The ISO now boots straight into a GTK installer instead of dropping to a
tty. Structure:
- installer/arcline-installer: small GTK3 (Python) frontend that drives
scripts/deploy-disk.sh — pick a disk, choose boot mode, type the device
path to confirm, watch the deploy log, reboot. Pure helper logic is
tested against lsblk (lowercase keys, pseudo-devices filtered).
- scripts/build-live.sh: builds build/rootfs/<edition>-live by cloning the
CLEAN rootfs and layering on live-boot, a minimal X session (Xorg +
openbox), the installer, and the deploy tooling under /usr/lib/arcline
(deploy-disk.sh + btrfs/init.sh + edition fstabs, laid out so the
scripts' own path resolution works unchanged).
- overlays/live/: arcline-installer.service + session script that start
Xorg on vt1 (with -allow-root) and run the installer as the X client.
- build-iso.sh: builds the live rootfs for the squashfs AND stages the
clean rootfs archive into isofiles/install/ — the installer deploys the
clean archive, so what's installed is the hardened system, never the
live session with the installer in it.
- Refactor: ARCLINE_LIVE handling removed from build-rootfs.sh and
configure-system.sh (now lives entirely in build-live.sh).
- validate.sh now checks overlays shell scripts + installer python.
- docs updated (building.md, architecture.md, installer/README.md).
BOOT=efi only changed the GRUB inside the rootfs squashfs — grub-mkrescue
builds the ISO bootloader from the build host's GRUB, so an ISO assembled
on a host without the x86_64-efi modules + mtools shipped with NO UEFI
boot entry. Booting that ISO on a UEFI machine showed:
"make sure there is a bootable uefi x64 image"
- check-host-deps.sh now verifies the GRUB module dirs it needs for a
hybrid ISO (/usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi from grub-efi-amd64-bin,
/usr/lib/grub/i386-pc from grub-pc-bin) and mtools, not just
grub-mkrescue.
- build-iso.sh verifies the finished ISO has both EFI and BIOS boot
entries (xorriso El Torito report) and prints the result; BOOT=efi
builds FAIL if the EFI entry is missing.
- GitLab CI build image gains grub-pc-bin, grub-efi-amd64-bin, mtools.
- docs/building.md: hybrid-ISO burning instructions (dd) and the
"bootable uefi x64 image" troubleshooting path.
The edition package lists installed BOTH grub-pc and grub-efi-amd64
(+ shim-signed). Those provide the same bootloader role and conflict in
apt, so every rootfs build failed with "unable to correct problems, you
have held broken packages".
A rootfs now carries exactly ONE bootloader, chosen by the BOOT variable
(mirroring the existing --boot bios|efi deploy option):
- versions.mk / common.sh: BOOT := bios (bios -> grub-pc,
efi -> grub-efi-amd64 + shim-signed + mokutil), exported via the
Makefile.
- build-rootfs.sh validates BOOT early and injects the matching boot
packages into the apt install; the static package lists no longer
contain any grub package.
- deploy-disk.sh / build-image.sh / install.sh default --boot from the
same BOOT variable, so a rootfs and the artifact deployed from it can
never disagree (BOOT=efi make image-cloud produces a UEFI image).
- mokutil is now installed explicitly in the efi flavour (it was not
pulled in because we install with --no-install-recommends).
- docs updated (building.md knob + rationale, secureboot.md note).
Bookworm became oldstable in July 2026 (standard support ended
2026-07-11). A new distro should be built on the current stable, which
is now Trixie (13.6): newer kernel (6.12 LTS vs 6.1, whose LTS ends Dec
2026), newer systemd/containers/toolchains, KDE 6 for the workstation
edition, and a year of stability behind it (full support until
2028-08-09).
- versions.mk / common.sh: DEBIAN_SUITE bookworm -> trixie, kernel 6.1 -> 6.12
- package list header comments: bookworm -> trixie
- GitLab CI: debian:bookworm -> debian:trixie build images
- docs (architecture, building): base references updated
All packages used across the three editions exist in Trixie unchanged.
- docs/secureboot.md: MOK workflow (generate, build, enroll).
- docs/building.md: image + install quickstart, new outputs, ARCLINE_SIGN.
- docs/observability.md: vendor .debs are now the primary packaging path.
- docs/editions.md: cloud ships a qcow2; qemu test command.
- docs/architecture.md: full pipeline table incl. deploy/install; the
four follow-up items are now implemented; new "on the horizon" list.
- README: updated feature list, quickstart, and status.
Document the design and how to operate it: architecture, building
(including toolchain-free/minimal builds), hardening guide, editions,
observability, and the toolchain. README ties it together.
