Guix Package Updates

Updating a package in the Guix archive and sending the contribution

Guix Packaging Series

  • Blog posts and video series covering Guix packaging
  • The main scenarios are:
    • ​Using an older package (downgrading)
    • Rebuilding an existing package
    • Modifying an existing package - Updating it
    • Creating a new package (with and without source)
    • Contributing a package to the distribution​

Package update:

  • borgmatic a backup application
  • Update from version 1.8.13 to 1.8.14
  • Contribute (send) the updated package to the Guix developers

Learning Path

Inputs & native-inputs

Build system

Build phases

Stacked Git

(stgit)

Modified Package Contribution

Git

worktrees

send-email

Package

Structure

Source &

Origin

Advanced References

Building Guix from Source

Tools

bts & b4

Package Patch

Review

Shell

Command

Build

Command

Package

Transforms

Learning Path

Manifests

Transforms in Manifests

https://www.futurile.net/resources/guix/

1

Build Guix from source

3

Send the updated package

Modified Package Contribution in 3 Easy Steps

2

Alter the package we want to change

1

Build Guix from source

23

A series of

manual steps

Modified Package Contribution in 3 Easy Steps

2

Alter the package we want to change and verify to project standards

3

Send the updated package as a patch by email

1

Build Guix from source

23

A series of involved

manual steps

Modified Package Contribution in 3 23 Easy involved Steps 😰

2

Alter the package we want to change and verify to project standards

3

Send the updated package as a patch by email

1. Pre-requisites

  • Guix source​​

  • Ability to send email using git send-email​​

    • guix package: git:send-email

  • Tool - Stacked Git

    • ​Deals with patches in git as a stack

    • How we develop and how a Maintainer applies the patches is the same with the system

    • guix package: stgit@2.4.0

  • Tool - bts

    • Tool for interacting with Guix's Issues tracker

    • guix package: debian-devscripts-bts​

​

2. Check for updates

  • First check if the package is already being updated
    • ​Updates can take a while to show up - review their patch to help!
  • Check Guix's Git repository​​
    • Search for the package (right hand side)
  • Check the issues / bug-tracker
    • ​Guix uses GNU Projects shared Debbugs
    • Two Web interfaces - uses Guix Issues for simplicity

http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/guix.git/log/

https://issues.guix.gnu.org

https://debbugs.gnu.org/Packages.html

2. Check for updates

No update in progress

3. Check the complexity

  • Altering a package can vary in complexity:
    • ​Upstream source may change their inputs (Rust packages!)
    • Upstream source may change build system (Python)
  • A quick check is to use a Transformation​
  • Some modifications look easy but impact many other packages
    • ​Use guix graph to see the graph of packages in the archive​
    • It can visually show various parts of the package tree including - packages that use the one we're trying to update

3. Check the complexity

  • reverse-bag checks for packages in the archive that use borgmatic as one of it's inputs.
  • xdot shows there are no other packages using borgmatic as an input
# all my guix code is in this location:
$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages
$ git clone https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git guix
$ cd guix
$ guix shell --development guix graphviz
[env] $ ./pre-inst-env guix graph --type=reverse-bag borgmatic > borgmatic-reverse-bag.dot
[env] exit
$ xdot borgmatic-reverse-bag.dot

Clone the Guix archive:

Use graphviz to check package references:

4. Create a new worktree

  • Using git worktrees allows me to work on more than one package at a time - optional ​

Switch to master and update:

$ git fetch origin keyring:keyring
$ guix git authenticate

Check new commits are authentic:

$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages/guix
$ git switch master
$ git pull

Create a new worktree for this update:

$ mkdir ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees
$ git worktree add ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/borgmatic-1.8.14 \
    -b borgmatic-1.8.14 origin/master --track
$ cd ../worktrees/borgmatic-1.8.14
  • done using standard guix that is in the default profile - and not in a shell
  • all worktrees are in the same place
  • creates a branch at the same time and sets it to track origin/master

5. Initialise StackeGit

  • StackedGit (stgit) makes git commits feel like patches​
  • All patches are in a stack and can be moved up and down within it

Configure git on the worktree:

$ stg init
$ stg branch --describe "Update borgmatic to 1.8.14"

# check the branch is correctly tracking origin/master
$ stg branch --list

Initialise stgit on the worktree

$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/borgmatic-1.8.14
$ git config user.name "Your Name"
$ git config user.email "your@email.com"
  • all StackedGit commands are stg <something>
  • there are some convenience commands like stg branch
  • see stg --help for more

6. Build the Guix source

  • Build the source that's in the worktree

Create a guix shell to build the source in:

[env]$ ./bootstrap
[env]$ ./configure --localstatedir=/var --sysconfdir=/etc

[env]$ make
[env]$ exit

Bootstrap, configure and build the guix source:

$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/borgmatic-1.8.14
$ guix shell --container --nesting --development guix --pure 
    --manifest=../../scm/guix-dev-env.scm --verbosity=3

Manifest has some basic tools:

  • building will take a while!
  • if it's successful exit from the environment
(specifications->manifest (list "glibc-locales" "gcc-toolchain" "autoconf" "automake" "texinfo"
                                "coreutils" "inetutils" "findutils" "which" "lesspipe" "help2man"
                                "git" "strace"))

7. Create packaging envs

  • For packaging need multiple separate terminal environments:
    • ​build: guix shell env with development guix
    • test: guix shell env with development guix and testing packages
    • dev & hash: normal environment to run code editor  guix hash in
  • I use Tmux with four separate splits so I can have them all on the screen easily

Create build env in a Tmux split:

$ guix shell --development guix --container --network --nesting --preserve=^TERM$ 
    coreutils nss-certs man-db ncurses
export PS1='[test-env]$ '

Create test env in a Tmux split:

$ guix shell --development guix --container --network --nesting --share=/var/log/guix 
    --preserve=^TERM$ coreutils
$ export PS1='[build-env]$ '

Another Tmux split for using an editor - not in guix shell:

$ export PS1='[dev-env]$ '

ensures guix build writes logs

installs all package inputs

installs packages for guix lint (nss-certs) and testing

8. Calculate the hash

  • Each package has a SHA256 hash of the source files - this prevents someone MITM attacking​
  • To update the package the new hash needs to be checked
  • From looking at the package with guix edit we know the source is from PyPi
  • Pypi provides hashes in hexadecimal that we can check
  • Guix uses the format nix-base32 for its own package source hashes

In the dev env:

[dev-env]$ cd ~/tmp

[dev-env]$ wget \
https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/0a/c5/b7237226724951d7aad79dc24d49b661e5aaad671b43f076beb6f6a4e647/ \
borgmatic-1.8.14.tar.gz

[dev-env]$ guix hash --hash=sha256 --format=hex borgmatic-1.8.14.tar.gz
598b3bc22c19d53bd375e5295afec56d111759f74671845aacfe055c539fa746

[dev-env]$ guix hash borgmatic-1.8.14.tar.gz
0im7kx9mq1gymid88wa6yxcif4bdqpz5lag5fp9kpm8r5k13p2sr

lines separated like this to fit in the slide!

  • The guix hash command will work with a file or a git repository
  • Use format=hex to create a hash that's the same as PyPi's
  • The default format is nix-base32 which is used in the package definition

9. Update the package definition

  • Use guix edit borgmatic to discover which file the package definition is in
  • Edit the package in your favourite editor - Vim of course!​

In the dev env:

[dev-env]$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/borgmatic-1.8.14

[dev-env]$ vim gnu/packages/backup.scm
(define-public borgmatic
  (package
    (name "borgmatic")
    (version "1.8.14")
    (source
     (origin
       (method url-fetch)
       (uri (pypi-uri "borgmatic" version))
       (sha256
        (base32 "0im7kx9mq1gymid88wa6yxcif4bdqpz5lag5fp9kpm8r5k13p2sr"))))
        
  [... rest of the package definition ...]

Change the package definition:

change the version

use the hash

10. Build the updated package

  • Check the source downloads correctly first
  • Build the package​
  • Check the build log for issues

In the build env build the source:

[build-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix build --source --no-substitutes borgmatic@1.8.14

Build the package:

[build-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix build --no-substitutes --no-grafts borgmatic@1.8.14

Inspect the build log:

[build-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix build --log-file --no-grafts borgmatic@1.8.14
  • The guix build --source command downloads the origin - it will show an error if the version or hash is wrong.
  • Using --no-substitutes prevents downloading the binary substitute from Guix
  • Using --no-grafts for development builds makes builds faster - a final test build without this option is needed - as grafts provide security updates
  • Access to the build log from guix shell --container requires sharing /var/log/guix

11. Test install the package

  • Building the package doesn't mean it's working!
  • Install and (at least) run it in a test environment​

In the test env install the built package:

[test-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix package --install borgmatic@1.8.14
[test-env]$ GUIX_PROFILE="/home/steve/.guix-profile"
[test-env]$ . "$GUIX_PROFILE/etc/profile"


[test-env]$ borgmatic --version

12. Check build determinism

  • Building the package repeatedly tests that it's fully deterministic
  • Check both the source (origin) and the build itself

In the build env - check the source downloads:

[build-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix build --no-substitutes --check --source borgmatic@1.8.14

Build the package and compare it to the previous build:

[build-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix build --no-substitutes --check borgmatic@1.8.14
  • Build determinism is covered in the manual in the Submitting Patches section:

​https://guix.gnu.org/manual/en/html_node/Submitting-Patches.html

13. Create the patch (using stg)

  • StackedGit lets us treat a commit as a patch
  • We see the same patch we'll eventually send to the Guix developers

In the dev env create a new StackedGit patch:

[dev-env]$ stg new borgmatic-1.8.14

Create a commit message - there's a set format:

gnu: borgmatic: Update to 1.8.14.

* gnu/packages/backup.scm (borgmatic): Update to 1.8.14.
  • To create a new patch in a series: stg new  (each patch is one git commit)
  • To add changes from the working tree into the patch: stg refresh <path>
  • To show the contents of the current patch: stg show
  • To see the series of patches (commits): stg series --reverse --description
  • Other commands to move patches in the stack, and to pull in commits

Add the changes we've made into the patch:

[dev-env]$ stg refresh gnu/packages/backup.scm
[dev-env]$ stg series --reverse --description
[dev-env]$ stg show

14. Check for dependant packages

  • If there are dependant packages they need to be rebuilt to make sure everything works
  • We tested this earlier with guix graph
  • Alternative way is to use guix refresh

In the test env check for dependants:

[test-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix refresh --list-dependent borgmatic@1.8.14
No dependents other than itself: borgmatic@1.8.14
  • Recommended as part of Submitting Patches section:

​https://guix.gnu.org/manual/en/html_node/Submitting-Patches.html

  • The guix refresh command is great for finding packages that need updates

15. Check the formatting

  • Formatting the code with Emacs (I know) is the easiest way for changes to meet the "expected style" that maintainers will check
  • For Vim users Spacemacs is great - highlight the code and use :indent-region
  • Packages can use guix style for standardised formatting - many older ones don't use this style - decide how intrusive you want to be
  • Use guix lint to check that a package meets packaging standards and that there are no known security issues

Format the code in the dev env:

[dev-env]$ emacs -nw gnu/packages/backup.scm

Run the styler in the test env:

[test-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix style --dry-run borgmatic@1.8.14
[test-env]$ ./pre-inst-env guix lint --dry-run borgmatic@1.8.14

Run the linter in the test env:

16. Check list for contribution

  1. Each patch contains one discrete change only: changes to one package
  2. Package source has no bundled libraries (e.g. vendored libraries)
  3. Verify the source and ensure the Package hash is correct (Step 8)
  4. Package builds correctly (Step 10 & 12): check the source is downloading and that it builds deterministically
  5. Package works (Step 11): test it in a guix shell
  6. Package builds on other architectures: Guix's CI does this
  7. Patch commit message meets the standard (Step 13): look at previous commit messages
  8. Package only references other packages it needs (Step 14): also guix size
  9. Package is styled correctly (Step 15): guix style
  10. Package Synopsis and Description are adequate: some maintainers want factual text (a bit subjective!). Guix lint checks things like spacing and no use of definitive article
  11. Package passes lint (Step 15): guix lint
  12. Patch goes to the topic branch of a team if possible: e.g. rust-team or python-team
  13. Packages for the master branch don't involve substantial rebuilds: new branch potentially

https://guix.gnu.org/manual/en/html_node/Submitting-Patches.html

17. Update the patch

  • Update the patch with any changes
  • Diff between working copy and commit: stg diff
  • Update the patch: stg refresh <path>
  • Show the current patch: stg show

Check if there are any changes in the dev env:

[dev-env]$ stg status

Do a diff:

[dev env]$ stg diff
[dev-env]$ stg refresh gnu/packages/backup.scm
[dev-env]$ stg show

If there are changes update the patch:

18. Export patches & test apply (pt 1)

  • Format the patch as an email and test it by applying it to a new branch
  • Format the patch for email: stg email format
  • Specific to my set-up is my email passwords are locked inside GPG: keychain

Start a shell in the dev env:

[dev-env]$ guix shell --development guix guile git:send-email stgit@2.4.0 debian-devscripts-bts
[dev-env]$ export PS1='[email-env]$ '

# email passwords are locked - I use keychain
[email-env] keychain --agents ssh,gpg

Use stg email format in the email env:

[email-env]$ stg email format --output-directory ../stg-out --numbered --base=auto --thread=shallow \
                      --cover-letter --all
[email-env]$ vim ../stg-out/0000-cover-letter.patch

Edit the cover letter email:

  • stg email format: --output-directory <dir>  - where the patches are placed -  in ../stg-out directory
  • stg email format: --numbered will number the patch files and in the Subject
  • stg email format: --base=auto
  • stg email format: --thread=shallow - all subsequent emails are a reply to the cover letter
  • stg email format: --cover-letter - create a cover letter (which needs to be edited)
  • stg email-format: --all means the entire stack, can also use 1..4 to export part of a stack

18. Export patches & test apply (pt 2)

  • Check the patches cleanly apply on a new branch
  • List branches with: stg branch --list
  • Apply the patch: git am

Get the base commit from the cover letter:

[email-env]$ view ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/stg-out/0000-cover-letter.patch

Create a new branch:

[email-env]$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages/guix
[email-env]$ stg branch --list
[email-env]$ stg branch master

[email-env]$ git branch borgmatic-test-apply <base-commit-from-cover-letter>
[email-env]$ git switch borgmatic-test-apply
[email-env]$ git log
[email-env]$ git am --ignore-whitespace --ignore-space-change --no-scissors 
                       ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/stg-out/0001-*
[email-env]$ git log
[email-env]$ git log --patch

Apply the patch:

  • git am: maximise applying with --ignore-whitespace and --ignore-space-change
  • git am: ignore scissors

19. Check for CC's

  • If there is an active Maintainer for a package a patch is more likely to be reviewed
  • There are some teams that look after whole package areas e.g. python-team
  • The Guix source has some git settings (etc/git) which will automatically cc teams when using git send-email if we're within the source tree
  • We have to manually add them as CC's when sending a cover-letter

Run the etc/teams.scm get-maintainer command:

[email-env]$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages/guix/worktrees/borgmatic-1.8.14
[email-env]$ ./pre-inst-env etc/teams.scm get-maintainer \
                  ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/stg-out/0001-gnu-borgmatic-Update-to-1.8.14.patch

# check it ran correctly as it doesn't output anything if there's no applicable maintainer
[email-env]$ echo $?

Other useful commands:

# list all the teams
[email-env]$ ./pre-inst-env list-team #list all teams

# print the cc's for any team (e.g. rust)
[email-env]$ ./pre-inst-env etc/teams.scm cc rust

20. Create a new bug

  • If we send multiple emails to the bug tracker (debbugs) it will create multiple bugs. When we want a single bug with multiple patches attached to it.
  • To avoid this - send the cover letter to guix-patches mailing list first - this email list is watched by the bug tracker and it will create a new bug number
  • CC any Maintainer that we discovered earlier so they're included
  • Then send the patch(es) to this bug number so they're all grouped correctly

Send the cover-letter:

[email-env]$ git send-email --to=guix-patches@gnu.org --annotate --dry-run 0000-cover-letter.patch

# now rm the cover letter so there's no chance it's sent again!
[editor-split] rm 0000-cover-letter.patch

To add a Maintainer:

[editor-split]$ git send-email --to=guix-patches@gnu.org --cc="Some Person <maintainer@some.email>" 
                               --annotate --dry-run 0000-cover-letter.patch
  • git send-email: use cc=<email> not X-Debbugs-cc for the cover letter as this is going to the mail list, not directly to Debbugs
  • git send-email: uses options that we added using stg email format (e.g. threading)
  • git send-email: --annotate will open up the email in an editor
  • git send-email: --dry-run takes no action but shows what it would have done

21. Thread & send the patches

  • Debbugs replies with an email specifying the new bug number
  • So the patch(es) are threaded as replies to the cover-letter we use the cover letters' Message-ID when we send the rest of the patches
  • To get the Message-ID use the Guix Issues site or the bts tool
  • The python-apprise patch is within a file that python-team focuses on. Guix's git config will automatically send this patch to them. The other is not - if we want the series to go to the python team we need to manually add them using X-Debbugs-CC special header

Use bts to query the bug number:

[email-env]$ bts --bts-server https://debbugs.gnu.org/ --mbox show NNNN

Re-export the patches with the reply-to header set to the Message-ID:

[email-env]$ rm ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/stg-out/*

[email-env]$ stg email format --output-directory ../stg-out --numbered --base=auto 
    --add-header="X-Debbugs-Cc: Jane Maintainer <jane@maintainer.email>, Bob Maintainer <bob@maintainer.email>" 
    --to NNNN@debbugs.gnu.org --in-reply-to <message-id-we-grabbed> --thread=shallow --all
[email-env]$ git send-email --to=NNNN@debbugs.gnu.org  --no-thread --no-chain-reply-to 
                     --dry-run ../stg-out/*

Send the patch with:

22. Check patches pass QA

An example of a re-roll:

[email-env]$ stg email format --output-directory ../stg-out --numbered --base=auto \
                --to NNNN@debbugs.gnu.org --in-reply-to <original-cover-letter-message-id> --thread=shallow \
                --cover-letter
                --reroll-count=2 
                --all
  • stg email format: --reroll-count=N marks the series as the n-th iteration of the topic. So the first time we send the patch series it's 1st time, if we need to re-roll the count starts at 2.
  • Send the patches directly to the bug number - no need to CC as debbugs will automatically do this due to the X-Debbugs-Cc header that was used earlier

23. Close the branch when complete

  • Waiting for someone to review and apply your patch is hard -  and who knows when someone will look at it!
  • Make sure it passes QA so that it's easy for a Maintainer to apply
  • If no-one is looking at it after a few weeks try asking on IRC
  • Generally the maintainer will email to the bug confirming when it's applied - delete the worktree and branch when it's in the archive

Delete the worktree and the git branch:

$ cd ~/workspace/guix-packages/guix
$ git worktree list
$ git worktree remove ~/workspace/guix-packages/worktrees/test-borgmatic-1.8.14
$ stg branch --list
$ stg branch --delete borgmatic-1.8.14

What we've seen 🎉

Altering a package is pretty simple

1

Modifying packages

Quite involved ... but tools like worktrees and StackedGit can help

2..

Contributing changes

Meeting all the quality standards is a lot of steps and we need patience!

..23

Quality!

Taking it further

To learn more:

Next steps from here:

  • More complex modifications of packages and services
  • Add new packages to Guix
  • Run a channel with our own packages

Thank You!

VIDEO

Guix Build

2:40 minutes

Contributing Guix Package Updates

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Contributing Guix Package Updates

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