guix package: Add '--export-channels'.

* guix/channels.scm (sexp->channel): Export.
* guix/describe.scm: Use (guix channels).
(manifest-entry-provenance): New procedure.
* guix/scripts/package.scm (channel=?, export-channels): New
procedures.
(show-help, %options): Add '--export-channels'.
(process-query): Honor it.
* build-aux/build-self.scm (build-program)[select?]: Exclude (guix
channels) to account for the (guix describe) change above.
* doc/guix.texi (Invoking guix package): Document it.

1 files changed, 25 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index e5872b5f24..9e62da438e 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -3616,7 +3616,31 @@ exactly what you specified.
 
 Keep in mind that a manifest is purely symbolic: it only contains
 package names and possibly versions, and their meaning varies over time.
-
+If you wish to ``pin'' channels to the revisions that were used to build
+the profile(s), see @option{--export-channels} below.
+
+@cindex pinning, channel revisions of a profile
+@item --export-channels
+Write to standard output the list of channels used by the chosen
+profile(s), in a format suitable for @command{guix pull --channels} or
+@command{guix time-machine --channels} (@pxref{Channels}).
+
+Together with @option{--export-manifest}, this option provides
+information allowing you to replicate the current profile
+(@pxref{Replicating Guix}).
+
+However, note that the output of this command @emph{approximates} what
+was actually used to build this profile.  In particular, a single
+profile might have been built from several different revisions of the
+same channel.  In that case, @option{--export-manifest} chooses the last
+one and writes the list of other revisions in a comment.  If you really
+need to pick packages from different channel revisions, you can use
+inferiors in your manifest to do so (@pxref{Inferiors}).
+
+Together with @option{--export-manifest}, this is a good starting point
+if you are willing to migrate from the ``imperative'' model to the fully
+declarative model consisting of a manifest file along with a channels
+file pinning the exact channel revision(s) you want.
 @end table
 
 Finally, since @command{guix package} may actually start build