diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 9f30d5b2b0..0590c51519 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ MODULES =					\
   guix/base64.scm				\
   guix/ci.scm					\
   guix/cpio.scm					\
+  guix/deprecation.scm				\
   guix/docker.scm	   			\
   guix/records.scm				\
   guix/pki.scm					\
diff --git a/guix/deprecation.scm b/guix/deprecation.scm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..453aad7106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/guix/deprecation.scm
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
+;;; Copyright © 2019 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;;
+;;; This file is part of GNU Guix.
+;;;
+;;; GNU Guix is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+;;; under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+;;; the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at
+;;; your option) any later version.
+;;;
+;;; GNU Guix is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+;;; WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+;;; MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+;;; GNU General Public License for more details.
+;;;
+;;; You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+;;; along with GNU Guix.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+(define-module (guix deprecation)
+  #:use-module (guix i18n)
+  #:use-module (ice-9 format)
+  #:export (define-deprecated
+            without-deprecation-warnings
+            deprecation-warning-port))
+
+;;; Commentary:
+;;;
+;;; Provide a mechanism to mark bindings as deprecated.
+;;;
+;;; We don't reuse (guix ui) mostly to avoid pulling in too many things.
+;;;
+;;; Code:
+
+(define deprecation-warning-port
+  ;; Port where deprecation warnings go.
+  (make-parameter (current-warning-port)))
+
+(define (source-properties->location-string properties)
+  "Return a human-friendly, GNU-standard representation of PROPERTIES, a
+source property alist."
+  (let ((file   (assq-ref properties 'filename))
+        (line   (assq-ref properties 'line))
+        (column (assq-ref properties 'column)))
+    (if (and file line column)
+        (format #f "~a:~a:~a" file (+ 1 line) column)
+        (G_ "<unknown location>"))))
+
+(define* (warn-about-deprecation variable properties
+                                 #:key replacement)
+  (format (deprecation-warning-port)
+          (G_ "~a: warning: '~a' is deprecated~@[, use '~a' instead~]~%")
+          (source-properties->location-string properties)
+          variable replacement))
+
+(define-syntax define-deprecated
+  (lambda (s)
+    "Define a deprecated variable or procedure, along these lines:
+
+  (define-deprecated foo bar 42)
+  (define-deprecated (baz x y) qux (qux y x))
+
+This will write a deprecation warning to DEPRECATION-WARNING-PORT."
+    (syntax-case s ()
+      ((_ (proc formals ...) replacement body ...)
+       #'(define-deprecated proc replacement
+           (lambda* (formals ...) body ...)))
+      ((_ variable replacement exp)
+       (identifier? #'variable)
+       (with-syntax ((real (datum->syntax
+                            #'variable
+                            (symbol-append '%
+                                           (syntax->datum #'variable)
+                                           '/deprecated))))
+         #`(begin
+             (define real
+               (begin
+                 (lambda () replacement)          ;just to ensure it's bound
+                 exp))
+
+             (define-syntax variable
+               (lambda (s)
+                 (warn-about-deprecation 'variable (syntax-source s)
+                                         #:replacement 'replacement)
+                 (syntax-case s ()
+                   ((_ args (... ...))
+                    #'(real args (... ...)))
+                   (id
+                    (identifier? #'id)
+                    #'real))))))))))
diff --git a/po/guix/POTFILES.in b/po/guix/POTFILES.in
index c432973f9e..f7360489c6 100644
--- a/po/guix/POTFILES.in
+++ b/po/guix/POTFILES.in
@@ -45,4 +45,5 @@ guix/nar.scm
 guix/channels.scm
 guix/profiles.scm
 guix/git.scm
+guix/deprecation.scm
 nix/nix-daemon/guix-daemon.cc