[--customize=SCRIPT] [--hostname=HOSTNAME] [--user=USER/PASSWORD]
[--serial-console | --no-serial-console] [--sudo | --no-sudo] [--owner=OWNER]
[--bootsize=BOOTSIZE] [--boottype=FSTYPE] [--foreign=PATH] [--variant=VARIANT]
-[--no-extlinux]
+[--no-extlinux] [--squash] [--configure-apt] [--grub]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B vmdebootstrap
installs a basic Debian system into a virtual disk image,
.PP
You need to run
.B vmdebootstrap
-as root.
+as root. If the \-\-verbose option is not used, no output will be
+sent to the command line. If the \-\-log option is not used, no
+output will be sent to any log files either.
.PP
To use the image,
you probably want to create a virtual machine using your preferred
or
.BR qemu (1).
Configure the virtual machine to use the image you've created.
-Then start the virtual machine,
+Then start the virtual machine, (see
+.B EXAMPLES
+)
and log into it via its console to configure it.
-.PP
-Unless the \-\-no\-extlinux option is specified, the image will use
+The image has an empty root password and will not have networking
+configured by default. Set the root password before you configure
+networking.
+.SH BOOTLOADERS
+Unless the \-\-no\-extlinux or \-\-grub options are specified, the
+image will use
.BR extlinux (1)
as a boot loader.
-The imagehas an empty root password and will not have networking configured.
-Set the root password before you configure networking.
+.B bootsize
+is not recommended when using
+.B extlinux
+- use grub instead.
+Versions of grub2 in wheezy
+can fail to install in the VM, at which point vmdebootstrap will fall back to
+extlinux. It may still be possible to complete the installation of grub2 after
+booting the VM as the problem may be related to the need to use loopback
+devices during the grub-install operation. Details of the error will appear in the
+vmdebootstrap log file, if enabled with the \-\-log option. Note that
+.B grub-legacy
+is not supported.
.SH OPTIONS
.IP \-\-output=FILE
write output to FILE, instead of standard output
.IP \-\-root-password=PASSWORD
set root password
.IP \-\-customize=SCRIPT
-run SCRIPT after setting up system
+run SCRIPT after setting up system. If the script does not exist in the current
+working directory, /usr/share/vmdebootstrap/examples/ will be checked as a
+fallback. The script needs to be executable and is passed the root directory of
+the debootstrap as the only argument. Use chroot if you need to execute binaries
+within the debootstrap.
.IP \-\-hostname=HOSTNAME
set name to HOSTNAME (debian)
.IP \-\-user=USER/PASSWORD
create USER with PASSWORD
.IP \-\-owner=OWNER
change the owner of the final image from root to the specified user.
-.IP \-\-serial-console
+.IP \-\-serial\-console
configure image to use a serial console
+.IP \-\-serial-console-command
+set the command to manage the serial console which will be appended to
+/etc/inittab. Default is "/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 115200 vt100", resulting in a line
+.BR "S0:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 115200 vt100"
.IP \-\-sudo
install sudo, and if user is created, add them to sudo group
.IP \-\-bootsize=BOOTSIZE
Path to the binfmt_handler to enable foreign support in debootstrap. e.g. /usr/bin/qemu-arm-static - note foreign debootstraps may take a signficant amount of time to complete and that debootstrap will retry five times if packages fail to install by default.
.IP \-\-no\-extlinux
Skip installation of extlinux. needs a customize script to make the image bootable. Useful for architectures where extlinux is not supportable.
+Depending on how the image is to be booted, the \-\-mbr option may also be
+necessary with extlinux.
+.IP \-\-squash
+Run mksquashfs against the final image using xz compression - requires
+squashfs-tools to be installed. The final file will have the .squashfs suffix.
+By default, mksquashfs is allowed to use all processors which may result
+in high load. Run mksquashfs separately if you need to control the number
+of processors used per run.
+.IP \-\-configure\-apt
+Use the specified mirror and distribution to create a suitable apt source inside
+the VM. Can be useful if debootstrap fails to create it automatically.
+.IP \-\-grub
+Disable extlinux installation and configure grub2 instead. grub2 will be added to
+the list of packages to install. update-grub will be called once the debootstrap is
+complete and grub-install will be called in the image.
.SH Configuration files and settings:
.IP \-\-dump-config
write out the entire current configuration
.PP
(This loads the image in a new window.)
.PP
+For further examples, including u-boot support for beaglebone-black, see /usr/share/vmdebootstrap/examples
+.SH NOTES
+If you get problems with the bootstrap process, run a similar bootstrap call directly and chroot into the directory to investigate the failure. The actual debootstrap call is part of the vmdebootstrap logfile. The debootstrap logfile, if any, will be copied into your current working directory on error.
+.PP
+.B debootstrap
+will download all the apt archive files into the apt cache and does not remove them before starting the configuration of the packages. This can mean that debootstrap can fail due to a lack of space on the device if the VM size is small. vmdebootstrap cleans up the apt cache once debootstrap has finished but this doesn't help if the package unpack or configuration steps use up all of the space in the meantime. Avoid this problem by specifying a larger size for the image.
+.PP
+Note that if you are also using a separate /boot partition in your options to vmdebootstrap, it may well be the boot partition which needs to be enlarged rather than the entire image.
+.PP
+It is advisable to change the mirror in the example scripts to a mirror closer to your location,
+particularly if you need to do repeated builds.
+.PP
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR debootstrap (8)
,
-.BR qemu (1)
+.BR qemu-system-x86_64 (1)
+,
+.BR grub-install (8)
.
.SH BUGS
Please provide the config section of the logfile when reporting bugs, as well as the complete command line.
projects / forks / vmdebootstrap.git / blobdiff