04bcb684b3
The workstation ISO failed to start X with:
(EE) unrecognized option --allow-root
Debian trixie ships Xorg 21.1.x, which removed --allow-root / -allowRoot
entirely — running the X server as root is no longer supported. The live
session now:
- creates a dedicated unprivileged `liveuser` account (in tty, video,
input, audio groups) in build-live.sh;
- starts Xorg as `liveuser` on vt1 (no -allow-root flag at all);
- grants root display access (xhost +SI:localuser:root);
- still runs the installer itself as root, since deploy-disk.sh needs
root. xinit is no longer used (and dropped from the package list).
Arcline graphical installer
installer/arcline-installer is the GTK3 frontend that the live ISO boots
into. It is a thin wrapper around scripts/deploy-disk.sh — the same,
auditable deploy core the scripted installer and disk-image builder use.
How it works
boot ISO → live session (Xorg on vt1) → installer window
pick target disk → confirm device path → deploy-disk.sh → reboot
The installer extracts install/arcline-<edition>.tar.xz (the clean rootfs
archive staged on the ISO by build-iso.sh) to a temp dir and runs:
/usr/lib/arcline/scripts/deploy-disk.sh <device> <rootfs> <edition> --boot <bios|efi>
streaming the deploy log into the window. Everything destructive lives in
deploy-disk.sh, which the live image ships (with its dependencies) at
/usr/lib/arcline:
/usr/lib/arcline/scripts/{common,deploy-disk,apply-fstab}.sh
/usr/lib/arcline/btrfs/init.sh
/usr/lib/arcline/editions/{server,workstation,cloud}/fstab
The layout mirrors the repo so the scripts' own path resolution works unchanged.
Building the ISO
make iso-server # or iso-workstation / iso-cloud
build-iso.sh builds the clean rootfs, then build-live.sh clones it into
build/rootfs/<edition>-live and layers on live-boot, a minimal X session
(openbox), the installer, and the deploy tooling. The live session rootfs is
never what gets installed — the installer always deploys the clean
archive, so what you end up with on disk is exactly the hardened system, not
the live session with the installer in it.
Autostart
overlays/live/etc/systemd/system/arcline-installer.service starts
arcline-installer-session on boot. Modern Xorg (trixie 21.1.x) refuses to
run as root, so the session script starts Xorg as the dedicated unprivileged
liveuser account on vt1, grants root display access (xhost +SI:localuser:root), then runs the installer as root (it needs root for
deploy-disk.sh). When the installer exits, X and the session end.
Manual run (for development / on a box without the ISO)
# on any Arcline system with the deploy tooling:
sudo /usr/local/bin/arcline-installer
The app refuses to run as a non-root user and errors if the deploy tooling is missing.
Notes
- Disk discovery uses
lsblk(util-linux); read-only devices are hidden. - Confirmation mirrors
scripts/install.sh: you must type the exact device path before the install button will proceed. - Root is hidden by design; the installer runs before any user session.
- For UEFI machines, pick "UEFI" boot mode (or use
BOOT=efiwhen building); seedocs/secureboot.mdfor signing the boot chain for Secure Boot.