7 grml-live - build framework based on FAI for generating a Grml and Debian based
8 Linux Live system (CD/ISO)
13 grml-live [-a <architecture>] [-c <classe[s]>] [-C <configfile>] [
14 -e <extract_iso_name>] [-g <grml_name>] [-i <iso_name>] [
15 -o <output_directory>] [-r <release_name>] [-s <suite>] [
16 -t <template_directory>] [-v <version_number>] [-U <username>] [
17 -w <date>] [-AbBFnNqQuVz]
22 grml-live provides the build system for creating a Grml and Debian based Linux
23 Live-CD. The build system is based on
24 link:http://fai-project.org/[FAI] (Fully Automatic
25 Installation). grml-live uses the "fai dirinstall" feature to generate a chroot
26 system based on the class concept of FAI (see later sections for further
27 details) and provides the framework to be able to generate a full-featured ISO.
28 It does not use all the FAI features by default though and you don't have to
29 know FAI to be able to use it.
31 The use of FAI gives you the flexibility to choose the packages you would like
32 to include on your very own Linux Live-CD without having to deal with all the
33 details of a build process.
35 CAUTION: grml-live does **not** use /etc/fai for configuration but instead
36 provides and uses ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG} which is pointing to /etc/grml/fai by default
37 (unless overridden using the ''-D'' option). This ensures that it does not clash
38 with default FAI configuration and packages, so you can use grml-live and FAI
39 completely independent at the same time!
43 Please notice that you should have a fast network connection as all the Debian
44 packages will be downloaded and installed via network. If you want to use a
45 local mirror (strongly recommended if you plan to use grml-live more than once)
46 checkout debmirror(1), reprepro(1) (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/reprepro/ for a
47 sample configuration), apt-cacher(1) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the
48 base system again and again check out <<create-a-base-tgz,the base tar.gz
56 Clean up all output directories before running the build process. After finishing,
57 clean up the Chroot target and Build target directories.
61 Use the specified architecture instead of the currently running one. This
62 allows building a 32bit system on a 64bit host (though you can't build a 64bit
63 system on a 32bit system/kernel of course). Please notice that real
64 crosscompiling (like building a ppc system on x86) isn't possible due to the
65 nature and the need of working in a chroot. Currently supported values: i386
70 Build the ISO without updating the chroot via FAI. This option is useful for
71 example when working on stable releases: if you have a working base
72 system/chroot and do not want to execute any further updates (via "-u" option)
73 but intend to only build the ISO.
77 Build the ISO without touching the chroot at all. This option is useful if
78 you modified anything that FAI or grml-live might adjust via Grml's FAI
79 scripts. It's like the '-b' option but even more advanced. Use only if you
80 really know that you do not want to update the chroot.
84 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
85 the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_FULL and I386/AMD64 (depending on system
86 architecture) are assumed. Additionally you can specify a class providing a
87 (grml-)kernel (see <<classes,the 'CLASSES' section in this document>> for
88 details about available classes). So instead of GRML_FULL you can also use e.g.
92 All class names should be written in uppercase letters. Do not use a dash, use
93 an underscore. So do not use "amd64" but "AMD64", do not use "FOO BAR" but
97 -C **CONFIGURATION_FILE**::
99 The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default
100 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used as default configuration. If a file named
101 /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading
102 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf meant as main file for local configuration). As a last
103 option the specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override
104 settings of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local.
105 Please notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution
106 of grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
107 your own configuration file (usually /etc/grml/grml-live.local). Please also
108 notice that the configuration file specified via this option is **not** (yet)
109 supported inside the scripts/hooks/classes at ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config. Instead use
110 /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration stuff used inside
111 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config.
115 Use specified date as build date information on the ISO instead of the default.
116 The default is the date when grml-live is being executed (retrieved via
117 executing 'date +%Y-%m-%d'). The information is stored inside the file
118 /GRML/grml-version on the ISO, /etc/grml_version in the squashfs file and in all
119 the bootsplash related files. This option is useful if you want to provide an
120 ISO with release information for a specific date but have to build it in
121 advance. Usage example: '-d 2009-10-30'
123 -D **CONFIGURATION_DIRECTORY**::
125 The specified directory is used as configuration directory for grml-live and its
126 FAI. By default /etc/grml/fai is used as default configuration directory. If
127 you want to have different configuration scripts, package definitions, etc. with
128 without messing with the global configuration under /etc/grml/fai provided by
129 grml-live this option provides you the option to use your own configuration
130 directory. This directory is what's being referred to as ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}
131 throughout this documentation.
133 -e **EXTRACT_ISO_NAME**::
135 The squashfs inside the specified ISO will be extracted and used as the chroot.
136 This option is useful for remastering, in combination with -A and -b or -u.
140 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
144 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
145 Please do NOT use blanks and any special characters like '/', ';' inside
146 GRML_NAME, otherwise you might notice problems while booting.
150 Display short usage information and exit.
154 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
157 -I **CHROOT_INSTALL**::
159 Specify name of source directory which provides files that should become part of
160 the chroot/ISO. Not enabled by default. Note: the files are installed under '/'
161 in the chroot so you have to create the rootfs structure on your own.
165 Skip creation of the ISO file. This option is useful if you want to build/update
166 the chroot and/or recreate the squashfs file without building an ISO file.
170 Bootstrap the chroot without building bootloader, squashfs, or finalizing the
171 ISO. Use this option if installation of some packages fails, you want to run
172 custom commands or similar.
173 The main use of this option is to save time by skipping stages which aren't
174 necessary for bootstrapping the chroot and which would get executed more than
175 once when iterating through the initial bootstrapping.
176 Alternatively, use this option as a test run of grml-live. Once you are
177 satisfied with the state of your grml_chroot, use grml-live **-u** to build the
178 remaining stages and finalize the ISO.
180 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
182 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
183 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
184 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
185 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
189 Build the ISO without (re-)creating the squashfs compressed file using mksquashfs.
190 This option is useful if you just want to update parts outside the chroot in the ISO.
191 Consider combining this option with the build-only option '-b'.
195 Build the ISO without generating a netboot package.
199 Specify name of the release.
203 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. If unset defaults
204 to "testing". Supported values are: stable, testing, unstable (or their
205 corresponding release names like "stretch"). Please be aware that recent Debian
206 suites might require a recent base.tgz
207 (${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz) or a recent version of
210 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
212 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
213 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
217 Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
218 based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
222 Sets ownership of all build output files to specified username before exiting.
224 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
226 Specify version number of the release.
230 Increase verbosity in the build process.
234 The wayback machine. Build the system using Debian archives from the specified
235 date. Valid date formats are yyyymmddThhmmssZ or simply yyyymmdd. To learn
236 which snapshots exist, i.e. which date strings are valid, simply browse the
237 lists on http://snapshot.debian.org/. If there is no import at the exact time
238 you specified you will get the latest available timestamp which is before the
240 This option is useful especially for release and debugging builds - for example
241 if you know that the Debian archive was in a good state on a specific date but
242 you want to build it on another day in the future, where the archive might not
243 be as needed anymore. Please be aware that this is restricted to the plain
244 Debian repositories only, as referred to in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
245 (so neither the Grml repositories nor any further custom ones are affected by
246 the wayback machine).
250 Use ZLIB instead of LZMA/XZ compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
256 To get a Debian-stable and Grml-based Live-CD using ./grml
257 as build and output directory just run:
261 To get a 64bit Debian-testing and grml-small based Live-CD using /srv/grml-live
262 as build and output directory use the following command line on your amd64
265 # grml-live -s testing -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 -o /srv/grml-live
269 If you have enough RAM, just run "mount -t tmpfs none /media/ramdisk" to get a
270 tmpfs ("RAMDISK"), and use /media/ramdisk as build and output directory - this
271 results in a very fast build process. Note that these files will be gone when
275 Main features of grml-live
276 --------------------------
278 * create a Grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
280 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
282 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
284 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
287 * native support of FAI features
293 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
294 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
295 losing the simplicity in the build process.
297 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
298 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
299 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
300 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
301 GRML_SMALL or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
302 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
304 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
305 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
306 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
307 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
308 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
310 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
313 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
314 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
315 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
316 set CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.local
317 or invoke grml-live using the classes option: "grml-live -c
318 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR ...".
320 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
321 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
328 The package selection part of the classes can be found in
329 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config whereas some further classes are defined for
330 example in ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/ so specific feature sets can be
331 selected. The following classes are predefined:
333 * DEBORPHAN: get rid of all packages listed in output of deborphan
335 * FILE_RC: instead of using systemd as init system use file-rc instead. file-rc
336 was the init system used by Grml until and including stable release 2014.11,
337 starting with beginning of 2016 Grml switched to systemd instead. If you want to
338 build a live system in the old style using file-rc instead of systemd then enable
339 this class. Please notice that the Grml team no longer provides support for it
342 * FRESHCLAM: execute freshclam (if it's present) to update clamav definitions
343 (increases resulting ISO size ~70MB). By default it's skipped to avoid bigger
346 * GRMLBASE: the main class responsible for getting a minimal subset of what's
347 defining a Grml system. Important parts of the buildprocess are specified in
348 this class as well, so unless you have a really good reason you should always
349 use this class. Please be aware that using *just* the GRMLBASE class won't be
350 enough, because the kernel packages (e.g. linux-image-pass:[*]) are chosen in
351 further GRML_pass:[*] classes (to provide maximum flexibility with kernel
352 selection). If you don't want to use the existing GRML_FULL or GRML_SMALL
353 classes, define your own CLASS file choosing the kernel package you want to use
354 (and don't forget to include your CLASS in the arguments of grml-live's `-c...`
355 command line option).
357 * GRML_FULL: full featured Grml, also known as the "normal", full grml as
358 introduced in December 2011 (~750 ISO size).
360 * GRML_SMALL: minimum sized Grml version, known as grml-small (~360MB ISO
363 * LATEX: LaTeX(-related) packages like auctex, texlive,...
364 (which used to be shipped by grml before the LaTeX removal)
366 * LATEX_CLEANUP: get rid of several very large LaTeX directories
367 (like some /usr/share/doc/texlive-*, /usr/share/doc/texmf,...)
369 * LOCALES: use full featured locales setup (see /etc/locale.gen.grml). This
370 avoids to get rid of /usr/share/locale - which happens by default otherwise - as
373 * NO_ONLINE: do not run scripts during the chroot build process which require a
376 * RELEASE: run some specific scripts and commands to provide the workflow for an
377 official grml release
379 * REMOVE_DOCS: get rid of documentation directories (like /usr/share/doc,
380 /usr/share/man/, /usr/share/info,...)
382 * SOURCES: retrieve Debian source packages after installation. Files will be
383 placed in the output directory under grml_sources.
385 * XORG: providing important packages for use with a base grml-featured X.org
392 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
393 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
394 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
395 fai-client) grml uses ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf instead. For more details see
396 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
397 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
398 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
399 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
403 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
405 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
407 Main configuration file for grml-live which should be considered as a reference
408 configuration file only. Please use /etc/grml/grml-live.local for local
409 configuration instead.
411 /etc/grml/grml-live.local
413 All the local configuration should go to this file. This file overrides any
414 defaults of grml-live. Configurations via /etc/grml/grml-live.local are preferred
415 over the ones from /etc/grml/grml-live.conf. If you want to override settings
416 from /etc/grml/grml-live.local as well you have to specify them on the grml-live
419 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf
421 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
422 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default the configuration
423 variables are FAI_CONFIG_SRC=file:///etc/grml/fai/config and
424 GRML_FAI_CONFIG=/etc/grml/fai/config - both pointing to a directory shipped by
425 grml-live out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this
428 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/
430 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
432 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/class/
434 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
437 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/debconf/
439 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
442 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/hooks/
444 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
445 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
446 installation process.
448 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config/
450 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
451 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
452 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
453 GRML_SMALL and AMD64 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
454 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
455 AMD64 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
456 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
457 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
458 reasonable package configuration.
460 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/
462 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
464 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/live-initramfs/
466 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
473 Starting with grml-live version 0.17.0 you should find log files in a directory
474 named 'grml_logs' in the output directory (next to grml_isos, grml_chroot,...).
476 grml-live versions before 0.17.0 used to log into /var/log/grml-live.log
477 and /var/log/fai/grml.
480 Requirements for the build system
481 ---------------------------------
483 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if it doesn't work it's a bug,
484 please send us a bug report then). Check out <<deploy-on-debian,How do I deploy
485 grml-live on a plain Debian installation>> for details how to set up grml-live
486 on a plain, original Debian system.
488 * enough free disk space; at least ~2GB are required for a minimal grml-live
489 run (\~1GB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~400MB for the build target
490 [$BUILD_OUTPUT], \~35MB for the netboot files and \~350MB for the resulting ISO
491 [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you
492 should have at least 4GB of total free disk space
494 * fast network access for retrieving the Debian packages used for creating the
495 chroot (check out "local mirror" to workaround this problem as far as possible)
497 For further information see next section.
501 Current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel
502 ---------------------------------------------------------
504 Use squashfs-tools >=4.2-1 to build Grml (based) ISOs featuring kernel version
505 2.6.38-grml[64] or newer.
512 How do I deploy grml-live on a plain Debian installation?
513 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
515 The easiest way to get a running grml-live setup is to just use Grml.
516 Of course using grml-live on a plain, original Debian installation is supported
517 as well. So there we go.
519 What we have: plain, original Debian stretch (9.x).
521 What we want: build a Grml ISO based on Debian/stretch for the amd64 architecture
527 # adjust sources.list:
528 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
530 # grml stable repository:
531 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
532 # deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
534 # grml testing/development repository:
535 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
536 # deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
539 # get keyring for apt:
541 apt-get --allow-unauthenticated install grml-debian-keyring
543 # optionally(!) install basefile so we don't have to build basic
544 # chroot from scratch, grab from http://daily.grml.org/
545 # mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
546 # mv I386.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
547 # mv AMD64.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
549 # install relevant tools
550 apt-get --no-install-recommends install grml-live
552 # adjust grml-live configuration for our needs:
553 cat > /etc/grml/grml-live.local << EOF
554 ## want a faster build process and don't need smaller ISOs?
555 ## if so use zlib compression
556 # SQUASHFS_OPTIONS="-comp gzip -b 256k"
557 ## want to use a specific squashfs binary?
558 # SQUASHFS_BINARY='/usr/bin/mksquashfs'
559 ## install local files into the chroot
560 # CHROOT_INSTALL="/etc/grml/fai/chroot_install"
561 ## adjust if necessary (defaults to ./grml/):
562 ## OUTPUT="/srv/grml-live"
563 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="stretch http://ftp.debian.org/debian/"
565 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,AMD64"
568 # just optional(!) - upgrade FAI to latest available version:
569 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fai.list << EOF
570 deb http://jenkins.grml.org/debian fai main
571 deb-src http://jenkins.grml.org/debian fai main
574 # get gpg key of FAI repos and install current FAI version:
575 wget -O - http://jenkins.grml.org/debian/C525F56752D4A654.asc | sudo apt-key add -
577 apt-get install fai-client fai-server fai-doc
579 That's it. Now invoking 'grml-live -V' should build the ISO. If everything
580 worked as expected the last line of the shell output should look like:
582 [*] Successfully finished execution of grml-live [running 687 seconds]
584 and the ISO can be found inside /grml-live/grml-live/grml_isos/ then.
586 [[grml_fai_config_variable]]
587 What is $GRML_FAI_CONFIG?
588 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
590 The variable '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' is pointing to the directory /etc/grml/fai by
591 default. To provide you a maximum of flexibility you can set up your own
592 configuration directory (e.g. based on /etc/grml/fai) and use this directory
593 running grml-live with the '-D <config_dir>' option. Now '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG'
594 points to the specified directory instead of using /etc/grml/fai and all the
595 configuration files, scripts and hooks will be taken from your
596 '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' directory.
599 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
600 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
602 Check out the logs inside the directory 'grml_logs' next to your grml_chroot,
603 grml_isos,... directories.
605 If you need help with grml-live or would like to see new features as part of
606 grml-live you can get commercial support via
607 link:http://grml-solutions.com/[Grml Solutions].
609 [[install-local-files]]
610 How do I install further files into the chroot/ISO?
611 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
613 Just point the configuration variable CHROOT_INSTALL to the directory which
614 provides the files you would like to install. Note that the files are installed
615 under '/' in the chroot - so you have to create the rootfs structure on your
618 echo "CHROOT_INSTALL=\$GRML_FAI_CONFIG/chroot_install" >> /etc/grml/grml-live.local
619 mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
620 wget example.org/foo.tar.gz
621 mv foo.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
624 [[local-debian-mirror]]
625 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
626 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
628 Yes. Set up an according sources.list configuration as class file in
629 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ and adjust the variable
630 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not already using a base.tgz) inside
631 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local]. If you're setting up your own class file don't
632 forget to include the class name in the class list (grml-live -c ...).
634 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally then
635 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local] as well.
637 If you want to use a HTTP Proxy (like apt-cacher-ng), set APT_PROXY. Example:
639 APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
641 [[add-additional-debian-packages]]
642 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
643 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
645 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
647 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
651 another_name_of_a_debian_package
655 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
657 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,MIKA
659 [[reset-grml-live-configuration]]
660 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
661 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
663 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
664 what you are searching for just run:
666 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
667 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
670 Set up apt-cacher-ng for use with grml-live
671 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
673 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.local provides according APT_PROXY and
676 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.local
678 APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
680 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="stretch http://localhost:3142/ftp.debian.org/debian stretch main contrib non-free"
682 Make sure apt-cacher-ng is running ('/etc/init.d/apt-cacher-ng restart').
683 That's it. All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng then.
686 How do I revert the manifold feature from an ISO?
687 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
689 The so-called manifold feature Grml ISOs can, but by default do not, use allows
690 one to use the same ISO for CD boot and USB boot. If you notice any problems
691 when booting manifold-crafted media, just revert the manifold feature running:
693 % dd if=/dev/zero of=grml.iso bs=512 count=1 conv=notrunc
695 To switch from manifold to isohybrid mode (an alternative approach provided by
696 syslinux, used by default for official Grml images) then just execute:
700 [[create-a-base-tgz]]
701 How do I create a base tar.gz (I386.tar.gz or AMD64.tar.gz)
702 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
705 First of all create the chroot using debootstrap (requires root):
707 BASECHROOT='/tmp/basefile' # path where the chroot gets generated
708 SUITE='stretch' # using the current stable release should always work
709 debootstrap --exclude=info,tasksel,tasksel-data "$SUITE" "$BASECHROOT" http://ftp.debian.org/debian
710 tar -C "$BASECHROOT" --exclude='var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb' -zcf "${SUITE}".tar.gz ./
713 By default debootstrap builds a chroot matching the architecture of the running
714 host system. If you're using an amd64 system and want to build an i386 base.tgz
715 then invoke debootstrap using the '--arch i386' option. Disclaimer: building an
716 AMD64 base.tgz won't work if you are using a 32bit kernel system of course.
718 Finally place the generated tarball in /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/ (note
719 that it needs to be uppercase letters matching the class names, so: e.g.
720 AMD64.tar.gz for amd64 and I386.tar.gz for i386).
722 Then executing grml-live should use this file as base system instead of executing
723 debootstrap. Check out the output for something like:
726 ftar: extracting //etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to /srv/grml64_testing/grml_chroot//
730 How to use your own local repository
731 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
733 Let's assume you have Debian package(s) in your filesystem inside
734 `/home/foobar/local-packages` and want to provide them to your grml-live build.
735 This can be achieved either 1) through a bind mount (using the MIRROR_DIRECTORY
736 configuration) or 2) by serving a repository via HTTP.
738 Serving via bind mount / MIRROR_DIRECTORY
739 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
741 Make sure to create an according sources.list configuration file, e.g. using
742 your own class name `CUSTOM`:
744 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/local-packages.list/CUSTOM << EOF
745 deb file:///home/foobar/local-packages ./
748 Add the according MIRROR_DIRECTORY configuration to your grml-live configuration:
750 # echo "MIRROR_DIRECTORY='/home/foobar/packages'" >> /etc/grml/grml-live.local
752 Make sure the local directory looks like a mirror:
754 % cd /home/foobar/packages
755 % dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip > Packages.gz
757 Finally invoke grml-live with your class name (`CUSTOM` in this example) added
758 to the list of classes on the command line (see grml-live option `-c`).
760 Serving a repository via HTTP
761 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
763 Make sure to create an according sources.list configuration file, e.g. using
764 your own class name `CUSTOM`:
766 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/local-packages.list/CUSTOM << EOF
767 deb http://127.0.0.1:8000/ ./
770 Make sure the local directory is served via HTTP on the according IP address and
771 port. For the `http://127.0.0.1:8000/` example from above it should be enough to
774 % cd /home/foobar/packages
775 % dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip > Packages.gz
776 % python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000
779 Of course you can also use a real Debian repository setup using tools like
780 reprepro(1) and/or using a real web server, though for quick debugging sessions
781 python's SimpleHTTPServer in combination with dpkg-scanpackages from package
782 dpkg-dev is a simple and easy approach.
784 Finally invoke grml-live with your class name (`CUSTOM` in this example) added
785 to the list of classes on the command line (see grml-live option `-c`).
788 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
789 ------------------------------------------------
791 Stable Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
792 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org] and the latest
793 Git commits are available as Debian packages from
794 link:http://jenkins.grml.org/job/grml-live-binaries/[jenkins.grml.org].
795 If you want to build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific
796 version or the current development tree), just execute:
798 git clone git://git.grml.org/grml-live
803 Run grml-live directly from git
804 -------------------------------
806 In case you want to run grml-live directly from the git repository checkout
807 (after making sure all dependencies are installed), you should set
808 `GRML_FAI_CONFIG` so that a) it finds the according FAI configuration files and
809 b) does not use the config files of an possibly installed `grml-live` package.
812 # export GRML_FAI_CONFIG=$(pwd)/etc/grml/fai
813 # export SCRIPTS_DIRECTORY=$(pwd)/scripts
814 # export TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY=$(pwd)/templates
815 # ./grml-live -s sid -a amd64 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,AMD64
821 The source of grml-live is available at
822 link:https://github.com/grml/grml-live/[https://github.com/grml/grml-live/]
828 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
829 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the Grml team]!
835 The most recent grml-live documentation is available online at
836 http://grml.org/grml-live/ and for offline reading also available
837 in different formats:
839 * http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.epub
840 * http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.pdf
845 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>
847 /////////////////////////////////////
848 // vim:ai tw=80 ft=asciidoc expandtab
849 /////////////////////////////////////