DEBIRF(1)							   User Commands							 DEBIRF(1)

NAME

       debirf - build an initrd to boot a full Debian system entirely from RAM

SYNOPSIS

       debirf <subcommand> [options] [args]

DESCRIPTION

       debirf (DEBian on Initial Ram Filesystem) is a set of tools designed to create and prepare a kernel and initial ram filesystem that can run
       a full-blown Debian environment entirely from RAM.

       debirf has various subcommands (see SUBCOMMANDS) which act on a specified debirf profile (see PROFILES).

       The debirf system is outlined at:

	  http://cmrg.fifthhorseman.net/wiki/debirf

EXAMPLES

       Make a stock debirf rescue image using the default settings:
	$ tar xzf /usr/share/doc/debirf/example-profiles/rescue.tgz
	$ debirf make rescue

       Make a debirf rescue image, specifying the mirror and a local HTTP proxy:
	$ tar xzf /usr/share/doc/debirf/example-profiles/rescue.tgz
	$ DEBIRF_MIRROR=http://ftp.debian.org/debian http_proxy=http://127.0.0.1:3128/ debirf make rescue

SUBCOMMANDS

       debirf takes various subcommands:

       make [options] PROFILE
	      Create a debirf system based on profile PROFILE.	This will create the root for the profile, run all modules on the root,  and  then
	      generate the kernel image (see KERNEL) and debirf initramfs.  This subcommand takes various options (see OPTIONS).

       enter PROFILE
	      Chroot into root of profile PROFILE, with full profile environment.

       makeiso PROFILE
	      Create  a  bootable  CD-ROM  image  from the kernel and initramfs in PROFILE.  This requires a bootloader to be available.  If grub-
	      mkrescue (in the grub-common package on debian) is available, it will be used.  Otherwise, isolinux (from the syslinux-common  pack-
	      age)  is	used if it is available.  You may use the DEBIRF_ISO_BOOTLOADER environment variable to specify a preference manually (see
	      below).

       help   Output a brief usage summary.

OPTIONS (for make subcommand only)
       -c, --check-vars
	      check variables before make

       -n, --new
	      create new root, even if old one exists

       -o, --overwrite
	      debootstrap on top of old root if it exists

       -s, --skip
	      skip debootstrap step altogether if old root exists

       -r, --root-build
	      use real chroot to build instead of fakechroot (requires superuser privileges or CAP_SYS_CHROOT)

       -w, --no-warning
	      skip superuser warning

       -i, --initrd-only
	      remake initramfs from existing root (skip debootstrap and module stages)

       -k, --kernel-deb=KERNEL
	      install KERNEL .deb, instead of default kernel

PROFILES

       A debirf profile is a directory containing a debirf.conf config file and a modules sub-directory (see MODULES).

MODULES

       Modules are used to configure the debirf system, and can be used to extend the capabilities of debirf.  Modules are bash shell scripts that
       are  executed  in  alpha-numeric order by run-parts in a chroot in the debirf root during the module stage of the debirf build.	The module
       stage is right after the debirf debootstrap stage, and right before the initramfs archive is created.  All shell variables  beginning  with
       "DEBIRF_", including those defined in the debirf.conf file, are available to the modules.

       NOTE: Some modules are more important to the proper functioning of debirf than others, and the ordering of modules is important.  Some mod-
       ules may depend on certain other modules having already been, or not yet been, run.  For instance, the module that cleans  the  debirf  apt
       cache ("z1_clean_root") should be the last module run at the end of the module stage.

KERNEL

       The  debirf  "install-kernel" module will try to pick the most up-to-date kernel for the suite you are installing (versions 2.6 only), with
       the arch determined by the kernel running on the host build system.

FUNCTIONS

       A set of pre-defined bash shell functions are available to the modules to fasciliate configuring the debirf system:

       debirf_exec <command>
	      Execute <command> within debirf root (DEBIRF_ROOT) with chroot.

       msg <message>
	      Output a message to standard out during the build process.

       failure <message> <exit-code>
	      Cause debirf script to fail with <exit-code>, and <message> to stderr.

       debirf_info_sh <message>
	      Write one line of sh code to the debirf.info file on the debirf root.

       debirf_info_comment <message>
	      Write one line of comment to the debirf.info file on the debirf root.

ENVIRONMENT

       The following environment variables are used by debirf:

       DEBIRF_LABEL
	      debirf label (default: debirf)

       DEBIRF_BUILDD
	      where to build the debirf (default: ./)

       DEBIRF_ARCH
	      architecture to build (default is the architecture of the build machine)

       DEBIRF_SUITE
	      suite to build from (default determined from lsb_release, otherwise "sid")

       DEBIRF_DISTRO
	      distro for suite (default determined from lsb_release, otherwise "debian")

       DEBIRF_MIRROR
	      mirror to pull suite (default determined by DEBIRF_DISTRO)

       DEBIRF_KEYRING
	      keyring to verify debootstrap (default determined by DEBIRF_DISTRO)

       DEBIRF_KERNEL_FLAVOR
	      the flavor of kernel debirf should install.  Supply everything from a typical debian package name after the  version  number.   e.g.
	      486, vserver-686-bigmem, openvz-amd64. (default chosen based on currently-running kernel)

       DEBIRF_ISO_BOOTLOADER
	      whether to use "grub" or "isolinux" as the El Torito bootloader for debirf makeiso.  if not specified, "grub" is the default.

FILES

       $DEBIRF_PROFILE/debirf.conf
	      Debirf profile configuration file.  Contains values for the various debirf environment variables (see ENVIRONMENT).  Variables spec-
	      ified in the debirf.conf override those specified on the command line.

       $DEBIRF_ROOT/etc/debirf/debirf.info
	      File that stores various information about the debirf build.  This is a bash-sourceable file.

AUTHOR

       Written by Jameson Rollins and Daniel Kahn Gillmor.

BUGS

       Debirf does not work as a non-privileged user across different versions of libc.  In particular, this means that you probably won't be able
       to build an image from a different version of the operating system than you're using without building as root.

       Please report bugs in debirf via the debian BTS: http://bugs.debian.org/

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (C) 2007-2011 Jameson Rollins and Daniel Kahn Gillmor
       This   is   free   software.    You   may   redistribute   copies   of	it   under   the   terms   of	the  GNU  General  Public  License
       <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.	There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

SEE ALSO

       /usr/share/doc/debirf/README, debootstrap(8), fakechroot(1)

debirf 0.32							     Dec 2011								 DEBIRF(1)