I really want to like Guix; on the surface it seems very interesting. I’ve been messing around with an installation on my old ThinkPad, but trying to learn anything about it- even as a long time Linux user- is making my head spin. Are there any resources other than the dense manuals on the GNU web pages that aren’t from System Crafters? The biggest questions I have so far:
What happens when a package is not available in Guix? How can I install software from source files? If I wanted non-free software, like Steam, what is the best way to go about it?
Wow, thank you for the detailed response. I’m looking into nonguix as well now; this thing’s wifi card is predictably uncooperative, but as a pleasant surprise the rest of the system is libre-compatible. Old TPs stay winning. I was hoping there was something closer to…I guess a crash course on what this system is and how to use it day-to-day, but it looks like I’m going to have to get over it and dive in myself. I’m no stranger to hacking around, I’m just impatient, lol.
day-to-day management would involve also learning about
guix homewhich is analogous to Nix’s home manager. Don’t be too afraid of the Guix manual and always make sure you’re using the latest one.If you seriously want to use Guix you basically have to become a contributor since the project is still in its infancy (Nix is over 20 years old by comparison and only recently got popular). I recommend subscribing to the Guix-devel and Guix-help mailing lists as well. Guix is highly rewarding since it’s a vision into a reproducible, libre future that has never been tried before in human history but if you want to use an immutable system on a production machine I’d recommend Nix.
Agreed! This is the appealing part. I see the concept; I just need to get familiar. This is also why I am tinkering on a laptop and not my workstation (yet). It will also give me an excuse to learn more Lisp which I have been meaning to do for years.