Live-build

updated June 2020

Back in 2012, I was trying everything I could do to get a customised Live CD put together so that I could start installing Debian on other PC's. I spent a long time learning how to use Live build, and I tweaked it so that I could make a Live CD with about 95% of the apps and config I wanted. But then how about updating the Live CD? It required another build process over the internet that could take hours (it's a lot faster with apt caching though).

But what if you install a heap of apps that a user will want to remove? That could be a waste of time. Better, I think, to make a basic Live CD to install a base system with the bare minimal needed for a desktop and internet connectivity, and then install other packages later on, per user requirement. You could even include some guides to installing software.

If you want to install with a much larger choice of software ready to go, it would be better to build that system in a real desktop, with all your menus and other tweaks, and then run refractasnapshot (see my system backup page) on it, to make a Live CD from the installed system.

So my strategy would be:
1. Initially, Netinstall/Server ISO or Live Build or Debootstrap followed by system backup with dd - minimal base install (easy to keep cleaning and re-building it)
2. Later, Refractasnapshot - a grander Live CD with much more choice installed.


Man page: live-manual

1. install

sudo apt update apt install live-build  

and it will be essential to make sure you have these installed too:

apt install squashfs-tools live-boot live-config live-boot-initramfs-tools live-config-sysvinit libburn4 libjte1 libisofs6 libisoburn1 xorriso isolinux  

now find some space on a partition where all the live-build work will take place (up to 4Gb for basic) and run the initial setup command, `lb config`:

mk dir my_live_build cd my_live_build lb config  

(that will build the basic config tree)

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2. Congfigure the live cd build

The command is run with options to build what you want:

example 1.

lb config --architecture i386 -d buster -p lxde --archive-areas "main contrib non-free" --debian-installer live  

example 2.

lb config -d buster -p xfce --archive-areas "main contrib non-free" --debian-installer live --linux-flavours 686  

example 3.

lb config --mirror-bootstrap "http://cdn.debian.net/debian/" --mirror-chroot "http://cdn.debian.net/debian/" --mirror-chroot-security "http://security.debian.org/debian/" --apt-recommends disabled --architecture amd64 --linux-flavours 686 --archive-areas "main contrib non-free" -d wheezy --debian-installer live --apt aptitude  

You can keep using `lb config` with different parameters to set up the configuration before building -but note that you can't override one that's been set unless you do a `lb clean` -it is better to use an auto script (see below).

The "chroot" mirror is where packages will come from and the "binary" is what the Live CD will be set to (chroot mirror should default to --mirror-bootstrap). See http://manpages.ubuntu.com/

The 686 flavour with amd64, is essential for the live installer to work, or else you will just have a Live CD without installer, so the man page says.


Or use an auto script
All config options can be put into an auto script so that you only need to run `lb config` and the options are set from the script.
managing-a-configuration.en.html

cp /usr/share/doc/live-build/examples/auto/* auto/  

edit auto/config to look something like this -adapt to your preference, with amd64/686 or whatever. Here's how it looks with my example 3,

#!/bin/sh lb config noauto \ --architectures i386 \ --linux-flavours 486 \ --mirror-bootstrap http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ \ --mirror-chroot http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ \ --mirror-binary http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ \ --mirror-chroot-security http://security.debian.org/ \ --archive-areas "main contrib non-free" \ --apt-recommends disabled \ --apt aptitude \ -d wheezy \ --debian-installer live \ "${@}"  

The script is read when lb config is run. but you may need to run `lb config --conffile auto/config`

I set the mirrors to devuan and lb config still set up for a Debian Jessie build. So following that you will need to edit the files in config/ to enable a devuan build.

config/binary LB_BOOTAPPEND_LIVE="boot=live components keyboard-layouts=us,us keyboard-variants=colemak username=bob"

to set the keyboard to colemak and change username for live

set Disribution to Devuan and mirrors to
http://deb.devuan.org/merged chimaera
http://deb.devuan.org/merged chimaera-security
http://deb.devuan.org/merged chimaera-updates


config/build
Mirror-Bootstrap: http://deb.devuan.org/merged chimaera

config/chroot
LB_SECURITY="true"
LB_UPDATES="true"

config/common
LB_APT_HTTP_PROXY="http://localhost:3142/"
LB_APT_RECOMMENDS="false"

The proxy line is for Apt-cacher-ng APT proxy.

Note: to speed up the process and avoid downloading all the packages again and again with each new build attempt, it is highly recomended that you set up a good APT caching proxy that live-build will retrieve packages from (and being downloaded already through the proxy they are kept in the proxy cache to be retrieved much faster the next time).

See my APT proxy page for notes how to do that.

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3. Add package name lists before the build

su to root and run these in the build directory, to create lists which will be used to install whatever you need added to the build:

First of all, those needed for successful build as some are possibly excluded by the "no-recommends" option, and the dependencies for live-build (need to be installed into the chroot system before creation of the squash filesystem and ISO).

for p in eject file rsync uuid-runtime sudo user-setup grub2 aptitude laptop-mode-tools iw gnupg2 live-boot live-boot-doc live-config live-config-doc live-tools live-boot-initramfs-tools live-config-sysvinit libburn4 libjte1 libisofs6 libisoburn1 isolinux syslinux-common librsvg2-bin xorriso squashfs-tools debian-installer ;do echo $p config/package-lists/needed.list.chroot ;done  

then do either
1. minimal LXDE install

for p in xorg lxde lightdm lxtask pm-utils hdparm cpufrequtils alsa-utils network-manager-gnome tango-icon-theme dmz-cursor-theme moblin-cursor-theme obconf obmenu lxappearance-obconf geany xfce4-power-manager rxvt-unicode bash-completion htop elinks gparted ntp xcape debian-installer ;do echo $p >> config/package-lists/base.list.chroot ;done

or
2. plain openbox install

for p in aptitude xorg lxtask pm-utils hdparm cpufrequtils alsa-utils openbox lxpolkit lxpanel lxtask elogind libpam-elogind wicd tango-icon-theme obconf obmenu lxappearance-obconf moblin-cursor-theme rxvt-unicode bash-completion geany xfce4-power-manager htop elinks gparted ntp xcape debian-installer-launcher ;do echo $p >> config/package-lists/base.list.chroot ;done

The problem with a plain -no DM- install is that the live ISO may have problems at login or launching Xorg. So it might be advisable to add a DM, such as lightdm.

3. Ranger

for p in ranger w3m w3m-img less xsel xvkbd atool mediainfo jhead ffmpegthumbnailer trash-cli exiftool feh imagemagick zip unzip bzip2 p7zip-full ntfs-3g blktool dosfstools mtools testdisk partclone fsarchiver sshfs locate git cups gpa ntp yad rpl bluetooth blueman mtp-tools go-mtpfs adb pmount udiskie gvfs ;do echo $p >> config/package-lists/base.list.chroot ;done

If you are making a Live CD for a basic install (further packages to be added post-install) then no point in making the build too complex or over-sized, and I would leave it at that.

but if you have ny othe specific areas of packages needed, such as samba, then you can create more package lists like these.


live-manual/html/live-manual/customizing-package-installation.en.html

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4. Add other/customised packages

You can put .deb archives in config/packages.chroot, such as any packages made from source (compton, checkinstall etc)

! Check the packages names with running dpkg-name *.deb in the dir as they must comply to be included.


Some packages might snag the chroot stage, giving an error such as: /usr/bin/env: 'gpg': No such file or directory


Package pinning
with thunar a few years back, the latest was found in experimental, but it had so many dependencies it failed to install just using packages.

Therefore it was necessary to pin it to the experimental repository, with all other packages defaulting to the config repository, like this

echo "deb http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ experimental main" > config/archives/experimental.list.chroot 

sudo nano config/archives/experimental.pref.chroot 

add this content

Package: thunar .....[plus dependencies] Pin: release n=experimental Pin-Priority: 600 Package: * Pin: release n=experimental Pin-Priority: 1  

Omit a package from the build
-say, if it is a recommended package or installed by a metapackage, you give it a negative Pin-Priority in config/apt/preferences,

sudo nano config/apt/preferences  

Package: iceweasel Pin: version * Pin-Priority: -1  

see: live-manual/html/live-manual/customizing-package-installation.en.html

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5. Add files to be included in the Live cd

If you'd like to customize the Live CD environment, with autostart, no recommends files etc, you simply add the files to config/includes.chroot directory with the same dir tree as they need in a real file system.

• apt files > config/includes.chroot/etc/apt
  
• LXDE autostart file > config/includes.chroot/etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE
• openbox files > config/includes.chroot/etc/skel/.config/openbox
  
• ranger files > config/includes.chroot/etc/skel/.config/ranger
  
• home dot files > config/includes.chroot/etc/skel
  

live-manual/html/live-manual/customization-overview.en.html


Set groups for the Live user
make a file

nano config/includes.chroot/etc/live/config/user-setup.conf 

and fill with [include whatever groups you require]

LIVE_USER_DEFAULT_GROUPS="plugdev netdev powerdev dialout lpadmin admin clamav audio sudo" 

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6. Building the live cd

to run live build, cd to my_live_build and enter (sudo or as root)

lb build  

and this command can be split into four parts:

lb bootstrap lb chroot lb binary lb source  

where bootstrap caches all the necessary packages
chroot unpacks and installs them and carries out tasks in the chroot env
binary creates a squashfs compressed archive
source puts it into a bootable ISO image


to cleanup the working directory to build again

lb clean --binary  

to build again with changes to config (this cleans chroot so all the packages will need unpacking again with the next build)

lb clean lb build  

to build with interactive options

lb clean lb config --interactive shell lb build  

The iso file will be created (if successful) in the "my_live_build" directory, which just needs (renaming and) burning to disk or sending to a usb stick.

remember that to login the live CD, user=user, passwd=live


You can make a live build from your installed system with (haven't tested it myself)

lb config --bootstrap copy --debian-installer live lb build  

But this won't build a devuan system

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Build Notes

Install problems

• No ext3 or ext4 partitioning option! So I had to select "Use free space automatically". this made ext4 partitions for / and /home and a swap of 4Gb. Later, with Gparted, I removed the /home and swap partitons and made new ones (smaller). After booting the system, and logging in as root, /etc/fstab needed making and /dev/sda? mounting to /home. Then I could log in as my user.
• with one install I still couldn't log-in the user, so logged in as root, deleted that user with deluser bob and then added it again with adduser bob, and bob was then added to /home and I could log-in
• GRUB did not install and, as I was installing to a Win7 machine and needed it to dual-boot, I used Super Grub (Rescatux) to boot the new OS, then I ran

sudo apt install grub sudo grub-install /dev/sda  

• Grub Recover CD does a good job too, automatically searches for OS and installs GRUB with options -see my GRUB page
• In fact, if I attempted GRUB install the installer terminated early without finishing (set up users and passwords etc) so I found I had to use the "Go back" button at Configure Mirrors stage in order to select "Continue without installing GRUB".

Simple-CDD

http://wiki.debian.org/...

sudo apt install simple-cdd approx  

Firstly, make a working directory where you've got some space

mkdir my-simple-cdd cd /my-simple-cdd  

this is the basic build command, which may be out-dated by now:

build-simple-cdd --dist wheezy --debian-mirror http://cdn.debian.net/debian --profiles NAME  

fill in your own preferred mirror!

to make the profiles file (with package names), in my-simple-cdd dir:

mkdir profiles for p in <packages to include> ; do echo $p >> profiles/NAME.packages ; done  

simple-cdd defaults to just using main, so to also use contrib and non-free, put this in profiles/default.conf:

mirror_components="main contrib non-free"  

lastly, invoke simple-cdd to pull from approx cache

build-simple-cdd --dist wheezy --debian-mirror http://localhost:9999/debian --profiles NAME