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.
76 *--filesystem* _filesystem_::
78 Filesystem that should be created when installing to a partition.
79 If unset defaults to ext3. Valid values are all filesystems that
80 can be created through mkfs._filesystem_.
84 Skip user acknowledgement and do not prompt for user input.
88 Enable Grml.org's Debian repository (http://deb.grml.org/) via the
89 /etc/apt/sources.list.d/grml.list configuration file. This provides the
90 option to install Debian packages from Grml's repository.
94 Device where grub should be installed to. Note that only the MBR (master
95 boot record) can be used (/dev/sda, /dev/sdb,...). Partitions (like
96 /dev/sda1, /dev/sdb2,...) are NOT supported because grub2 doesn't support
97 installation into the PBR (partition boot record) anymore. Usage example:
98 '--grub /dev/sda'. Note: just do not set this option to avoid installation
103 Show summary of options and exit.
105 *--hostname* _hostname_::
107 Use specified hostname instead of the default (being 'grml').
109 *-i*, *--iso* _/mntpoint_::
111 Specify mount point where you have a Debian ISO mounted loopback.
112 Using this option instead of the mirror option gives you the possibility
113 to install the base-system without network access. Make sure you
114 mounted the according Debian-ISO to the given _/mntpoint_. See section
115 'Usage examples' for a demonstration.
119 Do not overwrite user provided /etc/apt/sources.list.
121 *-m*, *--mirror* _URL_::
123 Specify mirror which should be used for apt-get/aptitude.
124 Corresponding with configuration variable MIRROR.
128 Skip debootstrap, only do configuration to the target.
132 Skip installation of packages defined in /etc/debootstrap/packages.
136 Do not prompt for the root password. Note: Use the '--password' option if
137 you want to set the root password during an automatic installation but don't
138 want to use the interactive dialog.
140 *-p*, *--mntpoint* _/mntpoint_::
142 Specify mount point that should be used for mounting the target system.
143 Corresponding with configuration variable MNTPOINT.
144 Note: this option has no effect if option -t is given and represents a
147 *--packages* _file_::
149 Use specified file as list for packages that should be installed instead of
150 the default package list file <confdir>/packages.
152 *--password* _password_::
154 Use specified password as password for user root. Use with caution, as your
155 command line might be visible in the process list and the shell history.
156 It's meant for automatic installation only.
158 *-r*, *--release* _releasename_::
160 Specify release of new Debian system. Supported releases names: lenny,
161 squeeze, wheezy (note: requires current version of debootstrap) and sid.
162 Corresponding with configuration variable RELEASE.
164 *--pre-scripts* _directory_::
166 Execute scripts from specified directory before executing the chroot
167 script. This allows customisation of the system before the chroot has
168 been set up. The environment variable $MNTPOINT is available inside the
169 scripts for direct access of the chroot.
170 Default directory: /etc/debootstrap/pre-scripts/
172 *--scripts* _directory_::
174 Execute scripts from specified directory. This allows customisation of
175 the system after the chroot has been set up. The environment variable
176 $MNTPOINT is available inside the scripts for direct access of the chroot.
177 Default directory: /etc/debootstrap/scripts/
179 *-t*, *--target* _target_::
180 Target partition (/dev/...) or directory (anything else without /dev at the
181 beginning). To install grub using *--grub* make sure to use a _device_
182 instead of a directory as _target_ (installation of grub as bootloader when
183 using directories is NOT supported).
189 Set up a Virtual Machine instead of installing to a partition or directory.
190 This allows deployment of a Virtual Machine. The options needs to be
191 combined with the --target option.
192 Usage example: --vmfile --target /mnt/sda1/qemu.img
195 Use specified size for size of Virtual Machine disk file. If not specified it
196 defaults to 2G (being 2GB). Syntax as supported by qemu-img (see manpage
197 qemu-img(1) for details.
198 Usage example: --vmsize 3G
201 Show version of program and exit.
203 WARNING: the command line parsing of grml-debootstrap does not validate the provided
204 arguments for the command line options. Please be careful and check docs and
205 /etc/debootstrap/config for further information.
210 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda1 --grub /dev/sda
212 Install default Debian release (wheezy) on /dev/sda1 and install bootmanager
213 Grub in MBR (master boot record) of /dev/sda and use /dev/sda1 as system partition.
215 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda6 --grub /dev/sda --release sid
217 Install Debian unstable/sid on /dev/sda6, install bootmanager Grub in MBR
218 (master boot record) of /dev/sda and use /dev/sda6 as system partition.
220 mount /dev/sda1 /data/chroot
221 grml-debootstrap --target /data/chroot
223 Install default Debian release (wheezy) in directory /data/chroot (without
226 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda3 --grub /dev/sda --mirror ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
228 Install default debian release (wheezy) in a Virtual Machine file with
229 3GB disk size (including Grub as bootmanager in MBR of the virtual disk file):
231 mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
232 grml-debootstrap --vmfile --vmsize 3G --target /mnt/sda1/qemu.img
234 Install default Debian release (wheezy) on /dev/sda3 and install bootmanager
235 Grub in MBR (master boot record) of /dev/sda and use /dev/sda3 as system partition.
236 Use specified mirror instead of the default (ftp://ftp.debian.de/debian) one.
238 mount -o loop /mnt/sda6/debian-CD-1.iso /mnt/iso
239 grml-debootstrap --target /dev/sda1 --grub /dev/sda --iso file:/mnt/iso/debian/
241 Install Debian on /dev/sda1 using the loopback mounted Debian-ISO
242 for the base-system and install bootmanager Grub in MBR (master boot record) of
243 /dev/sda and use /dev/sda1 as system partition. Please notice, that the chroot
244 system requires network access for all packages which are not part of the
250 /etc/debootstrap/config
252 Main configuration file. You have to adjust it according to your needs
253 if you want to execute grml-debootstrap in the non-interactive mode without
254 any special command line arguments.
256 /etc/debootstrap/chroot-script
258 The script executed within the new Debian system as soon as the main system
259 has been installed via [c]debootstrap.
261 /etc/debootstrap/locale.gen
263 Defines the default locales used for generating locales via locale-gen.
265 /etc/debootstrap/packages
267 Defines the software packages which should be installed in the new
268 Debian system by default.
270 /etc/debootstrap/extrapackages/
272 Debian Packages dropped in this directory will be installed into the new Debian
273 system by default (Control variable: EXTRAPACKAGES)
275 /etc/debootstrap/stages/
277 The default directory for storing information about executed stages. Every
278 single function of grml-debootstrap will write 'done' to the stages directory
279 into a file named as the function itself if it has been executed successfully.
280 You can adjust the location of the directory via configuration variable STAGES
281 via /etc/debootstrap/config. Please notice that you have to remove the stages
282 directory on your own if you want to re-execute grml-debootstrap after running it
283 successfully once. This should avoid recurrent execution by error of
284 grml-debootstrap (which might delete present data).
289 You can control execution of grml-debootstrap via adjusting
290 /etc/debootstrap/config for some main stuff or via setting some selected
291 variables via command line. The packages which should be installed in the new
292 Debian system can be defined via the file /etc/debootstrap/packages. If you
293 want to put existing files to the new Debian system you can place them into the
294 (by default non-existing) directories boot, etc, share, usr and var in
295 /etc/debootstrap/. Every existing directory will be copied to the new Debian
296 system then. If you want to install additional packages that are not available
297 via the Grml or Debian mirror drop them into /etc/debootstrap/extrapackages and
298 make sure that EXTRAPACKAGES is set to "yes".
300 Automatic installation
301 ----------------------
303 If environment variable AUTOINSTALL is set grml-debootstrap can be executed in a
304 full automatic mode. While this mode isn't really useful for interactive
305 execution (just configure /etc/debootstrap/configure or specify the relevant
306 variables on the command line instead) it is meant for use via boot option
307 debian2hd on the Grml live system. The boot option debian2hd (more precise: the
308 kernelname at the bootprompt) supports the following boot options (they
309 correspond with the command line options mentioned above):
313 The target partition/directory of the new Debian system. Usage example:
318 Where do you want to install grub to? Usage example: grub=/dev/sda
322 Specify release of new Debian system. Defaults to Debian wheezy. Supported
323 relases: lenny, squeeze, wheezy and sid. Usage example: release=sid
327 Specify mirror which should be used for apt-get/aptitude instead
328 of the default one (http://http.debian.net/debian).
329 Usage example: mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
333 Set password of user root without prompting for it but set it to the given
334 argument. Usage example: password=AiTh5ahn
336 Usage example for automatic installation:
337 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
339 debian2hd target=/dev/sda1 grub=/dev/sda mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian password=foobar
341 You have to enter this command line at the bootprompt of the Grml live system.
342 Please make sure that /dev/sda1 is the partition where you really want to
343 install your new Debian system.
346 Automatic installation within booting process is done in grml-autoconfig via
347 setting environment variable AUTOINSTALL and creation of
348 /usr/bin/grml-debootstrap_noninteractive with the available and relevant
349 boot options for grml-debootstrap.
354 include::releasetable.txt[]
358 ================================================================================
359 [1] Please notice that lenny is the current old-stable release within Debian.
360 grml-debootstrap can handle the release but you really should not use lenny
361 anymore unless you really know what you are doing. Choose Debian 6.0 (squeeze)
362 or Debian 7.0 (wheezy) instead.
364 Notice that you need to specify a mirror providing the lenny release, the
365 default (http://http.debian.net/debian) doesn't provide it any longer nowadays.
366 Set the mirror to e.g. http://archive.debian.org/debian/ if you don't have
367 your own lenny mirror.
369 When installing lenny to a new mdraid, grml-debootstrap will use md metadata
370 format version 0.90. This limits the device to a maximum size of 2TB, but has
371 the advantage of grub-legacy actually being able to boot from it.
372 ================================================================================
376 ================================================================================
377 [2] Please notice that sid is Debian/unstable and due to its nature might not be
378 always installable. What _might_ work instead is deploying a stable or testing
379 release and upgrade it after installation finished.
380 ================================================================================
385 Probably. Please send bugreports to Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>.
390 debootstrap (8), cdebootstrap (1).
394 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>