Re: getting started test-building packages without breaking the system profile?

[Leo Famulari]

On Mon, Dec 07, 2015 at 12:54:53PM -0500, anonymiss wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I've read 
> https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/html_node/Packaging-Guidelines.html 
> and I am done with the gnunet-gtk.scm, at least as far as I can go without 
> testing.
> My question is, do I check out the guix.git for testing the package with
> ./pre-inst-env guix build $pkg-name --keep-failed
> or what is the general recommended process for this?
> I know I can even setup VMs within guix with guix, but I just started and 
> need some pointers.

If you are just testing packages and not GuixSD / system stuff, try
`guix environment --ad-hoc foo`, and maybe also the `--pure` option.

This will put the packages in your environment as if they were installed
in a profile, without actually making a profile generation.

The only downside, to me, is that `guix gc` will delete foo unless you
explicity register it as a garbage collector root with `guix build -r
foo`. It has been discussed to add this option to `guix environment`,
but I'm not sure if any decision was reached:
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2015-10/msg00551.html

> 
> 
> --anonymiss
> -----------------------------------------------
> Email is public and violates our right for secrecy of correspondence.
> Talk to me in private:
> http://loupsycedyglgamf.onion/anonymiss/
> irc://loupsycedyglgamf.onion:67/anonymiss
> https://psyced.org:34443/anonymiss/
> 
> If you want Email like communication which respects
> your privacy and rights and is secure without requiring you to
> learn complicated tools, use bitmessage:
> (public) bitmessage: BM-2cSj8qEigE3CMaLU3CwPZf7T3LvzvnttsC
> 
> my vcard (sort of): http://krosos.sdf.org