Files
os-build/docs/building.md
Blake Ridgway 0ea8b713dd feat: graphical installer in the live ISO
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).
2026-08-21 20:24:09 -05:00

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Markdown

# Building Arcline OS
## Prerequisites
A Debian-family host (or container) with root/sudo:
```
debootstrap # rootfs bootstrap
squashfs-tools # ISO rootfs compression
grub2-common # grub-mkrescue (hybrid ISO)
xorriso cpio # ISO assembly
bash make curl git # build orchestration
go (≥ 1.21) # only needed for `make toolchain`
```
Check or install them:
```
scripts/check-host-deps.sh # report what's missing
scripts/check-host-deps.sh --install # apt-get install the missing bits
```
## Quickstart
```
make check # validate the tree (fast, offline, safe)
make rootfs-server # build just the server rootfs
make iso-server # build a bootable server ISO
make iso # build all three editions
make image-cloud # build the cloud edition as a qcow2 disk image
make toolchain # build the 11 Go tools into .deb
make vendor # build Grafana/Loki/Promtail .debs
make test # run smoke tests against built rootfs(es)
```
## Outputs
Everything lands under `build/`:
| Path | Contents |
|------|----------|
| `build/rootfs/<edition>/` | extracted rootfs (from `make rootfs-*`) |
| `build/artifacts/arcline-<edition>-<version>-<arch>.tar.xz` | archived rootfs |
| `build/artifacts/arcline-<edition>-<version>-<arch>.iso` | bootable live ISO |
| `build/artifacts/arcline-<edition>-<version>-<arch>.qcow2` | bootable disk image |
| `build/debs/*.deb` | Arcline toolchain + vendor packages |
Each artifact ships with a `.sha256` checksum file.
## Disk images & installing
- `make image-<edition>` builds a bootable **qcow2** disk image (the cloud
edition's primary output; also handy for VM-testing server/workstation).
Options: `--format raw`, `--size 4G`, `--boot efi`.
- `scripts/install.sh /dev/sdX --edition server` installs a built rootfs onto
a real disk (asks for explicit confirmation, then partitions, lays out
btrfs subvolumes, installs GRUB, and writes a real fstab). Both reuse the
shared `scripts/deploy-disk.sh`.
## Secure boot
Optional, MOK-based. See [secureboot](secureboot.md):
```bash
scripts/secureboot/gen-keys.sh
ARCLINE_SIGN=1 make iso-server
```
## Reproducibility knobs
Set these as environment variables or edit `versions.mk`:
| Variable | Meaning | Default |
|----------|---------|---------|
| `VERSION` | release version string | `0.1.0` |
| `DEBIAN_SUITE` | Debian base | `trixie` |
| `ARCH` | target architecture | `amd64` |
| `DEBIAN_MIRROR` | mirror for the base | `http://deb.debian.org/debian` |
| `ARCLINE_LIVE` | install live-boot into rootfs | unset (set by ISO build) |
| `ARCLINE_LOCK_ROOT` | lock root account (`passwd -l root`) | `0` |
| `ARCLINE_EXTRA_REPOS` | fetch grafana/loki upstream repos | `0` |
| `ARCLINE_TOOLCHAIN` | toolchain in image builds | `auto` |
| `ARCLINE_SIGN` | sign boot chain with the MOK (secure boot) | `0` |
| `BOOT` | bootloader in the image: `bios` → grub-pc, `efi` → grub-efi-amd64 + shim-signed | `bios` |
> **Why one bootloader?** `grub-pc` and `grub-efi-amd64` conflict, so apt fails
> with *"held broken packages"* if both are in a package list. Arcline ships
> exactly the one matching `BOOT` (injected by `build-rootfs.sh`). For a UEFI +
> secure-boot build: `BOOT=efi make iso-server` (or `make image-cloud` with
> `BOOT=efi`). The deployed image/install uses the same variable by default.
## Building without the Arcline toolchain
The 11 Go tools (see `docs/toolchain.md`) are **optional** in an image — a
normal `make iso-server` with no `.deb`s in `build/debs/` already produces a
minimal, toolchain-free image. This is controlled by `ARCLINE_TOOLCHAIN`:
| Mode | Behaviour |
|------|-----------|
| `auto` (default) | install the tools if `build/debs/*.deb` exist, otherwise build without them (with a warning) |
| `skip` | never install the tools, even if debs are present |
| `require` | **fail** the build if no toolchain debs are available |
Examples:
```bash
make iso-server # auto: tools in if you ran `make toolchain`
make iso-server-minimal # skip: guaranteed toolchain-free image
ARCLINE_TOOLCHAIN=skip make iso-server
ARCLINE_TOOLCHAIN=require make iso-server # release builds must ship the tools
```
Everything else — hardened base, firewall, btrfs, observability
(Prometheus/node_exporter are Debian-main packages), zero-telemetry — is
independent of the toolchain and always included.
## Notes on the ISO
The ISO is a **graphical installer** medium: it boots to a minimal live
session (Xorg) that auto-starts the Arcline installer window. Pick a target
disk, confirm the device path, and it installs to disk with the btrfs layout,
GRUB, and a real fstab — driven by the same `deploy-disk.sh` core as the
scripted installer.
The live session is built by `build-live.sh` on top of the **clean** rootfs;
the ISO carries that clean rootfs as the install source (`install/`), so what
lands on disk is the hardened installed system — never the live session with
the installer in it.
Install a user + desktop afterwards if you want a graphical login
(workstation edition already ships KDE Plasma + SDDM and boots to it).
### Burning the ISO
The ISO is **hybrid** (BIOS + UEFI). Write it to a USB stick with `dd` (or
Ventoy), not as a file copy:
```bash
sudo dd if=build/artifacts/arcline-server-0.1.0-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
```
The build verifies the finished ISO actually contains **both** boot entries and
prints `✓ EFI boot entry present` / `✓ BIOS boot entry present`; `BOOT=efi`
builds **fail** if the EFI entry is missing.
### UEFI says "make sure there is a bootable uefi x64 image"
That firmware error means the ISO had no UEFI boot entry. `grub-mkrescue`
builds the ISO bootloader from the **build host's** GRUB, so the host needs the
UEFI modules even though the image is `BOOT=efi`:
```bash
sudo apt-get install -y grub-efi-amd64-bin grub-pc-bin mtools
scripts/check-host-deps.sh # should now pass; rebuild the ISO
```
If the entry was present but it still won't boot, enable/disable Secure Boot
(our `BOOT=bios` ISOs are unsigned and will be refused by Secure Boot — use
`BOOT=efi make iso-server` plus the MOK flow in `docs/secureboot.md` for
signed, Secure-Boot-friendly media).