GNU Guix Reference Card One-Off Environments

for version 1.4.0 Customizing Packages

https://guix.gnu.org/ guix shell spec…
environment containing spec… guix command name --with-source=name=source
guix shell -D python build name with a different source URL
environment to develop Python itself guix command spec --with-input=spec1=spec2
Getting Started guix shell python -C -- python3 replace spec1 with spec2 in the dependency graph of spec
run Python in a container guix command spec --with-graft=spec1=spec2
To read the on-line documentation run info guix or visit guix shell --check graft spec2 in lieu of spec1 in spec
https://guix.gnu.org/manual/. See https://emacs-guix.gitlab.io/website/ check if the shell clobbers environment variables guix command --with-git-url=spec=URL
for an Emacs interface to Guix. guix shell -m file build spec from the given Git URL
create an environment for the packages in manifest file guix command spec --with-branch=package=branch
build spec from the given Git branch of package
Specifying Packages guix command spec --with-commit=package=commit
Updating Guix build spec from the given Git commit of package
Most commands take a “package specification” denoted spec in the guix command spec --with-patch=package=file
sequel. Here are some examples: guix describe describe current Guix build spec after applying the given patch file to package
guix describe -f channels produce a channel spec guix command spec --with-latest=package
emacs Emacs package, latest version guix pull update Guix build spec using the latest upstream release for package
guix pull -l view history guix command spec --with-c-toolchain=package=toolchain
gcc-toolchain@7 GCC toolchain, version 7.x
guix pull --commit=commit update to commit build spec using toolchain for package
gcc-toolchain:debug latest GCC toolchain, debug-
guix pull --branch=branch update to branch guix command spec --without-tests=package
ging symbols build spec without running the tests for package
guix pull -C file update the given channels

Managing Packages Developing Packages

Channel Specifications
guix search regexp … search for packages guix edit spec
Channels specify Git repositories where guix pull looks for updates view the definition
guix show spec show package info guix build spec …
to Guix and external package repositories. By default guix pull build packages
guix install spec… install packages guix build --log-file spec
reads ~/.config/guix/channels.scm; with -C it can take channel view the build log
guix upgrade [regexp] upgrade packages guix build -K spec …
specifications from a user-supplied file that looks like this: build packages, keep build
guix remove name… remove packages trees on failure
guix package -m file instantiate from manifest guix build -S spec obtain the source of spec
(cons (channel
guix package --export-manifest export profile contents as (name ’guix-hpc) guix build --check spec rebuild a package
manifest (url "https://gitlab.inria.fr/guix-hpc/guix-hpc.git") guix build --target=triplet … cross-compile to triplet—e.g.,
guix package --roll-back roll back (branch "master")) arm-linux-gnueabihf
guix package -I list installed packages %default-channels) guix download URL download from URL and print
guix package -l list profile generations its SHA256 hash
guix package --search-paths guix hash file print the hash of file
display search paths
guix package -p profile … guix graph spec | dot -Tpdf … view dependencies
use a different profile
Using a Different Version of Guix guix refresh spec update package definition
guix import repo name import name from repo
Manifests The guix time-machine command provides access to other revisions
of Guix, for example to install older versions of packages, or to
guix package -m and other commands take a “manifest” file listing reproduce a computation in an identical environment.
packages of interest, along these lines:
guix time-machine -C file -- commands …
(specifications->manifest Run commands in a version of Guix specified by the given
’("gcc-toolchain@7" "gcc-toolchain@7:debug"
channels in file
"openmpi"))
Creating Application Bundles Declaring an Operating System Building Operating Systems

guix pack spec … create a tarball guix system takes a configuration file that declares the complete guix system image file
guix pack -f docker spec … create a Docker image configuration of an operating system, along these lines: create a raw disk image for the OS declared in file
guix pack -f squashfs spec … create a Singularity image guix system image --image-type=iso9660 file
guix pack -f deb spec … create a Debian package create an ISO CD/DVD image for the OS declared in file
(use-modules (gnu))
archive guix system image --image-type=qcow2 file
(use-service-modules networking ssh)
guix pack -RR spec … create a relocatable tarball (use-package-modules certs screen) produce a QCOW2 image of the OS in file
guix system vm file
guix pack -S /bin=bin spec … make /bin a symlink to the
(operating-system produce a script that runs the OS declared in file in a VM
packages’ bin directory (host-name "gnu")
guix pack -m file bundle the packages from the (timezone "Europe/Berlin")
manifest in file (locale "en_US.utf8")
Managing the Operating System
(keyboard-layout (keyboard-layout "us" "altgr-intl"))

(bootloader (bootloader-configuration guix system search regexp

Managing Storage Space (bootloader grub-efi-bootloader) search for services matching regexp
(target (list "/boot/efi")) guix system reconfigure file
guix gc collect all garbage (keyboard-layout keyboard-layout))) reconfigure the OS according to the configuration in file
guix gc -C nG collect n GB of garbage (file-systems (cons (file-system guix system list-generations [pattern]
guix gc -F nG ensure n GB are available (device (file-system-label "my-root"))
list OS generations matching pattern—e.g., 1m for one month
(mount-point "/")
guix gc -d duration delete generations older than guix system roll-back
(type "ext4"))
duration—e.g., 1m for one %base-file-systems)) roll back to the previous system generation
month guix system delete-generations pattern
guix size spec … view package size (users (cons (user-account delete generations matching pattern
guix gc -R /gnu/store/… (name "charlie") guix system build file
list run-time dependencies
(comment "Charlie Smith") build the OS declared in file
guix graph -t references spec … view run-time dependencies (group "users")
(supplementary-groups ’("wheel"
"audio" "video")))
Managing the Home Environment %base-user-accounts)) Building and Running Containers

;; Globally installed packages. guix system container file

guix home takes a configuration file that declares dotfiles, packages, (packages (append (list screen nss-certs) produce a script that runs the OS declared in file in a container
and user services. %base-packages))
guix system docker-image file
;; System services: add sshd and DHCP to the base services.
build a Docker image of the OS declared in file
guix home search regexp
search for services matching regexp (services (append (list (service dhcp-client-service-type)
(service openssh-service-type
guix home reconfigure file
(openssh-configuration Inspecting an Operating System
reconfigure the home according to the configuration in file (port-number 2222))))
guix home list-generations [pattern] %base-services)))
list home generations matching pattern guix system extension-graph file
guix home delete-generations pattern
show the graph of services extensions for the OS in file
delete generations matching pattern guix system shepherd-graph file
guix home roll-back
show the dependency graph of Shepherd services for file
roll back to the previous generation
guix home build file
build the home environment declared in file
Copyright  2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <[email protected]>
Copyright  2022 Ricardo Wurmus <[email protected]>
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms
of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by
the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no
Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is available at https://gnu.org/licenses/gfdl.html.
The source of this document is available from
https://git.sv.gnu.org/cgit/guix/maintenance.git.