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Diffstat (limited to 'doc/guix.texi')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/guix.texi | 125 |
1 files changed, 111 insertions, 14 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi index f97051e88c..5bd7dbdc8e 100644 --- a/doc/guix.texi +++ b/doc/guix.texi @@ -428,7 +428,8 @@ the Daemon, build users}). @item --no-substitutes @cindex substitutes Do not use substitutes for build products. That is, always build things -locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries. +locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries +(@pxref{Substitutes}). By default substitutes are used, unless the client---such as the @command{guix package} command---is explicitly invoked with @@ -569,6 +570,7 @@ management tools it provides. @menu * Features:: How Guix will make your life brighter. * Invoking guix package:: Package installation, removal, etc. +* Substitutes:: Downloading pre-built binaries. * Packages with Multiple Outputs:: Single source package, multiple outputs. * Invoking guix gc:: Running the garbage collector. * Invoking guix pull:: Fetching the latest Guix and distribution. @@ -633,18 +635,13 @@ thanks to the isolated build environments that are used, a given build is likely to yield bit-identical files when performed on different machines (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon, container}). -@cindex substitute +@cindex substitutes This foundation allows Guix to support @dfn{transparent binary/source -deployment}. When a pre-built binary for a @file{/gnu/store} path is +deployment}. When a pre-built binary for a @file{/gnu/store} item is available from an external source---a @dfn{substitute}, Guix just -downloads it@footnote{@c XXX: Remove me when outdated. -As of version @value{VERSION}, substitutes are downloaded from -@url{http://hydra.gnu.org/} but are @emph{not} authenticated---i.e., -Guix cannot tell whether binaries it downloaded have been tampered with, -nor whether they come from the genuine @code{gnu.org} build farm. This -will be fixed in future versions. In the meantime, concerned users can -opt for @code{--no-substitutes} (@pxref{Invoking guix-daemon}).}; -otherwise, it builds the package from source, locally. +downloads it and unpacks it; +otherwise, it builds the package from source, locally +(@pxref{Substitutes}). @node Invoking guix package @section Invoking @command{guix package} @@ -912,6 +909,105 @@ Finally, since @command{guix package} may actually start build processes, it supports all the common build options that @command{guix build} supports (@pxref{Invoking guix build, common build options}). +@node Substitutes +@section Substitutes + +@cindex substitutes +@cindex pre-built binaries +Guix supports transparent source/binary deployment, which means that it +can either build things locally, or download pre-built items from a +server. We call these pre-built items @dfn{substitutes}---they are +substitutes for local build results. In many cases, downloading a +substitute is much faster than building things locally. + +Substitutes can be anything resulting from a derivation build +(@pxref{Derivations}). Of course, in the common case, they are +pre-built package binaries, but source tarballs, for instance, which +also result from derivation builds, can be available as substitutes. + +The @code{hydra.gnu.org} server is a front-end to a build farm that +builds packages from the GNU distribution continuously for some +architectures, and makes them available as substitutes. + +@cindex security +@cindex digital signatures +To allow Guix to download substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org}, you +must add its public key to the access control list (ACL) of archive +imports, using the @command{guix archive} command (@pxref{Invoking guix +archive}). Doing so implies that you trust @code{hydra.gnu.org} to not +be compromised and to serve genuine substitutes. + +This public key is installed along with Guix, in +@code{@var{prefix}/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub}, where @var{prefix} is +the installation prefix of Guix. If you installed Guix from source, +make sure you checked the GPG signature of +@file{guix-@value{VERSION}.tar.gz}, which contains this public key file. +Then, you can run something like this: + +@example +# guix archive --authorize < hydra.gnu.org.pub +@end example + +Once this is in place, the output of a command like @code{guix build} +should change from something like: + +@example +$ guix build emacs --dry-run +The following derivations would be built: + /gnu/store/yr7bnx8xwcayd6j95r2clmkdl1qh688w-emacs-24.3.drv + /gnu/store/x8qsh1hlhgjx6cwsjyvybnfv2i37z23w-dbus-1.6.4.tar.gz.drv + /gnu/store/1ixwp12fl950d15h2cj11c73733jay0z-alsa-lib-1.0.27.1.tar.bz2.drv + /gnu/store/nlma1pw0p603fpfiqy7kn4zm105r5dmw-util-linux-2.21.drv +@dots{} +@end example + +@noindent +to something like: + +@example +$ guix build emacs --dry-run +The following files would be downloaded: + /gnu/store/pk3n22lbq6ydamyymqkkz7i69wiwjiwi-emacs-24.3 + /gnu/store/2ygn4ncnhrpr61rssa6z0d9x22si0va3-libjpeg-8d + /gnu/store/71yz6lgx4dazma9dwn2mcjxaah9w77jq-cairo-1.12.16 + /gnu/store/7zdhgp0n1518lvfn8mb96sxqfmvqrl7v-libxrender-0.9.7 +@dots{} +@end example + +@noindent +This indicates that substitutes from @code{hydra.gnu.org} are usable and +will be downloaded, when possible, for future builds. + +Guix ignores substitutes that are not signed, or that are not signed by +one of the keys listed in the ACL. It also detects and raise an error +when attempting to use a substitute that has been tampered with. + +The substitute mechanism can be disabled globally by running +@code{guix-daemon} with @code{--no-substitutes} (@pxref{Invoking +guix-daemon}). It can also be disabled temporarily by passing the +@code{--no-substitutes} option to @command{guix package}, @command{guix +build}, and other command-line tools. + + +Today, each individual's control over their own computing is at the +mercy of institutions, corporations, and groups with enough power and +determination to subvert the computing infrastructure and exploit its +weaknesses. While using @code{hydra.gnu.org} substitutes can be +convenient, we encourage users to also build on their own, or even run +their own build farm, such that @code{hydra.gnu.org} is less of an +interesting target. + +Guix has the foundations to maximize build reproducibility +(@pxref{Features}). In most cases, independent builds of a given +package or derivation should yield bit-identical results. Thus, through +a diverse set of independent package builds, we can strengthen the +integrity of our systems. + +In the future, we want Guix to have support to publish and retrieve +binaries to/from other users, in a peer-to-peer fashion. If you would +like to discuss this project, join us on @email{guix-devel@@gnu.org}. + + @node Packages with Multiple Outputs @section Packages with Multiple Outputs @@ -1923,7 +2019,8 @@ packages locally. @item --no-substitutes Do not use substitutes for build products. That is, always build things -locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries. +locally instead of allowing downloads of pre-built binaries +(@pxref{Substitutes}). @item --no-build-hook Do not attempt to offload builds @i{via} the daemon's ``build hook'' @@ -2321,8 +2418,8 @@ system}. Users can obtain the new package definition simply by running @command{guix pull} (@pxref{Invoking guix pull}). When @code{hydra.gnu.org} is done building the package, installing the -package automatically downloads binaries from there (except when using -@code{--no-substitutes}). The only place where human intervention is +package automatically downloads binaries from there +(@pxref{Substitutes}). The only place where human intervention is needed is to review and apply the patch. |