (@pxref{Separate Debug Files,,, gdb, Debugging
23062 The GNU distribution takes advantage of this by storing debugging
23063 information in the @code{lib/debug} sub-directory of a separate package
23064 output unimaginatively called @code{debug} (@pxref{Packages with
23065 Multiple Outputs}). Users can choose to install the @code{debug} output
23066 of a package when they need it. For instance, the following command
23067 installs the debugging information for the GNU C Library and for GNU
23071 guix package -i glibc:debug guile:debug
23074 GDB must then be told to look for debug files in the user's profile, by
23075 setting the @code{debug-file-directory} variable (consider setting it
23076 from the @file{~/.gdbinit} file, @pxref{Startup,,, gdb, Debugging with
23080 (gdb) set debug-file-directory ~/.guix-profile/lib/debug
23083 From there on, GDB will pick up debugging information from the
23084 @code{.debug} files under @file{~/.guix-profile/lib/debug}.
23086 In addition, you will most likely want GDB to be able to show the source
23087 code being debugged. To do that, you will have to unpack the source
23088 code of the package of interest (obtained with @code{guix build
23089 --source}, @pxref{Invoking guix build}), and to point GDB to that source
23090 directory using the @code{directory} command (@pxref{Source Path,
23091 @code{directory},, gdb, Debugging with GDB}).
23093 @c XXX: keep me up-to-date
23094 The @code{debug} output mechanism in Guix is implemented by the
23095 @code{gnu-build-system} (@pxref{Build Systems}). Currently, it is
23096 opt-in---debugging information is available only for the packages
23097 with definitions explicitly declaring a @code{debug} output. This may be
23098 changed to opt-out in the future if our build farm servers can handle
23099 the load. To check whether a package has a @code{debug} output, use
23100 @command{guix package --list-available} (@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
23103 @node Security Updates
23104 @section Security Updates
23106 @cindex security updates
23107 @cindex security vulnerabilities
23108 Occasionally, important security vulnerabilities are discovered in software
23109 packages and must be patched. Guix developers try hard to keep track of
23110 known vulnerabilities and to apply fixes as soon as possible in the
23111 @code{master} branch of Guix (we do not yet provide a ``stable'' branch
23112 containing only security updates.) The @command{guix lint} tool helps
23113 developers find out about vulnerable versions of software packages in the
23118 gnu/packages/base.scm:652:2: glibc@@2.21: probably vulnerable to CVE-2015-1781, CVE-2015-7547
23119 gnu/packages/gcc.scm:334:2: gcc@@4.9.3: probably vulnerable to CVE-2015-5276
23120 gnu/packages/image.scm:312:2: openjpeg@@2.1.0: probably vulnerable to CVE-2016-1923, CVE-2016-1924
23124 @xref{Invoking guix lint}, for more information.
23127 As of version @value{VERSION}, the feature described below is considered
23131 Guix follows a functional
23132 package management discipline (@pxref{Introduction}), which implies
23133 that, when a package is changed, @emph{every package that depends on it}
23134 must be rebuilt. This can significantly slow down the deployment of
23135 fixes in core packages such as libc or Bash, since basically the whole
23136 distribution would need to be rebuilt. Using pre-built binaries helps
23137 (@pxref{Substitutes}), but deployment may still take more time than
23141 To address this, Guix implements @dfn{grafts}, a mechanism that allows
23142 for fast deployment of critical updates without the costs associated
23143 with a whole-distribution rebuild. The idea is to rebuild only the
23144 package that needs to be patched, and then to ``graft'' it onto packages
23145 explicitly installed by the user and that were previously referring to
23146 the original package. The cost of grafting is typically very low, and
23147 order of magnitudes lower than a full rebuild of the dependency chain.
23149 @cindex replacements of packages, for grafts
23150 For instance, suppose a security update needs to be applied to Bash.
23151 Guix developers will provide a package definition for the ``fixed''
23152 Bash, say @var{bash-fixed}, in the usual way (@pxref{Defining
23153 Packages}). Then, the original package definition is augmented with a
23154 @code{replacement} field pointing to the package containing the bug fix:
23161 (replacement bash-fixed)))
23164 From there on, any package depending directly or indirectly on Bash---as
23165 reported by @command{guix gc --requisites} (@pxref{Invoking guix
23166 gc})---that is installed is automatically ``rewritten'' to refer to
23167 @var{bash-fixed} instead of @var{bash}. This grafting process takes
23168 time proportional to the size of the package, usually less than a
23169 minute for an ``average'' package on a recent machine. Grafting is
23170 recursive: when an indirect dependency requires grafting, then grafting
23171 ``propagates'' up to the package that the user is installing.
23173 Currently, the length of the name and version of the graft and that of
23174 the package it replaces (@var{bash-fixed} and @var{bash} in the example
23175 above) must be equal. This restriction mostly comes from the fact that
23176 grafting works by patching files, including binary files, directly.
23177 Other restrictions may apply: for instance, when adding a graft to a
23178 package providing a shared library, the original shared library and its
23179 replacement must have the same @code{SONAME} and be binary-compatible.
23181 The @option{--no-grafts} command-line option allows you to forcefully
23182 avoid grafting (@pxref{Common Build Options, @option{--no-grafts}}).
23186 guix build bash --no-grafts
23190 returns the store file name of the original Bash, whereas:
23197 returns the store file name of the ``fixed'', replacement Bash. This
23198 allows you to distinguish between the two variants of Bash.
23200 To verify which Bash your whole profile refers to, you can run
23201 (@pxref{Invoking guix gc}):
23204 guix gc -R `readlink -f ~/.guix-profile` | grep bash
23208 @dots{} and compare the store file names that you get with those above.
23209 Likewise for a complete GuixSD system generation:
23212 guix gc -R `guix system build my-config.scm` | grep bash
23215 Lastly, to check which Bash running processes are using, you can use the
23216 @command{lsof} command:
23219 lsof | grep /gnu/store/.*bash
23223 @node Package Modules
23224 @section Package Modules
23226 From a programming viewpoint, the package definitions of the
23227 GNU distribution are provided by Guile modules in the @code{(gnu packages
23228 @dots{})} name space@footnote{Note that packages under the @code{(gnu
23229 packages @dots{})} module name space are not necessarily ``GNU
23230 packages''. This module naming scheme follows the usual Guile module
23231 naming convention: @code{gnu} means that these modules are distributed
23232 as part of the GNU system, and @code{packages} identifies modules that
23233 define packages.} (@pxref{Modules, Guile modules,, guile, GNU Guile
23234 Reference Manual}). For instance, the @code{(gnu packages emacs)}
23235 module exports a variable named @code{emacs}, which is bound to a
23236 @code{<package>} object (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
23238 The @code{(gnu packages @dots{})} module name space is
23239 automatically scanned for packages by the command-line tools. For
23240 instance, when running @code{guix package -i emacs}, all the @code{(gnu
23241 packages @dots{})} modules are scanned until one that exports a package
23242 object whose name is @code{emacs} is found. This package search
23243 facility is implemented in the @code{(gnu packages)} module.
23245 @cindex customization, of packages
23246 @cindex package module search path
23247 Users can store package definitions in modules with different
23248 names---e.g., @code{(my-packages emacs)}@footnote{Note that the file
23249 name and module name must match. For instance, the @code{(my-packages
23250 emacs)} module must be stored in a @file{my-packages/emacs.scm} file
23251 relative to the load path specified with @option{--load-path} or
23252 @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH}. @xref{Modules and the File System,,,
23253 guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}, for details.}. There are two ways to make
23254 these package definitions visible to the user interfaces:
23258 By adding the directory containing your package modules to the search path
23259 with the @code{-L} flag of @command{guix package} and other commands
23260 (@pxref{Common Build Options}), or by setting the @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH}
23261 environment variable described below.
23264 By defining a @dfn{channel} and configuring @command{guix pull} so that it
23265 pulls from it. A channel is essentially a Git repository containing package
23266 modules. @xref{Channels}, for more information on how to define and use
23270 @code{GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH} works similarly to other search path variables:
23272 @defvr {Environment Variable} GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH
23273 This is a colon-separated list of directories to search for additional
23274 package modules. Directories listed in this variable take precedence
23275 over the own modules of the distribution.
23278 The distribution is fully @dfn{bootstrapped} and @dfn{self-contained}:
23279 each package is built based solely on other packages in the
23280 distribution. The root of this dependency graph is a small set of
23281 @dfn{bootstrap binaries}, provided by the @code{(gnu packages
23282 bootstrap)} module. For more information on bootstrapping,
23283 @pxref{Bootstrapping}.
23285 @node Packaging Guidelines
23286 @section Packaging Guidelines
23288 @cindex packages, creating
23289 The GNU distribution is nascent and may well lack some of your favorite
23290 packages. This section describes how you can help make the distribution
23291 grow. @xref{Contributing}, for additional information on how you can
23294 Free software packages are usually distributed in the form of
23295 @dfn{source code tarballs}---typically @file{tar.gz} files that contain
23296 all the source files. Adding a package to the distribution means
23297 essentially two things: adding a @dfn{recipe} that describes how to
23298 build the package, including a list of other packages required to build
23299 it, and adding @dfn{package metadata} along with that recipe, such as a
23300 description and licensing information.
23302 In Guix all this information is embodied in @dfn{package definitions}.
23303 Package definitions provide a high-level view of the package. They are
23304 written using the syntax of the Scheme programming language; in fact,
23305 for each package we define a variable bound to the package definition,
23306 and export that variable from a module (@pxref{Package Modules}).
23307 However, in-depth Scheme knowledge is @emph{not} a prerequisite for
23308 creating packages. For more information on package definitions,
23309 @pxref{Defining Packages}.
23311 Once a package definition is in place, stored in a file in the Guix
23312 source tree, it can be tested using the @command{guix build} command
23313 (@pxref{Invoking guix build}). For example, assuming the new package is
23314 called @code{gnew}, you may run this command from the Guix build tree
23315 (@pxref{Running Guix Before It Is Installed}):
23318 ./pre-inst-env guix build gnew --keep-failed
23321 Using @code{--keep-failed} makes it easier to debug build failures since
23322 it provides access to the failed build tree. Another useful
23323 command-line option when debugging is @code{--log-file}, to access the
23326 If the package is unknown to the @command{guix} command, it may be that
23327 the source file contains a syntax error, or lacks a @code{define-public}
23328 clause to export the package variable. To figure it out, you may load
23329 the module from Guile to get more information about the actual error:
23332 ./pre-inst-env guile -c '(use-modules (gnu packages gnew))'
23335 Once your package builds correctly, please send us a patch
23336 (@pxref{Contributing}). Well, if you need help, we will be happy to
23337 help you too. Once the patch is committed in the Guix repository, the
23338 new package automatically gets built on the supported platforms by
23339 @url{http://hydra.gnu.org/jobset/gnu/master, our continuous integration
23342 @cindex substituter
23343 Users can obtain the new package definition simply by running
23344 @command{guix pull} (@pxref{Invoking guix pull}). When
23345 @code{hydra.gnu.org} is done building the package, installing the
23346 package automatically downloads binaries from there
23347 (@pxref{Substitutes}). The only place where human intervention is
23348 needed is to review and apply the patch.
23352 * Software Freedom:: What may go into the distribution.
23353 * Package Naming:: What's in a name?
23354 * Version Numbers:: When the name is not enough.
23355 * Synopses and Descriptions:: Helping users find the right package.
23356 * Python Modules:: A touch of British comedy.
23357 * Perl Modules:: Little pearls.
23358 * Java Packages:: Coffee break.
23359 * Fonts:: Fond of fonts.
23362 @node Software Freedom
23363 @subsection Software Freedom
23365 @c Adapted from http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html.
23366 @cindex free software
23367 The GNU operating system has been developed so that users can have
23368 freedom in their computing. GNU is @dfn{free software}, meaning that
23369 users have the @url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html,four
23370 essential freedoms}: to run the program, to study and change the program
23371 in source code form, to redistribute exact copies, and to distribute
23372 modified versions. Packages found in the GNU distribution provide only
23373 software that conveys these four freedoms.
23375 In addition, the GNU distribution follow the
23376 @url{http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html,free
23377 software distribution guidelines}. Among other things, these guidelines
23378 reject non-free firmware, recommendations of non-free software, and
23379 discuss ways to deal with trademarks and patents.
23381 Some otherwise free upstream package sources contain a small and optional
23382 subset that violates the above guidelines, for instance because this subset
23383 is itself non-free code. When that happens, the offending items are removed
23384 with appropriate patches or code snippets in the @code{origin} form of the
23385 package (@pxref{Defining Packages}). This way, @code{guix
23386 build --source} returns the ``freed'' source rather than the unmodified
23390 @node Package Naming
23391 @subsection Package Naming
23393 @cindex package name
23394 A package has actually two names associated with it:
23395 First, there is the name of the @emph{Scheme variable}, the one following
23396 @code{define-public}. By this name, the package can be made known in the
23397 Scheme code, for instance as input to another package. Second, there is
23398 the string in the @code{name} field of a package definition. This name
23399 is used by package management commands such as
23400 @command{guix package} and @command{guix build}.
23402 Both are usually the same and correspond to the lowercase conversion of
23403 the project name chosen upstream, with underscores replaced with
23404 hyphens. For instance, GNUnet is available as @code{gnunet}, and
23405 SDL_net as @code{sdl-net}.
23407 We do not add @code{lib} prefixes for library packages, unless these are
23408 already part of the official project name. But @pxref{Python
23409 Modules} and @ref{Perl Modules} for special rules concerning modules for
23410 the Python and Perl languages.
23412 Font package names are handled differently, @pxref{Fonts}.
23415 @node Version Numbers
23416 @subsection Version Numbers
23418 @cindex package version
23419 We usually package only the latest version of a given free software
23420 project. But sometimes, for instance for incompatible library versions,
23421 two (or more) versions of the same package are needed. These require
23422 different Scheme variable names. We use the name as defined
23423 in @ref{Package Naming}
23424 for the most recent version; previous versions use the same name, suffixed
23425 by @code{-} and the smallest prefix of the version number that may
23426 distinguish the two versions.
23428 The name inside the package definition is the same for all versions of a
23429 package and does not contain any version number.
23431 For instance, the versions 2.24.20 and 3.9.12 of GTK+ may be packaged as follows:
23434 (define-public gtk+
23439 (define-public gtk+-2
23442 (version "2.24.20")
23445 If we also wanted GTK+ 3.8.2, this would be packaged as
23447 (define-public gtk+-3.8
23454 @c See <https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2016-01/msg00425.html>,
23455 @c for a discussion of what follows.
23456 @cindex version number, for VCS snapshots
23457 Occasionally, we package snapshots of upstream's version control system
23458 (VCS) instead of formal releases. This should remain exceptional,
23459 because it is up to upstream developers to clarify what the stable
23460 release is. Yet, it is sometimes necessary. So, what should we put in
23461 the @code{version} field?
23463 Clearly, we need to make the commit identifier of the VCS snapshot
23464 visible in the version string, but we also need to make sure that the
23465 version string is monotonically increasing so that @command{guix package
23466 --upgrade} can determine which version is newer. Since commit
23467 identifiers, notably with Git, are not monotonically increasing, we add
23468 a revision number that we increase each time we upgrade to a newer
23469 snapshot. The resulting version string looks like this:
23474 | | `-- upstream commit ID
23476 | `--- Guix package revision
23478 latest upstream version
23481 It is a good idea to strip commit identifiers in the @code{version}
23482 field to, say, 7 digits. It avoids an aesthetic annoyance (assuming
23483 aesthetics have a role to play here) as well as problems related to OS
23484 limits such as the maximum shebang length (127 bytes for the Linux
23485 kernel.) It is best to use the full commit identifiers in
23486 @code{origin}s, though, to avoid ambiguities. A typical package
23487 definition may look like this:
23491 (let ((commit "c3f29bc928d5900971f65965feaae59e1272a3f7")
23492 (revision "1")) ;Guix package revision
23494 (version (git-version "0.9" revision commit))
23497 (uri (git-reference
23498 (url "git://example.org/my-package.git")
23500 (sha256 (base32 "1mbikn@dots{}"))
23501 (file-name (git-file-name name version))))
23506 @node Synopses and Descriptions
23507 @subsection Synopses and Descriptions
23509 @cindex package description
23510 @cindex package synopsis
23511 As we have seen before, each package in GNU@tie{}Guix includes a
23512 synopsis and a description (@pxref{Defining Packages}). Synopses and
23513 descriptions are important: They are what @command{guix package
23514 --search} searches, and a crucial piece of information to help users
23515 determine whether a given package suits their needs. Consequently,
23516 packagers should pay attention to what goes into them.
23518 Synopses must start with a capital letter and must not end with a
23519 period. They must not start with ``a'' or ``the'', which usually does
23520 not bring anything; for instance, prefer ``File-frobbing tool'' over ``A
23521 tool that frobs files''. The synopsis should say what the package
23522 is---e.g., ``Core GNU utilities (file, text, shell)''---or what it is
23523 used for---e.g., the synopsis for GNU@tie{}grep is ``Print lines
23524 matching a pattern''.
23526 Keep in mind that the synopsis must be meaningful for a very wide
23527 audience. For example, ``Manipulate alignments in the SAM format''
23528 might make sense for a seasoned bioinformatics researcher, but might be
23529 fairly unhelpful or even misleading to a non-specialized audience. It
23530 is a good idea to come up with a synopsis that gives an idea of the
23531 application domain of the package. In this example, this might give
23532 something like ``Manipulate nucleotide sequence alignments'', which
23533 hopefully gives the user a better idea of whether this is what they are
23536 Descriptions should take between five and ten lines. Use full
23537 sentences, and avoid using acronyms without first introducing them.
23538 Please avoid marketing phrases such as ``world-leading'',
23539 ``industrial-strength'', and ``next-generation'', and avoid superlatives
23540 like ``the most advanced''---they are not helpful to users looking for a
23541 package and may even sound suspicious. Instead, try to be factual,
23542 mentioning use cases and features.
23544 @cindex Texinfo markup, in package descriptions
23545 Descriptions can include Texinfo markup, which is useful to introduce
23546 ornaments such as @code{@@code} or @code{@@dfn}, bullet lists, or
23547 hyperlinks (@pxref{Overview,,, texinfo, GNU Texinfo}). However you
23548 should be careful when using some characters for example @samp{@@} and
23549 curly braces which are the basic special characters in Texinfo
23550 (@pxref{Special Characters,,, texinfo, GNU Texinfo}). User interfaces
23551 such as @command{guix package --show} take care of rendering it
23554 Synopses and descriptions are translated by volunteers
23555 @uref{http://translationproject.org/domain/guix-packages.html, at the
23556 Translation Project} so that as many users as possible can read them in
23557 their native language. User interfaces search them and display them in
23558 the language specified by the current locale.
23560 To allow @command{xgettext} to extract them as translatable strings,
23561 synopses and descriptions @emph{must be literal strings}. This means
23562 that you cannot use @code{string-append} or @code{format} to construct
23568 (synopsis "This is translatable")
23569 (description (string-append "This is " "*not*" " translatable.")))
23572 Translation is a lot of work so, as a packager, please pay even more
23573 attention to your synopses and descriptions as every change may entail
23574 additional work for translators. In order to help them, it is possible
23575 to make recommendations or instructions visible to them by inserting
23576 special comments like this (@pxref{xgettext Invocation,,, gettext, GNU
23580 ;; TRANSLATORS: "X11 resize-and-rotate" should not be translated.
23581 (description "ARandR is designed to provide a simple visual front end
23582 for the X11 resize-and-rotate (RandR) extension. @dots{}")
23586 @node Python Modules
23587 @subsection Python Modules
23590 We currently package Python 2 and Python 3, under the Scheme variable names
23591 @code{python-2} and @code{python} as explained in @ref{Version Numbers}.
23592 To avoid confusion and naming clashes with other programming languages, it
23593 seems desirable that the name of a package for a Python module contains
23594 the word @code{python}.
23596 Some modules are compatible with only one version of Python, others with both.
23597 If the package Foo compiles only with Python 3, we name it
23598 @code{python-foo}; if it compiles only with Python 2, we name it
23599 @code{python2-foo}. If it is compatible with both versions, we create two
23600 packages with the corresponding names.
23602 If a project already contains the word @code{python}, we drop this;
23603 for instance, the module python-dateutil is packaged under the names
23604 @code{python-dateutil} and @code{python2-dateutil}. If the project name
23605 starts with @code{py} (e.g. @code{pytz}), we keep it and prefix it as
23608 @subsubsection Specifying Dependencies
23609 @cindex inputs, for Python packages
23611 Dependency information for Python packages is usually available in the
23612 package source tree, with varying degrees of accuracy: in the
23613 @file{setup.py} file, in @file{requirements.txt}, or in @file{tox.ini}.
23615 Your mission, when writing a recipe for a Python package, is to map
23616 these dependencies to the appropriate type of ``input'' (@pxref{package
23617 Reference, inputs}). Although the @code{pypi} importer normally does a
23618 good job (@pxref{Invoking guix import}), you may want to check the
23619 following check list to determine which dependency goes where.
23624 We currently package Python 2 with @code{setuptools} and @code{pip}
23625 installed like Python 3.4 has per default. Thus you don't need to
23626 specify either of these as an input. @command{guix lint} will warn you
23630 Python dependencies required at run time go into
23631 @code{propagated-inputs}. They are typically defined with the
23632 @code{install_requires} keyword in @file{setup.py}, or in the
23633 @file{requirements.txt} file.
23636 Python packages required only at build time---e.g., those listed with
23637 the @code{setup_requires} keyword in @file{setup.py}---or only for
23638 testing---e.g., those in @code{tests_require}---go into
23639 @code{native-inputs}. The rationale is that (1) they do not need to be
23640 propagated because they are not needed at run time, and (2) in a
23641 cross-compilation context, it's the ``native'' input that we'd want.
23643 Examples are the @code{pytest}, @code{mock}, and @code{nose} test
23644 frameworks. Of course if any of these packages is also required at
23645 run-time, it needs to go to @code{propagated-inputs}.
23648 Anything that does not fall in the previous categories goes to
23649 @code{inputs}, for example programs or C libraries required for building
23650 Python packages containing C extensions.
23653 If a Python package has optional dependencies (@code{extras_require}),
23654 it is up to you to decide whether to add them or not, based on their
23655 usefulness/overhead ratio (@pxref{Submitting Patches, @command{guix
23662 @subsection Perl Modules
23665 Perl programs standing for themselves are named as any other package,
23666 using the lowercase upstream name.
23667 For Perl packages containing a single class, we use the lowercase class name,
23668 replace all occurrences of @code{::} by dashes and prepend the prefix
23670 So the class @code{XML::Parser} becomes @code{perl-xml-parser}.
23671 Modules containing several classes keep their lowercase upstream name and
23672 are also prepended by @code{perl-}. Such modules tend to have the word
23673 @code{perl} somewhere in their name, which gets dropped in favor of the
23674 prefix. For instance, @code{libwww-perl} becomes @code{perl-libwww}.
23677 @node Java Packages
23678 @subsection Java Packages
23681 Java programs standing for themselves are named as any other package,
23682 using the lowercase upstream name.
23684 To avoid confusion and naming clashes with other programming languages,
23685 it is desirable that the name of a package for a Java package is
23686 prefixed with @code{java-}. If a project already contains the word
23687 @code{java}, we drop this; for instance, the package @code{ngsjava} is
23688 packaged under the name @code{java-ngs}.
23690 For Java packages containing a single class or a small class hierarchy,
23691 we use the lowercase class name, replace all occurrences of @code{.} by
23692 dashes and prepend the prefix @code{java-}. So the class
23693 @code{apache.commons.cli} becomes package
23694 @code{java-apache-commons-cli}.
23701 For fonts that are in general not installed by a user for typesetting
23702 purposes, or that are distributed as part of a larger software package,
23703 we rely on the general packaging rules for software; for instance, this
23704 applies to the fonts delivered as part of the X.Org system or fonts that
23705 are part of TeX Live.
23707 To make it easier for a user to search for fonts, names for other packages
23708 containing only fonts are constructed as follows, independently of the
23709 upstream package name.
23711 The name of a package containing only one font family starts with
23712 @code{font-}; it is followed by the foundry name and a dash @code{-}
23713 if the foundry is known, and the font family name, in which spaces are
23714 replaced by dashes (and as usual, all upper case letters are transformed
23716 For example, the Gentium font family by SIL is packaged under the name
23717 @code{font-sil-gentium}.
23719 For a package containing several font families, the name of the collection
23720 is used in the place of the font family name.
23721 For instance, the Liberation fonts consist of three families,
23722 Liberation Sans, Liberation Serif and Liberation Mono.
23723 These could be packaged separately under the names
23724 @code{font-liberation-sans} and so on; but as they are distributed together
23725 under a common name, we prefer to package them together as
23726 @code{font-liberation}.
23728 In the case where several formats of the same font family or font collection
23729 are packaged separately, a short form of the format, prepended by a dash,
23730 is added to the package name. We use @code{-ttf} for TrueType fonts,
23731 @code{-otf} for OpenType fonts and @code{-type1} for PostScript Type 1
23736 @node Bootstrapping
23737 @section Bootstrapping
23739 @c Adapted from the ELS 2013 paper.
23741 @cindex bootstrapping
23743 Bootstrapping in our context refers to how the distribution gets built
23744 ``from nothing''. Remember that the build environment of a derivation
23745 contains nothing but its declared inputs (@pxref{Introduction}). So
23746 there's an obvious chicken-and-egg problem: how does the first package
23747 get built? How does the first compiler get compiled? Note that this is
23748 a question of interest only to the curious hacker, not to the regular
23749 user, so you can shamelessly skip this section if you consider yourself
23750 a ``regular user''.
23752 @cindex bootstrap binaries
23753 The GNU system is primarily made of C code, with libc at its core. The
23754 GNU build system itself assumes the availability of a Bourne shell and
23755 command-line tools provided by GNU Coreutils, Awk, Findutils, `sed', and
23756 `grep'. Furthermore, build programs---programs that run
23757 @code{./configure}, @code{make}, etc.---are written in Guile Scheme
23758 (@pxref{Derivations}). Consequently, to be able to build anything at
23759 all, from scratch, Guix relies on pre-built binaries of Guile, GCC,
23760 Binutils, libc, and the other packages mentioned above---the
23761 @dfn{bootstrap binaries}.
23763 These bootstrap binaries are ``taken for granted'', though we can also
23764 re-create them if needed (more on that later).
23766 @unnumberedsubsec Preparing to Use the Bootstrap Binaries
23768 @c As of Emacs 24.3, Info-mode displays the image, but since it's a
23769 @c large image, it's hard to scroll. Oh well.
23770 @image{images/bootstrap-graph,6in,,Dependency graph of the early bootstrap derivations}
23772 The figure above shows the very beginning of the dependency graph of the
23773 distribution, corresponding to the package definitions of the @code{(gnu
23774 packages bootstrap)} module. A similar figure can be generated with
23775 @command{guix graph} (@pxref{Invoking guix graph}), along the lines of:
23778 guix graph -t derivation \
23779 -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages bootstrap) %bootstrap-gcc)' \
23783 At this level of detail, things are
23784 slightly complex. First, Guile itself consists of an ELF executable,
23785 along with many source and compiled Scheme files that are dynamically
23786 loaded when it runs. This gets stored in the @file{guile-2.0.7.tar.xz}
23787 tarball shown in this graph. This tarball is part of Guix's ``source''
23788 distribution, and gets inserted into the store with @code{add-to-store}
23789 (@pxref{The Store}).
23791 But how do we write a derivation that unpacks this tarball and adds it
23792 to the store? To solve this problem, the @code{guile-bootstrap-2.0.drv}
23793 derivation---the first one that gets built---uses @code{bash} as its
23794 builder, which runs @code{build-bootstrap-guile.sh}, which in turn calls
23795 @code{tar} to unpack the tarball. Thus, @file{bash}, @file{tar},
23796 @file{xz}, and @file{mkdir} are statically-linked binaries, also part of
23797 the Guix source distribution, whose sole purpose is to allow the Guile
23798 tarball to be unpacked.
23800 Once @code{guile-bootstrap-2.0.drv} is built, we have a functioning
23801 Guile that can be used to run subsequent build programs. Its first task
23802 is to download tarballs containing the other pre-built binaries---this
23803 is what the @code{.tar.xz.drv} derivations do. Guix modules such as
23804 @code{ftp-client.scm} are used for this purpose. The
23805 @code{module-import.drv} derivations import those modules in a directory
23806 in the store, using the original layout. The
23807 @code{module-import-compiled.drv} derivations compile those modules, and
23808 write them in an output directory with the right layout. This
23809 corresponds to the @code{#:modules} argument of
23810 @code{build-expression->derivation} (@pxref{Derivations}).
23812 Finally, the various tarballs are unpacked by the
23813 derivations @code{gcc-bootstrap-0.drv}, @code{glibc-bootstrap-0.drv},
23814 etc., at which point we have a working C tool chain.
23817 @unnumberedsubsec Building the Build Tools
23819 Bootstrapping is complete when we have a full tool chain that does not
23820 depend on the pre-built bootstrap tools discussed above. This
23821 no-dependency requirement is verified by checking whether the files of
23822 the final tool chain contain references to the @file{/gnu/store}
23823 directories of the bootstrap inputs. The process that leads to this
23824 ``final'' tool chain is described by the package definitions found in
23825 the @code{(gnu packages commencement)} module.
23827 The @command{guix graph} command allows us to ``zoom out'' compared to
23828 the graph above, by looking at the level of package objects instead of
23829 individual derivations---remember that a package may translate to
23830 several derivations, typically one derivation to download its source,
23831 one to build the Guile modules it needs, and one to actually build the
23832 package from source. The command:
23835 guix graph -t bag \
23836 -e '(@@@@ (gnu packages commencement)
23837 glibc-final-with-bootstrap-bash)' | dot -Tps > t.ps
23841 produces the dependency graph leading to the ``final'' C
23842 library@footnote{You may notice the @code{glibc-intermediate} label,
23843 suggesting that it is not @emph{quite} final, but as a good
23844 approximation, we will consider it final.}, depicted below.
23846 @image{images/bootstrap-packages,6in,,Dependency graph of the early packages}
23848 @c See <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gnu-system-discuss/2012-10/msg00000.html>.
23849 The first tool that gets built with the bootstrap binaries is
23850 GNU@tie{}Make---noted @code{make-boot0} above---which is a prerequisite
23851 for all the following packages. From there Findutils and Diffutils get
23854 Then come the first-stage Binutils and GCC, built as pseudo cross
23855 tools---i.e., with @code{--target} equal to @code{--host}. They are
23856 used to build libc. Thanks to this cross-build trick, this libc is
23857 guaranteed not to hold any reference to the initial tool chain.
23859 From there the final Binutils and GCC (not shown above) are built.
23861 from the final Binutils, and links programs against the just-built libc.
23862 This tool chain is used to build the other packages used by Guix and by
23863 the GNU Build System: Guile, Bash, Coreutils, etc.
23865 And voilà! At this point we have the complete set of build tools that
23866 the GNU Build System expects. These are in the @code{%final-inputs}
23867 variable of the @code{(gnu packages commencement)} module, and are
23868 implicitly used by any package that uses @code{gnu-build-system}
23869 (@pxref{Build Systems, @code{gnu-build-system}}).
23872 @unnumberedsubsec Building the Bootstrap Binaries
23874 @cindex bootstrap binaries
23875 Because the final tool chain does not depend on the bootstrap binaries,
23876 those rarely need to be updated. Nevertheless, it is useful to have an
23877 automated way to produce them, should an update occur, and this is what
23878 the @code{(gnu packages make-bootstrap)} module provides.
23880 The following command builds the tarballs containing the bootstrap
23881 binaries (Guile, Binutils, GCC, libc, and a tarball containing a mixture
23882 of Coreutils and other basic command-line tools):
23885 guix build bootstrap-tarballs
23888 The generated tarballs are those that should be referred to in the
23889 @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} module mentioned at the beginning of
23892 Still here? Then perhaps by now you've started to wonder: when do we
23893 reach a fixed point? That is an interesting question! The answer is
23894 unknown, but if you would like to investigate further (and have
23895 significant computational and storage resources to do so), then let us
23898 @unnumberedsubsec Reducing the Set of Bootstrap Binaries
23900 Our bootstrap binaries currently include GCC, Guile, etc. That's a lot
23901 of binary code! Why is that a problem? It's a problem because these
23902 big chunks of binary code are practically non-auditable, which makes it
23903 hard to establish what source code produced them. Every unauditable
23904 binary also leaves us vulnerable to compiler backdoors as described by
23905 Ken Thompson in the 1984 paper @emph{Reflections on Trusting Trust}.
23907 This is mitigated by the fact that our bootstrap binaries were generated
23908 from an earlier Guix revision. Nevertheless it lacks the level of
23909 transparency that we get in the rest of the package dependency graph,
23910 where Guix always gives us a source-to-binary mapping. Thus, our goal
23911 is to reduce the set of bootstrap binaries to the bare minimum.
23913 The @uref{http://bootstrappable.org, Bootstrappable.org web site} lists
23914 on-going projects to do that. One of these is about replacing the
23915 bootstrap GCC with a sequence of assemblers, interpreters, and compilers
23916 of increasing complexity, which could be built from source starting from
23917 a simple and auditable assembler. Your help is welcome!
23921 @section Porting to a New Platform
23923 As discussed above, the GNU distribution is self-contained, and
23924 self-containment is achieved by relying on pre-built ``bootstrap
23925 binaries'' (@pxref{Bootstrapping}). These binaries are specific to an
23926 operating system kernel, CPU architecture, and application binary
23927 interface (ABI). Thus, to port the distribution to a platform that is
23928 not yet supported, one must build those bootstrap binaries, and update
23929 the @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} module to use them on that platform.
23931 Fortunately, Guix can @emph{cross compile} those bootstrap binaries.
23932 When everything goes well, and assuming the GNU tool chain supports the
23933 target platform, this can be as simple as running a command like this
23937 guix build --target=armv5tel-linux-gnueabi bootstrap-tarballs
23940 For this to work, the @code{glibc-dynamic-linker} procedure in
23941 @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} must be augmented to return the right
23942 file name for libc's dynamic linker on that platform; likewise,
23943 @code{system->linux-architecture} in @code{(gnu packages linux)} must be
23944 taught about the new platform.
23946 Once these are built, the @code{(gnu packages bootstrap)} module needs
23947 to be updated to refer to these binaries on the target platform. That
23948 is, the hashes and URLs of the bootstrap tarballs for the new platform
23949 must be added alongside those of the currently supported platforms. The
23950 bootstrap Guile tarball is treated specially: it is expected to be
23951 available locally, and @file{gnu/local.mk} has rules do download it for
23952 the supported architectures; a rule for the new platform must be added
23955 In practice, there may be some complications. First, it may be that the
23956 extended GNU triplet that specifies an ABI (like the @code{eabi} suffix
23957 above) is not recognized by all the GNU tools. Typically, glibc
23958 recognizes some of these, whereas GCC uses an extra @code{--with-abi}
23959 configure flag (see @code{gcc.scm} for examples of how to handle this).
23960 Second, some of the required packages could fail to build for that
23961 platform. Lastly, the generated binaries could be broken for some
23964 @c *********************************************************************
23965 @include contributing.texi
23967 @c *********************************************************************
23968 @node Acknowledgments
23969 @chapter Acknowledgments
23971 Guix is based on the @uref{http://nixos.org/nix/, Nix package manager},
23972 which was designed and
23973 implemented by Eelco Dolstra, with contributions from other people (see
23974 the @file{nix/AUTHORS} file in Guix.) Nix pioneered functional package
23975 management, and promoted unprecedented features, such as transactional
23976 package upgrades and rollbacks, per-user profiles, and referentially
23977 transparent build processes. Without this work, Guix would not exist.
23979 The Nix-based software distributions, Nixpkgs and NixOS, have also been
23980 an inspiration for Guix.
23982 GNU@tie{}Guix itself is a collective work with contributions from a
23983 number of people. See the @file{AUTHORS} file in Guix for more
23984 information on these fine people. The @file{THANKS} file lists people
23985 who have helped by reporting bugs, taking care of the infrastructure,
23986 providing artwork and themes, making suggestions, and more---thank you!
23989 @c *********************************************************************
23990 @node GNU Free Documentation License
23991 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
23992 @cindex license, GNU Free Documentation License
23993 @include fdl-1.3.texi
23995 @c *********************************************************************
23996 @node Concept Index
23997 @unnumbered Concept Index
24000 @node Programming Index
24001 @unnumbered Programming Index
24002 @syncodeindex tp fn
24003 @syncodeindex vr fn
24008 @c Local Variables:
24009 @c ispell-local-dictionary: "american";