---
title: Everyday Use of GNU Guix
osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/conferences/seagl2018/program/proposals/526
beginning: '2018-11-10T13:30:00.000-08:00'
end: '2018-11-10T14:20:00.000-08:00'
presenters:
- name: Chris Marusich
  osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/users/762
  gravatar_id: 25272ff173674cb7d3c9afa12cfc9f82
  biography: |-
    Hi!  My name is Chris, and I'm a software developer living in Seattle.  In the past, I've also been a systems engineer and a customer service representative.  I love a good cup of coffee, and currently my favorite cafe is Anchorhead Coffee.

    I first became interested in GNU/Linux and freedom-respecting software when I began to dip my toes into the world of programming around 2011.  Despite the fact that I didn't go to school for programming, GNU/Linux and freedom-respecting software have helped me to harness my curiosity and passion for computers and turn it into a career.

    In my personal time, I occasionally contribute to the fantastic GNU Guix project.  I hope that by contributing to freedom-respecting software projects and participating in events like SeaGL, I can give back to the community that has given me so much.

    I look forward to seeing you at SeaGL 2018!
---

VIDEO AVAILABLE: <https://media.marusich.info/everyday-use-of-gnu-guix-chris-marusich-seagl-2018.webm>

In this talk, I will introduce GNU Guix: a liberating, dependable, and
hackable package manager that follows the "purely functional software
deployment model" pioneered by Nix.

I will demonstrate some common use cases of Guix and show you how I
use it in my everyday life.  In addition, I will briefly explain the
basic idea behind the functional model and how it enables Guix to
provide useful features like the following:

- Transactional upgrades and roll-back of installed software.
- Unprivileged users can simultaneously install multiple versions of
  software.
- Transparently build from source or download pre-built binaries.
- Installed software is bootstrappable, trustable, and auditable all
  the way down to your compiler's compiler.
- Eliminates an entire class of "works on my system" type problems.

No prior knowledge of Guix, Nix, or the functional model is required.
When you leave this talk, I hope you will have a basic understanding
of what Guix is, how to use it, and why it will help make your life
brighter.
