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 * FILE_RC: instead of using systemd as init system use file-rc instead. file-rc
339 was the init system used by Grml until and including stable release 2014.11,
340 starting with beginning of 2016 Grml switched to systemd instead. If you want to
341 build a live system in the old style using file-rc instead of systemd then enable
342 this class. Please notice that support for file-rc is no longer being actively
343 maintained (the Grml team happily accepts patches though) and file-rc (upstream
344 wise) might disappear too.
346 * FRESHCLAM: execute freshclam (if it's present) to update clamav definitions
347 (increases resulting ISO size ~70MB). By default it's skipped to avoid bigger
350 * GRMLBASE: the main class responsible for getting a minimal subset of what's
351 defining a Grml system. Important parts of the buildprocess are specified in
352 this class as well, so unless you have a really good reason you should always
353 use this class. Please be aware that using *just* the GRMLBASE class won't be
354 enough, because the kernel packages (e.g. linux-image-i386-grml +
355 linux-image-amd64-grml) are chosen in further GRML_* classes (to provide maximum
356 flexibility with kernel selection). If you don't want to use the existing
357 GRML_FULL or GRML_SMALL classes, define your own CLASS file choosing the kernel
358 package you want to use (and don't forget to include your CLASS in the arguments
359 of grml-live's -c... command line option).
361 * GRML_FULL: full featured Grml, also known as the "normal", full grml as
362 introduced in December 2011 (~460MB ISO size).
364 * GRML_SMALL: minimum sized Grml version, known as grml-small (~230MB ISO
367 * LATEX: LaTeX(-related) packages like auctex, texlive,...
368 (which used to be shipped by grml before the LaTeX removal)
370 * LATEX_CLEANUP: get rid of several very large LaTeX directories
371 (like some /usr/share/doc/texlive-*, /usr/share/doc/texmf,...)
373 * LOCALES: use full featured locales setup (see /etc/locale.gen.grml). This
374 avoids to get rid of /usr/share/locale - which happens by default otherwise - as
377 * NO_ONLINE: do not run scripts during the chroot build process which require a
380 * RELEASE: run some specific scripts and commands to provide the workflow for an
381 official grml release
383 * REMOVE_DOCS: get rid of documentation directories (like /usr/share/doc,
384 /usr/share/man/, /usr/share/info,...)
386 * SOURCES: retrieve Debian source packages after installation. Files will be
387 placed in the output directory under grml_sources.
389 * XORG: providing important packages for use with a base grml-featured X.org
396 Notice that grml-live ships FAI configuration files that do not use the same
397 namespace as the FAI packages itself. This ensures that grml-live does not clash
398 with your usual FAI configuration, so instead of /etc/fai/fai.conf (package
399 fai-client) grml uses ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf instead. For more details see
400 below. To get an idea how another configuration or example files could look like
401 check out /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/examples/simple/ (provided by Debian package
402 fai-doc). Furthermore /usr/share/doc/fai-doc/fai-guide.html/ch-config.html
403 provides documentation regarding configuration possibilities.
407 Script for the main build process. Requires root permissions for execution.
409 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
411 Main configuration file for grml-live which should be considered as a reference
412 configuration file only. Please use /etc/grml/grml-live.local for local
413 configuration instead.
415 /etc/grml/grml-live.local
417 All the local configuration should go to this file. This file overrides any
418 defaults of grml-live. Configurations via /etc/grml/grml-live.local are preferred
419 over the ones from /etc/grml/grml-live.conf. If you want to override settings
420 from /etc/grml/grml-live.local as well you have to specify them on the grml-live
423 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/fai.conf
425 Main configuration file for FAI which specifies where all the configuration
426 files and scripts for FAI/grml-live can be found. By default the configuration
427 variables are FAI_CONFIG_SRC=file:///etc/grml/fai/config and
428 GRML_FAI_CONFIG=/etc/grml/fai/config - both pointing to a directory shipped by
429 grml-live out-of-the-box so you shouldn't have to configure anything in this
432 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/
434 The main directory for configuration of FAI/grml-live. More details below.
436 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/class/
438 This directory contains files which specify main configuration variables for the
441 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/debconf/
443 This directory provides the files for preseeding/configuration of debconf
446 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/hooks/
448 This directory provides files for customising the build process through hooks.
449 Hooks are user defined programs or scripts, which are called during the
450 installation process.
452 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/package_config/
454 Directory with lists of software packages to be installed or removed. The
455 different classes describe what should find its way to your ISO. When running
456 "grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64 ..." only the configuration of GRMLBASE,
457 GRML_SMALL and and AMD64 will be taken. If you use 'grml-live -c
458 GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,FOOBAR ...' then the files of GRMLBASE, GRML_SMALL,
459 AMD64 **plus** the files from FOOBAR will be taken. So just create a new class to
460 adjust the package selection according to your needs. Please notice that the
461 directory GRMLBASE contains a package list defining a minimum but still
462 reasonable package configuration.
464 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/scripts/
466 Scripts for customising the ISO within the build process.
468 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/live-initramfs/
470 This directory provides the files used for building the initramfs/initrd via
477 Starting with grml-live version 0.17.0 you should find log files in a directory
478 named 'grml_logs' in the output directory (next to grml_isos, grml_chroot,...).
480 grml-live versions before 0.17.0 used to log into /var/log/grml-live.log
481 and /var/log/fai/grml.
484 Requirements for the build system
485 ---------------------------------
487 * any Debian based system should be sufficient (if it doesn't work it's a bug,
488 please send us a bug report then). Check out <<deploy-on-debian,How do I deploy
489 grml-live on a plain Debian installation>> for details how to set up grml-live
490 on a plain, original Debian system.
492 * enough free disk space; at least 800MB are required for a minimal grml-live
493 run (\~400MB for the chroot [$CHROOT_OUTPUT], \~150MB for the build target
494 [$BUILD_OUTPUT] and \~150MB for the resulting ISO [$ISO_OUTPUT] plus some
495 temporary files), if you plan to use GRML_FULL you should have at least 4GB of
496 total free disk space
498 * fast network access for retrieving the Debian packages used for creating the
499 chroot (check out "local mirror" to workaround this problem as far as possible)
501 For further information see next section.
505 Current state of grml-live with squashfs-tools and kernel
506 ---------------------------------------------------------
508 Use squashfs-tools >=4.2-1 to build Grml (based) ISOs featuring kernel version
509 2.6.38-grml[64] or newer.
516 How do I deploy grml-live on a plain Debian installation?
517 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
519 The easiest way to get a running grml-live setup is to just use Grml.
520 Of course using grml-live on a plain, original Debian installation is supported
521 as well. So there we go.
523 What we have: plain, original Debian jessie (8.x).
525 What we want: build a Grml ISO based on Debian/jessie for the amd64 architecture
531 # adjust sources.list:
532 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
534 # grml stable repository:
535 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
536 # deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-stable main
538 # grml testing/development repository:
539 deb http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
540 # deb-src http://deb.grml.org/ grml-testing main
543 # get keyring for apt:
545 apt-get --allow-unauthenticated install grml-debian-keyring
547 # optionally(!) install basefile so we don't have to build basic
548 # chroot from scratch, grab from http://daily.grml.org/
549 # mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
550 # mv I386.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
551 # mv AMD64.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/
553 # install relevant tools
554 apt-get --no-install-recommends install grml-live
556 # adjust grml-live configuration for our needs:
557 cat > /etc/grml/grml-live.local << EOF
558 ## want a faster build process and don't need smaller ISOs?
559 ## if so use zlib compression
560 # SQUASHFS_OPTIONS="-comp gzip -b 256k"
561 ## want to use a specific squashfs binary?
562 # SQUASHFS_BINARY='/usr/bin/mksquashfs'
563 ## install local files into the chroot
564 # CHROOT_INSTALL="/etc/grml/fai/chroot_install"
565 ## adjust if necessary (defaults to /grml/grml-live):
566 ## OUTPUT="/srv/grml-live"
567 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="jessie http://ftp.debian.org/debian/"
569 CLASSES="GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,AMD64"
572 # just optional(!) - upgrade FAI to latest available version:
573 cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fai.list << EOF
574 deb http://jenkins.grml.org/debian fai main
575 deb-src http://jenkins.grml.org/debian fai main
578 # get gpg key of FAI repos and install current FAI version:
579 wget -O - http://jenkins.grml.org/debian/C525F56752D4A654.asc | sudo apt-key add -
581 apt-get install fai-client fai-server fai-doc
583 That's it. Now invoking 'grml-live -V' should build the ISO. If everything
584 worked as expected the last line of the shell output should look like:
586 [*] Successfully finished execution of grml-live [running 687 seconds]
588 and the ISO can be found inside /grml-live/grml-live/grml_isos/ then.
590 [[grml_fai_config_variable]]
591 What is $GRML_FAI_CONFIG?
592 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
594 The variable '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' is pointing to the directory /etc/grml/fai by
595 default. To provide you a maximum of flexibility you can set up your own
596 configuration directory (e.g. based on /etc/grml/fai) and use this directory
597 running grml-live with the '-D <config_dir>' option. Now '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG'
598 points to the specified directory instead of using /etc/grml/fai and all the
599 configuration files, scripts and hooks will be taken from your
600 '$GRML_FAI_CONFIG' directory.
603 I've problems with the build process. How to start debugging?
604 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
606 Check out the logs inside the directory 'grml_logs' next to your grml_chroot,
607 grml_isos,... directories.
609 If you need help with grml-live or would like to see new features as part of
610 grml-live you can get commercial support via
611 link:http://grml-solutions.com/[Grml Solutions].
613 [[install-local-files]]
614 How do I install further files into the chroot/ISO?
615 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
617 Just point the configuration variable CHROOT_INSTALL to the directory which
618 provides the files you would like to install. Note that the files are installed
619 under '/' in the chroot - so you have to create the rootfs structure on your
622 echo "CHROOT_INSTALL=\$GRML_FAI_CONFIG/chroot_install" >> /etc/grml/grml-live.local
623 mkdir -p /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
624 wget example.org/foo.tar.gz
625 mv foo.tar.gz /etc/grml/fai/chroot_install/usr/src/
628 [[local-debian-mirror]]
629 Can I use my own (local) Debian mirror?
630 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
632 Yes. Set up an according sources.list configuration as class file in
633 ${GRML_FAI_CONFIG}/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ and adjust the variable
634 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP (if not already using a base.tgz) inside
635 /etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local]. If you're setting up your own class file don't
636 forget to include the class name in the class list (grml-live -c ...).
638 If you want to use a local (for example NFS mount) mirror additionally then
639 adjust MIRROR_DIRECTORY in /etc/grml/grml-live.conf[.local] as well.
641 If you want to use a HTTP Proxy (like apt-cacher-ng), set APT_PROXY. Example:
643 APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
645 [[add-additional-debian-packages]]
646 How do I add additional Debian package(s) to my CD/ISO?
647 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
649 Just create a new class (using the package_config directory):
651 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/package_config/MIKA << EOF
655 another_name_of_a_debian_package
659 and specify it when invoking grml-live then:
661 # grml-live -c GRMLBASE,GRML_SMALL,AMD64,MIKA
663 [[reset-grml-live-configuration]]
664 I fscked up my grml-live configuration. How do I reset it to the defaults?
665 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
667 Notice: this deletes all your grml-live configuration files. If that's really
668 what you are searching for just run:
670 rm -rf /etc/grml/fai /etc/grml/grml-live.conf
671 dpkg -i --force-confnew --force-confmiss /path/to/grml-live_..._all.deb
674 Set up apt-cacher-ng for use with grml-live
675 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
677 Make sure /etc/grml/grml-live.local provides according APT_PROXY and
680 # cat /etc/grml/grml-live.local
682 APT_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
684 FAI_DEBOOTSTRAP="jessie http://localhost:3142/ftp.debian.org/debian jessie main contrib non-free"
686 Make sure apt-cacher-ng is running ('/etc/init.d/apt-cacher-ng restart').
687 That's it. All downloaded files will be cached in /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng then.
690 How do I revert the manifold feature from an ISO?
691 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
693 The so called manifold feature Grml ISOs use by default allows one to use the same
694 ISO for CD boot and USB boot. If you notice any problems when booting just
695 revert the manifold feature running:
697 % dd if=/dev/zero of=grml.iso bs=512 count=1 conv=notrunc
699 To switch from manifold to isohybrid mode (an alternative approach provided by
700 syslinux) then just execute:
704 [[create-a-base-tgz]]
705 How do I create a base tar.gz (I386.tar.gz or AMD64.tar.gz)
706 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
709 First of all create the chroot using debootstrap (requires root):
711 BASECHROOT='/tmp/basefile' # path where the chroot gets generated
712 SUITE='jessie' # using the current stable release should always work
713 debootstrap --exclude=info,tasksel,tasksel-data "$SUITE" "$BASECHROOT" http://ftp.debian.org/debian
714 tar -C "$BASECHROOT" --exclude='var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb' -zcf "${SUITE}".tar.gz ./
717 By default debootstrap builds a chroot matching the architecture of the running
718 host system. If you're using an amd64 system and want to build an i386 base.tgz
719 then invoke debootstrap using the '--arch i386' option. Disclaimer: building an
720 AMD64 base.tgz won't work if you are using a 32bit kernel system of course.
722 Finally place the generated tarball in /etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles/ (note
723 that it needs to be uppercase letters matching the class names, so: e.g.
724 AMD64.tar.gz for amd64 and I386.tar.gz for i386).
726 Then executing grml-live should use this file as base system instead of executing
727 debootstrap. Check out the output for something like:
730 ftar: extracting //etc/grml/fai/config/basefiles///AMD64.tar.gz to /srv/grml64_testing/grml_chroot//
734 How to use your own local repository
735 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
737 Let's assume you have Debian package(s) in your filesystem inside
738 `/home/foobar/local-packages` and want to provide them to your grml-live build.
739 This can be achieved either 1) through a bind mount (using the MIRROR_DIRECTORY
740 configuration) or 2) by serving a repository via HTTP.
742 Serving via bind mount / MIRROR_DIRECTORY
743 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
745 Make sure to create an according sources.list configuration file, e.g. using
746 your own class name `CUSTOM`:
748 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/local-packages.list/CUSTOM << EOF
749 deb file:///home/foobar/local-packages ./
752 Add the according MIRROR_DIRECTORY configuration to your grml-live configuration:
754 # echo "MIRROR_DIRECTORY='/home/foobar/packages'" >> /etc/grml/grml-live.local
756 Make sure the local directory looks like a mirror:
758 % cd /home/foobar/packages
759 % dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip > Packages.gz
761 Finally invoke grml-live with your class name (`CUSTOM` in this example) added
762 to the list of classes on the command line (see grml-live option `-c`).
764 Serving a repository via HTTP
765 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
767 Make sure to create an according sources.list configuration file, e.g. using
768 your own class name `CUSTOM`:
770 # cat > /etc/grml/fai/config/files/etc/apt/sources.list.d/local-packages.list/CUSTOM << EOF
771 deb http://127.0.0.1:8000/ ./
774 Make sure the local directory is served via HTTP on the according IP address and
775 port. For the `http://127.0.0.1:8000/` example from above it should be enough to
778 % cd /home/foobar/packages
779 % dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip > Packages.gz
780 % python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000
783 Of course you can also use a real Debian repository setup using tools like
784 reprepro(1) and/or using a real web server, though for quick debugging sessions
785 python's SimpleHTTPServer in combination with dpkg-scanpackages from package
786 dpkg-dev is a simple and easy approach.
788 Finally invoke grml-live with your class name (`CUSTOM` in this example) added
789 to the list of classes on the command line (see grml-live option `-c`).
792 Download / install grml-live as a Debian package
793 ------------------------------------------------
795 Stable Debian packages are available through the grml-repository at
796 link:http://deb.grml.org/pool/main/g/grml-live/[deb.grml.org] and the latest
797 Git commits are available as Debian packages from
798 link:http://jenkins.grml.org/job/grml-live-binaries/[jenkins.grml.org].
799 If you want to build a Debian package on your own (using for example a specific
800 version or the current development tree), just execute:
802 git clone git://git.grml.org/grml-live
807 Run grml-live directly from git
808 -------------------------------
810 In case you want to run grml-live directly from the git repository checkout
811 (after making sure all dependencies are installed), you should set
812 `GRML_FAI_CONFIG` so that a) it finds the according FAI configuration files and
813 b) does not use the config files of an possibly installed `grml-live` package.
816 # export GRML_FAI_CONFIG=$(pwd)/etc/grml/fai
817 # export SCRIPTS_DIRECTORY=$(pwd)/scripts
818 # ./grml-live -s sid -a amd64 -c GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,AMD64
824 The source of grml-live is available at
825 link:https://github.com/grml/grml-live/[https://github.com/grml/grml-live/]
831 Please report feedback, link:http://grml.org/bugs/[bugreports] and wishes
832 link:http://grml.org/contact/[to the Grml team]!
838 The most recent grml-live documentation is available online at
839 http://grml.org/grml-live/ and for offline reading also available
840 in different formats:
842 * http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.epub
843 * http://grml.org/grml-live/grml-live.pdf
848 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>
850 /////////////////////////////////////
851 // vim:ai tw=80 ft=asciidoc expandtab
852 /////////////////////////////////////