vmdebootstrap \- install basic Debian system into virtual disk image
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B vmdebootstrap
---image=FILE --size=SIZE [--mirror=URL] [--distribution=NAME]
+\-\-image=FILE \-\-size=SIZE [\-\-mirror=URL] [\-\-distribution=NAME]
.PP
.B vmdebootstrap
-[--output=FILE] [--verbose | --no-verbose] --image=FILE --size=SIZE
-[--tarball=FILE] [--mirror=URL] [--arch=ARCH] [--distribution=NAME]
-[--package=PACKAGE] [--custom-package=DEB] [--no-kernel]
-[--enable-dhcp | --no-enable-dhcp] [--root-password=PASSWORD]
-[--customize=SCRIPT] [--hostname=HOSTNAME] [--user=USER/PASSWORD]
-[--serial-console | --no-serial-console] [--sudo | --no-sudo] [--owner=OWNER]
-[--bootsize=BOOTSIZE] [--boottype=FSTYPE] [--roottype=FSTYPE] [--foreign=PATH]
-[--variant=VARIANT] [--no-extlinux] [--squash] [--configure-apt]
-[--grub] [--apt-mirror] [--pkglist]
+[\-\-output=FILE] [\-\-verbose |\-\-no-verbose] \-\-image=FILE \-\-size=SIZE
+[\-\-tarball=FILE] [\-\-mirror=URL] [\-\-arch=ARCH] [\-\-distribution=NAME]
+[\-\-package=PACKAGE] [\-\-custom-package=DEB] [\-\-no-kernel] [\-\-kernel-package]
+[\-\-enable-dhcp | \-\-no-enable-dhcp] [\-\-root-password=PASSWORD]
+[\-\-customize=SCRIPT] [\-\-hostname=HOSTNAME] [\-\-user=USER/PASSWORD]
+[\-\-serial-console | \-\-no-serial-console] [\-\-sudo |\-\-no-sudo] [\-\-owner=OWNER]
+[\-\-bootsize=BOOTSIZE] [\-\-boottype=FSTYPE] [\-\-roottype=FSTYPE] [\-\-foreign=PATH]
+[\-\-variant=VARIANT] [\-\-no-extlinux] [\-\-squash] [\-\-configure-apt]
+[\-\-grub] [\-\-apt-mirror] [\-\-pkglist]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B vmdebootstrap
installs a basic Debian system into a virtual disk image,
.B bootsize
is not recommended when using
.B extlinux
-- use grub instead.
+\- 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
for some devices but this depends on the specific device. (A 'prebuilt
installation image' is a single image file which can be written to physical
media in a single operation and which allows the device to boot directly
-into a fully installed system - in a similar way to how a virtual machine
+into a fully installed system \- in a similar way to how a virtual machine
would behave.)
.PP
.B vmdebootstrap
.IP \-\-tarball=FILE
tar up the disk's contents in FILE
.IP \-\-mirror=URL
-use MIRROR as package source (http://cdn.debian.net/debian/)
+use MIRROR as package source (http://http.debian.net/debian/)
.IP \-\-arch=ARCH
-architecture to use (amd64)
+architecture to use (amd64) - if using an architecture which the
+host system cannot execute, ensure the \-\-foreign option is also
+used.
.IP \-\-distribution=NAME
-release to use (stable)
+release to use (defaults to stable). The release needs to be a valid
+Debian or Ubuntu release name or codename.
.IP \-\-package=PACKAGE
install PACKAGE onto system
.IP \-\-custom-package=DEB
install package in DEB file onto system (not from mirror)
.IP \-\-no-kernel
do not install a linux package
+.IP \-\-kernel-package
+If \-\-no-kernel is not used and the auto-selection of the
+.B linux-image\$arch
+package is not suitable, the kernel package can be specified
+explicitly.
.IP \-\-enable-dhcp
enable DHCP on eth0
.IP \-\-root-password=PASSWORD
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"
+/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
not likely to have enough space for a swap partition as well.
.IP \-\-foreign=PATH
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
+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
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
+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
To create an image for the stable release of Debian:
.nf
.IP
-sudo vmdebootstrap --image test.img --size 1g \\
- --log test.log --log-level debug --verbose \\
- --mirror http://mirror.lan/debian/
+sudo vmdebootstrap \-\-image test.img \-\-size 1g \\
+ \-\-log test.log \-\-log-level debug \-\-verbose \\
+ \-\-mirror http://mirror.lan/debian/
.PP
To run the test image, make sure it is writeable. Use the \-\-owner
option to set mode 0644 for the specified user or use chmod manually: