r/GUIX • u/RussUser • 21d ago

We need to promote Guix. Here's why

Hey everyone. I've been promoting Guix on TikTok, Reddit, and other platforms. I make memes, stickers, and videos I'm going to donate to Nonguix. I'm just one person, but I want to help Guix grow.

I think we need more promotion. Not because the code is bad — but because people don't know about it. They think Guix is "just NixOS but worse". They don't know about rollbacks, profiles, guix shell, or the philosophy.

If you have time — make a post, record a video, share a meme. Every little bit helps. Let's grow this community together.

What do you think? Is promotion important, or should we just focus on code?

44 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

25

u/eoz 21d ago

You're absolutely right em-dash we should encourage people

4

u/RussUser 21d ago

But for real, I'm from Russia, so I use AI to translate my text and your replies. So you weren't entirely wrong about the AI part! Thanks for understanding."

1

u/RussUser 21d ago

Caught me! I'm actually an LLM trained exclusively on GNU Guix documentation. But jokes aside, thanks for the encouragement!

1

u/RussUser 21d ago

And yes, the AI is the one putting all the punctuation so neatly, including those em-dashes!

9

u/Cove0Crow 21d ago

I'm currently in the middle of my first Guix install. Used to use nixOS but decided it would be instresting to try a fully libre distro. Can't speak to it yet cause I don't even have a window manager set up yet. But so far I'm really liking it, do hope it gets the attention it deserves.

5

u/RussUser 21d ago

Welcome to Guix! I'm glad you're trying it. NixOS is cool, but Guix is different — it's GNU, it's Scheme, it's full control. And with Nonguix, you get proprietary drivers and Steam. If you need help with your setup — just ask. The community is small but helpful.

6

u/Jacobobarobatobski 20d ago

I'm planning to install it soon to try it out. I'm using NixOS right now as my daily driver, but scheme and shepherd intrigue me. I'm kind of on the fence tbh because nix hasn't really given me any real problems beyond the bizarre language and the frankly terrible documentation. But I do value free software, at least to some extent. I saw that you were Russian and translating everything so I transferred this one for you.

Я планирую скоро установить её и попробовать. Сейчас я использую NixOS как основную систему, но Scheme и Shepherd меня интригуют. Честно говоря, я пока не определился, потому что Nix особо не доставлял мне проблем, кроме этого странного языка и, откровенно говоря, ужасной документации. Но я всё же в какой-то степени ценю свободное ПО.

Я заметил, что ты русский и переводишь всё подряд, поэтому решил перевести это сообщение для тебя.

3

u/RussUser 20d ago

I understand. Nix is powerful, but the language is weird and the documentation is painful. Guix is the same in some ways, but the language is simpler (Scheme), and it uses Shepherd instead of systemd. If you decide to try it — write to me, I'll help with the setup. And with Nonguix you get proprietary drivers and Steam. So don't be afraid.

I guarantee you'll learn Scheme in 5 days — I learned it in 5 days myself. It has advantages that Nix doesn't have. For a start, watch some Guix videos on YouTube

2

u/RussUser 20d ago

честно советую даже с Nonguix потому что guix имеет суперспособности которых нету в Nix песочница профили откаты gnu/storage и многое другое

4

u/PalTonk 21d ago

Most importantly, have fun while doing it. It's the best way to not burn out trying to promote something. 

But yeah, people usually don't know about it. I personally found it through system crafters. 

3

u/Tricky-Engineer-9755 20d ago

Nonguix is not Guix. Donate to the GNU developers as they do the bulk of the maintenance and their role is far more ethical.

2

u/EGOTISMEADEUX 18d ago

My main roadblock to using Guix is that out of the box it doesn't support my hardware. Otherwise I would have tried it out. Nonguix ISO seems very out of date.

Really the issue is that what I want is NixOS with a legible programming language and a sane init, but it comes attached to a hardcore libre philosophy which, while I spiritually appreciate, is very unpractical for a lot of people.

If there is some easier option that's less of a hassle, I'm all ears.

1

u/RussUser 17d ago

You want NixOS with a readable language and a sane init system. That's basically Guix with Nonguix.

The ISO might look outdated, but the installer works. You can also install Guix as a package manager on your current NixOS first, test it, and then migrate.

And yes — Nonguix gives you the regular Linux kernel, proprietary drivers, Steam, Firefox. You don't have to fight linux-libre.

1

u/Proton-Lightin 13d ago

me too. its struggles with my hardware. my hardware is new or I would use guix

5

u/RussUser 21d ago

Welcome to Guix! I'm glad you're trying it. NixOS is cool, but Guix is different — it's GNU, it's Scheme, it's full control. And with Nonguix, you get proprietary drivers and Steam. If you need help with your setup — just ask. The community is small but helpful.

1

u/firebat-66 20d ago

I do need help switching but im so far into nix. I have a custom patched kernel and everything. I try to use guix shells everywhere I can

2

u/RussUser 20d ago

I feel you. A lot of people think Guix is super hard, but it's not. When I was switching, I knew nothing. I learned the basics of Scheme in 5 days and installed it.

You don't even need loops or complex logic. The language is built like this: you write a service, you close the bracket, you list the services you want. That's it.

Yes, you get full control and a lot of superpowers. And when you open the Guix page, you see all those boxes and parentheses — it scares a lot of newcomers. But don't be afraid. It's actually very easy.

1

u/Wooden-Ad6265 20d ago

A few things that I wanted to ask as a current NixOS user (and a want-to-be GuixSD user). I have installed guix the package manager on my current NixOS install, to make the migration frictionless. I don't know a thing about Guile Scheme, but I know that their documentation is far better than what Nix serves.

  • Does GuixSD play nicely with GNOME?
  • Can I declare my firefox settings using Guile? Like extensions and policies.

These are just non-blockers for me, and I'd be moving to Guix any ways. But it'd be good to know how smoothly can I replicate my setup on Guix. (I have proprietary hardware, so I guess I'd be using the nonguix repo).

Appreciate the promotion.

1

u/Icy-Plate9343 16d ago
  1. Yup! We got GNOME 49 not that long ago iirc.
  2. Firefox isn't available in the official guix channel but you have icecat which is a fork without telemetry and other non-free features. And you can declare icecat extensions directly in your config.

1

u/Wooden-Ad6265 16d ago

This! This is what I was looking for declarative extensions. Thanks.

1

u/CorenBrightside 20d ago

Is there anywhere to read/watch how guix works in everyday use? Steam, video acceleration etc? I tried YouTube and only found people installing it in a VM and calling it a day.

I don't care what language it's in, I'll figure it out but finding info is the hardest part.

1

u/RussUser 19d ago

I don't have a video, but I can tell you: Steam works through Nonguix. Hardware video acceleration works too. It's not plug-and-play like Ubuntu, but it works. If you want, I can share my config or help with setup.

1

u/PieIll9834 20d ago

Oh you have been making memes, that will convince the world! Lets start with why first?

1

u/juli4n_dev 19d ago

I tried but my main issue is Firefox, usually I need the ESR, Stable and dev edition but is not available.

I manage to install on /opt folder but generate a lot of other issues

1

u/RussUser 17d ago

Firefox ESR is available in Guix. For Stable and Dev, you can use Nonguix or Flatpak.

I know it's not perfect, but it works. If you need help with the config, ask.

1

u/sbt4 16d ago

What's guix alternative to flakes? And does guide have something similar to devenv?

1

u/Electrical-Policy-35 14d ago

And, you still have the possibility to use nix to install whatever you want, search for "Nix service" in the website: https://guix.gnu.org/manual/devel/en/html_node/Miscellaneous-Services.html

0

u/Electrical-Policy-35 14d ago

I don't know, but if you said what is flakes (in nix), i.e. for what you need a nix flake, maybe you will have an answer.

0

u/Brief-Stranger-3947 21d ago

Compared to Nix, which just works after install, with Guix I need to fight a bunch of errors using LLM just to be able to start using basic things. Quality of Guix ecosystem needs a lot of improvement before it becomes worth to promote it. And throw away this GNU purity bullshit, because people need non-gnu soft for basically any practical application.

5

u/RussUser 21d ago

You say "throw away the GNU purity stuff", but you're missing one thing: Nonguix. You can use Guix with proprietary drivers, Steam, Firefox, and everything else. You don't have to fight linux-libre. You can install linux and linux-firmware from Nonguix.

Guix is not Nix. It uses Scheme (Lisp), which is different. It takes time to learn, but once you understand it, you get full control: rollbacks, profiles, guix shell. NixOS is easier to start, but Guix gives more control when you learn it.

The community is small, yes. That's why we need promotion. And Nonguix needs donations. But the project is alive. It works. It just requires patience.

1

u/Brief-Stranger-3947 21d ago

I know about nonguix. It is still missing a lot of useful packages, but mostly it needs a quality improvement by a lot. As I said, when I start using it for my routine workflow, I start fighting errors right away. Pretty hard to promote this thing under such circumstances.

3

u/wonko7 20d ago

Quality of your brain needs to improve, don't complain an LLM is producing a shit config if you don't understand what you're doing. Read the docs, use the LLM inside your skull, see if that helps.

0

u/Brief-Stranger-3947 20d ago

Thanks, I'd better use software, which just woks out of the box. You want to fuck with bugs, be my guest.

3

u/wonko7 20d ago

Take a second to think about what you're saying:

You're judging a piece of software by how well an LLM is capable of using it. You think that chatgpt being shit at counting parenthesis is a reflection of the quality of a software ecosystem.

If you don't want to learn, that's fine, but don't tell us that "the guix ecosystem needs improvement" because you've given up on using your brain.

0

u/Brief-Stranger-3947 20d ago

Take a second to learn how to read and understand what is written. I am not judging software by how well LLM is capable of using it. I use LLM to debug errors when it crashes, because I have better ways to spend my time than debugging it manually. Anyway, it should not crash in first place. LLM using software is orthogonal issue.

> don't tell us that "the guix ecosystem needs improvement"

Yes, I am telling this to you, because it really does need improvement. You may keep denying this fact as long as you wish, but promoting buggy packages is not going to make guix popular.

1

u/Informal_Sound_3039 6d ago

tryed installing guix and my wifi dont work. and tryed installing with non-guix iso did all the steps and run a command error and after fixing the and run a install command it literlly wasted my 4h of my live and i canceled...