6 grml-debootstrap - wrapper around debootstrap for installing plain Debian
10 grml-debootstrap [ _options_ ]
12 image:images/screenshot.png[Screenshot]
17 grml-debootstrap is a wrapper suite around debootstrap (and cdebootstrap if you
18 want) for installing a plain Debian system (e.g. via Grml) very fast and easy.
20 All you have to do is adjust a few variables in the configuration file
21 /etc/debootstrap/config or specify some command line options and invoke
22 grml-debootstrap. If invoked without any configuration modifications or command
23 line options a dialog based frontend will be available to control some basic
24 configuration options.
26 A plain and base Debian system will be installed on the given device, directory
27 or virtual image file then. Customization of this process is possible as well.
29 CAUTION: The Grml team does not take responsibility for loss of any data!
31 Options and environment variables
32 ---------------------------------
34 *--arch* _architecture_::
36 Set target architecture you want to install. Defaults to the architecture
37 you are currently running. If you're running an amd64 kernel and want to
38 deploy an i386 system use this option. Note: deploying amd64 from an i386
39 kernel does *not* work. Example: "_--arch i386_"
43 Enable Debian's Backports repository (http://backports.debian.org/) via the
44 /etc/apt/sources.list.d/backports.list configuration file. This provides the
45 option to install Debian packages from Debian's backports repository.
47 *--bootappend* _appendline-for-the-kernel_::
49 Specify appendline for the kernel.
52 *-c*, *--config* _file_::
54 Use specified configuration file, defaults to /etc/debootstrap/config.
56 *--chroot-scripts* _directory_::
58 Execute chroot scripts from specified directory. This allows customisation
59 of the chroot setup, the executable script(s) present in the given directory
60 are executed at the end of the chroot procedure.
61 Default directory: /etc/debootstrap/chroot-scripts/
63 *-d*, *--confdir* _path_::
65 Place of configuration files for debootstrap, defaults to /etc/debootstrap.
69 Use specified file for preseeding Debian packages instead of using
70 the default <confdir>/debconf-selections.
74 Extra parameters passed to the debootstrap command.
78 Execute in very verbose way. Useful for debugging possible problems
79 with grml-debootstrap or identify what's actually executed.
81 *--filesystem* _filesystem_::
83 Filesystem that should be created when installing to a partition.
84 If unset defaults to ext4. Valid values are all filesystems that
85 can be created through mkfs._filesystem_.
89 Skip user acknowledgement and do not prompt for user input.
93 Enable Grml.org's Debian repository (http://deb.grml.org/) via the
94 /etc/apt/sources.list.d/grml.list configuration file. This provides the
95 option to install Debian packages from Grml's repository.
99 Device where grub should be installed to. Note that only the MBR (master
100 boot record) can be used (/dev/sda, /dev/sdb,...). Partitions (like
101 /dev/sda1, /dev/sdb2,...) are NOT supported because grub2 doesn't support
102 installation into the PBR (partition boot record) anymore. Usage example:
103 '--grub /dev/sda'. Note: just do not set this option to avoid installation
108 Show summary of options and exit.
110 *--hostname* _hostname_::
112 Use specified hostname instead of the default (being 'grml').
114 *-i*, *--iso* _/mntpoint_::
116 Specify mount point where you have a Debian ISO mounted loopback.
117 Using this option instead of the mirror option gives you the possibility
118 to install the base-system without network access. Make sure you
119 mounted the according Debian-ISO to the given _/mntpoint_. See section
120 'Usage examples' for a demonstration.
124 Do not overwrite user provided /etc/apt/sources.list.
126 *-m*, *--mirror* _URL_::
128 Specify mirror which should be used for apt-get/aptitude.
129 Corresponding with configuration variable MIRROR.
133 Skip debootstrap, only do configuration to the target.
137 Skip installation of packages defined in /etc/debootstrap/packages.
141 Do not prompt for the root password. Note: Use the '--password' option if
142 you want to set the root password during an automatic installation but don't
143 want to use the interactive dialog.
145 *-p*, *--mntpoint* _/mntpoint_::
147 Specify mount point that should be used for mounting the target system.
148 Corresponding with configuration variable MNTPOINT.
149 Note: this option has no effect if option -t is given and represents a
152 *--packages* _file_::
154 Use specified file as list for packages that should be installed instead of
155 the default package list file <confdir>/packages.
157 *--password* _password_::
159 Use specified password as password for user root. Use with caution, as your
160 command line might be visible in the process list and the shell history.
161 It's meant for automatic installation only.
163 *-r*, *--release* _releasename_::
165 Specify release of new Debian system. Supported releases names: lenny,
166 squeeze, wheezy (note: requires current version of debootstrap) and sid.
167 Corresponding with configuration variable RELEASE.
169 *--pre-scripts* _directory_::
171 Execute scripts from specified directory before executing the chroot
172 script. This allows customisation of the system before the chroot has
173 been set up. The environment variable $MNTPOINT is available inside the
174 scripts for direct access of the chroot.
175 Default directory: /etc/debootstrap/pre-scripts/
177 *--scripts* _directory_::
179 Execute scripts from specified directory. This allows customisation of
180 the system after the chroot has been set up. The environment variable
181 $MNTPOINT is available inside the scripts for direct access of the chroot.
182 Default directory: /etc/debootstrap/scripts/
184 *-t*, *--target* _target_::
185 Target partition (/dev/...) or directory (anything else without /dev at the
186 beginning). To install grub using *--grub* make sure to use a _device_
187 instead of a directory as _target_ (installation of grub as bootloader when
188 using directories is NOT supported).
194 Set up a Virtual Machine instead of installing to a partition or directory.
195 This allows deployment of a Virtual Machine. The options needs to be
196 combined with the --target option.
197 Usage example: --vmfile --target /mnt/sda1/qemu.img
200 Use specified size for size of Virtual Machine disk file. If not specified it
201 defaults to 2G (being 2GB). Syntax as supported by qemu-img (see manpage
202 qemu-img(1) for details.
203 Usage example: --vmsize 3G
206 Show version of program and exit.
208 WARNING: the command line parsing of grml-debootstrap does not validate the provided
209 arguments for the command line options. Please be careful and check docs and
210 /etc/debootstrap/config for further information.
215 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda1 --grub /dev/sda
217 Install default Debian release (wheezy) on /dev/sda1 and install bootmanager
218 Grub in MBR (master boot record) of /dev/sda and use /dev/sda1 as system partition.
220 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda6 --grub /dev/sda --release sid
222 Install Debian unstable/sid on /dev/sda6, install bootmanager Grub in MBR
223 (master boot record) of /dev/sda and use /dev/sda6 as system partition.
225 mount /dev/sda1 /data/chroot
226 grml-debootstrap --target /data/chroot
228 Install default Debian release (wheezy) in directory /data/chroot (without
231 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda3 --grub /dev/sda --mirror ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
233 Install default debian release (wheezy) in a Virtual Machine file with
234 3GB disk size (including Grub as bootmanager in MBR of the virtual disk file):
236 mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
237 grml-debootstrap --vmfile --vmsize 3G --target /mnt/sda1/qemu.img
239 Install default Debian release (wheezy) on /dev/sda3 and install bootmanager
240 Grub in MBR (master boot record) of /dev/sda and use /dev/sda3 as system partition.
241 Use specified mirror instead of the default (ftp://ftp.debian.de/debian) one.
243 mount -o loop /mnt/sda6/debian-CD-1.iso /mnt/iso
244 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda1 --grub /dev/sda --iso file:/mnt/iso/debian/
246 Install Debian on /dev/sda1 using the loopback mounted Debian-ISO
247 for the base-system and install bootmanager Grub in MBR (master boot record) of
248 /dev/sda and use /dev/sda1 as system partition. Please notice, that the chroot
249 system requires network access for all packages which are not part of the
255 /etc/debootstrap/config
257 Main configuration file. You have to adjust it according to your needs
258 if you want to execute grml-debootstrap in the non-interactive mode without
259 any special command line arguments.
261 /etc/debootstrap/chroot-script
263 The script executed within the new Debian system as soon as the main system
264 has been installed via [c]debootstrap.
266 /etc/debootstrap/locale.gen
268 Defines the default locales used for generating locales via locale-gen.
270 /etc/debootstrap/packages
272 Defines the software packages which should be installed in the new
273 Debian system by default.
275 /etc/debootstrap/extrapackages/
277 Debian Packages dropped in this directory will be installed into the new Debian
278 system by default (Control variable: EXTRAPACKAGES)
280 /etc/debootstrap/stages/
282 The default directory for storing information about executed stages. Every
283 single function of grml-debootstrap will write 'done' to the stages directory
284 into a file named as the function itself if it has been executed successfully.
285 You can adjust the location of the directory via configuration variable STAGES
286 via /etc/debootstrap/config. Please notice that you have to remove the stages
287 directory on your own if you want to re-execute grml-debootstrap after running it
288 successfully once. This should avoid recurrent execution by error of
289 grml-debootstrap (which might delete present data).
294 You can control execution of grml-debootstrap via adjusting
295 /etc/debootstrap/config for some main stuff or via setting some selected
296 variables via command line. The packages which should be installed in the new
297 Debian system can be defined via the file /etc/debootstrap/packages. If you
298 want to put existing files to the new Debian system you can place them into the
299 (by default non-existing) directories boot, etc, share, usr and var in
300 /etc/debootstrap/. Every existing directory will be copied to the new Debian
301 system then. If you want to install additional packages that are not available
302 via the Grml or Debian mirror drop them into /etc/debootstrap/extrapackages and
303 make sure that EXTRAPACKAGES is set to "yes".
305 Automatic installation
306 ----------------------
308 If environment variable AUTOINSTALL is set grml-debootstrap can be executed in a
309 full automatic mode. While this mode isn't really useful for interactive
310 execution (just configure /etc/debootstrap/configure or specify the relevant
311 variables on the command line instead) it is meant for use via boot option
312 debian2hd on the Grml live system. The boot option debian2hd (more precise: the
313 kernelname at the bootprompt) supports the following boot options (they
314 correspond with the command line options mentioned above):
318 The target partition/directory of the new Debian system. Usage example:
323 Where do you want to install grub to? Usage example: grub=/dev/sda
327 Specify release of new Debian system. Defaults to Debian wheezy. Supported
328 relases: lenny, squeeze, wheezy and sid. Usage example: release=sid
332 Specify mirror which should be used for apt-get/aptitude instead
333 of the default one (http://http.debian.net/debian).
334 Usage example: mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
338 Set password of user root without prompting for it but set it to the given
339 argument. Usage example: password=AiTh5ahn
341 Usage example for automatic installation:
342 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
344 debian2hd target=/dev/sda1 grub=/dev/sda mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian password=foobar
346 You have to enter this command line at the bootprompt of the Grml live system.
347 Please make sure that /dev/sda1 is the partition where you really want to
348 install your new Debian system.
351 Automatic installation within booting process is done in grml-autoconfig via
352 setting environment variable AUTOINSTALL and creation of
353 /usr/bin/grml-debootstrap_noninteractive with the available and relevant
354 boot options for grml-debootstrap.
359 include::releasetable.txt[]
363 ================================================================================
364 [1] Please notice that lenny is the current old-stable release within Debian.
365 grml-debootstrap can handle the release but you really should not use lenny
366 anymore unless you really know what you are doing. Choose Debian 6.0 (squeeze)
367 or Debian 7.0 (wheezy) instead.
369 Notice that you need to specify a mirror providing the lenny release, the
370 default (http://http.debian.net/debian) doesn't provide it any longer nowadays.
371 Set the mirror to e.g. http://archive.debian.org/debian/ if you don't have
372 your own lenny mirror.
374 When installing lenny to a new mdraid, grml-debootstrap will use md metadata
375 format version 0.90. This limits the device to a maximum size of 2TB, but has
376 the advantage of grub-legacy actually being able to boot from it.
377 ================================================================================
381 ================================================================================
382 [2] Please notice that sid is Debian/unstable and due to its nature might not be
383 always installable. What _might_ work instead is deploying a stable or testing
384 release and upgrade it after installation finished.
385 ================================================================================
390 Probably. Please send bugreports to Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
395 debootstrap (8), cdebootstrap (1).
399 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>