Re: Hacks to install Guix packages without root

[Konrad Hinsen <konrad.hinsen@fastmail.net>]

On 26/10/2017 23:46, Ricardo Wurmus wrote:

> How about an extension of “guix pack” that will rewrite the /gnu/store
> references to a user-provided directory before bundling things up in a
> tarball?  I’d *really* like to be able to just use the tarball bundle
> “guix pack” produces by default, but currently deploying it requires
> root access or proot shenanigans at runtime.

That would be nice indeed as a deployment option. In particular for 
distributing binaries to less experienced users.


On 27/10/2017 02:48, Ludovic Courtès wrote:

 > The tarballs could include proot-static and another statically-linked
 > program that essentially tries to call unshare(2).  Would that make
 > sense?

That's perhaps good enough as well. Suggestion: try to write the user 
instructions for deploying these tarballs first, and pick the method 
that is easiest to describe.

I see basically two usage scenarios. One is a form of software 
installation: users download a tarball, follow the instruction 
procedure, and than have some additional commands in their PATH. The 
other scenario is the creation of a somewhat isolated environment, with 
users wanting a shell for working in just that environment. For that 
second scenario, proot is probably just fine, but I am less convinced 
about the first one.

Konrad.