Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

[Meikel]

Hi folks,

I'm interested in playing around with Guix. I found that "The Guix 
package manager can also be installed on top of a running GNU/Linux 
system" and so I followed instrunctions in

https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/en/html_node/Installation.html#Installation

Now I'm able to run something like i.e.

   guix package -i mailutils

which works. As a use case I'd like to install a webbrowser and an email 
client (i.e. Firefox and Thunderbird or something else) so that I'm able 
to browse the internet and read my emails with software that was 
installed via "guix package -i". I'd like to run

   guix package -i <webbrowser> <emailclient>

but I have no idea of how to find available packages for such software 
like webbrowser or email client.

Can someone point me to where to find documentation about how this can 
be done?

Regards,

Meikel

Re: Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

[Pierre Neidhardt]

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Sure,

  guix package --search='web browser'

should return a bunch of interesting answers.

IceCat is fork of Firefox.
Other than that, you'll find a bunch of webkit-based Epiphany, Eolie, Vimb, etc.

More browsers are coming.

Chromium is available in a separate channel:
https://gitlab.com/mbakke/guix-chromium.

We don't have Thunderbird nor any fork (yet).
There is claws-mail and maybe you'll find a few others with a search query.

-- 
Pierre Neidhardt
https://ambrevar.xyz/

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Re: Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

[Pierre Neidhardt]

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For the documentation, have a look at

  guix package --help

and "Invoking ‘guix package’" in the manual.

-- 
Pierre Neidhardt
https://ambrevar.xyz/

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Re: Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

[zimoun]

Hi Meikel,

To complement the words by Pierre, I would tell that Web Browser and
Emails Client are maybe not the best entry point to discover the Guix
system. :-)

Well, to search on all the packages, the way is:
   guix package -s web -s browser \
     | recsel -e 'description ~ "[Bb]rowser"' -p name,synopsis,relevance

The part `-s web -s browser' means: search the word web *or* the word
browser in all the fields (name, synopsis, description, etc.).
The recsel command allows to filter out.
 - `-e 'description ~ "[Bb]rowser"' means: select the package owning
the word Browser or browser in the field description;
 - `-p name,synopsis,relevance' means: only outputs the fields name,
synopsis and relevance.

Then, for example try `guix package --show=icecat' to see all the
package information.

To install the recsel comand, you need to install the package
recutils. Then give a look at the manual:
https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/en/html_node/Invoking-guix-package.html#Invoking-guix-package


If you are an Emacs user, then I recommand you to give a look at the
package emacs-guix.


Enjoy!
simon

Re: Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

[Quiliro Ordonez]

El 2019-02-08 11:04, zimoun escribió:
> Hi Meikel,
> 
> To complement the words by Pierre, I would tell that Web Browser and
> Emails Client are maybe not the best entry point to discover the Guix
> system. :-)
> 
> Well, to search on all the packages, the way is:
>    guix package -s web -s browser \
>      | recsel -e 'description ~ "[Bb]rowser"' -p name,synopsis,relevance
> 
> The part `-s web -s browser' means: search the word web *or* the word
> browser in all the fields (name, synopsis, description, etc.).
> The recsel command allows to filter out.
>  - `-e 'description ~ "[Bb]rowser"' means: select the package owning
> the word Browser or browser in the field description;
>  - `-p name,synopsis,relevance' means: only outputs the fields name,
> synopsis and relevance.
> 
> Then, for example try `guix package --show=icecat' to see all the
> package information.
> 
> To install the recsel comand, you need to install the package
> recutils. Then give a look at the manual:
> https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/en/html_node/Invoking-guix-package.html#Invoking-guix-package


What  a fine explanation! I filled in some of my own knowledge gaps with
it. It would be great to include something like that on the manual.

> If you are an Emacs user, then I recommand you to give a look at the
> package emacs-guix.

I looked at this part. But I am missing some exercise such as the
previous one on Emacs-Guix. It would help introduce myself on some
practical use of that promising package. Would someone provide such
thing please?

Re: Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

[Pierre Neidhardt]

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> > To install the recsel comand, you need to install the package
> > recutils. Then give a look at the manual:
> > https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/en/html_node/Invoking-guix-package.html#Invoking-guix-package
> 
> 
> What  a fine explanation! I filled in some of my own knowledge gaps with
> it. It would be great to include something like that on the manual.

Well, the quote link is precisely the manual :)

That said, if you can pin point sections that could be improve, please send
your suggestions to the mailing list, we should never stop working on the fine
manual :)

> I looked at this part. But I am missing some exercise such as the
> previous one on Emacs-Guix. It would help introduce myself on some
> practical use of that promising package. Would someone provide such
> thing please?

Are you asking for example of use cases of Emacs-Guix?

Sure, for instance you can can list your installed packages, click on a package
to display it's details, install other outputs from there, display the graphs,
etc.

You can list generations and "diff" them!  (One of my favourite feats!)
Then you can switch and delete generations.

There are helper functions for development, such as a "build-log-mode" to
navigate the build phase outputs (e.g. you jump from the "configure phase" to
the "build phase"), you can even toggle-fold the phase outputs.

And so much more!
Emacs-Guix has a very complete manual:

https://emacs-guix.gitlab.io/website/manual/latest/html_node/index.html

Cheers!

-- 
Pierre Neidhardt
https://ambrevar.xyz/

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Re: Installing webbrowser and email client via Guix package manager

[Quiliro Ordonez]

El 2019-02-08 14:40, Pierre Neidhardt escribió:
>> > To install the recsel comand, you need to install the package
>> > recutils. Then give a look at the manual:
>> > https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/en/html_node/Invoking-guix-package.html#Invoking-guix-package
>> 
>> 
>> What  a fine explanation! I filled in some of my own knowledge gaps with
>> it. It would be great to include something like that on the manual.
> 
> Well, the quote link is precisely the manual :)


The examples on the original email were more explanatory than those on
the manual.

> That said, if you can pin point sections that could be improve, please send
> your suggestions to the mailing list, we should never stop working on the fine
> manual :)

I suggest adding the examples you posted on your email at the --search
section of guix package.

>> I looked at this part. But I am missing some exercise such as the
>> previous one on Emacs-Guix. It would help introduce myself on some
>> practical use of that promising package. Would someone provide such
>> thing please?
> 
> Are you asking for example of use cases of Emacs-Guix?

Yes

> Sure, for instance you can can list your installed packages, click on a package
> to display it's details, install other outputs from there, display the graphs,
> etc.
> 
> You can list generations and "diff" them!  (One of my favourite feats!)
> Then you can switch and delete generations.
> 
> There are helper functions for development, such as a "build-log-mode" to
> navigate the build phase outputs (e.g. you jump from the "configure phase" to
> the "build phase"), you can even toggle-fold the phase outputs.
> 
> And so much more!
> Emacs-Guix has a very complete manual:
> 
> https://emacs-guix.gitlab.io/website/manual/latest/html_node/index.html

The explanation you give above is not as great as your examples were on
your previous email for guix package. But I think that the Emacs-guix
looks good. I will review it.

Thank you very much for your feedback.