Packages don't get installed in the correct path

Packages don't get installed in the correct path

[Garjola Dindi]

Hi,

I have installed the Guix package manager on Debian stable using the
instructions in the manual:

,----[ elisp ]
| (info "guix#Binary Installation")
`----

I have added the following to my ~/.basrhc as indicated in the manual:

,----[ bash ]
| export PATH="/home/garjola/.config/guix/current/bin${PATH:+:}$PATH"
| export GUIX_PROFILE="$HOME/.guix-profile"
| export GUIX_LOCPATH=$HOME/.guix-profile/lib/locale
| source "$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/profile"
`----

When I install a package, I get the following message:
,----
| hint: Consider setting the necessary environment variables by running:
| 
|      GUIX_PROFILE="/var/guix/profiles/per-user/garjola/guix-profile"
|      . "$GUIX_PROFILE/etc/profile"
| 
| Alternately, see `guix package --search-paths -p
| "/var/guix/profiles/per-user/garjola/guix-profile"'.
`----

Note that the message makes reference to /var/..../per-user/ instead of
~/.config/guix/current. Is that correct?

Actually, despite the configuration in .bashrc, the packages do not get
installed in the $HOME tree, but in /var/..../per-user/. The $HOME tree
only contains the guix binaries:

,----[ bash ]
| $ ls ${HOME}/.config/guix/current/bin
| guix  guix-daemon
`----

The most annoying thing is that the programs are not in the path, but
what puzzles me is that I don't understand this behaviour.

I can of course change the environment vars in .bashrc to point to /var,
but this is not what the manual says.

Can anybody help me figure things out?

Thanks in advance.

Garjola

-- 

Re: Packages don't get installed in the correct path

[Tobias Geerinckx-Rice]

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Hi Garjola!

Garjola Dindi 写道：
> I have added the following to my ~/.basrhc as indicated in the 
> manual:
>
> ,----[ bash ]
> | export 
> PATH="/home/garjola/.config/guix/current/bin${PATH:+:}$PATH"

Which mad-Max manual indicates this?  Not [my copy of] Guix's:

  “(1) Users sometimes wrongfully augment environment variables
  such as 'PATH' in their '~/.bashrc' file.  As a consequence,
  when 'guix environment' launches it, Bash may read '~/.bashrc',
  thereby introducing "impurities" in these environment variables.
  It is an error to define such environment variables in
  '.bashrc'; instead, they should be defined in '.bash_profile',
  which is sourced only by log-in shells.
  *Note (bash)Bash Startup Files::, for details on Bash start-up
  files.”

	-- info "(guix)Invoking guix environment"

Adding PATH to .bashrc is almost always a mistake, and round that 
up to ‘always’.  As a Guix System user I'm less familiar with 
GUIX_LOCPATH, but the manual doesn't suggest adding it either.

> Actually, despite the configuration in .bashrc

Side note: sourcing <profile>/etc/profile configures your 
environment to ‘see’ Guix-installed software.  It does not 
configure Guix, which will install to ~/.guix-profile unless you 
specify another one with --profile= (-p).

> the packages do not get installed in the $HOME tree, but in
> /var/..../per-user/.

Lo:

  ~ λ ls -l ~/.guix-profile
  lrwxrwxrwx 1 nckx nckx 45 Sep 28 09:01 /home/nckx/.guix-profile
	-> /var/guix/profiles/per-user/nckx/guix-profile/

Unless something has gone *very* wrong, your installed packages 
should show up under both /var/... and ~/.guix-profile alike.

> The $HOME tree only contains the guix binaries:
>
> ,----[ bash ]
> | $ ls ${HOME}/.config/guix/current/bin
> | guix  guix-daemon
> `----

This is good: ~/.config/guix/current is not ~/.guix-profile.

The latter is your default profile, where ‘guix install’ and 
friends install software.  The former is exclusively for use by 
‘guix pull’ and provides the ‘guix’ command itself, to avoid a 
chicken-and-egg problem.

> The most annoying thing is that the programs are not in the path

I don't want to presume what you mean: that they're not where you 
thought they would be (not in ~/.config/guix), or that you can't 
actually run them (not in PATH)?

There's nothing wrong with any of the directories you mentioned. 
If you can run Guix-installed software from the shell immediately 
after installing it, I'd say that the /var thing is just a quirk 
of running Guix on a foreign distribution.

Quite a few regulars do so, some on Debian.  I'll let them correct 
me if I'm wrong (and explain the mystery that is GUIX_LOCPATH).

Kind regards,

T G-R

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Re: Packages don't get installed in the correct path

[Garjola Dindi]

On Wed 17-Mar-2021 at 07:51:18 +01, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me@tobias.gr>
wrote: 
> Hi Garjola!
>
> Garjola Dindi 写道：
>> I have added the following to my ~/.basrhc as indicated in the manual:
>>
>> ,----[ bash ]
>> | export PATH="/home/garjola/.config/guix/current/bin${PATH:+:}$PATH"
>
> Which mad-Max manual indicates this?  Not [my copy of] Guix's:
>

[...]


Mine (installed in
/gnu/store/mi10gphgjw1d....5b-guix-82a9538ea/share/info/guix.info.gz)
says in section 5.5 Invoking ‘guix gc’:

,----
|    The result of running ‘guix pull’ is a “profile” available under
| ‘~/.config/guix/current’ containing the latest Guix.  Thus, make sure to
| add it to the beginning of your search path so that you use the latest
| version, and similarly for the Info manual (*note Documentation::):
| 
|      export PATH="$HOME/.config/guix/current/bin:$PATH"
`----


[...]

>
>> The most annoying thing is that the programs are not in the path
>
> I don't want to presume what you mean: that they're not where you
> thought they would be (not in ~/.config/guix), or that you can't
> actually run them (not in PATH)?

They are not in PATH.

It seems that there are a lot of things that I have not understood about
how the whole thing works.

I will study the manual again. Is there a way to complete remove my
current installation so that I start with a clean slate?

Thank for your time.

Garjola


-- 

Re: Packages don't get installed in the correct path

[Ricardo Wurmus]

Garjola Dindi <garjola@garjola.net> writes:

> On Wed 17-Mar-2021 at 07:51:18 +01, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me@tobias.gr>
> wrote: 
>> Hi Garjola!
>>
>> Garjola Dindi 写道：
>>> I have added the following to my ~/.basrhc as indicated in the manual:
>>>
>>> ,----[ bash ]
>>> | export PATH="/home/garjola/.config/guix/current/bin${PATH:+:}$PATH"
>>
>> Which mad-Max manual indicates this?  Not [my copy of] Guix's:
>>
>
> [...]
>
>
> Mine (installed in
> /gnu/store/mi10gphgjw1d....5b-guix-82a9538ea/share/info/guix.info.gz)
> says in section 5.5 Invoking ‘guix gc’:
>
> ,----
> |    The result of running ‘guix pull’ is a “profile” available under
> | ‘~/.config/guix/current’ containing the latest Guix.  Thus, make sure to
> | add it to the beginning of your search path so that you use the latest
> | version, and similarly for the Info manual (*note Documentation::):
> | 
> |      export PATH="$HOME/.config/guix/current/bin:$PATH"
> `----

That’s okay.  This ensures that “guix” (provided by “guix pull”) is
available and preferred over whatever global installation of Guix there
might be (such as /usr/local/bin/guix).

>>> The most annoying thing is that the programs are not in the path
>>
>> I don't want to presume what you mean: that they're not where you
>> thought they would be (not in ~/.config/guix), or that you can't
>> actually run them (not in PATH)?
>
> They are not in PATH.

Then all you need is to add this to ~/.bash_profile

    GUIX_PROFILE=$HOME/.guix-profile
    source $GUIX_PROFILE/etc/profile

> It seems that there are a lot of things that I have not understood about
> how the whole thing works.
>
> I will study the manual again. Is there a way to complete remove my
> current installation so that I start with a clean slate?

I advise against it.  Your problem is with variables, not with stateless
binaries in /gnu/store.

-- 
Ricardo

Re: Packages don't get installed in the correct path

[Garjola Dindi]

On Wed 17-Mar-2021 at 08:49:22 +01, Ricardo Wurmus <rekado@elephly.net>
wrote: 
> Garjola Dindi <garjola@garjola.net> writes:
>
>> On Wed 17-Mar-2021 at 07:51:18 +01, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me@tobias.gr>
>> wrote: 
>>> Hi Garjola!
>>>
>>> Garjola Dindi 写道：
>>>> I have added the following to my ~/.basrhc as indicated in the manual:
>>>>
>>>> ,----[ bash ]
>>>> | export PATH="/home/garjola/.config/guix/current/bin${PATH:+:}$PATH"
>>>
>>> Which mad-Max manual indicates this?  Not [my copy of] Guix's:
>>>
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>
>> Mine (installed in
>> /gnu/store/mi10gphgjw1d....5b-guix-82a9538ea/share/info/guix.info.gz)
>> says in section 5.5 Invoking ‘guix gc’:
>>
>> ,----
>> |    The result of running ‘guix pull’ is a “profile” available under
>> | ‘~/.config/guix/current’ containing the latest Guix.  Thus, make sure to
>> | add it to the beginning of your search path so that you use the latest
>> | version, and similarly for the Info manual (*note Documentation::):
>> | 
>> |      export PATH="$HOME/.config/guix/current/bin:$PATH"
>> `----
>
> That’s okay.  This ensures that “guix” (provided by “guix pull”) is
> available and preferred over whatever global installation of Guix there
> might be (such as /usr/local/bin/guix).

So this is in contradiction with what Tobias wrote before?

>
>>>> The most annoying thing is that the programs are not in the path
>>>
>>> I don't want to presume what you mean: that they're not where you
>>> thought they would be (not in ~/.config/guix), or that you can't
>>> actually run them (not in PATH)?
>>
>> They are not in PATH.
>
> Then all you need is to add this to ~/.bash_profile
>
>     GUIX_PROFILE=$HOME/.guix-profile
>     source $GUIX_PROFILE/etc/profile

The issue is that $HOME/.guix-profile/etc/profile is empty, and
therefore, none of the installed packages in /var are in the path.
>
>> It seems that there are a lot of things that I have not understood about
>> how the whole thing works.
>>
>> I will study the manual again. Is there a way to complete remove my
>> current installation so that I start with a clean slate?
>
> I advise against it.  Your problem is with variables, not with stateless
> binaries in /gnu/store.

Given the inconsistencies I have, (the profile file being empty, for
instance), I don't feel confident with my installation and would rather
start from scratch. Is this possible?

Thanks.

-- 

Re: Packages don't get installed in the correct path

[Garjola Dindi]

On Wed 17-Mar-2021 at 10:25:39 +01, Garjola Dindi <garjola@garjola.net>
wrote: 
> On Wed 17-Mar-2021 at 08:49:22 +01, Ricardo Wurmus <rekado@elephly.net>
> wrote: 
>> Garjola Dindi <garjola@garjola.net> writes:
>>
>>> On Wed 17-Mar-2021 at 07:51:18 +01, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me@tobias.gr>
>>> wrote: 
>>> They are not in PATH.
>>
>> Then all you need is to add this to ~/.bash_profile
>>
>>     GUIX_PROFILE=$HOME/.guix-profile
>>     source $GUIX_PROFILE/etc/profile
>
> The issue is that $HOME/.guix-profile/etc/profile is empty, and
> therefore, none of the installed packages in /var are in the path.
>>
>>> It seems that there are a lot of things that I have not understood about
>>> how the whole thing works.
>>>
>>> I will study the manual again. Is there a way to complete remove my
>>> current installation so that I start with a clean slate?
>>
>> I advise against it.  Your problem is with variables, not with stateless
>> binaries in /gnu/store.
>
> Given the inconsistencies I have, (the profile file being empty, for
> instance), I don't feel confident with my installation and would rather
> start from scratch. Is this possible?

OK, I think I got it.

My ~/.guix-profile folder seemed to be the problem, because it only
contained etc and share and no bin. I have removed it and made it a
symlink to /var/guix/profiles/per-user/garjola/guix-profile.

My .bashrc contains

,----
| export PATH="$HOME/.config/guix/current/bin${PATH:+:}$PATH"
| export INFOPATH="$HOME/.config/guix/current/share/info:$INFOPATH"
| export GUIX_PROFILE="$HOME/.guix-profile"
| export GUIX_LOCPATH=$HOME/.guix-profile/lib/locale
| source "$HOME/.guix-profile/etc/profile"
`----

I think that now everything behaves as expected.

Is it correct to assume that the ~/.guix-profile has to be a link to the
per-user profile in /var?

The remaining puzzling question is why the ~/.guix-profile was like
that? I am assuming that the first guix invocation by a user after
running the installer as root should create the correct arborescences.
But since I had done some tests with guix a couple of years ago, maybe
that the folder was there already?

In any case, thanks for your patience.

Garjola.

--