guix-package

Install a new package

$ guix package [[-i|--install]] [package]

$ guix package [[-r|--remove]] [package]

$ guix package [[-s|--search]] "[search_pattern]"

$ guix package [[-I|--list-installed]]

$ guix package [[-l|--list-generations]]

$ guix package --roll-back

guix package [OPTION]… [PACKAGE]…

-i, --install=DRAW-EXPRESSION… | FILE | URL
    Install packages matching DRAW-EXPRESSION, from FILE, or URL.

-r, --remove=PACKAGE…
    Remove matching PACKAGE….

-u, --upgrade[=PACKAGE…]
    Upgrade all or specified PACKAGE….

-n, --dry-run
    Simulate actions without changes.

-s, --search=REGEXP
    Search packages by name/synopsis matching REGEXP.

-I, --list-installed[=REGEXP]
    List installed packages, filter by REGEXP.

-A, --list-available[=REGEXP]
    List available packages, filter by REGEXP.

-l, --list-manifests
    List manifests in ~/.guix-profile.

-p, --profile=PROFILE
    Use PROFILE instead of ~/.guix-profile.

--roll-back
    Revert to previous profile generation.

--switch-generation[=N=PROFILE]
    Switch PROFILE to generation N.

--delete-generations[=PATTERN]
    Delete generations matching PATTERN.

--manifest=MANIFEST
    Install all in MANIFEST.

-S, --system=SYSTEM
    Target SYSTEM like "i686-linux".

--verbosity=LEVEL
    Set output verbosity (0-3).

--bootstrap
    Use bootstrap binaries.

-v, --verbose
    Increase output verbosity.

--load-path=DIR
    Prepend DIR to Scheme load path.

guix package is the primary command-line tool for the GNU Guix package manager, a functional and transactional system for handling software deployment. Guix emphasizes reproducible builds, where packages are defined declaratively in Scheme and built in isolated environments via the Guix build daemon.

This command supports installing, removing, upgrading, searching, and listing packages across user profiles. Profiles act as versioned directories of symlinks to package store items, enabling rollbacks and multiple coexisting environments without system-wide changes.

Unlike imperative managers like apt or yum, Guix treats the package store as immutable; operations create new profile generations. It supports multiple architectures, bootstrap from source, and dependency pinning for exact reproducibility. Users can query vast repositories of over 20,000 packages, including those from other distros via imports.

The tool integrates with guix pull for channel updates and guix system for declarative OS configs, making it ideal for developers seeking hermetic and auditable deployments.

Requires running guix-daemon. Builds from source can be slow; use substitutes for binaries. Profile changes are atomic but store garbage collection needed periodically.

guix package -i hello coreutils
Install "hello" and "coreutils".

guix package -s python
Search Python packages.

guix package --upgrade --dry-run
Preview all upgrades.

Profiles (~/.guix-profile) are versioned symlink trees. View with guix package --list-generations; garbage collect old store items with guix gc.

Introduced with GNU Guix 0.1 in 2012 by Ludovic Courtès et al. Evolved through versions: profile generations in 0.2 (2012), search in 0.7 (2014), channels in 0.15 (2018). Actively developed for reproducibility.

guix(1), guix-pull(1), guix-system(8), guix-gc(1), guix-size(1)