How to use the command 'guix package' (with examples)

The guix package command is used in the GNU Guix package manager to install, upgrade, and remove Guix packages, as well as to rollback to previous configurations. It provides a variety of functions to manage packages in the Guix system.

Use case 1: Install a new package

Code:

guix package -i package

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you want to install a new package into your Guix system.

Explanation: The -i option is used to specify that you want to install a package. package is the name of the package you want to install.

Example output:

...
installing package...
package successfully installed

Use case 2: Remove a package

Code:

guix package -r package

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to remove a package from your Guix system.

Explanation: The -r option specifies that you want to remove a package. package is the name of the package you want to remove.

Example output:

...
removing package...
package successfully removed

Use case 3: Search the package database for a regular expression

Code:

guix package -s "search_pattern"

Motivation: This use case helps you search for packages that match a specific pattern in the package database.

Explanation: The -s option is used to search for packages. "search_pattern" is the regular expression pattern you want to match.

Example output:

...
searching for packages matching "search_pattern"...
matching packages found:
- package1
- package2
- package3

Use case 4: List installed packages

Code:

guix package -I

Motivation: This use case allows you to view the list of packages currently installed in your Guix system.

Explanation: The -I option is used to list the installed packages.

Example output:

...
listing installed packages...
- package1
- package2
- package3

Use case 5: List generations

Code:

guix package -l

Motivation: This use case lets you view the list of generations in your Guix system.

Explanation: The -l option is used to list the generations.

Example output:

...
listing generations...
- generation1
- generation2
- generation3

Use case 6: Roll back to the previous generation

Code:

guix package --roll-back

Motivation: This use case allows you to roll back to a previous generation in your Guix system, restoring a previous configuration.

Explanation: The --roll-back option is used to roll back to the previous generation.

Example output:

...
rolling back to previous generation...
successfully rolled back to generation X

Conclusion:

The guix package command provides a comprehensive set of options to manage packages in the GNU Guix package manager. With this command, you can install, remove, search, list, and rollback packages in your Guix system, providing flexibility and customization to your package management workflow.