Hi Gottfried, No need to apologize — these are perfectly reasonable questions when you’re starting with Git.
You continue working on your Emacs configuration exactly as you do now, editing the files in ~/.config/emacs. Git does not replace those files or change how you edit them. It simply keeps a history of changes in that directory. The usual workflow is: you edit your configuration, make sure everything works, and then tell Git to record a snapshot of the current state. That snapshot is called a commit. If something breaks later, you can return to any earlier commit and restore the configuration as it was at that point. Git does not automatically save changes unless you explicitly ask it to. That is intentional, so you remain in control of what gets recorded and when. In practice, most people commit after making configuration changes they want to keep. You do not have to rely on terminal commands if you prefer not to. You can use whichever graphical interface you prefer. For many Emacs users, that would be Magit because it integrates very well and makes common tasks quite straightforward once you learn the basic keys. Yes, you can also use Git for your Guix configuration. In fact, it is very common to do so. This can remain entirely local on your machine, or you can store it on an external hard disk. There is no requirement to publish it online. For your specific goal — being able to return to a working Emacs configuration from a few days ago — Git is a very suitable and reliable solution. Best regards, coopi On February 26, 2026 12:08:05 PM UTC, gfp <[email protected]> wrote: >Am 25.02.26 um 21:06 schrieb Ian Eure: >> Hi Gottfried, >> >> Gfp <[email protected]> writes: >> >>> Hi Guix, >>> >>> I don´t use guix home >>> in the manual: 13.3.10 backup section is for guix home AFAIU. >>> >>> I often fall into trouble because of Emacs and Gnus. >>> >>> What does Guix offer to backup e.g. every 2 days my Emacs configuration >>> so that in case of trouble with Emacs or Gnus >>> my Emacs configuration, including gnus is saved >>> and I can come back to it? >>> This should not include all my work, which I have done in between, >>> only my configuration of Emacs >>> which is stored in .config/emacs >>> >>> In case of trouble >>> I can come back to this configuration of 2 days ago or 4 days ago >>> and restore my working emacs. >>> >> >> The simplest thing you can do is put your Emacs configuration into Git. As >> long as you make commits when you change the configuration, you can restore >> to any previous state; it also helps to share the configuration between >> systems. There is no special Guix facility for this, just use Git as normal. >> >> There are also numerous dotfile manager tools which can help with this. GNU >> Stow is one I know of which is already in Guix, but I’m sure there are >> others. >> >> -- Ian > >Sorry for my simple questions, but I have never used git. > >In using git, does it mean that if you make changes you do it only in git, >or you do make changes in .config/emacs or init.el and after that save it in >git, >or configure git so that it saves always your .config/emacs or the init.el >file? > >Can git be used also with gitg (GUI of git) in order not to be completely >dependent on the terminal commands, which I don´t know yet? >Or with emacs-magit (which I don´t know yet also)? > >Would I then also be able to save my Guix configuration with git...? >(locally or on the external hardisk or online (which I would not like at the >moment)? > >thanks > >Gottfried
