Creating user profiles

Creating user profiles

[Andreas Enge]

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Following the commit:
commit b9e5c0a949fa627da55ea53fd71dfa96ad8a2b4b
    guix-package: Create ~/.guix-profile when it doesn't exist.

I finally dropped giving the explicit profile parameter to guix-package. 
This results in the following error when installing a package:

Backtrace:
In ice-9/boot-9.scm:
 149: 12 [catch #t #<catch-closure 12f39c0> ...]
 157: 11 [#<procedure 128f0f0 ()>]
In unknown file:
   ?: 10 [catch-closure]
In ice-9/boot-9.scm:
  63: 9 [call-with-prompt prompt0 ...]
In ice-9/eval.scm:
 407: 8 [eval # #]
In unknown file:
   ?: 7 [call-with-input-string "(apply (module-ref (resolve-interface 
'(guix-package)) 'guix-package) (cdr (command-line)))" ...]
In ice-9/command-line.scm:
 174: 6 [#<procedure 120e2a0 at ice-9/command-line.scm:169:3 (port)> 
#<input: string 10b60d0>]
In unknown file:
   ?: 5 [eval (apply (module-ref # #) (cdr #)) #<directory (guile-user) 
12f5d80>]
In ice-9/boot-9.scm:
 149: 4 [catch srfi-34 #<procedure 1290c40 at guix/ui.scm:71:2 ()> ...]
 157: 3 [#<procedure 1753870 ()>]
In /usr/local/bin/guix-package:
 475: 2 [#<procedure 13b8c60 at /usr/local/bin/guix-package:468:4 ()>]
 409: 1 [process-actions (# #)]
In unknown file:
   ?: 0 [symlink "/nix/store/g4bnzikcjgdcgmcj7by815wb9ykz470l-user-
environment" ...]

In fact, a symbolic link $HOME/.guix-profile is created to the non-existing 
file /usr/local/guix-git/var/nix/profiles/per-user/privat/guix-profile 
(where /usr/local/guix-git/ is my installation prefix).

The user environment /nix/store/g4bnzikcjgdcgmcj7by815wb9ykz470l-user-
environment exists in the nix store.

I think the problem is that only the directory /usr/local/guix-
git/var/nix/profiles exists, but that it is empty; maybe one should first 
create the directory $PREFIX/var/nix/profiles/per-user/$USER if it does not 
exist yet?

Andreas

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Re: Creating user profiles

[Ludovic Courtès]

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Hello!

Andreas Enge <andreas@enge.fr> skribis:

> I think the problem is that only the directory /usr/local/guix-
> git/var/nix/profiles exists, but that it is empty; maybe one should first 
> create the directory $PREFIX/var/nix/profiles/per-user/$USER if it does not 
> exist yet?

Right, good point.  (Apparently Nix’s manual doesn’t mention it either.)

So here’s what I would do:


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--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -233,6 +233,16 @@ The @code{guix-daemon} program may then be run as @code{root} with:
 # guix-daemon --build-users-group=guix-builder
 @end example
 
+In such a multi-user setup, @dfn{user profiles}---i.e., the set of
+user-installed packages as seen by @command{guix-package}
+(@pxref{Invoking guix-package})---must be stored in a place registered
+as a @dfn{garbage-collector root}.  That directory is normally
+@code{@var{localstatedir}/profiles/per-user/@var{user}}, where
+@var{localstatedir} is the value passed to @code{configure} as
+@code{--localstatedir}, and @var{user} is the user name.  This directory
+must be created by @code{root}, with @var{user} as the owner.  When it
+does not exist, @command{guix-package} emits an error about it.
+
 Guix may also be used in a single-user setup, with @command{guix-daemon}
 running as a unprivileged user.  However, to maximize non-interference
 of build processes, the daemon still needs to perform certain operations
diff --git a/guix-package.in b/guix-package.in
index 450d09e..ec09cc4 100644
--- a/guix-package.in
+++ b/guix-package.in
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ exec ${GUILE-@GUILE@} -L "@guilemoduledir@" -l "$0"    \
   #:use-module (guix packages)
   #:use-module (guix utils)
   #:use-module (guix config)
+  #:use-module ((guix build utils) #:select (directory-exists?))
   #:use-module (ice-9 ftw)
   #:use-module (ice-9 format)
   #:use-module (ice-9 match)
@@ -465,6 +466,25 @@ Install, remove, or upgrade PACKAGES in a single transaction.\n"))
                (not (file-exists? %user-environment-directory)))
       (symlink %current-profile %user-environment-directory))
 
+    ;; Attempt to create /…/profiles/per-user/$USER if needed.
+    (unless (or (not (equal? (assoc-ref opts 'profile) %current-profile))
+                (directory-exists? %profile-directory))
+      (catch 'system-error
+        (lambda ()
+          (mkdir %profile-directory))
+        (lambda args
+          ;; Often, we cannot create %PROFILE-DIRECTORY because its
+          ;; parent directory is root-owned and we're running
+          ;; unprivileged.
+          (format (current-error-port)
+                  (_ "error: while creating directory `~a': ~a~%")
+                  %profile-directory
+                  (strerror (system-error-errno args)))
+          (format (current-error-port)
+                  (_ "Please create the `~a' directory, with you as the owner.~%")
+                  %profile-directory)
+          (exit 1))))
+
     (with-error-handling
       (or (process-query opts)
           (parameterize ((%guile-for-build

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WDYT?

Thanks,
Ludo’.

Re: Creating user profiles

[Andreas Enge]

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Am Sonntag, 13. Januar 2013 schrieb Ludovic Courtès:
> Right, good point.  (Apparently Nix’s manual doesn’t mention it either.)
> So here’s what I would do:

I simply applied the patch, and it seems to be part of the solution.
Upon a first run of "guix-package --list-available", I obtained the error 
message inviting me to create the directory, which I did. The next call 
succeeded. But now $HOME/.guix-profile points to the non-existing 
/usr/local/guix-git/var/nix/profiles/per-user/privat/guix-profile, and I 
get the error:

Backtrace:
In ice-9/boot-9.scm:
 149: 9 [catch #t #<catch-closure 14e29c0> ...]
 157: 8 [#<procedure 147e0f0 ()>]
In unknown file:
   ?: 7 [catch-closure]
In ice-9/boot-9.scm:
  63: 6 [call-with-prompt prompt0 ...]
In ice-9/eval.scm:
 407: 5 [eval # #]
In unknown file:
   ?: 4 [call-with-input-string "(apply (module-ref (resolve-interface 
'(guix-package)) 'guix-package) (cdr (command-line)))" ...]
In ice-9/command-line.scm:
 174: 3 [#<procedure 1415500 at ice-9/command-line.scm:169:3 (port)> 
#<input: string 12a51a0>]
In unknown file:
   ?: 2 [eval (apply (module-ref # #) (cdr #)) #<directory (guile-user) 
14e4d80>]
In /usr/local/bin/guix-package:
 467: 1 [guix-package "--list-available"]
In unknown file:
   ?: 0 [symlink "/usr/local/guix-git/var/nix/profiles/per-
user/privat/guix-profile" ...]

ERROR: In procedure symlink:
ERROR: In procedure symlink: File exists

The problem is that the call to "guix-package --list-available" does not 
actually create anything in the per-user profile directory.

After deleting $HOME/.guix-profile again and running "guix-package -i 
hello", the per-user profile directory contains a symbolic link guix-
profile-1-link to a user environment in the nix store, and a symbolic link 
guix-profile to guix-profile-1-link, and $HOME/.guix-profile points to the 
right thing. Then "guix-package --list-available" succeeds.

Now I can even remove the hello package, since then the per-user profile 
directory contains a link to the empty user environment in the nix store.

I would suggest the following: Before making the $HOME/.guix-profile 
symlink, check for the guix-profile symlink in the per-user profile 
directory. If it does not exist, create it as a link to the empty user 
environment. So there will always be guix-profile-1-link linking to the 
empty directory, which might also be useful for roll back (never delete 
this first empty environment).

Andreas

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Re: Creating user profiles

[Ludovic Courtès]

Andreas Enge <andreas@enge.fr> skribis:

> I simply applied the patch, and it seems to be part of the solution.
> Upon a first run of "guix-package --list-available", I obtained the error 
> message inviting me to create the directory, which I did. The next call 
> succeeded. But now $HOME/.guix-profile points to the non-existing 
> /usr/local/guix-git/var/nix/profiles/per-user/privat/guix-profile, and I 
> get the error:

[...]

>    ?: 0 [symlink "/usr/local/guix-git/var/nix/profiles/per-
> user/privat/guix-profile" ...]
>
> ERROR: In procedure symlink:
> ERROR: In procedure symlink: File exists

Aah, I see.  That’s because it did (file-exists? ".guix-profile"), but
this uses stat(2).  So here, because .guix-profile was a dangling
symlink, it returned #f, even though the symlink actually existed.  I
fixed it using ‘lstat’ instead.

[...]

> I would suggest the following: Before making the $HOME/.guix-profile 
> symlink, check for the guix-profile symlink in the per-user profile 
> directory. If it does not exist, create it as a link to the empty user 
> environment. So there will always be guix-profile-1-link linking to the 
> empty directory, which might also be useful for roll back (never delete 
> this first empty environment).

Having this empty user environment on disk should not be needed because
internally, ‘profile-manifests’ explicitly checks whether the profile
exists, and returns an empty manifest if it doesn’t.

So I’m committing the patch, minus the above bug.

Thanks for the very quick feedback!

Ludo’.