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 mkdebmirror (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/mkdebmirror),
47 debmirror(1), reprepro(1) (see /usr/share/doc/grml-live/examples/reprepro/ for a
48 sample configuration), apt-cacher(1) and approx(8). To avoid downloading the
49 base system again and again check out <<create-a-base-tgz,the base tar.gz
57 Clean up all output directories before running the build process. After finishing,
58 clean up the Chroot target and Build target directories.
62 Use the specified architecture instead of the currently running one. This
63 allows building a 32bit system on a 64bit host (though you can't build a 64bit
64 system on a 32bit system/kernel of course). Please notice that real
65 crosscompiling (like building a ppc system on x86) isn't possible due to the
66 nature and the need of working in a chroot. Currently supported values: i386
71 Build the ISO without updating the chroot via FAI. This option is useful for
72 example when working on stable releases: if you have a working base
73 system/chroot and do not want to execute any further updates (via "-u" option)
74 but intend to only build the ISO.
78 Build the ISO without touching the chroot at all. This option is useful if
79 you modified anything that FAI or grml-live might adjust via Grml's FAI
80 scripts. It's like the '-b' option but even more advanced. Use only if you
81 really know that you do not want to update the chroot.
85 Specify the CLASSES to be used for building the ISO via FAI. By default only
86 the classes GRMLBASE, GRML_FULL and I386/AMD64 (depending on system
87 architecture) are assumed, resulting in a base system of about 350MB
88 total ISO size. If using a non-I386 system (like AMD64) you should specify the
89 appropriate architecture as well. Additionally you can specify a class providing
90 a grml-kernel (see <<classes,the 'CLASSES' section in this document>> for
91 details about available classes). So instead of GRML_FULL you can also use
92 GRML_SMALL and GRML_FULL.
95 All class names should be written in uppercase letters. Do not use a dash, use
96 an underscore. So do not use "amd64" but "AMD64", do not use "FOO BAR" but
100 -C **CONFIGURATION_FILE**::
102 The specified file is used as configuration file for grml-live. By default
103 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf is used as default configuration. If a file named
104 /etc/grml/grml-live.local exists it is used as well (sourced after reading
105 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf meant as main file for local configuration). As a last
106 option the specified configuration file is sourced so it is possible to override
107 settings of /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as well as of /etc/grml/grml-live.local.
108 Please notice that all configuration files have to be adjusted during execution
109 of grml-live, so please make sure you use /etc/grml/grml-live.conf as a base for
110 your own configuration file (usually /etc/grml/grml-live.local). Please also
111 notice that the configuration file specified via this option is **not** (yet)
112 supported inside the scripts/hooks/classes at ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config. Instead use
113 /etc/grml/grml-live.local for configuration stuff used inside
114 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config.
118 Use specified date as build date information on the ISO instead of the default.
119 The default is the date when grml-live is being executed (retrieved via
120 executing 'date +%Y-%m-%d'). The information is stored inside the file
121 /GRML/grml-version on the ISO, /etc/grml_version in the squashfs file and in all
122 the bootsplash related files. This option is useful if you want to provide an
123 ISO with release information for a specific date but have to build it in
124 advance. Usage example: '-d 2009-10-30'
126 -D **CONFIGURATION_DIRECTORY**::
128 The specified directory is used as configuration directory for grml-live and its
129 FAI. By default /etc/grml/fai is used as default configuration directory. If
130 you want to have different configuration scripts, package definitions, etc. with
131 without messing with the global configuration under /etc/grml/fai provided by
132 grml-live this option provides you the option to use your own configuration
133 directory. This directory is what's being referred to as ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}
134 throughout this documentation.
136 -e **EXTRACT_ISO_NAME**::
138 The squashfs inside the specified ISO will be extracted and used as the chroot.
139 This option is useful for remastering, in combination with -A and -b or -u.
143 Force execution and do not prompt for acknowledgment of configuration.
147 Set the grml flavour name. Common usage examples: grml, grml-small, grml64.
148 Please do NOT use blanks and any special characters like '/', ';' inside
149 GRML_NAME, otherwise you might notice problems while booting.
153 Display short usage information and exit.
157 Specify name of ISO which will be available inside $OUTPUT_DIRECTORY/grml_isos
160 -I **CHROOT_INSTALL**::
162 Specify name of source directory which provides files that should become part of
163 the chroot/ISO. Not enabled by default. Note: the files are installed under '/'
164 in the chroot so you have to create the rootfs structure on your own.
168 Skip creation of the ISO file. This option is useful if you want to build/update
169 the chroot and/or recreate the squashfs file without building an ISO file.
173 Bootstrap the chroot without building bootloader, squashfs, or finalizing the
174 ISO. Use this option if installation of some packages fails, you want to run
175 custom commands or similar.
176 The main use of this option is to save time by skipping stages which aren't
177 necessary for bootstrapping the chroot and which would get executed more than
178 once when iterating through the initial bootstrapping.
179 Alternatively, use this option as a test run of grml-live. Once you are
180 satisfied with the state of your grml_chroot, use grml-live **-u** to build the
181 remaining stages and finalize the ISO.
183 -o **OUTPUT_DIRECTORY**::
185 Main output directory of the build process of FAI. Some directories are created
186 inside this target directory, being: grml_cd (where the files for creating the
187 ISO are located, including the compressed squashfs file), grml_chroot (the
188 chroot system) and grml_isos (where the resulting ISO is stored).
192 Build the ISO without (re-)creating the squashfs compressed file using mksquashfs.
193 This option is useful if you just want to update parts outside the chroot in the ISO.
194 Consider combining this option with the build-only option '-b'.
198 Build the ISO without generating a netboot package.
202 Specify name of the release.
206 Specify the Debian suite you want to use for your live-system. If unset defaults
207 to "testing". Supported values are: stable, testing, unstable (or their
208 corresponding release names like "jessie"). Please be aware that recent Debian
209 suites might require a recent base.tgz
210 (${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz) or a recent version of
213 -t **TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY**::
215 Specify place of the templates used for building the ISO. By default
216 (and if not manually specified) this is /usr/share/grml-live/templates/.
220 Update existing chroot instead of rebuilding it from scratch. This option is
221 based on the softupdate feature of FAI.
225 Sets ownership of all build output files to specified username before exiting.
227 -v **VERSION_NUMBER**::
229 Specify version number of the release.
233 Increase verbosity in the build process.
237 The wayback machine. Build the system using Debian archives from the specified
238 date. Valid date formats are yyyymmddThhmmssZ or simply yyyymmdd. To learn
239 which snapshots exist, i.e. which date strings are valid, simply browse the
240 lists on http://snapshot.debian.org/. If there is no import at the exact time
241 you specified you will get the latest available timestamp which is before the
243 This option is useful especially for release and debugging builds - for example
244 if you know that the Debian archive was in a good state on a specific date but
245 you want to build it on another day in the future, where the archive might not
246 be as needed anymore. Please be aware that this is restricted to the plain
247 Debian repositories only, as referred to in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
248 (so neither the Grml repositories nor any further custom ones are affected by
249 the wayback machine).
253 Use ZLIB instead of LZMA/XZ compression in mksquashfs part of the build process.
259 To get a Debian-stable and Grml-based Live-CD using /grml/grml-live
260 as build and output directory just run:
264 To get a 64bit Debian-testing and grml-small based Live-CD using /srv/grml-live
265 as build and output directory use the following command line on your amd64
268 # grml-live -s testing -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 -o /srv/grml-live
272 If you have enough RAM, just run "mount -t tmpfs none /media/ramdisk" to get a
273 tmpfs ("RAMDISK"), and use /media/ramdisk as build and output directory - this
274 results in a very fast build process. Note that these files will be gone when
278 Main features of grml-live
279 --------------------------
281 * create a Grml-/Debian-based Linux Live-CD with one single command
283 * class based concept, providing a maximum of flexibility
285 * supports integration of own hooks, scripts and configuration
287 * supports use and integration of own Software and/or Kernels via simple use of
290 * native support of FAI features
296 grml-live uses FAI and its class based concept for adjusting configuration and
297 setup according to your needs. This gives you flexibility and strength without
298 losing the simplicity in the build process.
300 The main and base class provided by grml-live is named GRMLBASE. It's strongly
301 recommended to **always** use the class GRMLBASE when building an ISO using
302 grml-live, as well as the architecture dependent class which provides the kernel
303 (being 'I386' for x86_32 and 'AMD64' for x86_64) and a GRML_* class (like
304 GRML_SMALL or GRML_FULL). The following files and directories are
305 relevant for class GRMLBASE by default:
307 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/GRMLBASE/
308 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/debconf/GRMLBASE
309 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/class/GRMLBASE.var
310 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/hooks/instsoft.GRMLBASE
311 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config/GRMLBASE
313 Take a look at the next section for information about the concept of those
316 If you want to use your own configuration, extend an existing configuration
317 and/or add additional packages to your ISO just invent a new class (or extend an
318 existing one). For example if you want to use your own class named "FOOBAR" just
319 set CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR" inside /etc/grml/grml-live.local
320 or invoke grml-live using the classes option: "grml-live -c
321 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR ...".
323 More details regarding the class concept can be found in the documentation of
324 FAI itself (being available at /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/).
331 The package selection part of the classes can be found in
332 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config whereas some further classes are defined for
333 example in ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/ so specific feature sets can be
334 selected. The following classes are predefined:
336 * DEBORPHAN: get rid of all packages listed in output of deborphan
338 * FRESHCLAM: execute freshclam (if it's present) to update clamav definitions
339 (increases resulting ISO size ~70MB). By default it's skipped to avoid bigger
342 * GRMLBASE: the main class responsible for getting a minimal subset of what's
343 defining a Grml system. Important parts of the buildprocess are specified in
344 this class as well, so unless you have a really good reason you should always
347 * GRML_FULL: full featured Grml, also known as the "normal", full grml as
348 introduced in December 2011 (~460MB ISO size).
350 * GRML_SMALL: minimum sized Grml version, known as grml-small (~230MB ISO
353 * LATEX: LaTeX(-related) packages like auctex, texlive,...
354 (which used to be shipped by grml before the LaTeX removal)
356 * LATEX_CLEANUP: get rid of several very large LaTeX directories
357 (like some /usr/share/doc/texlive-*, /usr/share/doc/texmf,...)
359 * LOCALES: use full featured locales setup (see /etc/locale.gen.grml). This
360 avoids to get rid of /usr/share/locale - which happens by default otherwise - as
363 * NO_ONLINE: do not run scripts during the chroot build process which require a
366 * RELEASE: run some specific scripts and commands to provide the workflow for an
367 official grml release
369 * REMOVE_DOCS: get rid of documentation directories (like /usr/share/doc,
370 /usr/share/man/, /usr/share/info,...)
372 * SOURCES: retrieve Debian source packages after installation. Files will be
373 placed in the output directory under grml_sources.
375 * XORG: providing important packages for use with a base grml-featured X.org
382 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
383 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
384 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
385 fai-client) grml uses ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf instead. For more details see
386 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
387 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
388 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
389 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
393 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
395 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
397 Main configuration file for grml-live which should be considered as a reference
398 configuration file only. Please use /etc/grml/grml-live.local for local
399 configuration instead.
401 /etc/grml/grml-live.local
403 All the local configuration should go to this file. This file overrides any
404 defaults of grml-live. Configurations via /etc/grml/grml-live.local are preferred
405 over the ones from /etc/grml/grml-live.conf. If you want to override settings
406 from /etc/grml/grml-live.local as well you have to specify them on the grml-live
409 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf
411 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
412 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default the configuration
413 variables are FAI_CONFIG_SRC=file:///etc/grml/fai/config and
414 GRML_FAI_CONFIG=/etc/grml/fai/config - both pointing to a directory shipped by
415 grml-live out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this
418 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/
420 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
422 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/class/
424 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
427 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/debconf/
429 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
432 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/hooks/
434 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
435 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
436 installation process.
438 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config/
440 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
441 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
442 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
443 GRML_SMALL and and AMD64 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
444 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
445 AMD64 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
446 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
447 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
448 reasonable package configuration.
450 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/
452 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
454 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/live-initramfs/
456 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
463 Starting with grml-live version 0.17.0 you should find log files in a directory
464 named 'grml_logs' in the output directory (next to grml_isos, grml_chroot,...).
466 grml-live versions before 0.17.0 used to log into /var/log/grml-live.log
467 and /var/log/fai/grml.
470 Requirements for the build system
471 ---------------------------------
473 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if it doesn't work it's a bug,
474 please send us a bug report then). Check out <<deploy-on-debian,How do I deploy
475 grml-live on a plain Debian installation>> for details how to set up grml-live
476 on a plain, original Debian system.
478 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
479 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
480 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
481 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
482 total free disk space
484 * fast network access for retrieving the Debian packages used for creating the
485 chroot (check out "local mirror" to workaround this problem as far as possible)
487 For further information see next section.
491 Current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel
492 ---------------------------------------------------------
494 Use squashfs-tools >=4.2-1 to build Grml (based) ISOs featuring kernel version
495 2.6.38-grml[64] or newer.
502 How do I deploy grml-live on a plain Debian installation?
503 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
505 The easiest way to get a running grml-live setup is to just use Grml.
506 Of course using grml-live on a plain, original Debian installation is supported
507 as well. So there we go.
509 What we have: plain, original Debian jessie (8.x).
511 What we want: build a Grml ISO based on Debian/jessie for the amd64 architecture
517 # adjust sources.list:
518 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
520 # grml stable repository:
521 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
522 # deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
524 # grml testing/development repository:
525 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
526 # deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
529 # get keyring for apt:
531 apt-get --allow-unauthenticated install grml-debian-keyring
533 # optionally(!) install basefile so we don't have to build basic
534 # chroot from scratch, grab from http://daily.grml.org/
535 # mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
536 # mv I386.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
537 # mv AMD64.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
539 # install relevant tools
540 apt-get --no-install-recommends install grml-live
542 # adjust grml-live configuration for our needs:
543 cat > /etc/grml/grml-live.local << EOF
544 ## want a faster build process and don't need smaller ISOs?
545 ## if so use zlib compression
546 # SQUASHFS_OPTIONS="-comp gzip -b 256k"
547 ## want to use a specific squashfs binary?
548 # SQUASHFS_BINARY='/usr/bin/mksquashfs'
549 ## install local files into the chroot
550 # CHROOT_INSTALL="/etc/grml/fai/chroot_install"
551 ## adjust if necessary (defaults to /grml/grml-live):
552 ## OUTPUT="/srv/grml-live"
553 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="jessie http://ftp.debian.org/debian/"
555 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,AMD64"
558 # just optional(!) - upgrade FAI to latest available version:
559 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fai.list << EOF
560 deb http://jenkins.grml.org/debian fai main
561 deb-src http://jenkins.grml.org/debian fai main
564 # get gpg key of FAI repos and install current FAI version:
565 wget -O - http://jenkins.grml.org/debian/C525F56752D4A654.asc | sudo apt-key add -
567 apt-get install fai-client fai-server fai-doc
569 That's it. Now invoking 'grml-live -V' should build the ISO. If everything
570 worked as expected the last line of the shell output should look like:
572 [*] Successfully finished execution of grml-live [running 687 seconds]
574 and the ISO can be found inside /grml-live/grml-live/grml_isos/ then.
576 [[grml_fai_config_variable]]
577 What is $GRML_FAI_CONFIG?
578 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
580 The variable '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' is pointing to the directory /etc/grml/fai by
581 default. To provide you a maximum of flexibility you can set up your own
582 configuration directory (e.g. based on /etc/grml/fai) and use this directory
583 running grml-live with the '-D <config_dir>' option. Now '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG'
584 points to the specified directory instead of using /etc/grml/fai and all the
585 configuration files, scripts and hooks will be taken from your
586 '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' directory.
589 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
590 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
592 Check out the logs inside the directory 'grml_logs' next to your grml_chroot,
593 grml_isos,... directories.
595 If you need help with grml-live or would like to see new features as part of
596 grml-live you can get commercial support via
597 link:http://grml-solutions.com/[Grml Solutions].
599 [[install-local-files]]
600 How do I install further files into the chroot/ISO?
601 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
603 Just point the configuration variable CHROOT_INSTALL to the directory which
604 provides the files you would like to install. Note that the files are installed
605 under '/' in the chroot - so you have to create the rootfs structure on your
608 echo "CHROOT_INSTALL=\$GRML_FAI_CONFIG/chroot_install" >> /etc/grml/grml-live.local
609 mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
610 wget example.org/foo.tar.gz
611 mv foo.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
614 [[local-debian-mirror]]
615 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
616 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
618 Yes. Set up an according sources.list configuration as class file in
619 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ and adjust the variable
620 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not already using a base.tgz) inside
621 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local]. If you're setting up your own class file don't
622 forget to include the class name in the class list (grml-live -c ...).
624 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally then
625 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local] as well.
627 If you want to use a HTTP Proxy (like apt-cacher-ng), set APT_PROXY. Example:
629 APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
631 [[add-additional-debian-packages]]
632 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
633 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
635 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
637 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
641 another_name_of_a_debian_package
645 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
647 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,MIKA
649 [[reset-grml-live-configuration]]
650 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
651 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
653 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
654 what you are searching for just run:
656 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
657 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
659 [[create-a-base-tgz]]
660 How do I create a base.tgz?
661 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
663 First of all create the chroot using debootstrap:
665 BASECHROOT='/tmp/basefile'
666 debootstrap jessie "$BASECHROOT" http://ftp.debian.org/debian
667 tar -C "$BASECHROOT" --exclude='var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb' -zcf base.tar.gz ./
670 By default debootstrap builds a chroot matching the architecture of the running
671 host system. If you're using an amd64 system and want to build an i386 base.tgz
672 then invoke debootstrap using the '--arch i386' option. Disclaimer: building an
673 AMD64 base.tgz won't work if you are using a 32bit kernel system of course.
675 Then move the base.tar.gz to /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/$CLASSNAME.tar.gz.
676 Use e.g. I386 as $CLASSNAME for i386 chroots and AMD64 for amd64 chroots.
678 Now executing grml-live should use this file as base system instead of executing
679 debootstrap. Check out the output for something like:
682 ftar: extracting //etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to /srv/grml64_testing/grml_chroot//
686 Existing base.tgz can be found at http://daily.grml.org/
689 Set up apt-cacher-ng for use with grml-live
690 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
692 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.local provides according APT_PROXY and
695 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.local
697 APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
699 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="jessie http://localhost:3142/ftp.debian.org/debian jessie main contrib non-free"
701 Make sure apt-cacher-ng is running ('/etc/init.d/apt-cacher-ng restart').
702 That's it. All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng then.
705 How do I revert the manifold feature from an ISO?
706 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
708 The so called manifold feature Grml ISOs use by default allows one to use the same
709 ISO for CD boot and USB boot. If you notice any problems when booting just
710 revert the manifold feature running:
712 % dd if=/dev/zero of=grml.iso bs=512 count=1 conv=notrunc
714 To switch from manifold to isohybrid mode (an alternative approach provided by
715 syslinux) then just execute:
720 How do I create a base tar.gz (I386.tar.gz or AMD64.tar.gz)
721 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
723 Execute the following commands (requires root):
725 ARCH='amd64' # replace with i386 if necessary
726 SUITE='jessie' # using the current stable release should always work
727 debootstrap --arch "$ARCH" --exclude=info,tasksel,tasksel-data "$SUITE" "$ARCH" http://debian.netcologne.de/debian
729 rm var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb
730 tar zcf ../"${ARCH}".tar.gz *
732 And finally place the generated tarball in /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/ (note
733 that it needs to be uppercase letters matching the class names, so: AMD64.tar.gz
734 for amd64 and I386.tar.gz for i386).
737 How to use your own local repository
738 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
740 Let's assume you have Debian package(s) in your filesystem inside
741 `/home/foobar/local-packages` and want to include that in your grml-live build.
742 Make sure to create an according sources.list configuration file, e.g. using
743 your own class name `CUSTOM`:
745 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/local-packages.list/CUSTOM << EOF
746 deb file:///home/foobar/local-packages ./
749 Add the according MIRROR_DIRECTORY configuration to your grml-live configuration:
751 # echo "MIRROR_DIRECTORY='/home/foobar/packages'" >> /etc/grml/grml-live.local
753 Make sure the local directory looks like a mirror:
755 % cd /home/foobar/packages && /usr/bin/dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null > ./Packages
757 Finally invoke grml-live with your class name (`CUSTOM` in this example) added
758 to the list of classes (see grml-live option `-c`).
761 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
762 ------------------------------------------------
764 Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
765 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org]. If you want to
766 build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific version or the
767 current development tree), just execute:
769 git clone git://git.grml.org/grml-live
777 The source of grml-live is available at
778 link:https://github.com/grml/grml-live/[https://github.com/grml/grml-live/]
784 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
785 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the Grml team]!
791 The most recent grml-live documentation is available online at
792 http://grml.org/grml-live/ and for offline reading also available
793 in different formats:
795 * http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.epub
796 * http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.pdf
801 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>
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