# Trying to create my first package variant - I can start by building it locally, right?

**URL:** <https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/trying-to-create-my-first-package-variant-i-can-start-by-building-it-locally-right/1958>\
**Category:** Guix\
**Created:** [April 20, 2026, 11:17am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/trying-to-create-my-first-package-variant-i-can-start-by-building-it-locally-right/1958 "2026-04-20T11:17:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Folaht](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/folaht/32/1145_2.png) [@Folaht](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/Folaht)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 11:17am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/trying-to-create-my-first-package-variant-i-can-start-by-building-it-locally-right/1958/1 "2026-04-20T11:17:55Z")

</div>

Alright, so here’s my plan.

While I was previously using Manjaro, I had half-created my very own conlang and conscript which I like to call ‘European’.  
It’s a language meant for EU citizens, because I like the idea of having a EU version of an Académie française, but on EU scale so that the EU has control over it’s own language, instead being pegged to the language of another country, just like one’s currency, not to mention that _I_ would like to make a lot of suggestions on how this language should work. It’s a pet project of mine.

* * *

Anyway, I created a romanized keyboard layout for my conlang/conscript, since that’s the easiest part. Once done with the layout, I cloned the xkeyboard-config repository.

```shell
git clone https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xkeyboard-config/xkeyboard-config.git
cp -r xkeyboard-config xkeyboard-config-yr
cd xkeyboard-config-yr

```

I then made my edits in the xkeyboard-config-yr folder and created a patch.

```shell
diff -ruN xkeyboard-config xkeyboard-config-yr | tee xkeyboard-config-yr.patch

```

Then I build the package to see if it would compile with the patch.

```shell
guix build xkeyboard-config –with-patch=xkeyboard-config=xkeyboard-config-yr.patch

```

Then I tried installing it with the patch.

```shell
guix package -i xkeyboard-config –with-patch=xkeyboard-config=xkeyboard-config-yr.patch

```

It installs with the patch, but is my guix system using it?

```auto
$ realpath $(guix build xkeyboard-config)
/gnu/store/mbf9a6znimzaf9rh7j4wn4c8iq5wjd5a-xkeyboard-config-2.44
$ guix package -I xkeyboard-config
xkeyboard-config	2.44	out	/gnu/store/2r2vd9wfnrlf075vjwfg82b5k79pf2ir-xkeyboard-config-2.44

```

I’m a bit stuck on what this means.

In any case. I still don’t see my conlang appearing when trying to change keyboard layout, while it does appear in the latter store item, though not the former.

Do I need to reboot?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Folaht](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/folaht/32/1145_2.png) [@Folaht](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/Folaht)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 12:19am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/trying-to-create-my-first-package-variant-i-can-start-by-building-it-locally-right/1958/2 "2026-05-13T00:19:32Z")

</div>

Looks like I’m doing it completely wrong and I’ll have to ask a totally differnt question in [another thread](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/trying-to-create-my-first-package-variant-how-do-i-add-a-patch/2008).